Studying the potential of urban professional communities in the field of engineering-technological education of schoolchildren

Abstract

Introduction. Achieving the strategic goals of scientific-technological development, corresponding to the modern technological mode, is impossible without increasing the competitiveness of the education system, which is ensured by new continuous professional education models for school teachers of an engineering-technological profile, among which urban educational formats are increasingly used, as well as communities of experts, formed around groups of masters and relying on co-creation, transfer of experience and technology. The research purpose is to assess the potential of urban professional communities and the conditions for the formation of an informal pedagogical education ecosystem in the field of engineering-technological education of schoolchildren. Materials and methods. To study the structure of professional contacts of the urban network of teachers engaged in engineering-technological education of schoolchildren, the sample was constructed using the "snowball" method. The content analysis of a semi-structured interview was used to identify professional roles and professional contacts, to assess the density of networks using the method of network analysis of an educational organization according to K. Ushakov. Results. On the basis of a semi-structured interview with working teachers engaged in engineering-technology education, the links between the accepted roles (teacher, mentor, expert) and the network density were revealed, a great potential for the network development was revealed (84% of new links can still be formed, 53% of participants are ready to master new roles). The leading roles of leaders, “network nodes”, are “an expert” and “a mentor”. The authors highlight the characteristics of urban forms of interaction between teachers that enhance the social capital of a territory: co-existence format, heterogeneity of participants, reliance on experience and taking into account the ambitions to accept roles, distributed leadership, support of professional reflection, joint design of events. Practical significance. The presented method for assessing the social capital of a territory on the example of an informal education network of teachers engaged in engineering-technological education can be used in the management of local educational ecosystems.