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AL-FARABI KAZAKH NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
Sh.T. Taubayeva
SCIENTIFIC PEDAGOGICAL RESEARCH METHODS Textbook Stereotypical publication
Almaty “Qazaq University” 2020
УДК 0 (075.8) ББК 74.00 я 73 Т 23 Recommended for publication by the decision of the meeting of the educational and methodical section on specialties of the Education group of the Republican educational and methodical council of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Protocol No. 1 dated April 25, 2018). Prepared and released at the expense of the grant «The best teacher of the university – 2017» of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Reviewers: Doctor of pedagogical sciences, professor S.T. Imanbayeva Doctor of pedagogical sciences, professor A.K. Mynbayeva Candidate of pedagogical sciences, L.T. Seidahmetova
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Taubayeva Sh.T. Scientific pedagogical research methods: Textbook / Sh. Taubayeva. – Almaty: Qazaq University, 2020. – 214 p. ISBN 978-601-04-4283-2 The textbook outlines the methodological and theoretical issues of organizing and conducting pedagogical research as a scientific tool for improving educational practice. When considering the essence, structure, functions of scientific research in the pedagogical sphere, the emphasis is placed on the importance of developing the subjectivity of the researcher who takes an active position in the process of scientific and pedagogical cognition. The textbook is intended for undergraduates, doctoral students and anyone who is engaged in scientific research in the education system.
УДК 0 (075.8) ББК 74.00 я 73 ISBN 978-601-04-4283-2
© Sh. Taubayeva, 2020 © Al-Farabi KazNU, 2020
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PREFACE The main task of the textbook is to help the undergraduates understand the meaning and specifics of determining the methodological basis of pedagogical research, to show the mechanisms for using methodological knowledge in research activities. The book uses the materials of the training sessions in the Master’s program in the disciplines “Theoretical and methodological foundations of pedagogical research”, Theory and methodology of pedagogical research”, “Methods of organizing and conducting a pedagogical experiment”, “Methodology and methods of didactic research”. In the first chapter, when disclosing the essence, structure, functions of the methodology and the theory of pedagogy, the emphasis is on characterizing the tendencies of increasing attention to the individual position of the researcher and the significance of the development of his subjectivity, which ensures an active position in the process of scientific and pedagogical search. Here the directions of methodological training of specialists, reflected in the educational program of undergraduates, are outlined. The second chapter presents the stages of pedagogical research. Particular attention is paid to the development of its concept and basic elements of the scientific apparatus of the thesis. Methods of pedagogical research – theoretical, empirical, experimental – are considered in the third chapter. The book highlights the components of the research results, characterizes the process of their interpretation and the system of approbation and implementation, criteria of evaluation and requirements for design and protection. At the end of each chapter, questions and tasks are proposed that ensure the verification and consolidation of the received training in3
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formation. There is also a dictionary of the teacher-researcher and training tests for this discipline. The textbook “Methodology and methods of pedagogical research” reflects the content of the methodological training of undergraduates in the field of theory and technology of pedagogical research that has been tested in the universities of the country – Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, KazGosZhenPU.
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CHAPTER
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THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL BASIS OF PEDAGOGICAL RESEARCH 1.1 Methodology of pedagogy in the context of relevance of the researcher’s subjectivity: essence, levels, functions
Studies in the educational system are always in high demand by the society, since revealing the peculiarities of the pedagogical reality, invention of new forms, methods, technologies of teaching and upbringing of man have a tremendous impact on the perfection of unique activity – a pedagogical one, that plays an important role in the destinies of peoples and states. At each historical period, the corresponding educational reality is characterized by a set of clearly defined values, cultural and learning codes, meanings, vectors of change to be studied. The educational environment continues to be an integral part of the complex socio-cultural space in which every person lives. Being in this space, the person, on the one hand, assimilates its requirements, adapts to them, and on the other hand – actively creates for himself the necessary conditions for entering the culture of society, adequate to his or her individual characteristics, worldview values and personal attitudes. In modern conditions, education is regarded as an important factor in the formation and development of the subjectivity and individuality of a person, which imposes a deep imprint of its own on life. The development of the epistemological and axiological mechanisms of the personality activity provides for finding a balance between per5
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sonal interests and the interests of society, the responsibility to society and the realization of the importance of using the subject approach in assessing sociocultural and pedagogical processes. This context will urgently require the education of a researcher who is able to “decipher” from a personally significant position the modern social order for pedagogical science – to ensure the functioning of a competence education – and to bring it to the technological level of application, taking into account the understanding of one’s individuality as a system-forming element of scientific knowledge. The most important components of the researcher’s subjectivity include understanding the structure of the activities, intense effective thinking activity, the presence of such qualities as devotion to the humane values of science, creative boldness, the desire for self-development and self-realization. Methodology is the science of the most general principles of cognition and transformation of objective reality, ways of the scientific process. The study of pedagogical phenomena from the standpoint of dialectics makes it possible to reveal their qualitative uniqueness, connections with other phenomena and processes. But the methodology does not give a ready answer. It equips the way of obtaining new, fundamental knowledge. In turn, fundamental research reveals the essence of phenomena, and applied research – the ways of introducing the results of knowledge into practice. The model of modern scientific research, including pedagogical research, combines all these functions. In recent decades, the methodology of pedagogy has accumulated a significant scientific potential, developed a system of normative, instrumental knowledge aimed at helping the researcher, forming special knowledge and skills of research work, taking into account his subjectivity, personally oriented position. The following approaches to determining the essence of the methodology of pedagogy were developed. M.A. Danilov understands the methodology of pedagogy as “a system of knowledge about the foundations and structure of the pedagogical theory, the principles of the approach and ways of obtaining knowledge that reflect the pedagogical reality”.
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V.V. Krajewski defines it as a system of activities for obtaining such knowledge and substantiating programs, logic and methods, assessing the quality of special scientific pedagogical research. The subject of methodology of pedagogy at the same time appears as a correlation between pedagogical reality and its reflection in pedagogical science. A.M. Novikov regards the methodology as a teaching on the organization of activities for the sphere of education (scientific, practical /pedagogical, educational, gaming activities). To organize activities means to regulate the whole system with clearly defined characteristics, logical structure and process of its implementation. Logical structure includes the following components: subject, object, object, form, means, methods of activity, its result. External to this structure are the following characteristics of the activity: features, principles, conditions, norms. Recently, the methodology has been actively interpreted with reference not only to scientific activity, but also to practical pedagogical work, which provides the scientific basis for the optimal adoption and implementation of pedagogical decisions. The methodology of pedagogy as a branch of scientific knowledge acts in two aspects – the system of knowledge and the system of activity. There are two types of activity – methodological research and methodological support. Methodological research is related to pedagogical practice indirectly. Their tasks: the identification of patterns and trends in the development of pedagogical science in its connection with practice, the definition of principles for improving the effectiveness and quality of pedagogical research, and an analysis of their conceptual composition and methods. The term “methodological provision” means knowledge of a special kind – how to formulate the research topic, solve the problem, put forward a hypothesis, what the logic of research should be, etc. The goal of methodological support is the use of existing knowledge to justify research activities in this field of science. Based on two types of research activities, two functions of methodology are distinguished: descriptive, presupposing also the forma-
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tion of a theoretical description of the object, and prescriptive, or normative, creating guidelines for the work of the researcher. The presence of these two functions also determines the separation of the bases of pedagogic methodology into two groups – theoretical and normative. The theoretical grounds for the methodology of pedagogy include the following: the definition of methodology; general characteristics of the methodology of science, its levels (general philosophical, general scientific, specifically scientific, the level of methods and techniques of research); methodology as a system of knowledge and system of activity; sources of methodological support for research in pedagogy; object and subject of methodological analysis in the field of pedagogy. The normative foundations of the methodology of pedagogy cover the following range of issues: scientific cognition in pedagogy among other forms of spiritual development of the world, which include spontaneously empirical cognition and artistic-figurative representation of reality. Different levels of methodological analysis are distinguished in science. The most fruitful is the point of view according to which the process of methodological analysis is represented in the form of a hierarchy of four levels (see Table 1) Levels of methodology
Levels 1 Philosophical methodology
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Characteristics (study of the features and forms of interrelation between different levels of methodological analysis and the identification of the features of their influence on theoretical and practical activities) 2 The first, the highest level of methodological analysis, includes the worldview interpretation of the results of science, analysis of the general forms and methods of scientific thinking of its categorical system from the point of view of this or that picture of the world.
1.1 Methodology of pedagogy in the context of relevance of the ... 1 Study of general scientific principles, approaches and forms of research Specific scientific methodology Disciplinary methodology Methodology of interdisciplinary research
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2 At this level, the methods of synergetic orientation are classified: the methods of theoretical cybernetics that have found wide application in various fields of modern science, the system approach, the method of idealization, formalization, algorithmizing, modeling. It involves a set of methods, research principles and procedures used in a particular branch of science. This is a set of methods, research principles and procedures used in a particular scientific discipline, which is part of any branch of science or has arisen at the seams of sciences. At the same time, obtaining meaningful knowledge about the subject of research occurs through a strictly subordinated system of subject, monodisciplinary constructions strictly subordinated to the global goal, which gives great opportunities for obtaining a generalized, comprehensive knowledge.
