The Phenomenon Of Succession In The Conditions Of Lifelong Learning

Abstract

Search for unconventional solutions for the personified lifelong learning based on the consolidation of large educational establishments’ resources was the key area of the project. Personification of lifelong learning is the major trend in the vocational self-determination, which implies the choice of educational programmes or trajectories. Besides, it is the key condition of one’s competitiveness. Interdisciplinary researches, which constituted methodological grounds of the project, have been fulfilled by the international school of thought founded by academicians S.Ya. Batyshev and A.M. Novikov in collaboration with D.A. Novikov and T.Yu. Lomakina. They have permitted to expose the potential of the phenomenon of succession and its meaning for lifelong learning: a) succession of educational systems, programmes and the assignment of new official duties of employees of a large educational complex so as to manage the quality of education; b) succession in educative work based on the projection of practical values such as job ethical norms of a worker, technician, craftsman, foreman, farmer, entrepreneur including people with special educational needs; c) succession of educational and media technologies at all levels of education (school - college - the Russian Army - university - competence centre of a manufacturing holding); d) succession of online educational and vocational communities as a tool of the social mandate to qualify specialists for the digital (online) economy.

Keywords: Personified lifelong learningcollege-educational complex

Introduction

The disagreement among the definitions of designing of personified lifelong and successive education is gradually dissolving in the methodology of Russian lifelong learning (M.V. Klarin, M.A. Lobanov, T.Yu. Lomakina, A.M. Novikov, D.A. Novikov, G.P. Novikova, I.M. Osmolovskaya, N.L. Selivanova, V.N. Skvortsov et al.). Russian researchers understand lifelong learning as the absence of barriers or disruptions within both educational programmes and levels of education for different social, gender or age groups.

Succession is regarded as the characteristic of conditions that ensure the quality of lifelong learning and education subjects’ activity. The subject of succession is:

• the methodological platform that allows accumulating different intellectual, educational, online including media resources in order to provide the quality of education(Nowak-Dziemianowicz, 2012);

• pedagogical regularity for modelling of educational programmes content along with assigning new duties of pedagogical, methodological and administrative employees of large educational establishments-complexes to manage educational programmes and bring together technologies and forms of learning;

• a method to increase the efficiency of educational process, which includes gaining of one’s experience as a result of interaction (Chih-Hsien Huang, 2017).

As the research results demonstrate, the disruption of succession of the educational activity may lead to the increase in contradictions or defects in personal development.

In philosophy, succession is perceived as objective, necessary, direct connection between the new and old that ensures the regularity of events, indicates advances in development, permits to realise and estimate the present, forecast the future (E.A. Buller, A.V. Batarshev, V.K. Chaloyan, G.I. Isaenko, A.M. Minossyan et al.).

Not only does the succession in pedagogy guarantee the stability and strength of the educational system and its elements, but also the progressive mode of its development.

Problem Statement

Nowadays the phenomenon of succession is worthwhile observing within the framework of pedagogical, psychological and social processes. Such judgment is conditioned with the conversion of cultural and educational assets into the most essential strategic resource of development of all spheres of life. This phenomenon successfully functioned in the system of public education during the Soviet era. According to ‘Global Human Capital’ report issued by the World Economic Forum in September, 2017, Russia takes the 4th place in the global human capital ranking, which calculation is mainly based on the indicator of level of formal education of younger and older generations ‘Capacity’. In contrast to this figure, the Russian Federation possesses the 42nd rank based on the indicator of the breadth and depth of specialised skills use at work ‘Know-how’ whereas the indicator component ‘Availability of skilled employees’ drives Russia back to the 89th place.

Various aspects of succession were observed in the works of E.A. Buller, B.S. Erasov, S.A. Fadeeva, G. Gegel, A.N. Leont’ev, T.Yu. Lomakina, S.L. Rubenstein, M.N. Skatkin, K.D. Ushinsky, L.S. Vygotsky, A.S. Zapesotsky et al. For example, T.Yu. Lomakina and A.K. Oreshkina see it as the process of correlation of educational programmes with due regard for their subordination in the system of lifelong learning as well as the result of education, which provides the sufficient necessity of various educational trajectories without time or type of education limits (Lomakina, Firsov, Luk’yanenko, Ogorodnikova & Platonova, 1999; Oreshkina, 2009).

