Ph.D Elena Kurolenko

Siberian Federal University, Russia

Potential of innovative education

through the problems of globalization

Evolutionary development of a person’s live activity shows that education, as well as the attitude to it, was always a specific demonstration of an age, its culture, political organization and world outlook. In philosophy and other humanities a number of scientists (E.Durkheim, D.Dewey, L.S.Vygotsky, R.Rorty, T.Parsons, S.L.Rubinshtejn, V.S.Bibler, S. P.Ivanov, M.S.Kagan, V.V. Platonov, A.N.Kochergin, etc.) correlate education with human nature, its patrimonial nature, thus, socialisation of a person is also considered as a part of general dialectic processes.

In this aspects the necessity of education flows out of the fundamental law of life according to which “each phenomenon of life aspires to reveal its arrangement, quality, unfold all of its natural essence, which is a necessary condition for the progress of life as a whole, and, most importantly, its unity, harmony and orderliness” [1, 6].

In the humanities education is considered as a way of forming a harmoniously developed person according to the requirements and cultural level of the specific historical time. “Education of a person is at the same time both, society education and education of mankind, of their spiritual and moral core, which gets its validity in culture, understood as an activity and process” [1, P. 7].

Researchers underlined that education is not only the transfer of cultural and moral experience of the previous generations. First of all it is the birth of a new experience and a new cultural paradigm, new world outlook approaches of the succeeding generations in the formation of a progressive person of his time (S.K.Buldakov, A. A. Subetto, V.M.Rozin, L. P.Bueva, A.F.Losev, N.I.Lapin, G.S.Batishchev, V.M.Mezhuev, A.A.Sorokin Ф. R.Filippov, B.S.Gershunsky, L. M.Zelenin, S.A.Smirnov, etc.).

Dialectics testifies, that the paradigm changes in the world are caused by the evolution of industrial forces (tools, means of production, technologies) which create new (more progressive) conditions for reproduction of means of existence for a human (K. Marx, F. Engels, E.V. Ilenkov, V.A. Vazjulin, V. Gott, Z.M. Orudzhev, J. Rotenfeld, etc.). At the same time, development of industrial forces depends on the degree of erudition and abilities of specific people. Hence, deficiencies of the education system are capable to disrupt the development of industrial forces. In the modern world the situation of similar interdependence clearly shows. For example, on the one hand, the 20^th century was a kind of a peak of civilization, scientific and technical progress, and on the other hand, the 20^th century is the start of crisis in all technogenic civilization (economic, financial, environmental, humanitarian, etc. crises).

On the whole, it is possible to call education one of the significant constructs of civilization. Education is less of a subject to situational changes, but at the same time, stagnation in education is fraught with serious negative consequences for the society and is capable to lead to the cultural decline. Thus, ideally, education should follow the changes taking place in the society, and even exert preemptive influence as it prepares young generation for the future life.

It is well-known, that the 20^th and the 21^st centuries are characterised, first of all, by the intensive progress of sciences about human beings, it is the time of breakthroughs and researches in anthropological and other sciences about humans (in psychology, philosophy, sociology, pedagogics, anthropology, synergetrics and others). Major biological discoveries were made, in particular, in cloning, research of man’s genome, organ transplantation which give the bases to assert, that the life of an individual and the human society as a whole can change substantially. Due to this our idea about resource possibilities of a human, his mission, content, forms, ways of upbringing and education of a modern person will also change [ 2; 3].

It is necessary to note the shift of tendency of the general sociopolitical situation in the world. Globalization of the world and polycultural character of communications reflect the change in the perception of the world as a whole. Professor A. P. Liferov has defined global education «as one of the directions of development of the modern pedagogical theory and practice which is based on the necessity of the preparation of a person for the life in the conditions of the quickly changing and more interconnected world, growing global problems and crises» [4, P.237]. Globalization is based on the process of the international component integration into the basic organizational structures of university in which internationalization is considered as the development of new competences and skills of students and teachers: much attention is paid to human, instead of the organizational factor; specific culture concentrates in an educational institution, which accumulates international values.