Levels of methodological knowledge. In science, the existence of a hierarchy of methodologies is accepted. One of the clearest concepts of the levels of methodology belongs to E.G. Yudin. He distinguishes four levels of methodological knowledge: philosophical, general scientific, specific scientific and technological. The content of the first, higher, level of philosophical methodology is the general principles of cognition and the categorical structure of science as a whole. The whole system of philosophical knowledge fulfills the methodological functions. The second level is a general scientific methodology. This is the level of substantive general scientific concepts affecting all sufficiently large set of scientific disciplines. This includes, for example, systemic approach or theoretical cybernetics, which is, by definition, E.G. Yudin, a kind of systematic approach. The third level is a concrete scientific methodology, that is, a set of methods, research principles and procedures used in a particular scientific discipline. The fourth level forms the methodology and technique of research, that is, a set of procedures ensuring the receipt of a uniform and reliable empirical material and its primary processing, after which it can only be included in the array of available knowledge. All levels of methodology form a system within which there is a very definite subordination between them. At the same time, the philo-
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sophical level acts as a substantive basis for all methodological knowledge and determines worldview approaches to the process of cognition and transformation of reality. The general scientific level of methodology includes general scientific problems, as well as those concepts and categories without which research is impossible. The structure of the general scientific level includes: 1) public problems; 2) general scientific concepts and categories; 3) general scientific methods and approaches to cognition; 4) general scientific cognitive procedures; 5) general scientific theories, hypotheses and disciplines; 6) general scientific principles and laws; 7) a general scientific picture of the world. The heterogeneity of these functions leads to the need for their level implementation in the process of pedagogical research. Different levels of methodological analysis are distinguished in science. The most fruitful is the point of view, according to which the process of methodological analysis is represented in the form of a hierarchy of four levels: 1) philosophical methodology, i.e. the general principles of cognition and the categorical structure of science as a whole performing a constructively critical function in relation to the conceptual apparatus of pedagogical science, the adequacy of the structure and content of pedagogical research, their methodological foundation, and the worldview interpretation of the results of pedagogical research from the point of view of one or another picture of the world; 2) general scientific methodology, including general scientific principles and forms of research (such general scientific approaches as systemic, cybernetic, integrated, program-target, such general scientific procedures and techniques as idealization, modeling, experimentation, etc.). The general scientific methodology is stage-oriented, for it is at this level that the principal orientation of the research, its strategy, the method of determining its object and object, is ensured; 3) the specific scientific methodology includes a set of research methods, research principles and procedures that are characteristic of pedagogical science. It fulfills the regulatory function, providing the necessary set of methods of pedagogy and related sciences integrating with each other in accordance with the specifics of definite studies, as well as the unity of the categorical-conceptual apparatus of pedagogy,
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psychology, sociology and other sciences necessary for its unambiguous understanding in the process of pedagogical research; 4) the technique and technology of the study, i.e. a set of procedures necessary to obtain a uniform and reliable empirical material and its primary processing. Its main function is instrumental or instrumental-technological. This is the level of highly specialized methodological knowledge, which always has a clearly expressed normative character, i.e. the nature of the due. The results of individual pedagogical studies and of the pedagogical science as a whole largely depend on the correct implementation of the function of this level. Thus, the methodology of pedagogical research is very multifunctional and requires serious study, consideration and reflection. It should be noted that the whole system of philosophical knowledge fulfills the methodological functions. An important role in the pedagogical research is played by categories (essence and phenomenon, cause and effect, necessity and chance, possibility and reality, content and form, singular, special and general, etc.), laws of dialectics (the law of unity and struggle of opposites, the law of transition of quantitative changes to qualitative ones, the principle of unity of theory and practice, a creative, concrete historical approach to the problem under study, the principle of objectivity, the principle of a comprehensive study of processes and phenomena). The methodology of pedagogy determines the place of pedagogy among other sciences, specifies the principles and methods of obtaining knowledge about pedagogical reality, the development of methods for their transformation and interpretation, establishes the structure, ways of constructing and developing the pedagogical theory, creating conditions for the effective interaction of science and practice, concretizes the basic principles and methods of implementation of achievements of science in pedagogical practice. Consequently, the spheres of realization of the methodology of pedagogy include the system of scientific and pedagogical knowledge (the subject, functions and tasks of pedagogy, the place of pedagogy in the system of human sciences, the general and specific tasks of pedagogical disciplines, the interrelationship of pedagogy with other sciences, the conceptual and terminological system of pedagogy) the
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process of scientific cognition of pedagogical phenomena (the problems of choosing methods of research, the features and interrelationships of research methods, the empirical and theoretical levels of research, methodological problems of forecasting), the practice of both the scope of the implementation of pedagogical knowledge (learning the essence, laws and regularities of education process, the definition of goals, objectives, content, education, study and comparison of factors of personality formation, the development of principles, forms, methods and means of the organization and implementation of the education process). The content of the methodological reflection of the researcherteacher is determined in the form of a minimal list of those points that make it possible to characterize the quality of pedagogical research in the process of its conduct and in its final form. The structure of methodological reflection includes separate components of the scientific apparatus of research, e.g., such as the research problem (what should be learned from what was not previously studied?); topic of the research (how to call it?); the relevance of the topic (why should this issue be studied now?); object of the research (what is being considered?); the subject of the research (how the object is considered, what new relationships, properties, aspects and functions of the object does this study reveal?); hypothesis and protected positions (what is not obvious in the object, that the researcher sees in it that others do not notice?); the purpose of the research (what kind of a result does the researcher intend to receive, how does he see this result?); research tasks (what has to be done to achieve the goal?); the novelty of the research (what is done that others did not do, what results were obtained for the first time?); the importance for science (in what problems, concepts, branches of science are changes made to promote to the development of science, replenish its content?); the importance for practice (which specific shortcomings of practical pedagogical activity can be corrected with the help of concrete results obtained in the study?). Analyzing the leading trends in the development of the methodology of pedagogy, as the main problems scientists put forward the methodology and methodology of pedagogical research at the forefront. Categorical synthesis of numerous definitions shows that the
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methodology of pedagogy is: 1) a teaching on pedagogical cognition (process); 2) pedagogical knowledge (result); 3) a way of using this knowledge to transform pedagogical reality. It is lawful to include the methodology of pedagogy in the emerging structure of pedagogical science. The origins of the formation of pedagogical science as a scientific discipline were developed by V.I. Zhuravlev, V.I. Ginetsinsky, B.S. Gershunsky. At the present time, the general pedagogical science is considered by A.P. Tryapitsyna, N.A. Vershinina in the context of the disciplinary structure of pedagogy. Thus, the methodology of pedagogy is a system of knowledge about the methods of obtaining new pedagogical knowledge, which in a broad sense includes theory, general scientific and special methods of studying its subject, in a narrow sense – a system of methods for obtaining new scientific and pedagogical information, its analysis, interpretation and explanation, which: is understood as: –– a system of general epistemological attitudes that determine the direction of research in pedagogical science, its goals and structure, as well as the principles and methods for obtaining new knowledge; –– a special discipline in the methodology of pedagogy, the subject of which is the very process of pedagogical research and methods of its provision; is considered as: –– theoretical basis of scientific methods; –– the science of the method, the system of the most general principles, provisions and methods that form the basis of pedagogical research; –– a system of knowledge about the ways to achieve new pedagogical knowledge; –– the rules according to which the acceptance or rejection of this or that theory and research program takes place. Increasing attention to the methodological foundations of scientific and practical activities of the teacher is explained by the importance of such a phenomenon as its subjectivity and individuality.
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Formation of subjectivity (from the concept of “subject” – from the Latin subjectus – underlying) as a quality that ensures the activity of thinking, relation, creativity of the individual in terms of managing his own successful life activity and his psychological state is one of the goals of the educational system. Subjectivity in the scientific sphere is an important characteristic of the research space of the personality, since it largely determines the attitude towards the subject of individual scientific search and the selection of the scientific tools of the researcher. This personal space is characterized by: –– breadth and depth of scientific interests; –– coherence of individual interests and social relevance of research problems; –– the desire to expand the boundaries of the subject; –– the degree of activity of the management of his research space on the part of the individual. –– the degree of significant scientific contacts; –– the presence of a retrospective and perspective in his own research activities; –– awareness of the structure of his activities. Perception of the investigated reality by the individual is subjective in nature, conditioned by the nature of the interpretation of pedagogical events and the methodological and theoretical postulates. A set of strategies for interaction between the subject of scientific research and the studied pedagogical reality provides individual styles for carrying out scientific work. It is possible to focus on the components of the psychological life space of man, proposed by K. Levin and A. Libin. The concept of life space is used to demonstrate the true environment of the life activity of an individual – not physical reality and not a social environment in its entirety as such, but only those fragments that are reflected in the mind of the person and on which his behavior is based. In this regard, a person and his environment are considered as interdependent factors, and their totality is the life space of the subject. Life space, subject to psychological laws, is significantly different from that subject to physical ones. For a deeper analysis, the concept of a psychological field is introduced, which includes the
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entire variety of real and unreal, actual, past and future events that are in the individual’s psychological space at a certain point in time. Among them – claims, expectations, goals, real or imaginary barriers to achieve the desired, human activities, his environment, etc., which determine the behavior of the individual with the emphasis on the individual nature of his perception of this environment, individual activity, identity, awareness of decision-making. These positions require the in-depth work of the researcher to expand his own psychological space, expressing the subjectivity and individuality of the individual, ensuring the success of solving research problems of the author of scientific knowledge in general. Individual styles of scientific work are determined by a number of polar signs that diagnose these styles: –– intensity – moderation, characterizing the potential of the individual and the degree of activity in scientific cognition; –– sustainability – variability that determines the range of research strategies; –– the width – narrowness of the range of interactive relationship with the scientific environment, manifested in the behavior of the researcher; –– inclusion-distance as a measure of the autonomy of functioning of the subject of scientific knowledge. The subject’s reality of the individual, including the research space, is embodied in self-realization, self-actualization, self-esteem, self-expression, self-improvement, willful manifestations, self-control, self-esteem. The context of preserving the sovereignty and productivity of the researcher is related to individual-personal characteristics (emotional, intellectual, strong-willed). The positions of subjectivity are strengthened against the backdrop of the developing humanistic paradigm of the social and human sciences, the integration of the methodology of natural science and social and human sciences, their mutual enrichment, and the convergence of opposing conceptual and methodological approaches. In the humanities, intra-scientific reflexivity is expanding, the hermeneutics apparatus, culturology, understanding techniques are
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widely introduced. Ideas and methods of synergetics are used in social cognition. The optimal combination and scientifically grounded correlation of traditional and new methods in research and transformation of objects of pedagogical reality, methods of genetic connections, statistical and mathematical, diagnostics and pedagogical experiment is observed – and the further, the closer is the rapprochement of explanatory and interpretative approaches. The most promising way to create a new paradigm of methodology is synthesis, a holistic unity of diverse methodological approaches. The main functions of the methodology of pedagogy. In science, they distinguish, taking into account the form of expression of methodological knowledge understood in a broad philosophical sense, the normative and descriptive methodology. In both cases, the function of methodological knowledge is an internal organization and regulation of the process of cognition and transformation of an object. Pedagogical methodology, along with cognitive (research) and transformative functions, is also a reflexive function of criticism of the development of pedagogical science (M.S. Burgin, Ya.S. Turbovskaya, V.S. Shubinsky and others). Let us consider the features of these functions. The epistemological function of the methodology of pedagogy is that, with the help of scientific methods of research, a search for new knowledge is conducted. The transforming function is manifested in two aspects: in the transformation of scientific and theoretical knowledge (it means the improvement of methods of research work, the research process) and in the transformation of pedagogical reality (we are talking about methods of transformation). The transforming function is especially pronounced when creating a new pedagogical experience (for example, in the experience of teachers-innovators of the 80s, Sh.A. Amonashvili, S.A. Lysenkov, V.F. Shatalov, and others). The critical function acts as a special kind of evaluation; the reflexive function of methodology is that pedagogical science itself became one of the objects of study with the help of methodology.
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1.2 Pedagogical facts, regularities, principles, theories as forms of scientific knowledge
a) pedagogical fact The fact in the methodology of science – the proposals that fix the empirical knowledge of events and phenomena of the real world. Selection and verification of facts in science are necessarily connected with empirical cognitive actions, i.e. methods of observation, measurement and experiment, as well as with certain scientific knowledge systems. There is a number of criteria for the determination, acceptance and verification of facts: a) the facts can be reproduced under given conditions; b) the ability to verify facts using various methods; c) the possibility of unambiguous practical use of facts for the purpose of further study of objects, development of new material means of cognition and tools of labor; d) fact in science is a special kind of idealization. The fact is the core of the pedagogical theory. Any research begins with the collection, systematization and generalization of facts. Psychological phenomenon or pedagogical fact can be considered separately, using repeatedly and reliably recorded links between environmental conditions and factors of personal development. Some facts of the theory (specific dependencies, laws) can act as facts, if it is a question of broader generalizations, about the search for a common invariant in upbringing at different stages, in different educational systems. Scientists rightly believe that with the accumulation of facts that do not fit into the framework of existing explanations, there is a need for a new theory that arises in the form of a key idea and the design of its implementation. In this case, the concept of “source fact” and “sought after fact” is introduced into the scientific revolution. The following algorithm for understanding the pedagogical facts is suggested. The initial fact fixes the existing, but not satisfying, situation. After analyzing and evaluating the initial pedagogical facts, it is expedient to clearly identify and fix the main provisions (postulates, axioms) of the theoretical concept (the initial conceptual platform) of this research. Now we need the original fact repeatedly “passed” through the “sieve” of the main
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provisions, seeking to mentally transform it into a different (desired) state. At the same time, the search is made for conditions, mechanisms, means and methods of activity for translating the original fact into the desired one. Immediately, the idea of transformation is born or it is necessary to borrow someone’s ideas (See Figure 1). The facts are identified at the current state of the object. In this case, we are not talking about specific facts that allow us to recreate its actual state. Just as in historical research, applicants first turn to different sources to determine reliable facts about pedagogical events and processes. b) pedagogical theory The theory (Greek theria – “examine,” “explore”) is broadly interpreted as a set of views, ideas aimed at interpreting and explaining a phenomenon; in a narrower, special sense – the highest, most developed form of organization of scientific knowledge, giving a holistic view of the laws and existing links of a certain area of reality – the object of this theory. The variety of pedagogical theories is explained by the presence of various approaches, ideas, and experience in pedagogical reality. Pedagogy as a science can be considered as a set of theories.