The transition to a new role of education in the country development in compliance with the principles of lifelong learning and succession of personified lifelong education shall allow the society, state and the system of education to achieve leadership both in the development of personality’s research abilities and Russian digital (online) economy.

Research Questions

• To establish the regularities of succession of formation of the professional worker’s personality at different levels of lifelong learning.

• To reveal the essence of successive education at the stages of lifelong learning at colleges, universities and centers of competence.

Purpose of the Study

To find out the value component of the succession phenomenon in the structure of lifelong learning.

Research Methods

During the first stage of the fundamental research the following methods were used: critical analysis of scientific publications by both domestic and overseas scholars, the analysis of definitions, the method of comparative analysis and theoretical modelling, study and analysis of regulations, federal statistic data, the study of experts’ reviews and the experimental results obtained at the testing sites of the Centre for the Research of Lifelong Learning.

The quality of the research findings has been determined by the methodology of the international school of thought founded by academicians S.Ya. Batyshev and A.M. Novikov.

Findings

In the present research we define succession as the regularity of development of the Russian pedagogy (at the methodological level), as the fundamental of organisation of the system of lifelong learning (at the pedagogical level), as the principle of formation of learning objectives and content, the choice of learning methods, forms and technologies (at the didactic level) (Lomakina, 2006).

Keeping the traditions of the scientific school, we have submitted the critical analysis of contemporary issues in the field of succession at various educational levels. Furthermore, we have studied barriers and disruptions in the path of its realisation at large educational complexes, evolution of the instruments of the succession of vocational education and training (VET), continuing vocational education, corporate and in-house training at Competence Centres, which are being organised at the premises of large holdings.

With an eye on the fundamentals of multilevel system and succession, it allows us to work out and successfully test a structure-functional model of the moulding of the socially-oriented personality whose aims are the development of social consciousness, the formation of subjectivity, and the enrichment of a student’s social experience. The model provides cohesive and differentiated approach towards school education, which can be coupled with consultancy, diagnostics, correction, and flexibility of the arrangement of common activities of adults and children (Kochneva, & Lomakina, 2017).

The model of the partnership between the state represented by a large vocational educational establishment and private business embodied by a cluster of enterprises is organised on the basis of successive and mutually profitable connections between vocational education and the economy. The main aim of the model is to improve the quality of education and to secure the trainees’ demand at the labour market. It also ensures open partner relationships, novelties in VET, agreement between educational and vocational standards, high management skills of the involved authorities. The designed spheres of activity of the partnership are vocational and educational spheres, finance and welfare, vocational training, scientific and personnel support (Rodrigues & Guest, 2010; Savickas, 2011; UKCES,2014).

Successive foundation of the development of the teacher’s research competences determines the spiral process of the teacher’s ascension in terms of vocational and personal evolution by gradual acquisition of research competences. Facing difficulties in class, the teacher reflects on his/her level of research competences and poses a challenge to their development. Searching for a solution, the teacher enhances his/her competences and estimates them practically. Such cycle repeats and has both reflective and active character (Lomakina & Dzubenko, 2017; Ford, Frenette, Nicholson, Kwakye, Hui, Hutchison, et al., 2012).

The structural transformations of the system of education were taking place both in the Russian Federation and overseas. Their aim was to strengthen the economic attractiveness of universities, improve on their international rankings, the quality of scientific research, and reinforce the state control over the general direction of university development with the regard of national tasks. These processes should have used succession more extensively (Arnold, Stern & Calberg, 2013; Filatov, 2014; Lee, 2011; Nikulchev, 2016; Takayama, 2014; Tremblay, 1996; Usluel,2008). Structural and content-related changes in the activity of Russian higher educational establishments have contributed to the emergence of the effective succession between secondary, vocational and tertiary education. Specialised A-level classes where students are prepared for further education (in the field of medicine, engineering or pedagogy) have become one of its outcomes.

Some evolutionary transformations have been recorded at federal universities due to the introduction of VET and Higher Education Federal State educational standards (National Curriculums) along with the top-priority project ‘5-100’. The renewal of university activity should be focused on its diversification and multilevel system of a university where the phenomenon of succession and lifelong learning prevails.

