Adult education: establishing and developing

Ключевые  слова:   андрагогика; последипломное образование; обучение на протяжении жизни.

The adult education is studied by a separate science – andragogy standing in the centre of attention of scientists, educators, sociologists. It fulfills the most ancient form of education: from Latin “non scholar” , sed vitae “discimus” – “study not for school but for life”. The education of adults is the branch of pedagogy, revealing theoretical and practical problems of teaching, upbringing and education of an adult person. It must be defined as a science of personal selfrealization during life. Firstly, the term “andragogy” was introduced in 1833, by the German historian A. Kapp. In 1970 M. Holes (USA) published the fundamental work connected with the adult education – “The modern practice of adult education”. The main concepts of andragogy were formulated there:

• –    an adult person possesses the leading role in education;

• –    he/she, being a formed personality, sets definite goals of education, eagers for independence, self-realization, self-management;

• –    an adult person looks for a rapid usage of the obtained knowledge and skills;

• –    the educational process is organized as the interaction of a teacher and a student at

all steps of education.

The modern science singles out the following main principles of andragogy:

• –    the principle of self-education priority;

• –    the principle of the interaction with group-mates and a teacher;

• –    the principle of usage of the relevant positive life experience;

• –    the principle of correlation of the out-of-date experience and personal settings, being an obstacle for obtaining new knowledge;

• –    the principle of individual approach for education on the basis of personal requirements;

• –    the principle of education effectiveness;

• –    the principle of the education demands connected with the student’s activity;

• –    the principles of teaching as a system;

• –    the principle of a student development;

• –    the principle of teaching results actualization;

• –    the principle of workability;

• –    the principle of culture;

• –    the principle of individual-personal approach;

• –    the principle of the value-content tendency of education.

In his article S. Zmeyev investigates the tendencies of andragogy establishment. L. Linevich examines the andragogy approach from the point of view of adult capabilities.

Glazurina A. analyses the andragogy approach for teacher education activity development in the process of qualification growth. In the research model by S. Filin the andragogy approach is examined from the viewpoint of optimal condition creation for educational process realization for adults. The scientist E. Lindeman considers the student experience as the most valuable resource in adult education. The adult education method is referred to as the experience analysis method.

At the end of the 60th of the XX century a new educational form “the adult education” was being developed. It was given a name of additional education, being the means of achieving the higher level of professional competence of a person in the modern dynamic world, helping his/her self-development. The existing system of the qualification growth has been aimed at the avoiding of the gaps in adult education, but not at the innovation technology study. The 30th years of the XX century were characterized with the new educational system formation called the educational system reorganization, the 60th years of the XX century were considered as the stage of the creative research and teaching perfection. Since that time the attempts to modernize the educational system for adults have been taken. The qualification growth has been examined as the independent branch of education, enclosing the theoretical and practical problems of teacher training, forming the additional skills, qualities with the support for the basic education. Nowadays, it implies the modernization and expansion of knowledge of an adult.

There are different forms of qualification growth: at and out of the working place, shortterm, theme and problematic seminars, long-term professional training with the aim of advanced learning of actual professional problems. There is another form of the qualification growth which is called pedagogic practical study which is widely used in the higher school. Each form is considered to be an important stage of training for the provision of correspondence between knowledge level and the teacher’s position.

Nowadays, one of the features of the general tendency of the educational development is considered to be the transfer for the continuing education. The conception implies the theoretical foundations of lifelong education. The famous French explorer B. Lengrand expressed the idea that the education future depends upon the adult education if we take into account its capability for the modernization in a whole.

To solve the problem of teacher qualification growth let’s investigate the interrelations of the terms “qualification growth”, “the continuing education” “multilevelness of education”, being uncovered in our research. The first component of the chain is the growth of the teachers’ qualification in the educational establishment. Then it was transformed into the system of

qualification growth and re-training. The term additional education was adopted in 1992. The system of qualification growth is its component. Continuing (lifelong education) education encloses all the process of a person training from school up to higher school, and then defines a person’s life through the self-education activity.

