A Posteriori Model Of Professional Development Of Students In Extracurricular Activities

Abstract

The role of practical training of university students is increasing in connection with the global challenges in the labor market. The article analyzes the problems that arise in the world and domestic labor market and suggests an effective mechanism for solving them. It is students’ practice-oriented training in extracurricular activities of the university. The analysis of scientific research on the role and place of extracurricular activities in students’ professional and personal development allowed us to clarify the basic concepts of the study and build a posteriori model of students’ professional training in extracurricular activities, consisting of several components: target, activity, evaluating and effective. The principles of university students’ extracurricular activities organization, revealed in the work, helped to identify the main ideas in implementation of the designed model in practice of the university. The article is addressed to teachers of higher education, organizers and participants of extracurricular activities interested in effective training of future university graduates.

Keywords: University, extracurricular activities, posteriori model, practical experience, professional training

Introduction

The methodological basis of modern higher education is the competence approach, which is used in educational practice to determine the content of education and quality of university students’ training. The specificity of professional education today is creation of a graduate’s competence model with a set of leading competencies that are actually formed in a particular educational institution. However, only the students’ general professional and professional competencies cannot characterize the quality of professional training. The skills and abilities acquired by students in their educational activities are becoming obsolete at a colossal rate, given the rapid pace of modern civilization development. In addition, the global changes that are taking place in the social, cultural and economic sphere of modern Russia cause changes that are taking place, and the main subjects of the educational process – students-find themselves in conditions of uncertainty. To understand the context, we will refer to some facts that were developed in the world and domestic practice.

IBM CEO Virginia Rommetty (2019) declared at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2019 that higher education was losing its value in the rapidly changing age of technology. Short training programs are coming to the fore to quickly learn the necessary competencies. The so – called "new collars" are entering the labour market today. They are people who seek to obtain only necessary competencies in their work. Thus, there is a growing need for some transition from academic activities to activities that increase the professional competence of future employees, based on the demands of time.

Employers themselves refuse the "education" column when hiring. The following trend was observed on the largest recruitment platforms in Russia in 2020. Requirements for higher education were indicated in 30% of vacancies, for secondary special education – in 13%. Employers do not express any requirements for education in most vacancies (58%). The analysis of available vacancies in various companies of the public and commercial sector showed that employers were primarily interested in formation of "soft skills" (competencies of the XXI century). And employers are ready to form professional competencies independently in the course of an employee's work in a specific position.

In addition, in the context of the artificial intelligence penetration in all spheres of life, the introduction of automation, robotics in production and services, the graduate is forced to compete for a workplace not only with a person, but also with a "robot". It is especially difficult for young professionals in the current paradigm, because the number of vacancies is reduced in times of economic crisis, and salaries for young personnel are optimized. Future graduates simply need to have competitive experience or additional competencies that distinguish them from the general number.

Problem Statement

Nowadays higher education is a priority in sustainable development of society. The university as an educational organization acts as a mechanism for achieving it. In this regard, it is possible to intensify the search for effective mechanisms for formation of universal competencies in the space of the university, as well as to improve the forms and methods of students’ professional and practical training. In our opinion, one of such effective mechanisms can be students’ extracurricular activities. Students’ extracurricular activities can solve a number of existing problems in the practical training of future university graduates using effective organization.

Research Questions

The research attempts to answer the following questions: what is the role of students’ extracurricular activities in the professional and practical training? What is an effective model of university students’ practical training in extracurricular activities?

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the article is to describe the a posteriori model of students’ professional training in extracurricular activities, revealing its main components and principles.

Research Methods

The method of theoretical analysis was used in the course of the research work. It allowed us to characterize the specifics of students 'extracurricular activities in professional training. It is the modeling method, which allowed us to build a posteriori model of students' professional training in extracurricular activities.

Findings

It was revealed in the course of the theoretical analysis that the term "extracurricular activities of students" is in the research field of the last few decades in Russian pedagogy and is considered in the following areas. The first is a subsystem of the university associated with the students’ activities outside of academic classes (Alieva & Rudenko, 2017; Kravchuk, 2010; Vasilyev, 2004). The second is a subsystem of the educational process (Beilina, 2014; Druzhinina, 2010). The third is a joint activity of the teaching staff and students (Karimova, 2005; Kravchuk, 2010; Vintin, 2006). The fourth is an environment that promotes self-education, professional self-development, self-fulfillment of the personality (Briginets, 2010; Ivanayskaya, 2010) and the last one is special space in which students’ social and cultural education of takes place (Ivanova, 2010).

The analysis of foreign scientific works of recent years showed that students’ extracurricular activities were a cultural phenomenon. It is the object of research’ observation around the world and is considered in the following aspects: 1) the social significance of extracurricular activities; 2) the impact of extracurricular activities on students’ personal development and academic performance; 3) the role of extracurricular activities in formation of students’ professional competence; 4) the impact of extracurricular activities on competitiveness of future graduates (Ahmad et al., 2015; Arranz et al., 2017; Bakoban & Aljarallah, 2015; Egawa et al., 2019; Kim & Bastedo, 2017; Nuijten et al., 2017; Retallick & Foreman 2012;).

The conducted analysis allows us to clarify the basic concept of our research. Students’ extracurricular activity is a form of interaction of the subjects of the educational process in their free time from the main training sessions. It contributes to student’s professional and personal development of environment organized by the university.

