Assessing and developing the professionalism of professors of university teacher education: Changes in concept and technology

Abstract

The problem of assessing the quality of education today is relevant. There are many problematic questions: What should the technologies for implementing the links between school teachers and schoolchildren’s learning outcomes be? How to identify these connections and work with them? Is it possible to establish multidimensional relationships between the activities of a teacher, the results of students, between the competencies of a teacher and the quality of their professional training at the university? In Tomsk Oblast, the research is being carried out in two areas: (1) development and testing of a technology that makes it possible to analyze the learning outcomes of schoolchildren and establish the relationship between these results and the level of teachers’ professionalism, (2) establishment of a relationship between the identified deficits in the subject and methodological competencies of teachers and the quality of their professional training at a pedagogical university. In the first direction of work, the results of research on assessing the level of school teachers’ competence were summarized. The study used machine learning methods. The data obtained in educational institutions of Tomsk Oblast for the period from 2015 to 2019 (unified state exam in mathematics, physics, Russian language, and social studies) were processed. This work made it possible to identify learning difficulties among schoolchildren, and then to connect these difficulties with a lack of competencies in the professional activities of their teachers. In the second direction of the research, the goal is set: the development of a new concept for the assessment and development of the professionalism of teachers in the system of higher pedagogical education. The object of study is the system of continuous professional development of teachers in the system of teacher education. The study uses the methods of theoretical analysis, structural analysis, analysis of products of activity, focus group, method of expert assessments, educational design. The types of interdependence of professional and educational deficits of different subjects of educational activities are described. These types of connections are important for achieving the integrity of the assessment system, developing the professionalism of professors of teacher education and structuring managerial actions to ensure the quality of general and teacher education in the logic of their relationship. The following conclusions are made. (1) The proposed concept of assessing and developing the professionalism of professors of a pedagogical university is an element of a system for achieving the quality of school and university pedagogical education in the “school student – teacher – university teacher” logic. (2) An assessment of the level of teachers’ professional competences shows deficits that need to be addressed. (3) Changes in the preparation of students can be based on the analysis of professional deficits of teachers, which makes it possible to change the preparation of students, including ensuring the prevention of deficits.