K. Levin and D. Kolb created andragogy model – the model of an adult training.

The authors elaborated the four step process of a specialist training through education, work and personal development:

• 1)    concrete experience through activity, practice and action;

• 2)    reflective observation through experience reflection from different viewpoint (analysis; reflection);

• 3)    abstract conceptualisation through forming the abstract concepts and theoretical summaries;

• 4)    active experimentation by means of checking, testing of the results of the conception functioning in the new conditions and situations, contemplating over the alternatives, taking decisions, choosing the definite actions.

In the andragogy model the leading role belongs to a student. The adult student is an active participant, one of the subjects of the training process with equal rights given. The main positions of andragogy are:

• 1.    Readiness for learning.

• 2.    The immediate usage of the obtained knowledge.

• 3.    Orientation for the problem solving.

The following methods are used in the andragogy approach: expositional, when the contents of the training are organized, demonstrated by the external partner – a teacher, a textbook, a film, managerial when the leaders organize and direct the teaching process in such a way, that the students have already achieved the goals set before, search way when the concepts of the teaching are not defined beforehand because the teaching process includes problem setting and search for its solvation.

The model implies the continuing education, its systematic character and aim-centered character in knowledge obtaining, variety implying the combinational flexibility, tempo of teaching in accordance with the individual line of the pedagogic mastership development, surpassing the professional development that gives a possibility to increase educational and professional qualification and also further professional development according to the innovational requirements of the society and education, rational unity of independence and creative activity, technology which implies the usage of the methods, forms of the active mutual cooperation in the post-diploma system, the scientific-methodical supply which is the principle of the continuing support of the creative initiatives, innovations.

The main factors, components, the moving determinants of the pedagogic mastery of the post-graduate education system are considered to be the continuous education with the help of the formal, informal and informational teaching methods, the high level of self-organization, the strong acmeology position for professional growth during life, the desire for self-perfection and self-realization, the high level of professional competence, working out the authoring method of teaching (a complex of methods, means, ways and sequence of cognitive and transforming actions, operations and influences, directed for the problem solving in the professional activity).

Attention should be paid to such a form of individual educational way as self-education of a teacher. This form of qualification growth is devoted to a lot of attention. In the process of self-education, the individual features of character are formed, the individual style of mental labour is also formed.

The problem of self-education is uncovered in such aspects:

• –    the reveal of considerable will efforts, high consciousness, organizational abilities, motivation, desire for creative change of knowledge;

• –    the gain of knowledge as the addition for main cognitive activity and connection with it;

• –    the direction of self-upbringing;

• –    the perfection of a person with the help of individual and research activity;

• –    the aimed cognitive activity, characterizing the high level of self-regulation;

• –    the means of social experience gaining;

• –    the self-development of a creative person;

• –    the form of obtaining and deepening knowledge;

• –    the core that combines the whole system of education;

• –    the systematic cognitive activity of a person with the aim of personal development;

• –    the self-education of an adult person.

There are four kinds of self-education:

• –    general cultural self-education: attending lectures, reading periodicals;

• –    pedagogic self-education: new scientific publications;

  

• –    perspective professional self-education: issue being worked by a teacher;

• –    actual pedagogic education: the department research.

So, qualification is determined as the possibility of one’s own choice of the trend and kind of personal activity, organizational forms of the additional educational programme, the time of its gaining, the diversity of all kinds of activity according to the personal capabilities and requirements. As a result, we have a personal-orientated approach for an organization of educational process, helping for the development of a person’s creativity, his/her motivation, self-realization and self-determination.

To sum up, we have investigated all main forms of the professional growth of a teacher. The aim of this is the optimization of pedagogical process, professional growth and constant teacher perfection.

Qualification growth is the modernization of the theoretical and practical knowledge, the specialist skill perfection in connection with the constant increasing demands for qualification. Nowadays, it is thought to be the main way of providing correlation between the teacher qualification and the science, technology and economics.