THE ANDRAGOGICAL APPROACH AS A CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATION FOR MODERNIZATION AND HUMANIZATION OF NATIONAL AND FOREIGN STUDENTS’ TRAINING

This article is devoted to elucidation of the ways of modernization and humanization of training of national and foreign students who pursue their Master’s and Doctorate educational programs incorporating the methods of the andragogic approach as being an innovative educational system. In particular, we have managed to reveal the educational-developmental potential reflected by the andragogic approach as the conceptual foundation for modernization and humanization of training of university students in conformity with the current stage of their age, social-psychological, research-innovational and professional development. On top of that, we have been able to demonstrate the fact that the contents of the educational-scientific programs designed for Masters and PhD’s degree applicants at national universities has proven to be sufficiently balanced as related to the new challenges set forth by the educational society and the innovative economy. Meanwhile, the forms of the authoritarian pedagogical impact, the methods of the traditional transfer of knowledge as well as the formal methods of the inter-personal communication and the obsolete technologies of the social-psychological support of both national and especially foreign students of Master’s and PhD studies, tend to insufficiently meet their personal expectations and needs as of adults, treated as innovative and creativity-minded individuals. Thus, the main controversy detected between the warranted traditional educational solutions and their irrelevance to the personal expectations of the newer generation of university students calls for intervention into the process of the students’ Master’s and PhD training and introduction of the new, andragogic models of education which require manifestation of the andragogic proficiency as well as the andragogic culture of teachers. We hereby need to emphasize that both national and foreign students of Master’s and PhD programs – do have a need for utilization of a wider and more varied array of the relevant andragogic high-impact methods due to the fact that the latter display their adult and creative mindsets. We believe, it is therefore advisable to establish a more coherent inter-personal interaction between teachers, subject matter experts and andragogy consultants with the students and ensuring the facilitative communication taking into consideration the students’ individual, age-based, gender-based and ethnical aspects. Consequently, the main emphasis has been placed upon the enhancement of the relevant educational-scientific training programs in for Master’s and PhD degree specialists in educational and pedagogical sciences by means of implementation of the methods of the andragogic approach, which enable creation of new concepts, conduct the research-experimental activities focused on initiating scientific-innovative projects in the sphere of university education, introduction of certain educational innovations, realization (through acquisition by students of the necessary social “soft skills” and the data-technological “hard skills”) of the mission of tangible contribution to the community and society and also facilitation of the students’ fully accountable execution of the scientific-research and professional activities at universities.