Professional Becoming And Self-Development Of Master’s Degree Students

Abstract

Facts of modern life lay down new requirements for university graduates, and understandably, it becomes obligatory to have academic Master’s Degree. However, in training practice of Master’s Degree students there are still vital problems primarily connected with the formation of special educational environment of Master’s Degree program and filling it with certain contents. In the article the challenging nature of Master’s Degree program development as a factor of students’ professional becoming and self-development is emphasized, and there is an attempt taken to solve the contradiction. The aim of the article is searching new ways and approaches to actualization of subject position of Master’s Degree students. The author presents the organization technology of subject-oriented environment of university in the process of professional preparation of future Master’s Degree students. The technology approbation implied such investigation methods as experiment, survey and observation. At the initial stage of the experiment a rather low level of subject position of Master’s Degree students in scientific-research activity was identified and it indicates the shortage of created conditions for students’ professional becoming and self-development. The experiment conducted among Master’s Degree students proved that organization of special conditions and their admission of a subject position of own professional becoming contributes to actualization of scientific-research potential of Master’s Degree students.

Keywords: Self-developmenteducational environmenttechnologyscientific-research activity

Introduction

Facts of modern life lay down new requirements for university graduates, and understandably, it becomes obligatory to have academic Master’s Degree. However, in training practice of Master’s Degree students there are still vital problems primarily connected with the formation of special educational environment of Master’s Degree program and filling it with certain contents. Not so long ago Master’s Degree programs often contained the same contents as Bachelor’s Degree programs, only a little bit varied. All this caused a great number of questions and opposite points of view concerning the model of Russian high school and essential differences between the stages of this system (Bedny & Kuzenkov, 2016; Gruzdev & Terentev, 2016; Karavayeva, 2015; Kuznetsova, 2011; Markin & Voronov, 2016; Shmatko, 2016; Vasyagina, 2015). From our point of view Master’s Degree students’ preparation must be organized on complete rethink of other approaches. First of all, it concerns the development of the model of a graduate of educational program and also functional maps of competences. According to the strategies of Federal State Educational Standard of higher education - Master’s Degree program on training program 44.04.01 Pedagogical education (dated the 28th of February, 2018, №126), an educational institution must provide with formation of universal and general professional competences of graduates, whereas professional competences (obligatory and recommended), set by Master’s Degree program, are formed on the base of professional standards corresponding to graduate’s professional activity within account of the requirements for professional competences imposed for graduates at labour market, within account of summarizing national and foreign experience, conducting consultations with top employers and communities of the branch employers and so on. The education results on courses (modules) and practices must be matched with the markers of competences achievement, set in Master’s degree programs. All this, on the one hand, defines rather sternly those educational standards that must be obtained, but, on the other hand, it enables universities (under some conditions) to develop their model basic educational Master’s Degree program.

According to the strategies of Federal State Educational Standard of higher education - Master’s Degree program on training program 44.04.01 Pedagogical education (dated the 28th of February, 2018, №126), in terms of Master’s Degree program mastery graduates can be ready for solution of the whole set of professional activity tasks such as pedagogical, project, methodical, organisational-administrative, cultural and educational, scientific-research and support. All this proves the necessity of Master’s Degree student’s preparation in fundamentally different educational environment. Master’s Degree student must play the role of a subject of his professional becoming that will allow actualizing his professional , scientific-research and pedagogical potential (Yesenskaya, 2003; Kiselyova, 2016; Milovanova, 2009; Fomina & Haritonova, 2010; Vasyagina, Grigoryan, & Kazaeva, 2018).

Just today the subject-oriented environment allows a future Master’s Degree student to organize his way of professional becoming and development independently. In the process of studying in Master’s Degree program it is evident, first of all, in students’ scientific-research activity.

Problem Statement

According to the strategies of Federal State Educational Standard of higher education - Master’s Degree program on training program 44.04.01 Pedagogical education (dated the 28th of February, 2018, №126), in terms of Master’s Degree program mastery graduates can be ready for solution of the whole set of professional activity tasks such as pedagogical, project, methodical, organisational-administrative, cultural and educational, scientific-research and support. All this proves the necessity of Master’s Degree student’s preparation in fundamentally different educational environment. Master’s Degree student must play the role of a subject of his professional becoming that will allow actualizing his professional, scientific-research and pedagogical potential (Yesenskaya, 2003; Kiselyova, 2016; Milovanova, 2009; Fomina & Haritonova, 2010).

Research Questions

The main hypothesis of the research is the supposition that the subject-oriented educational environment of the university will contribute to future Master’s Degree students’ professional becoming that will be reflected in their scientific self-actualization

Purpose of the Study

The aim of the article is searching new ways and approaches to actualization of subject position of Master’s Degree students.

Research Methods

Theoretical analysis of sources; mass survey of Master’s Degree students (N=75 (the first stage; N=62 (the second stage))); non-participant observation (N=75).

Mass survey and non-participant observation were conducted among the Master’s Degree students of Surgut State Pedagogical University covering the programs ‘Innovative Primary School’, ‘Methodical support in a preschool educational institution’ and ‘ Management in preschool education’ in intramural and extramural forms of study at the first and second years of studying in Master’s Degree program. The period of diagnostic investigation is September 2017 - December 2018.

