Pedagogical Sciences / 2. Problems of Specialists Training

PhD student Terenko O. O.

Sumy State Teachers’ Training University named after A. S. Makarenko, Ukraine

Principles of Content of Education Formation in American Women’s Colleges at the Beginning of the XXI Century

High level of educational services, which are proposed by women’s colleges in the USA nowadays, is provided due to peculiarities of education content as one of the most important mechanisms of gender equity realization.

As Ukrainian scientist S. U. Goncharenko states: “ content of education – is a system of knowledge, practical skills, modes of activity, experience of creative work, moral, esthetic ideas and appropriate behavior”. National Commission on Excellence in Education views content of education as curriculum and syllabuses [3; 1].

Nowadays the main directions of content of education formation are humanism and non-pragmatism, which supply development of education according to American conception of creative potential development due to cognition and fulfillment of social experience.

The main criterion of content selection is importance of knowledge. As an amount of information constantly increases, there is a contradiction in man’s ability to absorb it. Taking into account this fact, one should decrease the amount of information by definition of the main concepts, building of syllabuses like a spiral, which enables student to use learned knowledge. It is vital to mention that this approach influenced greatly formation of curriculum in women’s colleges, as scientists declare that curriculum is not only the basis for formation of syllabuses, but an indicator of future education tendencies development. Modern scientists view curriculum as the whole process of interaction between students and professors due to content of education, as motion from educational targets to results [2; 4].

Structural-logical analysis gave us the possibility to systematize the main principles of content of education formation at the beginning of the XXI century:

- principle of gender dimension, which provides raising of gender consciousness of students, fulfillment of the principle of gender equity, creation of comfortable conditions for socialization of women in modern society;

- principle of humanism, which supplies orientation at personality, that presupposes understanding of educational aims, inclusion of them in the system of personal values;

- principle of diversification, which is traced due to diversity of syllabuses with orientation at satisfaction of society needs, professional and personal aims of students;

- principle of individualization, which gives an opportunity to coincide with individual abilities of students, orient at their professional and personal targets, direct the content of education to formation of I-conception of students.

- principle of interdisciplinarity, which presupposes analysis of content modules of different classes: multiplicity of peculiar and general concepts, the sphere of interaction of which reflects its diversity due to transition from one level to another. In the process of quantitative features accumulation and appearance of new quality, individual characteristics of integrated elements are preserved.

- principle of multiculturalism, which not only assists to broadening of educational services consumers due to taking into account their cultural identity and understanding of cultural background of country and the world, importance of law equity of cultures; For example women’s colleges propose lingual programs (Acquinas college, Notre-dame college), bilingual programs (college of Sacred Heart), multicultural programs (Elizabeth Seton college, Thomas More college).

- principle of dynamic correlation of theory and practice, which is the basis for not only scientific vision formation , but also skills, which are needed for fulfillment of diverse activities;

- principle of modules, which gives an opportunity to structure content of courses in modules, which is the basis for transdisciplinary synthesis of knowledge, formation and correction flexible individual learning direction in accordance with changes of inner and outer learning aims;

- principle of electivity, which provides opportunity of courses and modules selection; definition of classes succession, formation of individual syllabuses;

- principle of flexibility, which enables to correct curriculum according to demands of job market and society. For example there are three models of teachers training in the USA: consistent, which presupposes learning of subjects of general education during three years and non-elective subjects during two years; parallel, which presupposes simultaneous learning of elective and non-elective subjects; combined, which enables students to get the degree of bachelor of arts and enroll into the program of certified teachers training.

In the conclusion on should admit that the mentioned principles are interrelated that provides quality of curriculum and syllabuses, their correspondence to modern level of culture and science development according to gender and competence approaches.

Reference

1. A Nation at Risk / National Commission on Excellence in Education. – Washington, D. C. : NCEE, 1983. – 33 p.

2. Bruner J. S. The Meaning of Educational Reform / Bruner J. S. // National Association of Montessori Teachers Journal. Special Edition. – Vol.16. - # 2. – 1991. – P. 29-41.

3. Goncharenko S. U. Ukrainian Pedagogical Dictionary / Goncharenko S. U. – Kyiv: Lybid, 1997. – 374 p. (in Ukrainian)

4. Sawchuck M. The Role of Faculty in Development Multicultural Education / Sawchuck M. – Los Angeles: Prism Publishing, 2011. – 40 p.

5. Single-sex Schooling: Perspectives from Practice and Research Volume 1 / U. S. Department of Education. – Washington D. C. : Office of Educational Research and Improvement, 1993. – 50 p.