The Relationship of Risk-Recognizing Competency of the Teacher and the Efficiency of Innovative Educational Activities

Abstract

One of the trends in the development of modern education is the focus on its individualization. Focus on student’s personality reveals the contradiction between construction of algorithms that ensure the quality of teacher’s performance, and the increase of the creative component that allows the teacher to go beyond the prescribed work. Under these circumstances, the creative teacher is confronted with numerous risks. Modern trends in the development of teacher education do not disregard the professional readiness of the teacher to innovative activity, but due to different reasons, transformation can not always be successful. This determines the object of our research – the strategy of innovations in teacher training. The study considers the main approaches to innovative scenarios of teacher education. The subject of the research is the teacher’s ability to recognize risks in innovative educational activity (risk-recognizing competency). The aim is to introduce this competency as a tool in enhancing the effectiveness of the teaching performance. The methodology of the research was grounded by the dialectical theory of knowledge and its principles. School teachers admit their incompetency in projecting the innovative process, identifying risks, summing up the results of their activity, minimizing the negative effects of innovations. To sum up, risk-recognizing competency is the "competence of the future". It is aimed at improving the efficiency of innovative educational activities. We consider it as an imperative of educational creativity and of finding non-standard solutions.

Keywords: innovation, innovative educational activity, educational strategy, the strategy of innovative development of teacher education, risk, risk-recognizing competency

Introduction

One of the main factors of progress nowadays above means of goods industry is knowledge and new

ideas that ensure production of competitive intellectual products of high quality. Innovative and

intellectual nature has become one of the main characteristics of the modern economy that provides a

country’s dynamic development and high quality of life.

Pedagogical education is treated as a component of productive forces, meeting, firstly, the needs of

an individual in gaining knowledge, skills, competencies, and secondly, the needs of the economy in

training specialists of pedagogical profile, capable of ensuring reproduction of competitive employees

and formation of human capital.

Problem statement

This trend of social development, according to U. Beck causes a transition from industrial society to

“risk society" (Beck, 1992). In contrast to an industrial society, the characteristic feature of which is the

distribution of benefits, in risk society, there is a tendency of distribution of hazards and forthcoming

risks. Peculiarities of the development of modern pedagogical training discussed above, lead to

strengthening of the role of its individualization.

Research questions

The interest in individualized education in our study is due to the need of definition of risk-

recognizing competency of a future teacher in the content of strategy of innovative development of

pedagogical training. In regard to future teachers’ training for innovative activities we consider

individualization in education as focusing on the development and realization of the potential of each

student in solving life and professional problems and the organization of pedagogical interaction with

regard to individual characteristics of the student and the teacher (Gabdulkhakov, 2013). The choice of

individualization is determined by positioning of the subjectivity paradigm in pedagogics of

professional education.

We regard risk-recognizing competence as the ability of a teacher to set and solve pedagogical tasks

in situations of uncertainty and to minimize negative consequences. In our opinion, pedagogical risk is

a structural component of pedagogical decisions in situations of uncertainty characterized by

consideration of possible alternatives of pedagogical process development, tactics of choice of action

with the aim of optimizing the solution of pedagogical tasks and minimizing negative effects.

In the concept for the long-term socio-economic development of the Russian Federation until 2020,

it is noted that the Russian economy has faced long-term systemic challenges that reflect both the

global trends and internal barriers of development. One of the challenges is the increasing role of

human capital as the main factor of economic development. As a result, the strategic goal of public

policy in education is defined as increasing the availability of quality continuous education in

accordance with the requirements of innovative economic development, the current needs of society

and of every citizen (Concept, 2008). This leads to elaboration of the strategy of innovative

development of pedagogical education.

We consider pedagogical strategy to be the process taking place in time, that is, the set of rational

actions aimed at achieving a certain result in accordance with the intended purpose (Lunev, 2013).

Purpose of the study

The purpose of our study is reasoning of forming undergraduate teacher's risk-recognizing

competency as a tool in enhancing the effectiveness of the innovative teaching performance.

Research methods

For summarizing the theses of the strategy of innovative development of pedagogical education and

the definition of risk-recognizing competency in its structure our study has used the following methods

of scientific and pedagogical research:

- theoretical analysis of research allowing to determine the degree of knowledge on connection of

risk-recognizing competency in teachers with the effectiveness of their innovative pedagogical activity;

- the poll of teachers of secondary schools and students specializing in pedagogical education, aimed

at identifying the relevance and significance of the problem under analysis in teachers’ training

education.

Findings

A procedural nature of pedagogical strategy determines its content (figure 1).

Pedagogical innovations fall into groups on the following grounds:

1) content-target innovations including goal and objectives set, selection and structuring of

educational material, etc.;

2) organizational and technological innovations, combining forms, methods, tools, models,

technologies of training and education, etc.;

3) managerial innovations revealed in the forms and methods of management, network interaction

of educational institutions, regulatory support, etc.

Thus, it is possible to allocate the following components of innovative development strategy of

pedagogical education: content-targeted, organizational and technological, structural and managerial.

In the framework of the development of teachers’ training education these components can be

characterized in the following way.