condition ofan
Figure 1. Transformation based on the original principles
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The scheme for describing the theory includes: 1) the object of study of the theory (the object of nature and the object of science); 2) the subject of the theory; 3) the foundations of the theory (the origins of the emergence of the theory, idealized objects, a group of concepts, basic provisions – postulates, empirical basis-scientific facts); 4) instrumentation theory (mathematical apparatus and the means of logic); 5) achievements, the results of the theory and their verification); 6) the boundary of applicability of the theory. This scheme includes an algorithm for describing the scientific fact (description of the phenomenon in the words of natural language and in known terms), the law (the formulation of the law), concepts (definition of the concept). The theory absorbs the statement and the description of the facts, their connection in a single whole with the problem, the hypothesis, the methods of cognition. The central link of the theory is laws. Many science scholars under the theory in the broadest sense of the word understand the system of reliable representations, ideas, principles, explaining any phenomena. In a narrower sense, theory is the highest, grounded, logically consistent system of scientific knowledge that provides a holistic view of the essential properties, patterns, causal relationships, determinants that determine the nature of the functioning and development of a certain realm of reality. Consequently, the theory is a developing system of objectively valid scientific knowledge that has been tested by practice, explaining the regularity of the phenomena of this region. The scientific theory performs predictive, practical, synthetic and methodological functions. The main components of the theory are: –– An initial empirical basis, consisting of many experimental facts that require a theoretical explanation;
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–– An initial theoretical basis, including the general laws of theory, a set of primary assumptions, postulates, axioms, the totality of which is necessary for describing an idealized object; –– The logic of the theory – the set of rules of logical conclusions and proofs admissible within its framework; –– the main body of theoretical knowledge, containing a set of theorems of the statements and proofs. The structure of theory as a complex system forms related principles, laws, judgments, concepts, categories and facts.
Observation, expe riment, description, systematization and generalization of the facts
Figure 2. Structure and functions of the theory
Development of scientific theory includes creative processes of the origin of an idea, the formation of principles, laws, judgments, positions, categories, concepts, description and generalization of sci-
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entific facts, use of axioms, hypotheses and assumptions. Theory is a system of knowledge of a high degree of generality, oriented to explaining reality and forming the basis of practical work. According to A.M. Novikov, the concept of “theory” is considered in two senses. First, in the mainstream of a weak version of science, as a complex of views, ideas aimed at explaining the phenomena, processes and connections between them. In this sense, the word “theory” is often replaced by the word “concept”. For example, the theory of problem learning, the theory of developmental learning, etc. Secondly, in a narrow sense and strict sense, in the mainstream of a strong version of science, theory is the highest form of organization of scientific knowledge, giving a holistic view of the essential links in a particular area of knowledge-the object of this theory. For example, the theory of relativity, quantum theory, etc. In this narrow sense, the word “theory” in the social sciences is practically not used because of the extreme mobility, variability, poor predictability of the phenomena and processes studied by these sciences, the impossibility of accurately measuring their quantitative characteristics. The theory is also understood as a system of knowledge that has a logical structure and is characterized by the internal connection of its components, and as a method of obtaining new knowledge in the same subject area and the practical transformation of reality. Four key questions of the formation of theoretical knowledge in pedagogy, on the basis of which a matrix of knowledge about the pedagogical theory itself is composed, are represented by B.S. Gershunsky (See Table 2). There is an urgent need to revise the methodological foundations for the construction of modern pedagogical theory, as education is embraced by complex innovation processes and in the socio-humanitarian knowledge itself there have been significant methodological changes affecting the definition of conceptual approaches of pedagogical cognition.
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The Matrix of Knowledge on Pedagogical Theory Definition of the concept of "pedagogical theory" Pedagogical theory should be understood as appropriate and legitimate properties of description, foresight and transformation of the relevant parties of pedagogical reality
Interdisciplin- The empirical foundations ary character of pedagogical theory of pedagogical theories 1) Any pedagogical theory should synthesize, generalize, integrate in its content, objective data of different sciences.
Requirements for pedagogical facts and practical experience: 1) Facts are necessary for revealing the essence of phenomena, establishing regular connections and relations between phenomena: these links must be extracted from the very facts, as they are inherent in the facts and constitute their essence; 2) it is necessary to study the logical principles of the construction of pedagogical theory, scientific and pedagogical thinking; 3) procedures for comparing, assessing facts or experience are required; 4) the synthesis of already existing and new categories.
Table 2
Typology of Pedagogical Theories Specific nondeductive theories describing and explaining the behavior of empirical objects; Substantive deductive theories derived from more general systems of knowledge by the dissemination of those or provisions to the objects or phenomena under study; Formalized theories based on certain mathematical models, algorithms, etc. Inductive-deductive theory.
Researchers clarify the requirements for the pedagogical theory. The requirement of the completeness of the theory with respect to a certain subject area means that this theory should encompass all phenomena and processes from a given subject area. The requirement of consistency means that all postulates, ideas, principles, models, conditions and other structural elements of the theory should not logically contradict each other. c) laws and patterns. The next type of methodological knowledge are laws and patterns.
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The law is the key element of the theory, which is nothing more than a system of laws expressing the essence, deep connections of the studied object in all its integrity and concreteness, as a unity of the diverse. This and other definitions are based on the postulates of science that, as clarification and correction, the hypothesis turns into a law. In science, they basically rely on the laws of formal logic – the law of identity, the law of contradiction, the law of excluding the third and the law of sufficient grounds. The law of identity explains: the volume, and the content of the thought of an object, must be strictly defined, and remain constant in the process of reasoning about it. The law of non-contradiction is a logical law, according to which the utterance and its negation cannot be both true at the same time. The law speaks of contradictory statements, one of which is the negation of the other. Hence the other name of the law – the law of contradiction emphasizes that the law denies the contradiction, declares it a mistake and thus requires consistency. According to the law of the excluded third, either the statement itself or its negation is true. This law is valid only if the laws of identity and contradiction are observed. The law of sufficient grounds proves the proposition that in the process of reasoning, only those judgments about truth that can be given sufficient grounds, evidence should be considered reliable. In its most general form, the law can be defined as a relationship (link) between phenomena, processes, which is: –– objective, since it is inherent in the real world, reflects the sensually-objective activity of people, expresses the real relations of things; –– substantial, specifically – universal. Being a reflection of the essential in the movement of the universe, any law is inherent in all processes of this class, type (kind), without exception, and acts always and everywhere, where the appropriate processes and conditions unfold; –– necessary, because, being closely connected with the essence, the law operates and is carried out with “iron necessity” under the appropriate conditions;
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–– internal, because it reflects the deepest connections and dependencies of the given subject area in the unity of all its moments and relationships within the framework of some integral system; –– repeated, stable, since “the law is strong (remaining) in the phenomenon,” “identical in phenomena” (Hegel). In epistemology there are six basic laws of the development of science: 1. Dependence of the development of science on the needs of social and historical practice; 2. A relative independence from the development of science; 3. Succession in the development of scientific theories, ideas and concepts, methods and means of scientific knowledge; 4. Alternation in the development of science periods of relatively calm (evolutionary) development and rapid (revolutionary) logic of development of the theoretical foundations of science, a system of its concepts and views; 5. Interaction and interconnectedness of all branches of science, as a result of which the subject of one branch of science can and should be studied by the methods and methods of another science; 6. Freedom of criticism, unhindered discussion of science, open and free expression of various opinions. In the structure of the pedagogical theory, the category “law” is interpreted as an expression of the universal, often repeated links, objects and phenomena of pedagogical reality, which are recognized as mandatory, and the category “regularity” is an expression of the connection and interdependence of pedagogical phenomena. The methodological knowledge also includes methodological requirements, expressed in the form of principles that give a kind of a program of theoretical and practical action in pedagogy. In terms of their content, methodological requirements clarify aspects of the use of methodological principles. Methodological principles are part of a certain methodological approach, since the methodological approach is the concept much broader than the methodological principle. When carrying out scientific and pedagogical research, it is necessary to proceed from the principles of objectivity, the determinism of pedagogical phenomena,
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to provide a holistic approach to the study of pedagogical phenomena and processes, to study the phenomenon in its development, in its connections and interaction with other phenomena, and to consider the development process as self-movement and self-development. 1.3 Methodological bases and approaches as a basis for pedagogical research
The logical chain of development of the scientific apparatus of research provides an optimal justification for the methodological foundations and bases of research. The methodological framework includes a description of the ideological and research concept of the author, which provides a truly scientific, objective approach to the analysis of the phenomena under investigation and the conclusions and recommendations derived from it for the theory and practice of education, the scientific value and reasoning of the results obtained. In turn, the logical chain (algorithm) of the methodological substantiation of pedagogical research is as follows: 1) the definition of specific methodological approaches to the study of pedagogical (historical and pedagogical) facts, phenomena and processes; 2) clarification of methodological principles; 3) a critical look at the problem under study; 4) historical and logical analysis of the problem under study (genesis and evolution of development); 5) system-structural analysis of the subject of research, determining the essence, structure, content, place of the subject of research in the system of education and science; 6) a holistic approach to the characterization of the subject of research, providing qualitatively new properties of the object formed by the interconnection of its parts, revealing the internal contradictions of the phenomenon under study. In science, the following types of methodological substantiation are distinguished: –– Philosophical foundations of science (philosophical worldview, logical-gnoseological, value-normative principles, theories and categories developed by philosophy;
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–– theoretical grounds (initial theories, conceptual ideas of a particular area of science); –– methodological bases (methodological tools of research, ideals and norms of scientific character); –– logical grounds (laws of formal and dialectical logic, rules of proof and argumentation); –– empirical grounds (scientific facts, results of experiments, experimental-search work). The listed bases together constitute the theoretical and methodological base of scientific research and perform the function of its justification. There are several sources of methodological knowledge in the field of pedagogy. The first source is the research activity of teachers, in the course of which various scientific problems are posed and solved. However, methodological knowledge is not the goal of such research. It is a byproduct and does not show signs of absolute or relative novelty for pedagogical methodology. Such methodological knowledge refers to the lowest level of its development. The second source of the emergence of new methodological knowledge in the field of pedagogy is research activity in the framework of the development of proper theoretical, methodological or theoretical and methodological problems. At the same time, the correlation of theoretical and methodological problems may be different, and methodological knowledge is not always predominant. However, the goal of its formation by the researcher is realized and set, and achieved by applying general scientific methods of research and purposeful work. The third source of the formation of methodological knowledge is the work of scientists on the creation of the general foundations of scientific research activity within the framework of pedagogical science. At the same time, this work is directly aimed at obtaining methodological knowledge by developing a theory (or its individual elements) of the research activities of teachers. This conclusion makes it possible to classify the totality of knowledge describing the theory of research activity to methodological knowledge, and the theory itself to the sci-
