Pedagogical Sciences/ Pedagogy

 

Kusherov N.M., Merschieva G.A.

Taraz State Pedagogical Institute, Kazakhstan, Taraz

Problems of reforming the Higher Education content in Kazakhstan in the transition to the 12-year education system

 

Currently the modernization of Kazakhstan education system is appeared as a process of radical change at all levels. In Higher Education it is the optimization of Higher Education institutions in accordance with the requirements of modern labor market. In the system of professional education it is the expansion of the specialized secondary educational and professional schools. The system 0f secondary education is being prepared to move to a 12- year education [1].

In connection with the transition of secondary schools to the 12- year education the system of Higher Education in the Republic of Kazakhstan is being undergone the fundamental changes in educational policy . Higher Education plays an important role in providing professional training of competent and competitive professionals for all sectors of the republic economy in the integration of science and manufacturing [2].

In 2010 Kazakhstan, as a successful state, joined the Bologna Declaration and became the 47th  country as a member of European educational space. At the same time the Kazakh education community is working on the working out of its own model of the development of higher education, taking into account the peculiarities of new policy of our republic.

The aims and objectives of this model are to implement the State Program of Education Development in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2011-2020, which is aimed at increasing the competitiveness of education and human capital development. The key priorities for the development of education in the next decade are identified in this document. [3] The adopted standard of the 12-year education is focused on the implementation of the model of the competitive education. The problem of normative provision of the professional and pedagogical training of teachers has been solved.

But at the same time the results of the scientific and educational researches and publications over recent years have shown that there are unsolved problems of regulatory, methodological and psycho-pedagogical nature of university teacher training. In scientific studies, the special attention was paid to the dissatisfaction of employers by the quality of training of the specialists which are graduated from the universities [4]. The content-procedural part of educational programs that do not always meet the expectations of employers and do not meet the competency requirements of teacher training of the new formation were attributed to the priority issues [5].

Therefore, there is a need to further modernization of the content of higher education. It provides the revision of the basic parameters of the development concept of Higher Education offering the opportunities and the perspective of its release to the world level. The urgency of this problem is in the idea of ​​the closest approach of the content of the educational system "profile school - university - the labor market" and, consequently, in the need to change the structure and the content of model curricula based on the principles of continuity, consistency and integrity. This will allow adhering to the basic objectives ensuring the identification of Higher Education programs in Kazakhstan with the educational programs of foreign universities and improve the organization of the educational process in accordance with the principles of Bologna Declaration. The identification of the educational programs at the same time should be based on the following parameters: descriptors, qualifications, teaching load, level or cycle, learning outcomes, competences, terms of training, the structure of educational programs, gradation.

The analysis of the content of the Higher Education system of Kazakhstan has shown that there are the following problems:

• Excessive overload of SES disciplines of general education unit;

• Sufficiently detailed planning of educational content;

• Lack of ratio between fundamental nature and professional oriented educational programs;

• Excessive subject-centered orientation of educational content;

• Poor connection with the sphere of work;

• Weak practical orientation of learning outcomes;

• Multidisciplinary, the presence of disciplines with a small amount of credits in the content of SES;

• In some cases the discrepancy of the competence to the descriptors of the levels of education, competencies duplication.

• Shortage of methodological solutions.

Nowadays the fundamental changes to the substantive and procedural aspects of all levels of education are being worked in Kazakhstan.

First of all it is necessary to ensure the continuity of the content of secondary and higher education, to define the basic parameters for the development of Higher Educationin a 12-year education [5]. In order to do the work on changing the structure and content of model curricula has been started, the main factors of the development of Higher Education have been actualized in the country. For the implementation of the above mentioned conceptual positions the mechanism for solving the whole complex of tasks has been designed:

• systematization of the content of secondary and Higher Education considering the 12-year education;

• development of educational programs based on the professional competence of future specialists;

• creation conditions conducive to the development of learner-centered education in 12-year education and Higher Education through the use of innovative teaching methods;

• improvement of academic mobility in the system of vocational training of students and faculty retraining;

• ensuring identity of Kazakhstan and foreign textbooks and educational and methodological literature.

The mechanism is based on the principle of continuity of secondary and higher education. This is one of the urgent problems of system modernization of Higher Education in 12-year education. The content update of Higher Education must be carried out on the basis of two directions of profiling meta subject character: natural sciences and socio-humanitarian.

The fruitful search of scientists and educators of Kazakhstan showed that the maximum approximation of educational content to the above mentioned parameters will:

• reflect the dominating perspectives of the standards which allow being oriented on the preparation of graduates effectively in the future world;

• shift the emphasis from the subject-disciplinary and substantive side to the competency and expected outcomes of educational process;

• involve the identification of general and specific competencies of the most strategic prospective employers and social partners;

• introduce the new criteria of practice expenditures of students’ labor, their academic achievements in Kazakhstan;

• increase the degree of students’ freedom in their choice of various individualized educational trajectories;

• develop the qualifications levels and types of training courses appropriate to each level of competences which will be compatible with the European framework;

• expand the academic freedom of universities regarding the "selection" of educational content;

• increase the amount of independent work of the student;

• strengthen the professional component in the SES by increasing the amount elective component and professional practices;

In order to do this it is necessary to revise the core competencies of Bachelor student considering Dublin descriptors literally for each course.

The results of the reform of the content of Higher Education will be:

• the modern competence model of the development of higher education;

• the content of Bachelor students’ reparation was updated in accordance with the needs of the labor market and the world's leading trends;

• the academic mobility will get a new impulse;

• the practical orientation of Higher Education programs and applicability of knowledge will be increased after students’ graduation.

References:

1. The concept of 12-year secondary education in the Republic of Kazakhstan. - Astana, 2012.

2. Kazakhstan Respublikasy b³l³md³ damytudyn 2020 zhylha dey³ng³ uzak merz³md³ bahdarlamasy, www.google.kz.

3. State Program of Education Development in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2011-2020. - Astana, 2010.

4. N.M. Kusherov, M.R. Kasymov Key issues of teacher training the new formation of the Republic of Kazakhstan. / / Materiali YII Mezinarodni Vedecko-Praktica Konference, Praha, Publishing House «Educacion and Science» sro Moderni Vymozenti Vedy-2011

5. M.N. Sarybekov. Modeling the professional and pedagogical teacher's work of 12-year school / / High School, ¹ 10. - Astana, 2010.