The present stage of the development of the world civilization is characterised also by the revaluation of values and the attempts to develop a new view of the world and the place of the human in it. This process takes place by contrasting technocratic and humanistic educational concepts. So a number of foreign researchers (P. Scott, R. Hutchins) consider, that it is necessary to eliminate professional training at universities and turn them into special higher educational institutions for the training of intellectuals capable of thinking philosophically. R. Hutchins specifies: «Professional training, which is necessary to the world, is the training of general profession of citizenship, it is free training» [6, P.47]. Higher education function, according to another American researcher S. Huck, is in that, having given a young person the prospect of understanding ideas, tendencies, cultural paradigms, encourage him to live in harmony with himself and the world around.

As for the innovative training in the globalized educational environment, it pursues two key objectives. The first is to nurture the ability of the vision, foresight and anticipation of events, to direct a person to the conscious choosing of alternatives. Thus, it is necessary to lean on creativity and creative ideas, and not just on the experience obtained during previous education. The value of such education is in the acquisition of abilities for application of new methodological devices, skills and values necessary for the life in the changing world. The second objective is learning to follow the principle of “partnership” which means interaction between individuals and whole communities in the course of acceptance of the important decisions at all levels - from local to global. From the above stated it is possible to formulate a educational strategic target in the 21^st century to which the majority of the countries of the world aspires: “not to form, but to find, support and develop a person in a person and to plant in him the mechanisms of self-control and the self-realisation, necessary for his easy civil and professional orientation and ability to develop internal spiritual potential” [6, P.128].

All of this more or less should find reflection in the contentual and structural components of modern higher education, such as to provide students with an optimum range of choice; to make the beginning and the termination of higher education flexible; strengthening of the role of higher education in students’ formation of the ability to understand, interpret, persevere, develop and spread national, regional, international and historic cultures in the conditions of pluralism and a variety; development of academic freedoms as the absolute value of higher education; higher education orientation on the dialogue forms of work with students; to achieve balance between cognitive mastering of subjects and mastering communication skills and those of collective work in a multicultural context ; to overcome narrow professional orientations; to increase the role and level of scientific research and teaching; to add a number of interdisciplinary educational programs; to increase attention to training of experts in new technological and social areas; higher education internationalisation; acceleration of development of academic disciplines and their diversification; strengthening of reasonable balance between traditions and renewal; emerging of a new educational environment based on modern technologies and types of educational services; introduction of modular curriculums as organizational frameworks for studying and teaching, etc. [5].

The technocratic approach to the person and his training concentrates on the definition of a person as a trainee, a programmed object. Thus a person does not develop himself, he gets ready knowledge and examples, does not create his own image of a harmonious world, but his intelligence and actions are formed on certain examples. However, the modern world is complex, interconnected, interdependent and interchangeable. The understanding of this specificity takes on special meaning now, because mankind has created high-speed unified information systems, powerful channels to transfer of energy sources, transcontinental means of transportation, etc. Moreover, the formation of the common global information network of development gives education new functions as the mechanism that influences cultural processes.

In these conditions progressive ideas are embodied in the humanistic approach, which overall objective is to create pedagogical conditions to help students to get qualities of a creative, artistic, aesthetic person who perceives himself in the course of education and self-education as an organic part of human culture. Such person will be capable of flexible change in the forms and ways of his life actions on the basis of positive type of communication and the principle of social responsibility. The important aspect of his/her self-realisation can be, in our opinion, the sphere of human culture in its spiritual embodiment (religion, philosophy, poetry, aesthetics, ethics, literature, theatre, music, etc.).

Higher education mission is to unite person’s professional knowledge, abilities, skills and cultural development to merge rational, moral and aesthetic components in him. It is especially important to realise this today because education can be subjected to the real technological threat. It means, that modern educational system should prepare not only educated people who develop their professionalism during all their subsequent activity, but also mobile, culturally developed persons, capable to adapt to constantly changing conditions of live.

Literature:

1. Berulava, M.N. Gumanism in education: problems and prospects / M.N. Berulava. Biisk: FACE DOWNWARDS GPI, 1995.

2. Bibler, V.S. Morality. Culture. The present. Philosophical reflexions about vital problems of century V. Bibler.- М: Knowledge, 1990.

3. Bibler, V.S. From knowledge to logic of culture / V.S. Berulava. М: Politizdat, 1991.

4. Еremkin, A.I. Concept people centered education systems in Russia /A.I. Еremkin.

5. Personal-focused formation: a phenomenon, the concept, technologies. The monography /group of authors. Volgograd: Change, 2000.

6. Mironov, S.P. Professional identification and formation: modern problems / S.P. Mironov. Ekaterinburg: Publishing house RGPU, 2009.