The first direction is the preparation of qualified personnel for regional development, which shall be held:

 within the unified educational environment of the Russian Federation along with merge of higher educational establishments and integration of other educational establishments like schools, colleges, continuing vocational educational establishments etc. at the regional level;

 with due regard for succession of major educational programmes and under the condition of systematic personnel preparation based on unified learning modules within the unity of competencies.

The second direction is the enhancement of the competitiveness of universities along with utilising them as core centres of innovative, technological and social development of the region. It may be achieved under the condition of:

 interaction between universities and the labour market;

 succession of supplementary vocational programmes and the Federal State educational standards of VET and Higher Education.

The third direction is the development of Federal universities in terms of use of information technologies, which shall be held (Somekh & Mavers, 2003):

 in successive university environment, which quality is defined by the students’ competence to obtain and apply their professional knowledge;

 while gaining media and information literacy, which are moulded successively and consistently due to constant upgrading of information technologies;

 along with the development of informational infrastructure, which facilitate functioning of open, mobile, economically effective, flexible module-based learning systems (Gudilina, 2017; Schmidt, Eric & Rosenberg, 2014).

In order to describe the college activity as a model of successive vocational education where practical values are formed a conceptual framework of a large college (educational complex) has been built up. It has got four components that are directed at satisfaction of personified needs:

• the 1st component is the shaping of a large college - educational complex into the leading body of development of new digital (online) economy branches and accumulation of skilled employees who are at the same time the media of ethical norms of vocational activity;

• the 2nd component is finding innovative characteristics and logic for the designing of innovative models of lifelong vocational education with the help of both horizontal and vertical online courses and communities, which function as new mass learning bodies;

• the 3rd component is certification of the quality of vocational education on the ground of practical values and ethical norms of vocational activity so as to raise the graduate prospect of employment;

• the 4th component is the introduction of instrumental requirements for the online partnership bodies (Nikitin, 2017).

The aims of the functioning of personified educational online communities at the level of college are:

• satisfaction of the need of all community members for individual competences development while dealing with internal and external sources of knowledge;

• acquisition of practical values and ethical norms of vocational activity within the conditions of online economy development;

• practical use of the interdisciplinary principle of didactics in vocational education;

To sum up, the leading body that may provide the quality of lifelong vocational education is a large regional college, which is locally and gender accessible, has little or no digital divide between the personnel and students of different ages as well as wide selection of personified educational programmes (Nikitin, 2017).

At the present the Russian mixed economy is manifesting its urgent need for mid-ranking specialists. It justifies the necessity to mould the understanding of social significance, attractiveness and creativity, the possibility of self-actualisation, career growth and decent wages of such jobs among school children. This is why, it was decisive to track the succession between secondary and vocational education at an educational complex (secondary school - college). Design and Technology was chosen as a sample subject.

In an effort to achieve succession, a model of pedagogical management has been worked out, which has got the following fundamentals:

• the priority of students’ personal development within vocational determination;

• the achievement of personal learning outcomes in compliance with the Federal State educational standard (National Curriculum) of secondary education, Design and Technology Programme, and succession with the Federal State education standard of VET;

• gradual formation of succession between secondary and vocational education at an educational complex (secondary school - college) with the due regard of common and distinguishing features in the content and learning processes within competency development;

• the introduction of project technologies for successive and multi-level moulding of a student’s inclination towards vocational education by comparing what a school can provide to what a college can offer;

• the use of student-centered in contrast to knowledge or subject-centered criteria of assessment of a student’s inclination towards the continuation of his/her education at college (Bychkov, 2017).

This model is becoming a recommended sequence of activity for the personnel of educational complexes so as to achieve the effective succession of secondary and vocational Design and Technology Programmes while using the methods that facilitate the moulding of:

• the idea of a promising outlook of vocational education in terms of self-actualisation;

• comprehension of creative or innovative components of a student’s future job as a factor of its attractiveness;

• understanding of what intellectual property is and patents in particular, how a student may use it while at a college along with the regulation of remuneration;

• awareness of how it is crucial to get a job and be able to maintain oneself in rather a complicated economic situation;

• realisation of personal ambitions and possibilities for further (tertiary) education due to being eligible for beneficiary admission (shorter university educational programmes, prerequisites for their successful acquisition etc.) (Bychkov, 2017).

