ISSN 0798 1015
ISSN 0798 1015
Vol. 38 (Nº 33) Año 2017. Pág. 26
Larisa Akhunzhanovna APANASYUK 1; Alexander Anatolyevich SOLDATOV 2; Irina Anatolyevna KIREEVA 3; Natalya Vasilyevna BELOZERTSEVA 4
Received: 05/06/2017 • Approved: 25/06/2017
ABSTRACT: The urgency of the present research is stipulated by the fact that Russian higher educational establishments have determined new tendencies of the educational system development related to including Russia into the international educational space and carrying out reforms of the higher education. The goal of the research is to study the problem related to training specialists in the social and economic area for the intercultural integration in the context of the staff mobility within countries of the European Economic Cooperation (EEC), the USA, Canada, and to study the ways to solve it. Joining the international cooperation, specialists in the social and economic area must know its specificity and peculiarities, which is contributed by the foreign language that develops abilities for the intercultural dialogue. The discussion of the essence of the intercultural integration phenomenon as a factor of optimizing the intercultural dialogue in the professional community plays a special role in the article. The scientific novelty of the research is that the article considers the notion “intercultural integration in the professional community” not only in terms of the intercultural communication but also in the context of the social and economic knowledge. The practical value of the research results is in the fact that basic provisions and conclusions can be used in the pedagogic activity when training technical and humanitarian specialists for the intercultural integration in the context of the staff mobility. |
RESUMEN: La urgencia de la presente investigación está determinada por el hecho de que los establecimientos de enseñanza superior rusos han determinado nuevas tendencias del desarrollo del sistema educativo relacionado con la inclusión de Rusia en el espacio educativo internacional y la realización de reformas de la educación superior. El objetivo de la investigación es estudiar el problema relacionado con la formación de especialistas en el área socioeconómica para la integración intercultural en el contexto de la movilidad del personal dentro de los países de la Cooperación Económica Europea (CEE), Estados Unidos y Canadá Las formas de resolverlo. Uniéndose a la cooperación internacional, los especialistas en el área social y económica deben conocer su especificidad y peculiaridades, que es aportada por la lengua extranjera que desarrolla las capacidades para el diálogo intercultural. La discusión de la esencia del fenómeno de integración intercultural como factor de optimización del diálogo intercultural en la comunidad profesional juega un papel especial en el artículo. La novedad científica de la investigación es que el artículo considera la noción de "integración intercultural en la comunidad profesional" no sólo en términos de la comunicación intercultural, sino también en el contexto del conocimiento social y económico. El valor práctico de los resultados de la investigación está en el hecho de que las provisiones y conclusiones básicas pueden ser utilizadas en la actividad pedagógica en la formación de especialistas técnicos y humanitarios para la integración intercultural en el contexto de la movilidad del personal. |
The problem on training specialists in the social and economic area for the intercultural integration in the context of staff mobility requires the searching for new pedagogic means. At the same time, the task related to preparing for the cooperation with foreign colleagues is actualized. Joining the international professional space, specialists in the social and economic area must know the specificity and peculiarities of the international activity. The foreign language that develops abilities for the intercultural dialogue contributes to it.
Integration as a general scientific category supposes considering the subject of the research in the integral unity taking into account the communicative, socializing and culturological functions. As a pedagogic category, “integration is a process of establishing relations between phenomena to organize the interrelation during the pedagogic cooperation” (Apanasyuk and Kireeva, 2008). “The intercultural integration in the professional community as an integral educational process is defined taking into account the earlier conducted researches and supposes the intercultural interrelation on the basis of the dialogue during the international cooperation of specialists in various areas” (Merkulova, 2011).
When teaching a foreign language, the main characteristics of the learning and cognitive activity of specialists in the social and economic area are the modeling of the integral process and aspects of the intercultural interrelation, and organization of the creative cooperation within international educational centers, and in the context of Russian higher educational establishments.
The system of forming readiness of specialists in the social and economic area for the intercultural integration in the professional community when teaching the foreign language within additional professional education is represented by the aggregate of approaches. “The system approach allows to introduce the substantial, procedural, and resulting elements as an integral pedagogic process (principles of systematicity and integrity). The activity approach focuses on preparing for the international activity (context principle). The person-centered approach (modularity principle) reflects the logics of designing the integrated content of the foreign language (professionally focused language and special course “Foreign Language for Specialists in Social and Economic Area”). The culturological approach is the basis of the procedural element of the system for selecting means of mastering the foreign language (active methods of teaching, groups of exercises focused on the product make up the result of mastering the foreign language) in accordance with the principles of cultural congruence, the dialogue of cultures. The competence approach allows taking into account the innovational focus of the modern education, and functions of the specialist in a non-linguistic area, and the requirements set to him. It stipulates the development of competences for integrating in the professional community.
