Non-Formal Education in the Context of Modern Trends

Abstract

In the modern world, specialists’ success depends on their ability to adapt to rapidly changing conditions in their lives and professional activities. Non-formal education is one of the ways to adjust educational trajectories to ensure continuous and flexible development tailored to learners’ individual needs and interests. This paper describes the findings of a study on the non-formal education model in higher education institutions. The study aims to develop a non-formal education model considering a three-element interaction: student, university, and external environment. Analytical and statistical information processing methods were used to review references and determine the needs of internal and external non-formal education consumers. The study’s findings justify the integration of non-formal education concepts into a traditional education system, that is, ensuring free academic activity, expanding learning options and trajectories, personal development, and forming a constantly growing need for acquiring knowledge and new competencies. Another result of the study is the identification of the key elements of non-formal education and the possibilities for its integration into the higher education system. The map of requests of each educational process participant has been made and some ways of non-formal education implementation have been shown in the example of NPJSC D. Serikbayev East Kazakhstan Technical University experience. The scientific and practical significance of the paper lies in a comprehensive overview of non-formal education scientific and educational potential, and a presentation of mechanisms for creating an educational environment to facilitate learners’ self-organization and self-development