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entific foundations of the development of methodology. This includes research activities on the formation of a particular pedagogical theory. The fourth source of the formation of methodological knowledge in relation to pedagogy is the research work to resolve the problems of pedagogical science, among which, above all, the problems of expanding the boundaries of the object and the subject of pedagogy, its tasks and functions, the methods and logical structure of pedagogy as a scientific discipline, and a number of other problems. The fifth source of the formation of a new methodological knowledge in the field of pedagogy is a research activity related to the study, generalization, and comprehension of innovative pedagogical practice through the explanation of new connections of pedagogical practice with theory. In the course of this activity, researchers can obtain knowledge, the totality of which can be organized in the form of the theory of scientific and transformational activity – pedagogical innovation and pedagogical forecasting. And, finally, the last (sixth source), which leads to the emergence of a new methodological knowledge, is the activity of the representatives of pedagogical science in developing separate methodological problems connected, for example, with the adaptation in the subject area of knowledge of other sciences – psychology, mathematics, sociology and etc. An important condition is the joint research activity of teachers with the representatives of other scientific disciplines. All kinds of methodological knowledge perform descriptive, explanatory, diagnostic, prognostic, designing, constructing and transforming functions, adequate to the basic functions of pedagogical science. Methodological knowledge in comparison with subject knowledge has incomparably greater generality and breadth of transfer. Methodological knowledge is a reliable tool of theoretical and practice-transforming activity. Methodological knowledge: first, it is the knowledge of the ways of studying pedagogical practice, the accumulation of necessary empirical data; secondly, this is the knowledge of the methods of ascent from empirical data to theoretical generalizations, to the construction of a theory; thirdly, this is the knowledge of how to translate theo-
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retical provisions into the language of specific methodological recommendations; fourthly, this is the knowledge of how to implement the relevant recommendations into practice with a view to transforming it, transferring it to a higher quality level. The determination of the methodological foundations and guidelines of pedagogical research is exerted by a certain influence of scientific approaches chosen by the researcher – a compass indicating the search deployment vector dictating the parameters of the selection of the elements of the research apparatus. The provisions of methodological approaches give the semantic significance of scientific research. Of special interest in this regard are the provisions of civilizational, personality-activity, systemic, axiological, synergistic, reflexive, competence and resource approaches. The civilizational approach to the consideration of pedagogical phenomena of the past and the present provides a search from the positions of pedagogical civilizations and their paradigms, states about the legitimacy of the existence of three pedagogical civilizations (natural pedagogy, reproductive pedagogical and creative pedagogical civilization) and three pedagogical paradigms (scientific, technocratic, esoteric). Established by the mid-80s of the 20th century, the personalityactivity approach responded to the social order for a subject-oriented organization and management of the student’s learning activity, when the teacher solved specially organized learning tasks of different levels of complexity and problems developing objective, communicative competence, with the priority given to the student as a person. The authors of the concept noted: “the approach to the student as an “object” of education and upbringing ultimately led to his alienation from teaching, turned it from a goal into a school work tool. As a result, learning lost meaning for the student, knowledge turned out to be external to his real life. The teacher being alienated from the educational process was also deprived of the opportunity to independently set educational goals, to choose the means and methods of his activities. He lost the human reference point of his professional position – the personality of the student. As a matter of fact, both the
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teacher and the pupil have turned into different-sized “cogs” of the educational machine “. The ideas of this approach are found in the works of psychologists LS. Vygotsky, A.N. Leontyev et al, who regard the personality as a subject of activity, formed in activity and in relation, which determines the nature of this activity and relation. As for the teacher, it was pointed out that he “from the scientific point of view is only the organizer of the social educational environment, regulator and controller of the interaction with each student” (LS Vygotsky). Within the framework of this approach, it is assumed that the person at the center of training has his motives, goals, his special psychological makeup. Diagnosing interests, opportunities, level of knowledge and skills of students, the teacher directs the educational process in order to develop the personality of the learner. At the same time, national, sex-age, individual-psychological, status characteristics of the students are considered. The profile of the person is closely connected with activity – a form of active, purposeful interaction of a person with the world around him, obeying his needs as a prerequisite for a certain activity. It is noted that there is no activity without a motive, which again focuses the researcher’s attention on the individual. The realization of the process of cognition in research activity is connected with the awareness of the importance of the system approach, which is based on the study of objects as systems. This approach changes the ways of producing theoretical knowledge, the scheme of cognitive movement in an object, in a new way revealing the subject of research and the way it is described, changes the structure of knowledge about the subject, the conceptual system of science and the style of scientific thinking. Systemic representations become an important feature of modern knowledge and management practices, so that no one field of science, no one management practice cannot do without systemic representations, a system approach, when the solution of one problem depends on the solution of many others, when the problems themselves acquire a systemic, complex character. Consequently, the words “system”, “systemic”, “systematic” are an integral part of the study of the individual’s subject potential.
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In philosophy, a system is understood as the totality of elements that are in interrelations with each other, that forms a certain sequence, unity. Four concepts of the system are distinguished: 1) in the philosophical theoretical-cognitive sense the system is a way of thinking as a way of setting and ordering problems; 2) in the scientific and research sense, the system is a general methodology for studying processes and phenomena that are assigned to any area of human knowledge as an object of system analysis; 3) in the project sense, the system is presented as a methodology for designing and creating sets of methods and tools to achieve a specific goal; 4) in the narrowest (engineering) sense, the system is understood as an interrelated set of things and ways of using them to solve certain tasks. The system-structural analysis of scientific knowledge is of an interdisciplinary nature, applied in all fields of scientific knowledge – in pedagogy and psychology, history and linguistics, biology and physics, etc., and directs scientific cognition to the possibility and theoretical and practical necessity of representing any object as a system – a special phenomenon possessing specific properties of dissection and integrity, structure and organization. The main function of the system-structural approach is to generalize concrete scientific knowledge and formulate a general principle of its construction, to give the conceptual design to an exceptionally important idea of systemic character. Thus, the reviewer’s conclusion on this or that work (monograph, thesis) – “no conceptual remarks” – indicates that in his study the author of the work has reached the necessary methodological level. In modern scientific knowledge, the system-structural approach practically covers all sciences, but it is especially widely and fruitfully used in biology, psychology, technical and social sciences, i.e. in those branches of knowledge that are associated with the study of complex and super complex entities. Good prospects in this respect are opened in pedagogical science, which, although with a long delay, goes on to study the problems associated with the patterns of individualization and subjectivity of the individual in the teaching and educational process.
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To obtain adequate knowledge of the systems, it is suggested to describe them at least at three levels: 1) at the level of their integral properties; 2) from the standpoint of their internal structure and the contribution of each of the components to the formation of integral properties of systems; 3) at the level of understanding of these systems as the subsystems of more complex systems. Six principles of systemic cognition of the world are formulated as follows: I. Consideration of the object of activity (theoretical and practical), as a system, i.e. as a differentiated set of interacting elements. 2. Determination of composition, structure and organization of elements and parts of the system, detection of leading interactions between them. 3. Identification of the external links of the system, highlighting the main ones. 4. Determination of the function of the system and its role among other systems. 5. Analysis of the dialectics of the structure and function of the system. 6. Detection on this basis of the laws and trends of the development of the system. The following provisions that are significant in methodological terms for pedagogical research are also singled out: –– System is a complete formation. It consists of elements, parts that are inextricably linked, thus forming its structure as a whole. –– System in the structural aspect is characterized by the aspect of the state and aspect of movement, development, dynamics. –– System as a whole is characterized by its functions, through which it is included in more complex systems. These functions are generated by a structure that determines the functions of the system as a whole, as well as its parts and elements, Social systems (including pedagogical systems) are characterized by expediency, i.e. a desire to achieve goals. –– System is characterized by hierarchy of the structure that is inherent to it, and that depends on the degree of interconnection of its parts and elements.
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In the system, the processes of functioning and development are distinguished. The processes of functioning reflect the structure of the state, the development processes – the dynamic structure. One of the elements of the general scientific non-philosophical sphere is the system style of thinking, which has its own peculiarities: –– activity of the subject, informativeness, since the understanding of scientificalness, which excludes the subjective, is replaced by an understanding of the science that takes into account the systematicity of the “subject-object” relationship. –– integrity and wholeness, demanding the unification of data from different sciences (interdisciplinary level), different styles as opposed to antinomy, breaking other styles between themselves (intermethodological level). –– system dynamism: the system developing in the informational, energy, material plans, is one of the orientations of the systemic thinking style. –– socially cultural synthesis. The system style is focused on the interaction of art, science, culture. Specificity of system knowledge can be revealed through analysis of three typological forms of theoretical cognition: 1. Objective (direct, simple) knowledge, in which the phenomenon appears as a separate, independent entity, integrating integer and total units. 2. Systemic knowledge, in which the phenomenon is known as an element of its genus, a system. It is the generality of the conditions of existence and the systematicity that emerges on this basis that allows individual phenomena to discover their essential, sub-institutional basis. 3. Metasystem (concrete, synthetic) knowledge, which provides a transition from a monocentric view of reality to the reproduction of an object in knowledge entirely, i.e. in all the diversity of its real forms and interactions with other objects. The systematic approach, essentially transforming traditional methods of scientific research, design of various education systems, includes the following basic elements:
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1) assessment of the current situation; 2) definition of goals and objectives; 3) system representation of the object under study; 4) design and formation of a conceptual model of the system; 5) research and optimization of the system; b) implementation of the system; 7) development and implementation of the program of activities; 8) analysis and evaluation of the results obtained; 9) improvement and development of systems and programs. The system-activity approach directs the attention of the researcher to the fact that people, in contrast to inanimate systems, exhibit activity. Only the living organism has an internal ordering and an individual response to external stimuli. Therefore, a person’s ability to learn and explore depends on the availability of effective relation, including not only a certain amount of information, but intuition, sensations and emotions. Specifics of human attitude to the world I. Kant defined in the three-vector system: cognitive, practical-transformative, value-based. In a coherent human life, they interact and, at the same time, each creates its “activity core”, that is, the sphere of creative activity in which the personality is realized with the greatest completeness. When organizing a scientific search, the researcher can rely on the basic concepts of axiology (the theory of values) – “value” and “valuation”. Value is understood as the ability to bring the objective properties of objects, phenomena, in accordance with human needs to make them good. The importance of the axiological approach in conducting the research is determined by the very content of the research activity: these are the values of intellectual labor, and the values of the most professional and educational environment, and the value of interaction and relation with subjects of learning in the course of scientific knowledge. Five types of value interaction are distinguished: intra-scientific – these are recognized methodological norms and procedures for scientific search, evaluation of scientific material; values for science, i.e. external regulators; the value of science, i.e. its impact on the common value system and other areas of activity; value as an object of scientif-
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ic knowledge; ethical theories; science as an element of value systems, i.e. the attitude to science in the system of values accepted in society. The essence of the strategy for organizing the research process on the basis of the idea of self-organization is as follows. The traditional approach involves studying the world, placing emphasis on closed systems, paying special attention to stability, order, uniformity. All these settings characterize the paradigmatic basis and way of approach to the study of natural processes within the framework of traditional science. The synergetic approach accentuates the attention of scientists on open systems, disorder, instability, nonlinear relations, including pedagogical ones. It is quite natural for an increasing number of scientists, teachers, teachers of higher education and school teachers to turn to a synergistic understanding of the world, the desire to transfer its concepts and positions directly to pedagogical activity, since the subjects of the pedagogical system – educators and students – are an open, complex information system. The synergetic approach is the development of system-functional methods used in pedagogical research. The application of this approach guides the researcher to study the educational process in a new context – the importance of the nonlinear situation of open dialogue, direct and feedback, the awakening of the learner’s own forces, the focus on building the trajectory of self-development, self-determination and awareness of one’s own subjectivity. The principles of synergetics allow us to interpret and implement the following provisions in the research process: –– nonlinearity of thinking, implying pluralism of theoretical and conceptual constructions and conjugation of all modes of thinking in cognitive situations; –– urgency of randomness as a necessary research moment, which is a self-organizing reality; –– subject orientation of the process of mastering the methodology of research, meaning the conjugation of external and internal knowledge.