The results of the ascertaining experiment confirmed the need to develop the system to form the readiness of specialists in the social and economic area for the intercultural integration in the professional community (in terms of staff mobility). In its context the process of teaching the foreign language is a model of training specialists that contains
- a methodological element reflecting the specificity of the international activity,
- a substantial element designed on the basis of the module principle of selecting professionally-focused foreign language and a special course of the foreign language, and
- a procedural element in the form of active methods of teaching the foreign language, specially selected exercises on the basis of the context principle and focused on developing abilities to solve professional tasks that imitate situations of the intercultural integration in the professional community.
Materials of the teaching experiment showed considerable changes of indicators in the structure of readiness of specialists in the social and economic area for the intercultural integration in the professional community in the modern context of staff mobility. The domination of the technological component is stipulated by mastering modules of professionally focused foreign language together with modules of the special course of the foreign language, and including the algorithm of intercultural integration in the professional community in the educational process. Finally, it creates conditions for the international activity. The domination of the reflexive component is explained both by modules of the foreign language, and special exercises included in the algorithm of training the specialist in the social and economic area for the intercultural integration in the professional community.
The developed algorithm of training specialists in the social and economic area for the intercultural integration in the professional community is represented by the succession of classes in the system of additional professional education and autonomous mode of the learners’ work with the final control.
The simulation methods (business, role games, problem situations), active forms (lectures-presentations, seminars) and technologies (author’s) of teaching are used as pedagogic means. Less attention is paid to the content of general cultural competences (ability to communicate, conduct a dialogue). Special competences that contribute to the integration in the professional community are not developed as well.
As for the methodological approaches, the leading ones are the following:
Along with this, no principles that contribute to the integration of the social and economic area in the professional community based on understanding the interculture were revealed.
When studying the methods of training (cases, business and role games, round-tables – immersion in the imitated situations of the real professional activity), it was determined that methods of the international cooperation (projects, discussions, conferences) had not been mentioned. It says about the insufficient consideration of the problem related to integrating specialists in the social and economic area in the international community (Pridanova, 2016; Pridanova & Kireeva, 2016).
In this context, informational technologies (digital reading hall, multimedia lectures, online conferences, computer systems of testing, public defenses of creative projects on the Internet), interactive technologies (problem lectures, portfolio technology, problem and thematic seminars, scientific monitoring of staff training, module elective course in the foreign language) can be used as means of training (Pridanova, 2015). In the special course developed by the authors, specialists in the social and economic area are offered to present their achievements in the professional activity, carry out international video conferences, discussions in the foreign language. It will contribute to entering the intercultural professional community (Apanasyuk & Kireeva, 2007).
The developed algorithm of forming the readiness of specialists in the social and economic area for the intercultural integration in the professional community when teaching the foreign language represents the stages of cooperation between the teacher and specialists in the social and economic area when teaching the specialized foreign language by using methods of active teaching.
It is reasonable to use class discussions on professional problems as a means of creative understanding of the learnt material and forming the value system. The analysis of the teaching practice and results of scientific researches (Apanasyuk & Kireeva, 2007; Apanasyuk & Kireeva, 2008; Merkulova, 2011) says that insufficient development of the problem related to intercultural integration of specialists in the social and economic area in the professional community requires creation of a system providing the development of indicators in the readiness structure.
Means of training specialists in the social and economic area for the intercultural integration in the professional community include the following:
Along with this, moving from the reproductive to productive and creative levels of mastering the foreign language for international cooperation requires to supplement the content of the professionally focused teaching with special courses that reveal the specificity and peculiarities of the international social and economic activity.
During the research, the Russian higher educational establishments (Russian State Social University FSBEI of Higher Education, Moscow State Humanitarian and Economic University FSBEI of Higher Education, Samara Korolev National Research University (Samara University) FSAEI of Higher Education, and Togliatti State University FSBEI HPO) developed a system of forming the readiness of specialists in the social and economic area for the intercultural integration in the professional community. Methodological (basis), substantial (foreign language), procedural (active methods of teaching and groups of exercises), and resultative (indicator of the training quality) elements were singled out in its structure. The approbation of the developed system proved the efficiency of the selected pedagogic means that contribute to the intercultural integration of specialists in the social and economic area in the professional community in the context of the staff mobility.
