Педагогические науки / 2. Проблемы
подготовки специалистов
Romanov V.A., Kitaev A.A.
Cross-disciplinary
Links as an Index of University
Education Fundamentality
Dynamism of present-day life urges reconsideration and reevaluation of
the traditional educational system. The society realizes the necessity in
renovation of professional higher education syllabus. However, still more
serious changes can be traced in educational technologies.
Officials who make decisions in the field of educational policy are well
aware of the current situation. A. Fursenko in his article “ On the status and
principle directions of development of
legislation in the sphere of education and science” published in the “Issues of
Education” journal stated that “the gap between the contents of education,
current educational technologies, the
whole infrastructure of educational sphere and the challenges of new economy is
widening”. Moreover, the native educators point out that “trust limit to the
national educational system from the point of view of the active public is practically
exhausted”. All that leads to the
necessity to seek new means of resolution of current problems, to turn to the potential which bring
fundamentality to University education that has appeared to be one of the most
important fields of human activity in the 21 century [2].
This situation is typical not only of
Numerous results of modern
scientific research show that by the turn of the century the whole educational
system had become still more noticeable index of the general condition of
culture, because cultural crisis is most obvious in educational system.
If viewed pedagogically, World declaration on higher education for the
21 century which declared the necessity to encourage and substantiate the
novelty, cross-disciplinary curricula, long-time perspective, aimed at meeting
the demands in social and cultural spheres, makes it absolutely obvious that
interdisciplinary principle is considered to be a creative function. However,
the character of this process will be incomplete if we do not take into account
foreign experience and application of such terms as ‘poly-disciplinary’ and ‘
trans-disciplinary’.
All these notions are rather similar, though they have some differences,
e.g. ‘cross-disciplinary’ means a certain cooperation of various scientific
spheres, ‘poly-disciplinary’ is a characteristic in the research of some
phenomena or events which are investigated by several academic disciplines,
and, finally, ‘trans-disciplinary’ refers to the research which can go ‘through’
or ‘cross’ disciplinary boundaries and even beyond the boundaries of particular
disciplines. The last two terms are widely used abroad, in our country the
first notion is more preferable [3].
Fundamentality,
cross-disciplinary character and consistency are the main particularities of
the present-day University education and its principle competitive advantage.
Educational system would have traits of ‘mobile’ system if we assume that it is
open for its home territory, i. e. for the social environment not only from the
side of goal-setting, resources, but also
from the side of syllabus of the higher professional education.
Present-day national pedagogical scholars think that while viewing University
syllabus as a unity of objective knowledge and the relation to that knowledge
one cannot ignore the subjective component of this relation which guarantees
the openness of the syllabus. In which case cross-disciplinary character of
academic knowledge will be adequately expressed in the syllabus. Then, to our
mind, not only academic knowledge will be cross-disciplinary, but it will be
accepted by the subject of education as cross-disciplinary, because without
understanding the essence of processes leading to integration of science and
synthesis of academic knowledge it is impossible to solve many problems in
education.
Analysis of psycho-pedagogical research data related to
cross-disciplinary phenomenon shows that
present-day natural, humanitarian,
mathematical and technical knowledge present great variety of
differentiated and integrated sciences, interacting with each other, and,
thanks to that, penetrating deeper and deeper into the perception of the world
around us, and by that efficiently satisfying
society’s demands. As our work experience in the professional higher
education system proves the majority of minor scientific discoveries nowadays
are witnessed in cross-disciplinary spheres. In pedagogical training the wide
scope of knowledge in different fields of science brings to life specialists
that can be rightly considered genuine
professionals in their domain [1; 2].
We cannot but agree with V. Medvedev who said that
“cross-disciplinary integration and scientific data synthesis have objective
basis: material integrity of the world around us the entirety of human
personality, that is why the tendency to the further integration of academic
subjects will increase”.
Considering cross-disciplinary phenomenon in terms of University education
as a means of introducing the notion of ‘academic subject’ we should take into
account the tendency to view it as an organization form of University’s
scientific activity. This thesis is very important for understanding the
logical transition from ‘academic subject’ to ‘cross-disciplinary research’
which is substantiated in a number of works on cognitology and history of
science. Summing up the positions of different authors we can fully agree with E.
Mirskiy who defines disciplinary organization of science as ‘a certain dynamic
entity whose existence as a whole and successful functioning of all its
components depend on the discipline’s ability to develop its subject content by
assimilation new results gained in the process of scientific activity in
research frontiers. Paradoxical feature
of the situation is displayed in the fact, - he points out further, - for
examination or even productive definition we do not have enough research
abilities provide by the given discipline’.
That is why – the way we see it – development of
an academic discipline in higher educational institutions is based to a great
extend on cooperation of representatives
of different academic
disciplines, departments and faculties, i.e. has a clear character of cross-disciplinary
approach, when these links are not viewed only as mutual conformity of
curricula but also as a system in a pedagogue’s work when in the process of
students’ acquisition of new knowledge the discipline’s content is used. In these circumstances not only the
systematicity principle is at work but also the principle of creating
cross-disciplinary didactical connection which is reflected in all didactical categories [2;
3].
The results of numerous psycho-pedagogical research as well as our practical experience
in the field of professional higher education show that cross-disciplinary
links in higher education are not only cross-scientific links but also ties
between science and production, which help students to obtain not just
knowledge bur necessary professional skills and habits.
Thus, cross-disciplinary links as a reflection of cross-disciplinary
approach in general, with its interaction and connection of science and
production, whose structural elements are projected in the professional
activity of future specialists lead to systematization of knowledge, skills and
habits, to development of necessary professional competence and scientific
world outlook. It has its special characteristics and wider scope of functions
both in the theory and in practice of professional education.
1. Кормакова В.Н., Мусаелян Е.Н., Романов В.А. Стратегическое управление подготовкой будущих специалистов в высшей школе: концептуальные основания / В.Н. Кормакова, Е.Н. Мусаелян, В.А. Романов // Научный вестник национального горного университета. 2016. № 3 (153). С. 129-135.
2. Романов В.А. Профессиональное
образование в вузе: научный взгляд / В.А. Романов // European Social Science
Journal (Европейский журнал социальных наук). – 2014. – № 2. – Т. 1. С. 57-61.
3. Романов В.А. Проблемы качества подготовки будущих преподавателей: интеграция учебной и научной деятельности // Известия ТулГУ Серия «Гуманитарные науки» Выпуск 3. Часть 2. – Тула: Изд-во Тул. гос. ун-та, 2013. С. 285-290.