Content-targeted component, including nomination and scientific justification of pedagogical ideas,

definition of educational content, provides a future teacher with awareness of the need of

transformations in the system of education, a steady focus on the development of pedagogical

innovation and the development of innovative activities.

In our view, innovation is a nonlinear process of transformation of educational systems, combined

with the assertion of such values as initiative, creativity, risk, etc.

Consequently, the attitude of teachers to innovative activity is dubious, since the effectiveness of the

results strongly depends on their professional competence and personal characteristics.

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The poll conducted among 459 teachers showed that 78% of them have negative attitude to

innovative activities, explaining that they will have to be in charge of the results of the pedagogical

innovation. Only 22% of respondents admit the need for change in the educational system (table 1).

The results showed that it is possible to speak about psychological barriers in the process of

development of innovative activity. These psychological barriers in the development and dissemination

of pedagogical innovation create risks of falsification and imitation of these innovations as a response

to arising conflicts for teachers. A low level of motivational readiness of teachers is one of these

barriers (Askhadullina, 2015).

The presence of psychological barriers preventing teachers from development and dissemination of

pedagogical innovations is sure to actualize the process of formation of risk-recognizing competency of

an undergraduate teacher as a part of the strategy of pedagogical education innovative development.

The teacher is responsible for training, and in many situations he/she must find ways to reduce this risk

to minimize unexpected and undesirable outcomes (Edelstein, 1998). In our opinion, a teacher should

solve complex professional tasks at a high, holistic and creative level and as well as possible should be

prepared for the designing, implementation, reflection and changing of their educational and

professional reality in accordance with the objective circumstances (Merzon, 2011; Merzon,

Fayzullina, Ibatullin, Krylov, Schepkina, Pavlushkina, & Khairullina, 2015).

Organizational and technological component of the innovative development strategy of pedagogical

education is presented by educational, methodological, psychological and pedagogical maintenance of

competitiveness of institutions engaged in training of specialists of pedagogical profile at regional,

national and international markets of educational services.

It is found that the organizational and technological components lead to the formation of readiness

for innovative activity and professional career of future teachers. Risky character of the teacher’s

pedagogical activity actualizes the need of training teachers capable of effective solving practically

oriented tasks (Panfilova, Panfilov & Merzon, 2015).

Professional career, as a measure of the effective professional role performance is focused on

personal and community success, provides its social media promotion (mobility) and professional

stabilization.

A future teacher implements organizational and technological innovations not only in the framework

of training material, but also as a subject of training. Our experience showed that this ensures a balance

between the assimilation of knowledge, skills development, building competencies associated with the

organizational and technological innovations, and willingness to innovate, the awareness of the need

for reforms in the education system. Future teachers have positive attitudes to innovation.

The research has shown that the professional development of teachers will be successful under the

condition of readiness for innovations. According to N.A. Podymov and L.S. Podymova, it is typical of

beginner teachers to focus on themselves, their feelings, and their behavior. They believe that a young

teacher plucks up a spirit for innovation, in case he/she believes that it would help them feel more

confident (Podymov, 2015).

The poll among 3rd, 4th, 5th -year students specializing in pedagogical education has the following

results (Table 2).

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The survey results confirmed the above position of N.A. Podymov and L.S. Podymova about young

teachers’ concentration on themselves, their feelings, and behavior.

Thus, development of risk-recognizing competency in undergraduate teachers, as part of the strategy

of innovative development of pedagogical education, is a relevant issue in the theory and practice of

professional education.

Managerial component of the strategy of innovative development of pedagogical education includes

individualized sets of professional education services, methods of attracting investments into the

system of professional training of specialists of pedagogical profile, the forms of interaction between

educational institutions, the mechanisms of formation and development of the regional market of

professional education services in teacher training, monitoring of quality assurance in professional

preparation of future teachers and their relevance in regional labour markets, modernization of staff

resources in general education.

It is shown that managerial component of the strategy of innovative development of pedagogical

education aims at formation undergraduate teachers’ skills of identification of risks, organization of

innovative activities, summarizing (analyzing), to minimize the extent of negative consequences of

pedagogical innovations.

According to the Professional Standard for Teachers, the set of a teacher's main activities include

readiness for change, mobility, ability for nonstandard actions, responsibility and independence in

decision-making. The authors of this standard have fairly pointed out that one cannot require from a

teacher something he was not ever taught (Professional standard, 2015).

Therefore, the inclusion of training materials on the basis of pedagogical innovation and risking in

undergraduate teachers’ training will contribute to forming skills of designing, identification of risks,

organization of innovative activities, summarizing (analyzing), minimizing the extent of negative

consequences of his actions.

Conclusions

Thus, the development of risk-recognizing competency of a future teacher as part of the strategy of

pedagogical education innovative development is the imperative of development of pedagogical

creativity, search for innovative solutions and responsibility for them.

The content of the strategy of innovative development of pedagogical education is aimed at

positioning it as the basis of the quality of life of an individual, their formation and self-realization, as

well as means of formation of human capital for increasing national competitiveness.

Acknowledgments

The work is performed according to the Russian Government Program of Competitive Growth of Kazan Federal University.

References

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