The technological component was defined as a dominating one in the structure of training specialists in the social and economic area for the intercultural integration in the professional community. It proves the reasonability to design the content of the foreign language based on the modularity principle and supplementing it with the special course that extends the content due to mastering the experience of the international social and economic activity.
The perspectives of our country development challenge the need to prepare the mobile highly qualified staff integrated in the professional community when implementing international projects. The importance of this work required to make changes in training specialists in the social and economic area who study at Russian universities. It made the problem related to the international activity and mobility of staff abroad urgent. This process is difficult because it requires to keep the national practice of teaching focused on general human values, and to develop the cultural person who can self-determine by means of the intercultural dialogue, and is ready for the cultural identification in the context of international educational, professionally-focused space subject to keeping traditions.
Along with this, in the context of Russian higher educational establishments, there are difficulties with the training of specialists in the social and economic area for the international activity. This is caused by the isolation of the regional system from the global experiences with an acute need in developing the scientific and technical area of Russia, misunderstanding of intercultural realities by specialists in the social and economic area, and their insufficient orientation in the international professional community. The integration in the international professional community is stipulated by reforming the content and means of training specialists in the social and economic area, including in the foreign language.
The research revealed the specificity of the international activity of specialists in the social and economic area. It lies in the integration of the design, engineering, organizational, communicative and gnostic activity that integrates in the professional activity. The mechanism of intercultural integration is the international activity. The intercultural integration as a peculiarity of the international activity contains the following types in its structure: interrelation, cooperation, and inter-penetration. Based on the identification principle, clarifying of the structure of the international activity and that of the intercultural integration allowed to define the structure of readiness of specialists in the social and economic area for the intercultural integration in the professional community. Defining indicators of components in the structure of readiness subordinated to the following algorithm: studying qualification characteristics of employees in the social and economic area, studying the matrix of competences formed with specialists, studying enactments related to the high school, revealing requirements to the personality of the specialist in the social and economic area, who performs the international activity, and learning the experience of the European international activity.
The analysis of the researches made on the problem of regional economic education confirmed the importance of the foreign language when training specialists in the social and economic area for the intercultural integration in the professional community (Apanasyuk & Kireeva, 2007; Apanasyuk & Kireeva, 2008; Merkulova, 2011).
Based on the analysis of the empiric materials obtained during the experiment and their theoretical consideration, the following conclusions were made. The current controversy between the existing practice of training specialists in the social and economic area in a non-linguistic higher educational establishment and the isolation from the global professional community require solutions due to the expanding opportunities of the global cooperation in the context of staff mobility.
The results of the ascertaining experiment confirmed the need to change the education of specialists in the social and economic area. That is why the model of training specialists was formed. It contains the following:
The materials of the teaching experiment showed considerable changes of indicators in the structure of training specialists in the social and economic area for the intercultural integration in the professional community. Domination of the technological component is stipulated by mastering modules of the special course of the foreign language and including the algorithm of the intercultural integration in the professional community in the educational process. As a result, it creates conditions for successful mobility of staff. Domination of the reflexive component is explained by both modules of the foreign language and special exercises included in the algorithm of training specialists in the social and economic area for intercultural integration in the professional community.
The theoretical importance of the research is related to enriching the scientific idea about the intercultural integration in the professional community; defining the methodological basics of forming the readiness of the specialist in the social and economic area for the intercultural integration in the professional community for successful fulfillment of functions of the mobile international activity when interrelating with foreign colleagues. The introduction of the notion “intercultural integration in the professional community” extends the scientific idea about the means of the foreign language that prepare specialists for the international professional activity. The conducted research enriches the professional pedagogy with new notions, the essence and structure of which are proved based on the principles of fundamental methodological approaches (international activity, intercultural interrelation, and intercultural integration, readiness for the intercultural integration of specialists in the social and economic area in the professional community).
The practical value of the research is expressed by the focus of the obtained results on professional training of specialists in the social and economic area for the international activity, applying the algorithm of forming the readiness for the intercultural integration in the professional community by means of the foreign language. The methodological assistance of the process related to training specialists in the social and economic area for the intercultural integration in the professional community can be applied when teaching a professionally-focused foreign language. The developed system of forming the readiness for the intercultural integration of specialists in the social and economic area in the professional community complies with the conditions of the modern Russian higher educational establishment that provides the opportunities for implementing the innovation activity. The results of the experimental work have been implemented into the practice of teaching the foreign language to specialists in the social and economic area in Russian higher educational establishments (Russian State Social University FSBEI of Higher Education, Moscow State Humanitarian and Economic University FSBEI of Higher Education, Samara Korolev National Research University (Samara University) FSAEI of Higher Education, and Togliatti State University FSBEI HPO).
