NURZHUMBAEVA Aiman Zeynelkabidenovna

 

The teacher as the main subject at autonomous university of Kazakhstan

 

Master student of Pavlodar State University named after S. Toraygyrov

 

«Survives neither the strongest nor the cleverest, but the one who best of all responds to occurring changes"

     Charles Darwin

 

Today the system of the higher education of Kazakhstan dynamically develops, in accordance with the European standards. After Kazakhstan entered in 2010 Bologna Process, the Ministry of  Education and Science of the republic face new educational parameters which according to a state program of a development of education need to be carried out in an interval 2011-2020yy.The basis is unification of qualifications and criteria of mutual offset of training programs and disciplines, the academic mobility, an autonomy of higher education institutions, high educational and cultural mission of universities in society.

Very important point is the autonomy of higher education institutions.  While in RK the supercentralized education system and its minuses, as well as pluses, are reflected at once in all country.  While at  autonomy, it would be easier to correct shortcomings of one university.  The rector of ENU(Euroasian national university) of Gumilyov Erlan Sydykov says that by fall, namely in September 2014 the law on the autonomy of higher education institutions will be developed.  While it is possible to hope only that at acceptance and introduction in action the law will show expected results.

The main character of Bologna Process, undoubtedly, the student is.  In the Bologna system, being the member of the European student's organizations, the student plays already today more and more significant role, noticeably influences a course of Bologna Process.  But also in all these developments of education the central subject is the teacher too.

Introduction of computer technologies, the Internet, electronic textbooks, interactive training programs and materials – is unconditional, a new stage in technical equipment of education. But in itself technical means of training – only a way to intensify educational process. The main thing there is a teacher, his knowledge and ability, ability to interest, "light", to see "a God's spark" in a student. If the student during training meets the talented teacher, the scientist, he/she will gain not only the diploma, but also a charge for self-development for the rest of life. The teacher sets "level", "trajectory" of development of the student. The talented teacher helps to lift it and to overcome.  

World tendencies of globalization of education impose new requirements to the identity of the teacher who has to be the creative identity possessing original, problem and pedagogical and critical thinking, the founder of the multivariable programs relying on the best world practices and new technologies of training, applying them in practical activities.

So what has to be the modern teacher conforming to requirements of Bologna Process?  According to "The recommendation about the status of teaching personnel of higher educational institutions" the 29th session of General conference of UNESCO (Paris, 1997) the higher education and research activity play the leading role in search, deepening and transfer of knowledge and represent exclusively valuable cultural and scientific property.  Proceeding from it, access to professional activity in the sphere of the higher education has to be based on the corresponding academic qualification, competence and experience.  Individual duties of teaching personnel of the institutions of higher education, inseparably linked with their academic freedom, consist, in particular, in the following:

1) effectively to train students within the means provided by educational institution and the state, to be fair to students male and female gender and equally to treat students of all races and religions, and also disabled people, to encourage a free exchange of ideas between teachers and students and to make to itself available the last to direct study of students. Teaching personnel of institutions of higher education has to provide, in case of need, coverage of that minimum of a material in each subject which is provided in the training program;

2) to carry out research activity and to extend its results or when carrying out original researches isn't required, to support and raise level of the knowledge of a concrete subject by means of training courses and research activity, and also by means of development of the educational methodology aimed at improvement of pedagogical skills;

3) to carry out research and scientific activity on the basis of honest search of knowledge, properly providing substantiality, impartiality of judgments and integrity at the message of results;

4) to observe ethics of the scientific researches concerning the person, animals, heritage or environment;

5) to respect and recognize scientific work of the colleagues and students, and in particular to provide that all who made in them a real contribution were among authors of published works and shares responsibility for their contents;

6) to abstain from use of new information, concepts or the data which have been initially received owing to access to confidential manuscripts or requests for granting funds for research activity or preparation, to examine with which external reviewing unless the author gave on this permission was possible as a result of such activity, as, for example;

7) to provide the research activity being carried out according to laws and norms of that state in which it is carried out that it wouldn't violate the international legal acts in the field of human rights and that its results and data on which it is based, would be really available to scientists and researchers in accepting establishment unless information could threaten respondents or when anonymity is guaranteed;

8) to avoid collision of interests and to resolve controversial issues on the basis of openness and comprehensive consultations with institution of higher education in which they work to get support of this institution;

9) honestly to use all financial means provided in their order in interests of institutions of higher education, research and other professional or scientific bodies;

10) to be honest and impartial in a professional assessment of the colleagues and students;

11) to understand the responsibility, acting or publishing out of scientific channels materials on the questions which haven't been connected with the professional knowledge, and not to mislead the public concerning nature of the professional knowledge;

12) to carry out the appropriate duties which are required for joint management of institution of higher education and professional bodies.

