Problem definition. The process of preparation of a new generation of teachers who can effectively influence the social development requires a radical upgrading of their professional and educational preparation and studying new functions of the pedagogics of a higher school. Changes in all spheres of life and human activity, active development of cultural values in modern society objectively requires the transformation of a higher school into the college of pedagogical culture recreation and production.
Therefore, it should be stated that whatever changes occur in a higher school, they are all necessarily related to the university lecturer, teacher, and scientist, scientific knowledge medium, the cultural and educational experience of society.
So, modern pedagogical education has an extremely complicated and important range of tasks that are somehow directly or indirectly related to the organization of educational activities in a higher pedagogical educational institution. They are connected with the development of artistic skills on the one hand and personal development of the future teacher on the other hand. A future teacher is regarded to be the one who will be able not only to somehow implement existing social and pedagogical technologies, etc. but also to go beyond regulatory activities, to find creative, flexible approach to solving professional (professional and social) tasks, to develop and implement educational innovations.
Recent research and publications analysis. Innovative approaches and strategies of organizing educational activities in a higher school in the context of the Bologna process realization was studied by (A. Aleksyuk, B. Bokut, Ya. Bolyubash, I. Zyazyun, V. Kremen, N. Kuzmina, Z. Kurlyand, O. Molibog, N. Nychkalo, etc.); the problem of professional and pedagogical becoming of the teacher of a higher school who forms the personality of a future teacher was studied by (V. Haluzynskyi, V. Honcharov, S. Hryhoriyev, M. Yevtukh V. Kolakhovskyy, V. Kuznetsov, N. Nychkalo who consider pedagogical training of teachers for higher educational institutions); the subject of improvement of professional and pedagogical skills of a higher school teacher was researched by (V. Babkina, Ye. Barbina, V. Zahvyazynskyy, M. Yeretskyy, M. Ivanova, V. Kovalova, O. Pyekhota, H. Skok, M. Smetanskyy); the content of professional and pedagogical activity of a teacher was investigated by (E. Abdyushev, V. Antipova, Ye. Berezhnova, Z. Yesareva, N. Kuzmina, Yu. Yankovskyi); the professional and pedagogical formation of the higher school teachers was studied by (Ye. Voznesenska, A. Kabosh, Jean de Lancer, R. Lalle, Jean Leclerc).
The object of this article is to carry out a thorough theoretical analysis of the existing traditions and actively implemented innovations in the organization of educational activities in a higher pedagogical educational institution, which, in their harmonious integral unity, define and characterize the peculiarities of the organization of such activity in the conditions of modern development of society and education.
Basic material presentation. Recently, the problem of determining the essence of the educational, professional and pedagogical activities of a teacher of a higher educational institution has arisen with a change in teachers’ attitude to activities and which is resulted from the active implementation of the provisions of the Bologna process.
Traditionally, the main thing in the teacher’s work is considered to be the knowledge of the subject, but the situation is radically changing, as psychologists and teachers consider the goal-oriented, self-controlled, cognitive activity of students, which should be managed by the teacher, to be the main component of any educational process.
This situation causes the emergence of a radically different approach to the actual professional and pedagogical activity in higher education institutions in general and in higher pedagogical educational institutions in particular. Such activity in pedagogical realities has its expression in the students’ studying of the content of educational disciplines, which reflect the real sphere of material or spiritual life of society.
This content includes concepts, theories, forms, methods, techniques and updated means of solving typical problems and certain tasks, methods for assessing the accuracy and specificity of decisions, and mastering the technique of using certain existing knowledge in a given area of educational and practical activity. The activities of students may be somewhat effective when they are provided, organized, managed and supervised by a teacher. O. Malykhin mentions in his studies that psychological and educational researchers pay much attention to the usage of competence approach to training future professional, who works in the education system.
There are all reasonable and verified grounds to assert that competence approach as an independent phenomenon in terms of domestic education area passed the phases of establishment (the need of usage) and phenomenologization (the assessment and description of the phenomenon), the current phase is the methodological one (specification of basic concepts, factors, ways and conditions of realization). Furthermore, the scientist claims that the competence approach in pedagogical education is based on interdisciplinary, integrated requirements to the outcome of the educational process.
The necessity to help students to learn how to solve certain problems in certain situations (education, life, professional) has led to the usage of competence approaching educational system. Nowadays we have the first obvious results of applying the competence approach in native education. One of the positive results is that the national education system begins to provide quality, that corresponds the “customer’s” expectations; educational standards are also changing as the specific controller of social norms and needs; education meets “the requirements of sociomorphism, national traditions, social and economic development, national and ethnic archetype of people mentality” [9, p. 6].