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The value of a reflexive approach lies in the provision in it of the management of the process of mastering the methodology of research activity. Its basis is the reflexive regulation of the search for new ideas: the stage of criticism, the conscious rethinking and normalization of activity. Knowledge of the types of structures and their main stages of reflexive regulation is necessary for determining the whole system of mastering the methodology of research activity, because this process consists of microprocesses that need to be varied in relation in different ways. Accounting for the positions of the competence approach in the process of pedagogical research makes it possible to concentrate attention on studying the harmony of the personal and cognitive potential of students. The use of the competence approach allows the design of new pedagogical systems at the angle of the triad – “ability to act”, “ability to be” and “ability to live.” In addition, the competency approach involved in the scientific search has a positive impact on the development of research competencies, improving interaction with the educational market, increasing the competitiveness of specialists, updating the content, methodology and relevant research environment. One of the criteria for assessing the quality of research activity is the research culture, manifested in the personal characteristics of the researcher. The competence approach, embodying today the innovation process in pedagogical science, has a practical, pragmatic, and humanistic orientation. Its practical focus is that it emphasizes the role of experience, skills that help in practice to realize knowledge, solve problems on this basis. Humanistic focus provides increased attention to the personal characteristics of subjects of research. The essential characteristics of competence include the following: –– competence in a broad sense can be defined as an in-depth knowledge of the subject or mastered skill; –– competence implies constant updating of knowledge, knowledge of new information for the successful solution of professional tasks at a given time and under the given conditions;
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Competence includes meaningful (knowledge), procedural (skill) and personal components. In other words, a competent researcher should not only understand the essence of the problem, but also be able to solve it practically, i.e., to have a method («knowledge plus skill») for solutions, to activate one’s own subjectivity. The main thrust of the competent approach in research work is to strengthen the personal aspect, to ensure the development of personal components. The notion of key competencies as a system of knowledge, practical experience and skills is universally recognized (entered into subjective experience that has a personal meaning). Key competencies are personal goals of researchers, personal meanings of their activities, deploying the content of the research process through the use of key competencies. This is the way of transition from impersonal, alienated from the researcher, “values” to personal senses, i.e. a biased, value attitude to the subject under study. The formation of a resource approach in the field of scientific search is becoming an urgent necessity of the 21st century. In order to understand the essence of the resource approach, it is necessary to clarify the concepts of “resource” and “security”. Resources (from French – ressorse) – funds available for use if necessary, and provision – material means to ensure the ability to live, exist, that serves as a guarantee, ensures the performance of something, makes sure the implementation of something is certain. The resource approach is focused on the following priorities: –– the results of the research should ensure a balance of interests in the development of the individual, society and the state; –– multidimensionality of reflection of directions of development of pedagogical science; –– integrity of coverage of all levels and structures of the subject of research. Research is a constant resource for education and for building oneself as a researcher. The resources for the research process itself lie in the development and planning of an integrated system of actions with well-defined research results balanced in resource provision.
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When choosing methodological approaches for pedagogical research, the following sequence should be used (Table 3): Characteristics of projecting a number of methodological approaches to the main research positions Theses or provisions of the study 1 The results of the study, introduced into education, provide humanistic values. In addition, the process of mastering the methodology of research is a personal process, the effectiveness of which determines the activity of the researcher
Table 3
Name of the The content of the projection on the approach selected thesis 2 3 Personality-activi- The emphasis is on the interests ty approach of participants in the educational process, preserving and supporting their subjectivity in the process of activities. It takes into account the personality characteristics of the researcher, the imprint of his subjectivity on the process of scientific search. It also dictates the need to organize the research process on an activity basis, through the implementation of mastered standards of science in action and predetermines the reliance on the independence and activity of the researcher, the realization of the process of selfdevelopment Perception of the inSystem approach It requires multidimensionality of vestigated problem in consideration of the subject of cogthe elemental integrity, nition, systematization of mastered interdependence and concepts, means of their use and mutual influence of the fixation, positioning of participants structural components of in joint activity. the studied integrity The effectiveness of the The axiological Actualizes the formation and develresearch process is deter- approach opment of the research professional mined by the degree of and educational environment on the awareness of the value basis of social and corporate values of scientific research, its results
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1 2 The study of pedagogical Synergeticphenomena as complex reflexive approach open dynamic systems that have tendencies to self-organization, selfreflexivity and evolution, based on the principles of openness, nonlinearity, structural heterogeneity. The position of equal importance of personal potential, knowledge resources, experience of subjects of the educational process
Competence approach
3 Demands the need to take into account in the scientific search not only stable processes, but also obtaining research results in situations of uncertainty and situations of changing, unstable vision of the world in its "fluid", multifaceted entity. In addition, it demands mastering the researcher by self-organizing and reflexive procedures of research activity. The selected vector of research actualizes the development of competencies that ensure the mobility, self-expression and self-humanization of the person and free application of the acquired knowledge both in familiar and new, unfamiliar situations
Adequate and harmonious use of scientific approaches in the process of research ensures, that various parameters of studying pedagogical reality are considered. The research process in terms of the approaches considered suggests: –– modeling of research situations and the results obtained, focused on self-development, self-realization and self-expression; –– actualization of ways of behavior related to the comprehension of oneself and the content of the professional activity, and factors related to the development of the individuality of the researcher; –– formulation of the ultimate objectives of the study and designing a model for the desired resolution of the studied problem, as well as a system for the phased construction of the procedure for implementing this model. When organizing such a research process, the following principles should be taken into account:
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–– subjectivity, involving a conscious inclusion of researchers in the survey process, manifestation of their personally significant qualities and subjective position, the implementation of conceptual selfdetermination; –– Fundamentality and integrity, providing for the formation of a holistic holographic strategic thinking of the researcher; –– the appropriateness and relevance of the research process to the logic of active subjective cognition. The guarantor of the implementation of this principle is the reflexive nature of the research process; –– the alternation of the regimes of the research activity causes a change in the direction of research, when priority is given to sociocognitive, then cooperative cultural norms of science, developed in two plans – theoretical and practical; –– adaptability involves the construction and implementation of research based on the professional experience and knowledge of the researcher. It is guaranteed by the allocation in the technological scheme and the realization of the movement according to the educational material of different degrees of novelty (“knowledge-ignorance” zones); –– dialogueness and activity of participation are represented by the partner style of interaction between the researcher and the subjects of the study; –– cooperation, dictating the need to implement cultural norms of science. Scientific cooperation is manifested through relation between members of the scientific community. Scientific models, theories, algorithms, schemes are created by some researchers, taking into account and on the basis of those developed by others. At the same time, scientific evaluation leads the initial ideas to a high degree of generality. 1.4 History and trends in the development of the methodology of pedagogy
Scientists successfully carry out philosophical comprehension of the present and future methodology, turned to practice, trends and
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prospects for the development of the methodology of science and practice. At present, the role of methodology in determining the prospects for the development of the sciences, in the generalization of what has been achieved, has substantially increased. What is the reason for this? First, in modern science, there is a noticeable tendency towards the integration of knowledge, the complex analysis of certain phenomena of objective reality. Secondly, the sciences themselves have become more complicated: psychology and pedagogy have become diverse in the methods of research, new facets have emerged in the subject of their study. Thirdly, at present, the gap between philosophical and methodological problems and the direct methodology of psychological and pedagogical research has become evident. Fourth, psychology and pedagogy have become a kind of polygon for applying mathematical methods in the social sciences. In fact, the importance of methodology in a particular pedagogical study is growing. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the stages and trends in the development of the methodology of pedagogy, as well as its prognostic potential. The main contradiction in the development of the methodology of pedagogy is the contradiction between the methodology of pedagogy and pedagogical reality. The main contradiction of “highlights”, and the essential relation of the subject of the methodology of pedagogy is the relation of the method to pedagogical reality. Among the ways to resolve the main contradiction, the researchers call the following: 1) the development of the research methods adequate to the task of reflecting the regular development of pedagogical phenomena; 2) development and systematization of methods for transforming pedagogical reality. To enrich the content of the methodology of pedagogy, the following tendencies of its development are named: 1) deepening of the understanding and essence of the subject matter of pedagogy methodology; 2) the task of methodology of pedagogy is the formation, preservation in the pedagogical consciousness and development of the dialectical creative style of scientific and pedagogical thinking; 3) focus on the accounting in modern studies of the three main methodological requirements. The first requirement: in any pedagogical research it is necessary to address the contradictions of the object of
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research, formulate, on the basis of the revealed contradictions, the research problem and justify its solution, taking into account the ways of resolving the open contradictions. The second requirement: any pedagogical problem should be put and solved taking into account the systematic and unified pedagogical knowledge and the tendency to integrate educational and didactic systems. The third requirement: any pedagogical research requires an appeal to pedagogical reality, a focus on its transformation and the application of methods or results of empirical knowledge. Science develops not only through the knowledge of the surrounding world; its development is influenced by self-knowledge as a reflection of knowledge and activity. The uneven nature of the development of society and education affects the learning and upbringing processes, their comprehension and their values. The explanation of the innovative nature of the development of theory and practice of instruction requires an appeal to philosophical knowledge about the types of scientific rationality. The problem of the development of scientific and theoretical knowledge in the mainstream of classical, nonclassical and post-non-classical ideas has its roots in philosophy, sociology, and psychology (Vygotsky, Bakhtin, Stepin, and others). According to V.S. Stepina, the stages of the development of science determine the types of methodology characteristic of each of these stages. The classical stage in the development of science (the 17th century – the beginning of the 20th century) is connected with the scientists’ confidence in the possibility of knowing the properties of the object, irrespective of the means by which knowledge is realized and who implements the latter. The nonclassical stage (beginning of the 20th century and up to the 60s of the 20th century) is connected with the understanding of scientists that the knowledge obtained as a result of the study of the object will be relative to the means (observations) of cognition. The non-classical or post-nonclassical (beginning with the 1960s) stage in the development of scientific knowledge is characterized by the fact that scientists begin to realize that the knowledge obtained as a result of object-practical activity aimed at the study of the object will be relative not only to the means observation) of knowledge, but also to what kind of worldview, values, norms gov-
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erns the subject. This is a significant result of methodological research in recent years, which should be guided in scientific search. The methodology of philosophical rationality allows us to consider the dialectic of scientific knowledge about nature, society, man and human activity in various cultural and historical models of social development. This process has special significance for pedagogy and, in particular, for didactics. V.V. Kraevsky outlined the nature of the change in the methodology of pedagogy itself. He has shown that the definition of the methodology of pedagogy given by M.A. Danilov (1972), corresponded to the “classical” stage in the development of pedagogical science. Consideration of the methodology of pedagogy as a methodological activity was attributed to the “nonclassical” stage in the development of science (VV Kraevsky, 1977). And, finally, the addition of the logic of scientific and pedagogical research to the axiological model, carried out in the works of E.V. Berezhnova (2003), corresponds to the third (“post-nonclassical”) stage. Let us consider the dynamics of ideas about education as a cultural and historical innovation phenomenon (from classical to postnon-classical ideas in didactics and teaching). The development of modern knowledge about educational systems and the educational process requires an analysis of the ratio of the basic pedagogical concepts of “education” and “learning” as the answer depends on the social and personal understanding of educational strategy in the country, the purpose and content of the teacher training. The classical model of the didactic process is based on the interrelationship of pedagogical concepts: education – learning – learning – lesson. In accordance with the classical ideas, education is a process and the result of digestion of knowledge and skills obtained in the course of learning with the aim of personal, professional and cultural self-determination. Methodology of classical didactics considered the student primarily as an object of study, not paying enough attention to his subjectivity in learning and creative role of his reflection, not noticing value-based essence of learning and education. The classical understanding of pedagogy is connected with its definition as a science of education, therefore education and training were understood as almost identical.