Within accession to Bologna Process  a question of quality of the higher education in Kazakhstan is the point, including teaching staff quality. Quality of education is caused by many factors, including specifics of scientific and pedagogical activity. Scientific activity, as a rule, has real result (existence of scientific degrees, ranks, scientific awards, number of published articles in reviewed editions, number of grants and scientifis investigative works in which the teacher is involved), so, accurate, certain criteria of professional compliance takes part. In teaching activity as it is possible to define criteria of professional efficiency (performance of an academic load, methodical and organizational and pedagogical work, the organization of conferences, etc.).  However these factors characterize only that aspect of activity of the teacher of the higher school which includes a set of professional knowledge, pedagogical skills.  For successful and effective work in higher education institution it is necessary to combine these two kinds of activity as only the teacher who is actively conducting modern scientific researches, is capable to carry out studies and as the teacher – creatively to use thus various methods of training at high theoretical level.

Unfortunately, growth restriction, and even reduction of number of the teaching staff of higher education institutions, reduction of inflow of young post-graduates from among master, doctor PhD programs studies or directly from a student's bench that interferes with developments of the higher school  becomes one of tendencies of the last years. Professional activity of staff of higher education institutions proceeds against obvious problems among which the sharpest are low prestige in the society of a teaching profession and the scientist and outflow of highly qualified personnel. Along with it the teacher of higher education institution often doesn't consider the activity in it as the main, has low motivation to work in the scientific and teaching sphere, doesn't show interest to the last achievements in science, and doesn’t seek to increase the qualification. Thus, as show the researches, the smallest scientific activity is observed at young group of employees till 30 years which in principle have to show special efforts in accumulation of professional experience.

One of the main objectives facing modern society at the current stage of introduction of an autonomy in the Kazakhstan higher education institutions is the  increase of the status of the teacher in RK.The important role is played by improvement of working conditions, including rather high level of material security, legal and psychological security, broad access to modern means of communication, including the Internet, multimedia means, cultural values, possibility of professional development, an exchange of experience with colleagues, including foreign. As yet the standard and legal base of autonomous university at present isn't created, points of rules, the rights, duties and conditions of professional activity of the teacher of the higher school aren't developed, we consider necessary carrying out the analysis from a position of system and historical approach of foreign experience of vocational training of the teacher of the higher school:

1)   to allocate the concrete historical periods in which there were essential changes in process of vocational training of teachers of the higher school. 

2) to consider typical foreign educational models and their influence on a domestic education system. and also to reveal analogs of elements of systems of preparation and to carry out the forecast of further prospect of development of this system

3) to use the conducted research for more effective design of the Kazakhstan system of vocational training of the teacher in the conditions of an autonomy of the higher school. Autonomous university, it's not a simple enterprise for production of knowledge, training of specialists, scientists. The autonomous university is an institute of education of civic consciousness, a living position, a source of the alternative ideas, independent examination, and the partner and at the same time the opponent of the power. The academic freedom and university autonomy are the most important conditions of modern education and quality of vocational training. It would be desirable to emphasize once again the importance of the teacher as main subject of autonomous university as the person who carries out this mission.

 

References:

1. Baydenko V. I. Bologna Process: Accruing Dynamics and Variety (documents of the international forums and opinion of the European experts) / Under scientific edition of the Dr. ïåä. sciences, professor V. I. Baydenko. – M.: Research center of problems of quality of training of specialists, 2002. – 408 pages.

2.  The report of the Central committee of Labor union to the international trade-union conference "Participation of Labor Union in Implementation of Educational Policy in a Context of Current World Trends", Moscow, on March 21-22, 2006.

3. Koronovsky A.A. Strikhanov M. N., Trubetskov D. I. A.E. Temples analysis and forecast of tendencies of change of scientific and pedagogical potential of the faculty of the higher school of Russia//Science of science. 2002 . No. 2. Page 82.

4. "The recommendation about the status of teaching personnel of higher educational institutions" by results of the 29th session of General conference of the United Nations concerning education, science and culture, UNESCO, Paris, on October 21 – on November 12, 1997.

5. Strikhanov M., Trubetskov D., Koronovsky A., Temples And. The analysis and the forecast of changes of scientific and pedagogical capacity of the higher school//the Higher education in Russia. 2003 . No. 3. Page 9.

6. The European Highjer Education Area. Joint declaration of the European Ministers of Education, Bologna, June 19, 1999.