The didactician considers that it is the reason why nowadays in the line with the Bologna process, the meaningful work is held to develop a common European-wide content of qualifications and degrees. The top-priority direction of joint efforts is the definition of general and special competencies of graduates of the first and the second levels of training – bachelors, and masters. Ukrainian and European experts emphasize that the main advantage of a competence approach is in the fact that it allows maintaining flexibility and autonomy in the curriculum architecture. At the same time, it needs the methods of learning evaluation to be changed and the quality of training to be ensured. In current conditions on the pedagogical work market those specialists are in demand who understand the psychological characteristics of people of different ages, are well-versed in the modern achievements of psychological and pedagogical science and practice, have methods of scientific research, a variety of interactive technologies of teaching children and adults, means and methods of professional and creative development and self-development, are able to practically realize the motto of “learning throughout life”.
Further development of the competence approach is associated with the transition from general theoretical concepts of its content to the creation of subject educational programs. One of the key areas of public education policy should be a modernization of the structure, content, and organization of education on the basis of competence approach, reorientation of educational content to the sustainable development (National Strategy for Development of Education in Ukraine for 2012-2021) [1].
In the system of education and educational activity in higher pedagogical educational institutions, in particular, the subject of the teacher’s activity and the subject of students’ activity are clearly traced. For the teacher, the main task is the organization of students’ activity and managing of this activity within the scope defined by the tasks of training a qualified specialist in a higher educational institution (in the context of the research carried out taking into account the specifics of a higher pedagogical education), and for students such actions are performed to achieve the expected result of this activity.
The relationship between these two parties is due to the combination of the pedagogical conditions and the activity of the teacher, as well as the activity of the student and student’s subjective involvement in the act of learning. “The system of students’ self-evaluation skills formation implements the following pedagogical conditions of independent educational activity of students: multicomponent system, its content, methods, means and forms, the implementation of research reflection to create the estimated basis of the self-evaluative activities, integration of personal and professional reflection, usage of integrative and modular technology in diagnostics and management of the process of self-evaluating abilities formation.”[2, pp. 197-198].
Taking into consideration the leading position of such an approach to the learning process, it is possible to admit the specific determination of the training activities of the teacher and the management of teaching, which identifies the means and nature of the teacher’s influence on the student’s activities and behaviour in order to achieve a certain goal.
Considering the realization of the complex system organization of all components (elements of these components), the learning process enables to correctly identify ways and means of achieving the main goal of the theory and practice of a higher school, that is the increase of the efficiency and quality of training of young professionals in one or another field. The system of training professionals of the educational sphere is not an exception.
By the term “teaching and learning activities” is understood the specific process of studying in a particular educational institution. The teaching and learning activities cover all components of learning: the activities of the teacher, the activities of those who study, the means by which this process is carried out, the forms in which it is implemented [3, p. 68]. Unlike this, the didactic phenomenon of the “learning process” encompasses only the activities of the one who teaches, and the activities of the learner [4, p. 16].
V. Lozova considers the process of study at a higher school as a specially organized interaction of subjects of cognitive activity that is modelled (its goals, tasks, content, structure, methods, forms, motives of educational activity of students, functions of teaching are determined) for students’ achievement of the basics of social experience accumulated by humanity in various fields of science aimed at developing of intellectual, sensory and volitional spheres of their life, education of the need of self-education, self-improvement [7, p. 89].
The main functions of the learning process are educational, developmental and educational. Along with them, teaching also performs communicative and managerial functions in terms of the modern understanding of the content of education. In a higher school, the leading functions of teaching are complemented by a professional function, the value of a professional function, according to M. Fitsula, is revealed in the fact that educational process acquires a professional orientation [5, p. 80], however it does not mean that it is oriented towards a purely applied nature.
The peculiarity of the educational activities organization at a higher pedagogical educational institution today means the necessity of the implementation of all functions, which is ensured by the introduction of the three main training cycles of a specialist. The main peculiarities of studying at a higher school are as follows: – achievement of scientific knowledge and acquirement of practical experience take place in terms of professional orientation, that is, in terms of preparation for activities in the chosen profession; – studying of science and its development. Student masters the process of formation of scientific knowledge and methods of science itself gets acquainted with its problems, tasks, and methods of their solution; – combining of scientific and educational processes. Independent educational and cognitive activity of students proceeds along with research work [2, p. 6].
The specificity of educational activity during studying process at a higher pedagogical educational institution provides sufficient opportunities to meet the identified needs of the future teacher personality, especially taking into consideration the continuity and unity of theoretical and practical training on the one hand, and the unity of psychological and pedagogical as well as professional and subjective preparation on the other hand. Educational activity in a higher school can be represented as a certain complex of correlated and interdependent components of a particular system.
According to S. Arkhangelskyi, such system is characterized by a complex adaptive behavior of the parties, the one, who learns and the one, who teaches, on the basis of the movement and analysis of educational information [6, p. 264].
By reference to this, the main structural elements of the educational process are: • learning objectives, which are the ideal model of the desired result of the content of education assimilation; • the content of education, which means pedagogically adapted social experience; • teaching and learning methods; • organizational forms of training; • real result [9, p. 4-5].