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–– The nonclassical understanding of education is that, in addition to the process, the result and the system, it is viewed through the epicenter of the active participation of the subject in it, i.e. as an activity and value. This is the subjective nature of the formation of a phenomenon, which possesses universality, supersituation, supersociality. The stage of post-nonclassical comprehension is characterized by the following features, which determine the development of didactics: –– the dominant of humanistic values in relation to learning objectives; –– spiritual and moral values as guidelines for the harmonious development of the student’s personality; –– the quality of education, implemented in the form of educational results, the basis of which, on the one hand, is the features of the individual, and on the other hand – the character of universal methods of activity, key competencies; –– educational process as a relationship of the conditions for the development of the student: subject-practical activity, relation, learning activity, reflexive self-knowledge. The dynamics of the types of scientific rationality in understanding the development of didactics and teaching was manifested in the fact that: 1) in classical didactic doctrine, teaching was considered only as a purposeful process, and the child as an object; 2) in the phase of transitivity there was a change in the system-forming basis of education, a category of value was introduced, the learning goals began to be considered in the context of values (a nonclassical type of scientific rationality), among which the student’s subjectivity in the educational process was paramount; 3) post-nonclassical type of scientific rationality is characterized by the concretization of spiritual and moral values in upbringing that harmonize the links between teaching and upbringing in order to develop the personality of each student. Consequently, in the case of applying the post-non-classical methodology to the study of the pedagogical object, the scientist can: –– investigate its qualitative changes as systems on the basis of taking into account the relationships between external and internal factors of influence;
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–– identify the nature of the relationship between rational and irrational, unintentional actions of teachers working in the conditions of this system; –– take into account a certain potential for unpredictability in the course of its development. The study of history, the disclosure of the logic and trends in the development of pedagogical methodology is due to the fact that the developing pedagogical science, since the end of the XIX century. and throughout the entire 20th century, gave grounds: –– to clarify and disclose the origins of the emergence of new methodological foundations and guidelines in the scientific and peda gogical search, which are at the basis of the renewal of pedagogical science and practice, enriching them with new ideas or hypotheses; –– to systematize the methods of development of the most fa mous and recognized in the scientific community pedagogical ideas, concepts or theories. During the entire XX and the beginning of the XXI century the fundamental foundations of the development of pedagogical method ology were laid as an independent scientific direction through the dis closure of: –– philosophical categories: contradiction as the driving force of the educational process (M.A. Danilov, V.I. Zagvyazinsky, etc.); essen tial and due in pedagogy (V.V. Kraevsky, A.V. Korzhuyev and oth ers); correlation of necessity and chance in pedagogical phenomena (B.P. Bitinas, G.V. Vorobiev, etc.); activity as an object of psycho logical and pedagogical research, activity as an explanatory principle (V.V. Davydov, A.K. Markova, etc.); laws and patterns in pedago gy (P.N. Gruzdev, V.Ya. Struminskii, I.Ya. Lerner, V.I. Pomogaiba, A.A. Levshin, B.S. Gershunsky, etc.); the success of activity as a cat egory of pedagogy (AK Rysbaeva, etc.); systemic approach in peda gogy (F.F. Korolev, A.T. Kurakin, L.N. Novikova, R.G. Lemberg, N.V. Kuzmina, A.P. Kovalev, J. Skalkova, S.I. Arkhangelsky, V.P. Bes palko, M.N. Skatkin, Yu.K. Babansky, N.V. Bordovskaya, T.G. Galiev, etc.); system-structural approach in pedagogy (M.A. Danilov, T.A. Il’ina, etc.); system-synergetic approach in pedagogy (I.R. Prigozhin, N.D. Khmel, Z. Zhanabaev, L.Kh. Mazhitova, K.M. Aryngazin,
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B. Mukushev, M.S. Moldabekova, etc.); the activity approach in pedagogy (G.I. Shchukina, V.S. Il’in, etc.); a comprehensive approach to the study of pedagogical phenomena (Y.K. Babansky, M.M. Potashnik, I.S. Marenko, etc.), an essential approach (A.V. Korzhuev et al.); civilizational approach (G.B. Kornetov, etc.); competence approach (D. Raven, S.S. Ku- nanbaeva, D.N. Kulibaeva, B. Kaskatayeva, M.A. Absatova, N.V. Mir zo, Zh.K. Kh. Salkhanov, A.T. Chaklikov, G.M. Kasymova, B.T. Bar say, K.S. Kudaibergenova, and others); information and technological approach (Zh.A. Karaev, S.A. Abdimanapov, D.M. Dzhusubaliyeva, Sh.M. Kalanova, T.O. Balykbaev, A.A. Satbekova, etc.). –– the logic of the development of the system of pedagogical knowledge: the status of pedagogy as a science: the object and subject of pedagogy, the methodology for studying the structure of pedagogy, the place of pedagogy in the system of scientific knowledge (M.A. Danilov, V.I. Zhuravlev, V.E. Gmurman, F.F. Korolev, N.K. Gon- charov, E.I. Monoson, B.T. Likhachev, N.A. Vershinina, and others); sources of development of pedagogical science, interaction of pedagogical theory and practice, the logic of the formation of scientific knowledge (L.V. Zankov, K.N. Volkov, E.I. Monoson, H.J. Liimets, F.A. Fradkin, B.T. Likhachev, V.S. Shubinsky, Y.S. Turbovskoy, N.V. Kukharev, L.I. Gusev, G.L. Lukpanov, V.I. Ginetsinsky, A.N. Ilyasova, A.A. Arlamov, and other); factors that influence the intensification of the development of pedagogical science (V.S. Il’in, et al.); ordering, systematization and enrichment of the conceptual and terminological system of pedagogy (V.E. Gmurman, I.M. Kantor, BT Likhachev, I.S. Marenko, V.I. Zhuravlev, M.A. Galaguzova, G.N. Shtinov, N.L. Korshunova, and others); dialectical nature of the development and renewal of a system of empirical and theoretical knowledge about pedagogical reality during the organization and conduct of pedagogical research (N.V. Bordovskaya, V.I. Zagvyazinsky and others); the nature of the relationship between the fundamental and applied methods in the analysis of the course and results of pedagogical research (E.V. Berezhnova, V.V. Kraevsky, etc.); –– the process of cognition of pedagogical phenomena: methods of pedagogical research, their features and interrelations (AI Piskunov, LV Zankov, GV Vorobiev, N.V. Kuzmina, V.I. Zhuravlev,
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Yu.K. Babansky, V.I. Zagvyazinsky, A.V. Klimenyuk, Ya. Skalkova, A.I. Kochetov, A.S. Totanova, and others); the ratio of qualitative and quantitative characteristics (S.I. Arkhangelsky, V.I. Mikheev, etc.); the ratio of substantive and formalized methods (S.I. Arkhangelsky and others); logical and historical levels of research (F.F. Korolev, etc.); empirical and theoretical levels of research (S.I. Shvyrev, V.I. Zagvyazinsky, A.Ya. Danilyuk, etc.), methodology and methods of pedagogical research (Yu.B. Babansky, V.I. Zagvyazinsky, M.N. Skatkin, V.S. Shubinsky, Ya. Skalkova, A.I. Kochetov, E.A. Shtulman, V.P. Davydov, R. Atakhanov, E.P. Agapov, V.V. Ego- rov, G.M. Kertaeva, etc.), didactic research (L.V. Zankov, G.I. Shchukina, V.V. Kraevsky, Yu.K. Babansky, V.I. Zagvyazinsky, M.N. Skatkin, V. Okon, V.V. Khutorskaya, A.V. Korzhuyev, S.N. Naushabaeva, G.M. Merkis, etc.), comparative pedagogical studies (B. Holmes, F.G. Kumbs, Z.A. Malkova, B.L. Vulfson, E.S. Danilova, L.L. Suprunova, G.K. Nurgalieva, A.K. Kusainov, K.S. Musin, Z.U. Kenesarina, M.T. Eseeva, etc.), historical and pedagogical studies (S.V. Bobryshev, M.V. Nazarov, A.I. Sembaev, G.A. Umanov, G.M. Khrapchenkov, K. Kunantaeva, V.G. Khrapchenkov, R.K. Bekmagambetova, K.R. Kalkeeva, B.K. Igenbaeva, etc.), the history of pedagogical ideas and the education system (A.Kubesov, I.R. Khalitova, Т.М. Alsatov, A.K. Игенбаева, Т.Р. Abdykadyrova, K.O. Zhedelov, K.T. Ybyrayimzhanov, K.Zh. Ibraeva, A.N. Kosherbaeva, G.K. Sholpankulova, G.D. Baubekova, etc.), military pedagogical studies (IA Lipsky, N.A. Minzhanov, S.S. Taulanov, A.A. Bulatbaeva, etc.), social and pedagogical studies (IA Lipsky, L.V. Mardakhaev, R.D. Irzhanova, B.I. Mukanova, L.A. Baiserkeev, K.K. Zhampeisova, Z.U. Kenezarina, G.Zh. Menlibekova, A.A. Kalyuzhny, A.V. Teslenko, etc.), pedagogical studies on the problems of education (L.I. Novikova, V.S. Il’in, S.A. Uzakbaeva, etc.), the typology and logic of the organization of pedagogical research (V.I. Zagvyazinsky, V.V. Krayevsky, V.M. Polonsky, A.V. Korzhuev, G.T. Khairullin and others) the structuring of scientific information in pedagogical studies (B.P. Bitinas, etc.), information support for prognostic research (S.I. Portnov et al.), modeling of experimental research (E.A. Shtulman, etc.), pedagogical experiment Merkis, A.S. Kazarinov, M.I. Grabar, etc.), ap-
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plied research (E.V. Berezhnova, etc.), assessment of the quality of pedagogical research (V.M. Polonsky, S.A. Pisarev, A.M. Altukhova and others); structure and content of the methodology of pedagogy and its genesis of development: the object and subject of the methodology of pedagogy (P.F. Kapterev, A.S. Makarenko, F.F. Korolev, M.A. Danilov, V.V. Kraevsky, etc.); the essence and specificity of the methodology of pedagogy, its functions and fundamental differences from philosophy, the definition of a place in the general methodology of science (F.F. Korolev, M.A. Danilov, M.N. Skatkin, V.V. Kraevsky, I.Ya. Lerner , V.E. Gmurman, V.I. Zagvyazinsky, G.V. Vorobyov, and others); the history of the formation of the methodology of pedagogy, developed as a special branch of scientific knowledge (A.I. Piskunov, S.I. Koltash, etc.), the methodology of pedagogy as a continuously changing historical integrity and dynamic metasystem in relation to pedagogical science and practice in their unity, (M.N. Skatkin, V.V. Kraevsky, etc.), the methodological foundations of the history of pedagogy (T.T. Tazhibaev, K.B. Berzhanov, G.M. Khrapchenkov, V.G. Khrapchenkov, N.I. Grebenyuk, E.K. Tulemisov, and others), structuration (V.M. Polonsky, B.S. Gershunsky, G.K Nurgalieva, I.A. Lipsky, N.V. Bordovskaya, etc.), the general methodological problems of pedagogy (M.A. Danilov, F.F. Korolev, etc.), didactics (L.V. Zankov, V.V. Kraevsky, R.G. Lemberg, etc.), pedagogical culturology (M.Kh. Baltabaev and others), forecasting in pedagogy (E.G. Kostyashkin, B.S. Gershunsky, and others), pedagogical expertise (VS Cherepanov, А.D. Ivanov, etc.), studying, generalizing and using Advanced pedagogical experience (M.N. Skatkin, E.I. Monoson, Yu.K. Babansky, Ya.S. Turbovskoy, F.Sh. Teregulov, etc.), pedagogical innovations (N.R. Yusufbekova, A.V. Khutorskoy, V.S. Lazarev, S.N. Laktionova, R.R. Masyrova, K.Zh. Azhibekov, etc.), the methodology for creating a national school and developing the content of the national (I. Altynsarin, A. Kunanbaev, Sh. Kudaiberdiev, X Dosmukhamedov, J. Aimauytov, A. Baytursynov, M. Dulatov, M. Zhumabaev, S. Toraigyrov, T Shonanov, M. Auezov, S. Kozhakhmetov, Sh. Alzhanov, N. Kulzhanova Sh.K. Berkimbaeva, N.N. Nurakhmetov, A.S. Seydembek, Zh.Zh. Naurizbay, K.A. Orazbekova, Sh.M. Mukhtarova, S.Z. Praliev, G.R. Bakhtiyarova and