The personnel of large educational establishments-complexes do their best to support the students’ consistent motivation for succession between secondary and vocational education as well as proceeding their education in VET system. This is the essence of succession within an educational complex school - college.

Advancements in educational process at VET, including successive connections with Design and Technology Programme at secondary school, can be also enhanced due to the participation of the employers who are interested in hiring young up-to-date qualified workers or technicians.

Pedagogy and system of education are meant to solve the complex task of preparation of highly-competent staff outlined not only by the local or domestic labour market, but also by the international one. It is noticed that ‘the staff preparation should cater for present and future social mandate this is why two major directions have to be considered within the development of an educational establishment. They are efficient preparation of graduates along with the possibility to continuously improve one’s vocational education (Lomakina, 2006). One of nonstandard solutions to the problem is the educational activity of Competence Centres, which are based on the integration of vocational education with science, business and production (Arnold, Stern & Calberg, 2013). In actual practice, the notion of Competence Centre is variously used. Initially, such centres were housed by progressive industrial companies and complied with the tasks of new branches or markets emergence, management of high technological processes, personnel support for innovative projects and undertakings (Aksenova, 2017).

Additional indications of mainstream activity of the centres may be seen in their titles: interregional competence centre, branch competence centre, vocational competences development centre etc. Besides, competence centres differ in type of legal relations: they might be a corporate division or a legal entity itself. Nowadays interregional centres are turning into training areas for staff preparation in compliance with the international standards launched by Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation in collaboration with business entities. The project objective is to build up a management model of personnel preparation system along with upgrading the existing system of vocational education in accordance with the challenges this country faces (Lomakina, Aksenova & Nikitin, 2017).

Educational services like various training and professional development courses provided by state establishments may also be fulfilled by Competence centres. In such a case several options of partnership between them and either individuals or business entities are possible with a variety of study modes: full-time or part-time study as well as online learning.

Target audience of Competence centres is not only adults, who have already had a qualification, but also young people under 18. Modernisation of such centres allows overcoming the limitations of formal indicators connected to their corporate or departmental affiliations. Responding to educational requirements of state, society and personality, Competence centres are expanding their services to adults and kids, the qualified and trainees. Next, the diversification of activities of Competence centres facilitates integration of different types of education.

Competence centres maintain traits of formal education as far as they function in accordance with approved learning programmes and are housed by leading VET establishments or industrial giants. However, there are signs of informal education since the educational content is changing fast and aimed at catering to vocational needs conditioned by the dynamically developing industry. Competence centres are also displaying the elements of non-formal education for it is nearly congruent with a person’s structure of present or future job as well as generated by a personal interest in acquiring and enhancing one’s knowledge and skills.

Conclusion

The phenomenon of succession is not totally new for education and pedagogy. Still, we are certain there is a connection between major contribution of education to the socio-economic development of the country and the revelation of contemporary phenomenon of succession in conditions of dynamic structural transformations of the Russian system of education, in particular, mergence and succession of activities of educational establishments of secondary, vocational, higher and continuing education.

The latest scientific researches on succession within lifelong learning suggest developing integrated forms and technologies of educational activity. Disruption of succession in educational programmes, technologies, upbringing, and management may result in lower quality education and limitations of one’s social mobility.

Succession of programmes and technologies of vocational, corporate and in-house educations will let accumulate the resources of the participants in order for improving labour efficiency of qualified employees. Competence centres is a steady trend for investments in the growth of vocational competences of workers, technicians, craftsmen, foremen, farmers, engineers, entrepreneurs.

To sum up, rationale, definitions, and interdisciplinary characteristics of the phenomenon of succession in conditions of educational establishments’ mergence have been specified during the first stage of the research. Technological succession of specialities of vocational and higher education as well as vocational and corporate education housed by the Competence centres of manufacturing holdings have been validated. Practical models of succession have been submitted.

Acknowledgments

The research was carried out at the Institute for Strategy of Education Development of the Russian Academy of Education within the framework of the State Assignment of Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation (No. 27.8472.2017/BCh) ‘Methodological foundations of succession and lifelong learning in conditions of its structural transformations’.

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