First and foremost, the construction of educational activities and the system of the educational process comes from the general objectives of a higher educational and professional training of a specialist of a particular sphere. Hence, the system of the educational process in a higher educational institution is a subsystem hierarchically subordinated to the education system of a particular society and, in its turn, is in direct and indirect links with branch science with partial methods.
These relationships determine the leading forms, methods, techniques, and means of educational process organization. O. Malykhin claims that unlike practice it is the scientific theory that plays a decisive role in the organization of educational activities (studies) at a higher pedagogical educational institution. But in order the theory should not remain abstract, it should be built on the basis of experience accumulated by students, rely on it, develop it. After studying certain theoretical statements, it is necessary to give them an opportunity to practice, to bring the theoretical statements to the stage of actions, operations, procedures, technologies, to form students’ skills to apply their knowledge in practice.
The process of education activities organization of students of higher pedagogical educational institutions should correspond to all requirements of the relationship between theory and practice mentioned above. [2, pp. 70-71].
Principles of professional and pedagogical significance of knowledge are intended to emphasize the aspiration to include in the content of educational activities of students of higher pedagogical educational institutions the professional pedagogically meaningful knowledge in the four areas of educational activities as much as possible: professional and pedagogical; professional and subjective; methodical; social and cultural, which will provide a high level of professional competence of the future teacher, and also subordinate to the practical implementation and realization of the other system-forming principle of professional and pedagogical orientation in general [2, p. 71].
Since nowadays a replacement of the educational paradigm takes place, and new content, approaches, pedagogical mentality are offered, so this environment causes the teacher to be wellversed in a wide range of modern innovative technologies, ideas, and schools. Today it is impossible to be a pedagogically competent specialist without mastering of educational technologies.
Mastering of new information technologies, modern computer technology is an important condition for the formation of the innovative potential of a future specialist. Innovative technologies of study, the practical introduction of the newest approaches of the information acquirement, that are rapidly updated, require future teachers to be able to make a variety of decisions independently and rapidly regarding a large number of non-traditional pedagogical tasks that they may face in their own pedagogical activity.
In order to feel confident in the nonstatic educational environment, the future teacher should acquire sustainable abilities for self-actualization and self-realization while studying at a higher pedagogical educational institution, which will become indicators of self-efficacy on the way to personal self-improvement [2, pp. 98-99]. A. Adler pointed out that we respond actively and creatively to all the diversity of influences we experience in our lives.
We do not remain inert and passive objects, but we are actively looking for some impressions and despise others. We selectively systematize and realize the experience, choose an individual scheme of apperception and form a clear model of our attitude towards the world, therefore, we perceive creatively and actively all external and internal influences.
Thus, the core of the Adler model of human nature is the creativity that is the ability to form (consciously or unconsciously) goals and ways to achieve them. It is at the highest level of development in creating a living plan that organizes human life in a consistent lifestyle. So the high-priority task for the future teacher is to choose the right plan of life and to develop the unique lifestyle according to it. It cannot be solved without actualization of processes of selfefficiency, self-improvement and involves a significant proportion of independence, which allows solving the issue of self-realization.
Therefore, this process should not happen chaotically, but be part of the system of organization of independent learning activity of a student. According to A. Adler, the formation of life goals, lifestyle, and schemes of apperception is an act of creation. He credits an individual with uniqueness, self-awareness, and control over one’s fate. Thus, the formation of a self-efficient personality of a future teacher is usually a matter of the subject, which depends on the desire and purposeful work to acquire the corresponding qualities.
Conclusions and suggestions. So, after making a theoretical analysis of the existing traditions and actively introduced innovations in educational activities organization at a higher pedagogical educational institution it is defined the set of principles of professional and pedagogical orientation: professional and pedagogical significance of knowledge; professional competence in terms of description of the didactic requirements to the system of students’ educational training organization while studying at a higher pedagogical educational institution.
It should be noted that the choice of a teacher’s career is a courageous and important step in the life of a young person. It must be conscious and informed. It also defines whether the student – the future teacher – will work hard to become a professional and will achieve self-realization as a highly qualified teacher.
Educational activities in higher educational institutions should be understood as the specially organized interaction of subjects of the cognitive activity, which is modelled for students’ mastering quickly the basics of social experience accumulated by mankind in various fields of science aimed at the development of the intellectual, sensual and volitional spheres of their life, education the necessity for self-education (V. Lozova); the system, where processes of formation, development, education, and training are seamlessly combined with all conditions and forms of learning and methods of its functioning (I. Zaychenko); educational, didactic, educational, managerial systems, their components, which substantially improve the results of educational activities; processes, means, results, taken in the unity of qualitative improvement of the pedagogical system (I. Pidlasyy); set of capabilities to meet personal needs of future teacher, especially considering the continuity and unity of theoretical and practical training on the one hand, and the unity of psychological and pedagogical as well as professional and subjective training on the other hand (O. Malykhin).
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Created by Tetyana Opalyuk