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etc.), the strategy of the rural school (A.E. Kondratenkov, A.M. Tsirulnikov, K.A. Nurumzhanova, G.Z. Adigazinov, A.M. Mukhamedzhanova, B.D. Kairbekova, etc.), the theoretical – methodological foundations of ethnopedagogy (GN Volkov, K.Zh. Kozhakhmetova, Sh.I. Dzhanzakova, etc.), ethnopedagogical research (K.B. Zharikbayev, S.K. Kaliev, K.B. Bolshev, J. Asanov, A.A. Kalybekova, A.T. Tabyldiev, R.K. Duysenbinov, Sh.B. Kulmanova, S. Gabbasov, T. Alsatov, R. Zhanabaeva, K. Shalgynbaeva, M. Abdigapparova, etc.), ethno-cultural education (A.S. Seydembek, Zh.Z. Nauryzbai, M.E. Erzhanov, S. K.Abildina, etc.), the theory of moral and patriotic education (L.I. Novikova, E.A. Urunbasarova, L.A. Baiserkeev, V.A. Kim, R.K. Toleubekova, A.B. Abibulaeva, Etc.), polycultural and multilingual education (B. Jetpisbaev, M. Yunusov, etc.), development of the content of general secondary education (T.T. Turlugul, I. Nugumanov, B.B. Baymukanov, S.I. Y. Medeuov, M.J. Jadrina, K.A. Aimagambetova, A. Mukhambetjanova, A. Musilimov, K.Zh. Aganina, A.G. Kazmagambetov, N.A. Abishev, U.B. Zheksenbayeva, B.K. Abdugulov, U.A. Esnazarova, T. Baymoldaev, S.D. Mukanova, Zh.U. Kobdikova, KL Kabdolov, S.N. Zhienbaeva, A. A. Amirova, B.B. S. Sarsekeyev, A.U. Mukhambetzhanova, U. Tokbekenova, D. M. Kazakbaev, and others), higher pedagogical education (N.D. Khmel, B.R. Aitmambetova I.M. Kuzmenko, N.I. Trigubova, G.K. Baydeldinova, Т.S. Sabirov, K.A. Duysenbaev, LK Kerimov, V.V. Trifonov, R.M. Koyanbaev, N.D. Ivanova, A.E. Abylkasymova, N.K. Akhmetov, N.N. Khan, K.B. Seitaliev, R.R. Djeredimalieva, R.K. Bekmagambetova, Z.A. Isaeva, K.S. Uspanov, A.D. Kaidarova, A.B. Nurlybekova, S.Zh. Praliev, S.M. Mausymbayev, A.A. Moldazhanova, E.U. Zhumataeva, A.S. Magauova, B.A. Saylybaev, S.A. Zholdasbekova, LM Narikbaeva, G.B. Alimbekova, B.M. Bekmukhamedov, B.K. Mukhamedzhanov, A. Karakov, Zh.K. Onalbek, R.I. Kadirbayeva, M.Z. Dzhanbubekova, A. Nugusova, A. Faizullaev, B.T. Ortaev, M.I. Dzheksembekova, G.A. Muratbaeva, A.K. Mynbaeva, and others.), formation of scientific and cognitive culture of students (M.K. Kalamkaliev, S.N. Zhienbaeva, A.K. Arenova, A.S. Amirov, etc.), environmental education (M.N. Sarybekov, A.S. Imangaliev, O. Salimbayev, A.A. Saipov, V.N. Vukolov, G.K. Dlimbetova,
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V.P. Karibzhanova, A.A. Zholdasbekov, D. Childibaev, A.E. Mankesh and others.), humanitarian education (A.A. Beisenbaeva, E.Z. Battalkhanov, S.I. Kaliyeva, G.I. Kaliyeva, B.K. Kudyshev, G.S. Kur manbaeva, and others.), theory and practice of development of voca tional education (S.Ya. Batyshev, A.P. Seyteshev, B.K. Momynbaev, B.V. V. Egorov, L.Kh. Mazhitova, O. Syzdykov, I. Nabi, Sh.A. Abdra- man, K.U. Ustemirov, O. Musabekov, B. Kenzhebekov, A.K. Kozybai, A.M. Abdyrov, S. Kokanbaev, etc.), university education (S. Smailov, Zh. R. Bashirova). The results of the methodologists’ work are included in the overall development of the methodology of pedagogy in accordance with the periods of their most active scientific and pedagogical activity. The methodology of pedagogy at the present stage of its development appears as an independent field of methodological knowledge and activity that obeys its own logic of development and reflects the stages of evolution. According to N.V. Bordovskaya, from the middle of the twentieth century to the present period, three important historical stages can be distinguished: the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s, the 1980s and 1990s, the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st century. During these periods, the need to review the existing methodological traditions and to critically analyze innovations in the process of methodologizing pedagogy became very urgent. The first stage of the process of methodologizing pedagogy in the late 1960s and early 1970s was accompanied by a refinement of the subject field, the disclosure of the structure and functions of pedagogical methodology, the definition of effective ways of interaction between pedagogy and philosophy. The success of the formation of the methodology of pedagogy as an independent scientific discipline in the structure of pedagogical science and the assertion of it and its status in the scientific world is related to the progress in the development of dialectical materialism as the philosophy of any science, as well as the involvement of the teachers themselves in the discussion of the problems of philosophy and the methodology of their science. The second stage of the process of formation of the methodological tradition in pedagogy in the 1980s-1990s characterizes both the process
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of expanding the methodological problems of pedagogical research and its development in several directions within the framework of a methodological reference adopted by the scientific community as dominant. The analysis of the genesis of the methodological tradition of pedagogy shows that during the whole period it was developing in two directions, which were often contrasted: philosophical and pedagogical direction (M.A. Danilov, etc.), oriented to the philosophical type of reflection of pedagogical reality (conceptual space and time, the dynamics of education, upbringing and development, the search for the integral foundations of these processes that lie beyond the subject field of pedagogy, the examination of methodological problems in the whole context of human beings etc.), and activity-pedagogical direction (V.V. Kraevsky), shifting the emphasis from the disclosure of the beingness of the objects of pedagogy in all the richness of their essential properties and connections to the study of the structures of scientific-cognitive and practical, pedagogical activity and its products in the form of norms and regulations, intellectual rationing. A positive trend towards the integration of the above types of methodological analysis in pedagogy was characteristic of the work of N.D. Kuznetsov. Nikandrova, V.S. Shubinsky and other authors, who attempted to synthesize ideas on the ontology of the object under study, with the principles of the system approach and the theory of activity. It is this methodological setting that becomes increasingly relevant in pedagogy in the 1990s. At the third stage (the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century), scientists again turn to methodological problems in the analysis of the development of pedagogical science and practice. This is due to a number of circumstances: –– the need to explain the origins and reveal the methodological foundations of the formation of the so-called “new pedagogues”, such as “risk educators” and “pedagogics of nonviolence”; –– the desire to clarify the heuristic potential of new approaches emerging in science, principles and methods used in the scientific search and explanation of ways of transforming the pedagogical reality in the course of educational innovations that swept pedagogical practice at the end of the twentieth century.
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It is also possible and important to follow the polemic around the concept of “methodology of pedagogy” in the journal “Soviet Pedagogy” (now “Pedagogy”), as well as at the sessions of the All-Union Seminar on the methodology of pedagogy and pedagogical research methodology. The study and understanding of the subject of the seminar provides information on the importance of methodological research to improve the effectiveness of pedagogical research and the status of pedagogy as a scientific discipline (1969-2010). In 1994, the seminar resumed its work as an all-Russian one. The sessions of the seminar discussed issues related to the real practice of pedagogical research, with their logic, methodological characteristics. It was talked about the effectiveness and specificity of the procedures of scientific cognition; on the pedagogical experiment, its nature, methodology and role in the study of the processes of education, training and development of schoolchildren, on the problems of increasing the effectiveness of pedagogical research and the realization of scientific achievements in the process of education and upbringing, on the prediction of the development of the school and pedagogical science on reflection of the dialectic of upbringing in the categories of pedagogy, the disclosure of the role of pedagogical experiment and structural and systemic studies in the investigation of pedagogical phenomena and the processes of educating pupils, the construction of a pedagogical theory, objective characteristics, criteria for assessing and measuring pedagogical phenomena and processes, predicting the development of the school and pedagogical science, the effectiveness of theoretical research in pedagogical science, on the study, generalization and use of pedagogical experience, on an integrated approach to education, on methodological problems, the development of pedagogy, the formation and development of a holistic system of continuing education. The seminar stimulated the development of methodological positions. It was possible to defend the right of methodology to the status of a special scientific branch that studies the foundations and structure of pedagogical science and develops the ways to gain knowledge in this field. The analysis of the themes of the sessions of the methodological seminar allows us to see the dynamics of the development of methodological knowledge in the field of pedagogy.
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In modern conditions of education modernization, the need for methodological analysis, which takes place in the sphere of education and in its scientific justification, is constantly being updated, and it has appeared with special clarity. At the same time, there was a tangible need for a new understanding and strengthening of the methodology of pedagogy itself. Thus, scientists apply to the methodology of pedagogy: –– in the search for new pedagogical ideas and in the development of a new pedagogical theory; –– in revealing the nature of new types of connections between pedagogical science and practice; –– in the process of scientific substantiation of expediency and search for new ways of updating the content of education, educational activities of teachers; –– for the scientific explanation of the measure of the effectiveness of new types of inter-subject connections in the learning process; –– in the search for new methods of pedagogical design and modeling; –– in determining the place of pedagogical innovation in the structure of modern methodology of pedagogy and methodological support of innovative activity of educational institutions, etc. The analysis of the development of methodological tradition in pedagogy, the stages in the formation and development of the methodology of pedagogy, shows that during the selected historical period the methodology of pedagogy is intensively developing, but in different directions, according to different models with the development of a systematic methodology. Questions for self-control 1. Formulate the definition of the concept of “methodology” in the broad and narrow sense of the word. 2. Describe the stages in the development of the methodology of pedagogy. 3. What methodological principles of pedagogical research do you know? List and characterize each of them. 3. What methodological role in the study of the problems of pedagogy is played by the basic laws and categories of dialectics? 4. Why is the role of methodology in determining the prospects for the development of pedagogy increasing now?