Findings

As the result of the conducted investigations the model of subject-oriented environment of university was created and its organization technology in the process of future Master’s Degree students’ preparation studying in pedagogical training program was tested. The technology, developed in details and tested, consists of two modules. The first module contains the contents and aimed, firstly, at planning and implementing the principles system, education methods and certain events allowing creating the favorable environment for subjectivity position admission among Master’s Degree students.

The second module is assessment. It includes the graduate model with certain contents of those educational results that must be obtained in educational process (in terms of formed competences). The significant place is under diagnostic set of means allowing identifying the maturity level of subjective position at Master’s Degree students in the process of their studying and participating in events. The developed set of means allows fixing the initial level of student’s subjectivity and its further dynamics.

We consider the multifaceted nature of Master’s Degree student’s subjective position, first of all, from the point of his professional becoming and development in scientific-research activity. To fix the identified criteria of subjectivity the corresponding diagnostic set of means was developed, and it includes questionnaires and non-participant observation blank.

Characterizing the results of the investigation, let’s pay attention to the results obtained in the process of the primary diagnostics realized via methods of questionnaire survey and non-participant observation. At the diagnostic stage the results block on implementation of scientific-research potential of Master’s Degree students in the beginning of the year was analyzed.

The data analysis of the conducted survey at the diagnostic stage showed the following results. The participation level of Master’s Degree students in conferences for the education period in Bachelor’s Degree program and during the first year of studying in Master’s Degree program (for questioned Master’s Degree students of the second year of studying) was 71%: a third of them didn’t take part in conferences (Table 1 ).

According to the results of the students’ answers, more than half of them didn’t take part in contests, Olympiads, other contests and research and practice events; about 40% of the questioned participated in more than one event for the last three years (Table 2 ).

69% of the Master’s Degree students had contributions in collections of scientific works and journals for the last three years (Table 3 ). The high quantitative index is proved by the presence of this criterion in assessment of applicants’ portfolio while applying for Master’s Degree programs.

The diagnostic stage of the experiment showed rather high level of subjectivity among the first and second-year Master’s Degree students in terms of scientific-research activity. Having positive data, we decided to specify the status of scientific events and contests the students took part.

The obtained data allow stating mainly university-level events the Master’s Degree students took part in – 57%.

Non-participant observation allowed concluding that Master’s Degree students had a rather low motivation to be involved in scientific-research activity that was evident in following main features: among all Master’s Degree students (75) 19% expressed the wish to participate in scientific events for students; 41% - expressed the interest in publications in journals and collections of scientific works, but only based on the materials they have; 9% - expressed a special interest in participation in contests and grants; 2% expressed the wish to be involved in further scientific-research activity. So, the subjective potential of master’s Degree students in the beginning of the year was still not actualized and not revealed. The desire to get a new scientific result in the form of reflection on the investigation problem and of new investigations search turned out to be not appealing for Master’s Degree students (Table 04 ).

As the result of the formative stage of the experiment more than 80% of first and second-year Master’s degree students (55 individuals) took part in different scientific events conducted not only in the university but also of regional and All-Russian level. Three Master’s Degree students were admitted in the scientific community to apply for grant support. One Master’s Degree student was admitted in the scientific community to develop a regional partial program for preschool system of education. The control stage allowed concluding that these events caused the increase of Master’s Degree students’ publications: if in the beginning of the studying year 31% of Master’s Degree students didn’t have publications then at the end of the studying year there were only 12% (Table 5 ). It’s worth noticing that the status of scientific events, the Master’s Degree students took part in, has become higher.

As the result of the experiment the part of Master’s Degree students taking part in events and publications has had 19% increase.

The survey, conducted among Master’s Degree students, showed that the third of them (31%) are motivated to be involved in further scientific-research activity; 19% of Master’s Degree students stated that in terms of their professional activity they already participated in conferences and forums of different level demonstrating their work experience, 3% expressed the wish to continue their education covering Post Graduate program.

Conclusion

As the result of the conducted experiment there are some conclusions.

Education in Master’s Degree programs can be aimed at students’ preparation for different activities, one of them, by all means, is scientific-research. Educational results achievements, competences formation stated by Federal State Educational Standard are possible in specially created environment such as subject-oriented.

The developed model of a Master’s Degree student implies identification of several subjectivity criteria, among which the leading position is under students’ scientific-research activity. As the result of the conducted investigations the model of subject-oriented environment of university was created and its organization technology in the process of future Master’s Degree students’ preparation studying in pedagogical training program was tested.

As the result of the control stage of the experiment it was stated that students’ scientific-research activity increased greatly: there is a quantitative increase of Master’s Degree students’ participation in scientific events. There is a great increase in the level of scientific event the Master’s Degree students took part in. In whole, it can be stated that the organization of subject-oriented educational environment allows students organizing their way of professional becoming and development independently.

The appearance of investigations concerning the problems of students’ professional self-development via system organisation of supervision by other students (Master’s Degree, Post-graduate) is considered to be prospective.

During the experimental process ethical canons were kept. The author ensures that the participants of the investigation won’t undergo any harm; all rights of the participants will be respected. In the process of the experiment, observation and further experiment all students, participating in the investigation, were warned in written form (a questionnaire blank) that their participation was anonymous. The authors ensure that the participants’ names won’t be announced, all data are used only in a generalized form.

In the process of the article writing there was no interest conflict between the authors of the article.

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