General competencies of higher school graduates: What do the standards require from a higher education institution

Abstract

Galina Golub, Ph.D. in History, Director of Autonomous Non-Commercial Organization “Laboratory for Modernization of Educational Resources”, Samara, Russian Federation. Email: lmor@mail.ru Address: Apt. 90, 122 Avrory St., Samara, 443045, Samara Oblast, Russian Federation.

Irina Fishman, Ped.D., Associate Professor in the Social and Education Management Subdepartment, Samara State Academy of Social Sciences and Humanities, Samara, Russian Federation. Email: irina_fishman@list.ru Address: 65/67 M. Gorkogo St., Samara, 443099, Samara Oblast, Russian Federation.

Lev Fishman, Ph.D. in Economics, Ped.D., Dean of the Department of Economics and Management, Samara State Academy of Social Sciences and Humanities, Samara, Russian Federation. Email: fishman@mail.ru Address: 65/67 M. Gorkogo St., Samara, 443099, Samara Oblast, Russian Federation.

Results of an analysis of more than two hundred Federal State Educational Standards of Higher Vocational Education (FGOS VPO) are presented. The authors analyze how universal cultural competencies are formulated by these standards and whether or not they meet employers’ demands.

One of the reasons why new requirements do not result in transforming educational processes is the high quality of new higher vocational education standards. Errors in determining the universal cultural competencies are classified and described. Such errors are believed to originate in the misunderstanding of the differentiation between the two components of vocational education: a) general higher education (teaching students to use external resources, such as information or communication, learn to solve problems, and master self-management) and professional qualification (teaching students to apply internal, or acquired, resources, such as knowledge, skills, and experience).

The authors suggest principles that should be used in operationalizing FGOS VPO formulations so as to develop and assess general competencies. What they also suggest is an algorithm to define general competencies of higher vocational education standards more precisely at the university level. An example of operationalizing the definition of a general competency is given.

The authors argue that requirements to general competencies of graduates should provide uniform educational and cultural levels across the social stratum and satisfy demands of potential employers. Such requirements will allow to transform educational processes so that education technologies would help students learn to perform the most common activities associated with information, communication, self-management, and problem solving.