The subjects of extracurricular activities are students and teachers of the university. A student, as a subject of extracurricular activities, can perform various roles at the university. He is a participant or organizer of extracurricular activities, a leader of a student group or community, a curator of a project, etc. Implementing various roles, the student strives for professional and human improvement. The more roles there are, the more opportunities there are for "pumping" various competencies. Thus, the educational institution should be interested in systematic, purposeful extracurricular activities that influence students’ professional development in addition to the educational one. Therefore students showing creativity, activeness, independence to the best of their individual abilities, experience, positively influencing their peers and teachers, are involved in active activity relationships.

As a subject of education, the teacher of a modern university is the bearer of a real professional image. The teacher’s civil, personal, and professional experience affects the result of training university students in the higher education system. A university teacher as a subject of the educational process in the educational extracurricular process can be a coordinator of student associations’ activities, an active participant in student communities, a curator and organizer of significant university events, etc. A modern university teacher, as a participant in extracurricular activities, has a wide range of statuses and roles that expand the scope of his main pedagogical and scientific activities. The teachers’ and students’ interaction in a variety of roles creates an educational space of higher education, which is a favourable environment for personal creative and professional growth.

It is proved that the most important professional and personal qualities and competencies of a future graduate (sociability, responsibility, the ability to carry out social interaction and show leadership qualities in a team, the ability to analyze information critically, the ability to manage their time, understand cross-cultural differences, maintain a proper level of physical fitness, etc.) can also be successfully formed in an effectively organized extracurricular activity of the university. Implementation of educational and extracurricular activities in the unity of the educational process allows students to master various social roles, adapt to the university postgraduate social and cultural environment successfully.

In this regard, there is an increasing need to describe the a posteriori model of students’ professional training in extracurricular activities, revealing its main components and principles.

The a posteriori model of students’ professional training in extracurricular activities is an image of the university system extracurricular activity. It is aimed at strengthening the role of a practical component and obtaining individual experience in formation of a professionally competent graduate.

We will visualize the developed model (Figure 1) and characterize each component.

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The target component reflects the purpose of the suggested system. It consists of effective formation of students ' practical skills in extracurricular activities.

The pragmatist component contains the main types of students’ extracurricular activities at a modern university and the types of obtained practical experience.

Types of extracurricular activities:

- scientific activity – students’ participation in work of research circles at departments, schools of young scientists, student scientific communities;

- social activity – work in public associations, teaching groups, self-government bodies at the university level and academic group, etc.;

- cultural and creative activity – participation in music and dance groups, fine art studios, film and photography circles;

- sports activity – students’ participation in intra-university associations and presentation of sports results at the international, all-Russian and regional levels;

- virtual (network) activity – students’ participation in VR clubs (virtual reality), cooperation on student network platforms, online communities of interest, etc.

Types of practical gained experience:

- experience of working with information – speed of reading, analysis of facts, comparative characteristics, generalization, systematization and creativity;

- experience of project activity – joint cognitive and creative activity aimed at achieving the overall result of the activity, obtaining the product of the activity;

- teamwork experience-enforces managers’ willingness and ability to cooperate at all levels. An employee who worked in a team would have less difficulty interacting with colleagues or other parts of the company in the future;

- communication experience – building contacts between people, generated by the needs of joint activities and including the exchange of information, development of a common interaction strategy, perception and understanding of the other person;

- experience of cross-cultural interaction-communication and joint activities between representatives of different cultures, nationalities, and faiths;

- experience of self-organization- manifestation of purposefulness, introspection, self-assessment in the process of carrying out activities;

- health-saving experience-implementation of health-improving and preventive measures to maintain a normal state of health;

- work experience, obtaining the necessary knowledge and skills for future professional activity.

The evaluation component reflects the methods of evaluating the results of university students’ extracurricular activities, which can be used to assess formation of universal or general professional competencies (observation; portfolio; case method; business game; round table; questionnaire; essay; presentation; project).

The result component reflects the expected result of using the developed model at the university. It is improving the quality of students’ practical training.

However, in our opinion, a positive result in implementation of the presented model in practice of the university will be achieved only by taking into account the fundamental principles of students’ extracurricular activities’ organization:

- the principle of professional orientation (taking into account professional interests, creating positive motivation for the profession and self-development);

- the principle of continuity, or unity of educational and extracurricular activities (consists in creating a single educational and developmental space of the university in order to expand possibilities of individual’s intellectual and moral development, acquisition of social experience by students, satisfaction of their diverse interests and abilities);

- the principle of self-actualization (assumes that each student has a need to update their intellectual, communicative, artistic, physical and other abilities);

- the principle of mobility (means students’ readiness and ability to master various activities quickly, improve their competence and qualifications constantly);

- the principle of poly subjectivity (encouraging teachers, students, university partners, state and public organizations to participate in extracurricular activities).

Conclusion

Extracurricular activities are just as important in formation of university students’ practical skills, as the educational process, namely in social, scientific, cultural, and sports life. The student is more likely to manifest himself as a person and a future professional. The suggested model and the outlined principles of student’s extracurricular activities’ organization at the university make it possible to organize such activities in which students most fully develop the qualities of a free, capable of critical thinking and responsible professional action of the individual.

In general, we can recommend universities to strengthen the search for resources, forms, methods, and conditions for organizing extracurricular activities that contribute to students’ practical and professional development, which becomes a necessary factor for successful activity in the labor market in conditions of uncertainty.

Acknowledgments

The reported study was funded by RFBR, project number 20-013-00126 А.

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