The problem of integrating the Russian higher education in the global system as a full partner requires positive setting for binding cultures, and their integration during the intercultural interrelation. The cooperation of higher educational establishments assumes the competence of teachers who participate in the international activity. Along with this, there is the need to create organizational and substantial conditions of the educational process that contribute to the enhanced integration in the international professional space. The need of the personality in obtaining knowledge about the interculture of a specific country can be met by means of the foreign language. The analysis of concepts of the global professional education (V.I. Baidenko, A.P. Liferov, L.P. Merkulova, Yu.S. Tyunnikov, V.D. Shadrikov et al.) shows that the process of integration of researchers, teachers and specialists in the international educational space attracts the researchers’ interest due to the specificity of the international activity (Baidenko, 2002; Liferov, 1994; Liferov, 1997; Tiunnikov, 1992; Shadrikov, 2005). However, many issues related to the intercultural integration of specialists in the non-linguistic area remain unsolved, and means of the foreign language are not fully used.
In terms of practice, the problem is related to defining the structure and content of the professional training. Their implementation forms the readiness of specialists in the non-linguistic area for the intercultural integration in the professional community.
In the context of staff mobility, the result of teaching the foreign language enables specialists to perform types of the international activity. It is a mechanism to carry out the intercultural integration in the professional community taking into account the peculiarity of the international activity. The readiness for the intercultural integration of specialists in the social and economic area in the professional community must be formed during the integral pedagogic process that creates conditions for modeling situations that provide the staff mobility in the EU countries, the USA, and Canada. The result of training specialists in the social and economic area for the international activity is achieved by mastering the foreign language for intercultural integration in the professional community based on the principles of fundamental methodological approaches where the sociocultural approach is the leading one. The readiness of specialists in the social and economic area for the intercultural integration in the professional community is ensured by the aggregate of pedagogic means that imitate situations of the intercultural communication taking into account specialties of the trainees, educational resources of the region, and national and European experience of the international cooperation.
The research revealed the specificity of the international activity of specialists in the social and economic area. It lies in the integration of the design, engineering, organizational, communicative and gnostic activity that ensure the integration in the professional activity. Thus, the mechanism of intercultural integration is the international activity. The intercultural integration as a peculiarity of the international activity contains the following types in its structure: interrelation, cooperation, and inter-penetration. Based on the identification principle, clarifying of the structure of the activity and that of the intercultural integration allowed defining the structure of readiness of specialists in the social and economic area for the intercultural integration in the professional community. Defining indicators of components in the structure of readiness subordinated to the following algorithm:
The conducted research of the system related to training specialists in the social and economic area for the intercultural integration in the professional community in the context of staff mobility makes a specific positive contribution to solving problems of international cooperation. The authors acknowledge that far from all set tasks have been solved equally deeply and fundamentally.
The article was prepared on the basis of the researches made in the above Russian higher educational establishments from Moscow, Samara and Togliatti. The authors of the article emphasize that further researches in this area continue with the contribution from a number of researchers from these higher educational establishments (L.A. Apanasyuk, I.A. Kireeva, L.P. Merkulova, M.V. Pridanova, T.I. Rudneva, etc.).
The authors have made an appropriate conclusion that the European way of the Russian development requires to take into account modern tendencies of the educational system functioning and modernizing, related to including Russia in the system of international educational space and professional community. The Russian higher education must be focused on solving controversies during the intercultural integration in the professional community.
The authors of the article think that providing mobility of the staff to the EEC, the USA and Canada becomes the strategy of the activity of the foreign language teacher for the purpose of intercultural integration of specialists in the social and economic area in the professional community. The forecasted result is achieved by mastering the integrated content of the foreign language, the modules of which are studied by active methods and doing exercises selected in accordance with the tasks related to developing the components’ indicators and adequately to the type of the professional community the specialist will integrate in within the international activity.
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1. Russian State Social University, 129226, Russia, Moscow, W. Pieck St., 4, Build. 1
2. Moscow State University of Humanities and Economics, 107150, Russia, Moscow, Losinoostrovskaya St., 49.