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5. What approaches are implemented in modern pedagogical studies? What is the essence of each of them? 6. What are the sources of the formation of methodological knowledge? 7. What are the signs of methodological knowledge? 8. List the criteria for methodological knowledge. 9. Describe the significance of the notion of subjectivity in the scientific sphere. Tasks for independent work 1. Compose a glossary on the “Classification of pedagogical research” and outline the definitions of the following concepts: “pedagogical research”, “applied research”, “theoretical research”, “fundamental research”, “empirical research”, “research-development” (“Dictionary on Education and Pedagogy “by V.M. Polonsky, pp. 153-154). 2. Study the structure of the methodological basis of the following studies: “Theoretic-methodological bases of the Kazakh ethno-pedagogics” (K. Zh. Kozhakhmetova); “Theoretical and methodological foundations of the information model for the formation of the student contingent of universities” (T.O. Balykbaev). 3. Make a list of methodological approaches and determine the mechanism for their transformation for the following research: “Informatization of research activities of students in the system of secondary vocational education” (R.Ch. Bekturganova); “Development of the theory and practice of moral education of schoolchildren in the history of pedagogy in Kazakhstan (60th of the XIX century – 90s of XX century)” (E.A. Urubasarova); “Scientific and pedagogical foundations for the formation of a computer linguistic competence of medical students” (R. Aikenova). 4. Study the characteristics of the contradictions of research on topics: “The system of didactic ideas by G.I. Shchukin (O.O. Plashkova); “Didactic bases for constructing the content of variational education” (M.J. Jadrin); “Theory and practice of modular-rating technology of education in high school” (N.A. Akhmetova); 5. Define the theoretical basis in the following studies: “Scientific basis for the development of university education in the aspect of the focus on the preparation of a teacher of higher education” (Zh.R. Bashirov); “Theory and practice of the development of the system of additional professional education in Kazakhstan” (Zh.A. Makatova).
Chapter 2. The logic and the structure of a ...
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CHAPTER
2
THE LOGIC AND THE STRUCTURE OF A PEDAGOGICAL STUDY 2.1. Defining the problem of pedagogical research
Researchers are mainly inclined to believe that the methodology of pedagogical research is part of the vocational training of a teacher training university. They justify the need for a methodology that would orient pedagogical research on practice, its study and transformation, and therefore would be instrumental, normative, focused on improving research activities. At the same time, in their opinion, the methodology of pedagogy is designed, in the interest of transforming practice, to investigate methods and tools not only of practical, but of research activity in the field of pedagogy as well. A professiogram of the researcher in the field of pedagogy is created: the teacher-scientist must master specific normative knowledge and skills of research work in the field of pedagogy (methodological reflection, the ability to comprehend and evaluate his own research activity using certain indicators, characteristics). The criteria for the correlation of activity to the field of scientific knowledge (goal-setting, the allocation of a special object of study, the use of special means of cognition, the uniqueness of terms, the content of the methodological reflection of the researcher-teacher in the form of a minimal list of those points that make it possible to characterize the quality of pedagogical research) are determined. On the problem of methodology and methods of pedagogical research there are a number of monographs. These works are identical in structure. For example, M.N. Skatkin in his monograph “Methodol54
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ogy and methodology of pedagogical research” substantiates the subject and tasks of methodological research of pedagogical problems, their role in raising the theoretical and methodological level of pedagogical research, and gives recommendations to beginning researchers, including teachers. The monograph by J. Skalkova and the team of Czech teachers “Methodology and Methods of Pedagogical Research” analyzes the methodological and theoretical aspects of pedagogical research, examines the relationship between the general provisions of scientific knowledge and specific methods of pedagogical research, the dependence of the subject and method of research, presents a variety of research methods, a systematic approach to the study of educational phenomena. Researchers, developing a theoretical model of pedagogical research methodology, identify two main components, inextricably linked. This normative methodology includes the solution of mostly constructive tasks related to the development of positive recommendations and rules for the implementation of scientific activities. It allows: a) to ensure the correct formulation of the problem, both from the substantive and from the formal side; b) to determine adequate means for solving already set tasks and problems (intellectual technique of scientific activity); c) improve the organization of the research. The descriptive methodology contains a retrospective description of the already realized processes of cognition. The function of normative methodology is specified. It also ensures the study of trends and forms of the development of cognition in pedagogy from the side of the conceptual system, as well as the patterns of explaining specific phenomena characteristic for each particular stage in the development of pedagogical science. In the collective work of Ukrainian scientists and teachers, indepth development of the lower level of the methodology of pedagogical research – its methods and techniques, is considered with the involvement of the main elements of the methodological analysis of the three higher levels in relation to it: concrete scientific methodology, general scientific methodology and dialectical materialism. The sequence of stages of execution of various types of research, the struc-
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ture of interaction between the elements of the hypothesis and the object of investigation, a substantial algorithm of pedagogical research, and the formulation of its tasks are disclosed. These materials are developed on a specific research topic. Let us dwell on some theoretical aspects of the formulation and presentation of the problem as a whole. Scientific knowledge begins and is always accompanied by a solution of problems. The scientific problem is viewed as the result of an awareness of the problem situation that has arisen in science. The problem is a transitional form in the development of knowledge from the empirical to the theoretical knowledge, appearance of the facts, which come into conflict with the objective reality. As a result, a situation arises when empirical knowledge cannot develop without a theory. Only theory explains the facts and gives a holistic view of the subject. According to G.I. Ruzavina, to solve the problem is to give the facts a theoretical interpretation. The emergence of problems is connected with the establishment of the inadequacy or inapplicability of previous methods and means to explain the newly discovered facts and results of cognition. From here one can easily imagine that every process of cognition begins precisely with facts, their accumulation and systematization, as often do researchers inclined to empiricism, and defending such a position philosopher. Indeed, facts are the basis of all research, their establishment and explanation require considerable efforts of the scientist. But in order to find such facts, one must have either a ready-made theory, or a hypothesis or even a conjecture. In this case, the general form of this situation can be characterized as a manifestation of a contradiction between the existing old knowledge and the newly discovered results of empirical or theoretical research. In experimental and factual sciences, such a contradiction is expressed in the inconsistency of previous means and methods of cognition with new facts and, above all, with the results of observations or experiments. This means that the old methods are unable to explain the newly discovered data. These postulates make it possible to reveal the essence of the problem situation (Table 4).
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Characteristics of the problem situation Problem situation
1. The essence of the problem situation: 2. The problem situation as a discrepancy between the old theoretical concepts, on the one hand, and new facts and the results of developing scientific knowledge, on the other; 3. The problem situation as an expression of non-compliance with the purpose of the study and the means by which it was achieved in previous studies.
The problematics of dissertation research is connected with such concepts as “object and subject of research” (Table 5). Table 5 Reflection of the problem situation in the object and subject of the study Object of study ---Subject of study ----
It is knowledge that generates a problem situation, united in a concrete concept, and is defined as a field of scientific knowledge. – New scientific knowledge about the object of research, obtained by the applicant as a result of scientific research; – The object of research may include an instrument for obtaining this new scientific knowledge about the object of research.
After a problem situation has arisen, a scientific problem must be clearly posed (See: Figure 3). The problem situation identification of substantia l signs of problems of a research
definition of the existingor predictiong contradiction
comprehensive study of a problem
Figure 3. The logic of deployment and solving the problem situation
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The origin of this or that research problem is established by researchers on the basis of the theory and practice of a certain area (Table 6). Table 6 Contents of the elements of the problem № 1
Elements of the problem Formulation of the problem
2
Problem building
3
Assessment of the problem
4
Rationale for the problem
Content characteristics – Nomination of the central question; – Identification of the contradictions that lie at the heart of the problem; – A presumptive description of the expected result. – Division of the problem into specific tasks and research questions; – Composition – ordering the issues that make up the problem; – Specific research boundaries – Identification of all conditions for the solution of the problem: the choice of approaches, techniques, methods and means of research, as well as the possibilities of conducting the experiment; – Identification of available opportunities and prerequisites for the solution of the problem; – Clarification of the degree of the problem, i.e. the relationship between the known and the unknown in the information that needs to be used to solve the problem; – Qualification of the problem, i.e. referring it to one or another type: undeveloped, poorly developed, requiring pre-investigation; – Ability to replace any question with others and search for alternative questions. – Establishment of meaningful links of this problem with other problems; – Updating – bringing arguments in favor of the reality of the problem, the need for its formulation and the possibility of solution; – Nomination of objections against the problem, i.e. the formulation of such questions, which in their meaning will be opposite to this problem; – Explication, in other words, definition of the concept of the problem; – Transcoding, i.e. the transfer of the content of the problem to a subject-scientific language, accessible for everyone for whom the research results are intended.
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Classification of problems can be made on different bases of division. Usually we distinguish theoretical and empirical, common and private, fundamental and applied problems, at last, imaginary and real (Table 7). Criteria of differentiation of real problems from imaginary ones № Name of problems 1 Imaginary problems
2
Real problems
Table 7
Criteria characteristics 1) "any more not problems" are the problems solved, but which are considered unresolved; 2) "yet not problems" – the problems arising long before conditions (a prerequisite for their decision) ripen; 3) "at all not problems" are such imaginary problems, for which there are no solutions. 11) Objective criteria: – The criterion of existence demands to define whether the problem which is investigated is real. – The criterion of the relation helps to distinguish a problem whether the relation between the real objects intended for the research is truly set by it. – The criterion of subordination determines the validity of a problem by determining whether the subordination of the content of its questions is correctly or incorrectly revealed. – The criterion of adequacy assumes to establish whether the conclusion about the presence in the problem of the research of the unknown corresponds to the current condition of knowledge in this area. – The criterion of need establishes the presence of the real or predicted contradiction concluded in a problem, suggested for a research. 2) Criteria of compliance: – The criterion of prerequisites assumes the existence in the basis of the problem of such real opportunities (prerequisites) which have formed the base for its solution. – The criterion of continuity demands that the problem is put and realized in the interrelation with the knowledge accumulated in this area earlier. 4) Formal and logical criteria: – Criteria of checkability orders to distinguish those questions which are the problem constituting elements. – Criteria of the validity demands checking whether the judgment being the problem matter basis is true.
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Interpretation of the criteria described above allows assessment of the expediency of the work of researchers at the chosen problem and avoidance of mistakes at the same time. The system allows the assessment whether the problem (subject) chosen by the researcher is perspective. Thus, acquaintance with the offered complex of the questions connected with the statement and assessment of problems and studying of their substantial signs follows from requirements of science and practice and is the objective prerequisite of the activity of researchers. According to V.M. Polonsky’s definition, for the solution of the problem one has to transform it in the creative informative tasks allowing to check the model of these or those conscious and intuitive solutions, and it, as well as the task, originates in a problem situation. The central element of a pedagogical problem – a contradiction between the knowledge of needs of people for training and education and ignorance of ways, means and methods of their solution. The solution is not contained in the known knowledge and it can’t be received by transformation of the available information. When setting a problem of a research it is necessary to consider that the pedagogics is guided, first of all, by the need of overcoming shortcomings of student teaching. The problem in the field of education is described in the form of the system of interconnected tasks that answer the raised unresolved questions. Scientists offer the following recommendations about the general acquaintance with a research problem, the definition of its external borders. The researcher is recommended: 1) To establish the level or degree of readiness of the problem, its prospects for an educational system or for the development of fundamental problems of the theory of pedagogics; 2) To clearly realize and motivate the requirements of society for knowledge of this problem; 3) To accurately correlate research problems with other researches in pedagogics, to understand to what degree the solution of the questions of interest is complicated by the condition of requirements in information from related sciences;
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4) To find out problem aspects of the subject without which it is impossible to pass to the following stage of scientific work; 5) To define the ratio of the subject and the problem of the research; 6) To consider a problem as the substantial characteristic of a subject in which the conflict situation of any site of pedagogical reality is reflected; 7) To realize that the subject may have one, several or there is a lot of problem aspects. 8) To realize that the subject has to contain a problem, therefore, for conscious determination and moreover, for its specification, the identification of the research problem is necessary; 9) To know the essence of the problem, i.e. the contradiction between the established facts and their theoretical judgment, between different explanations, interpretations of the facts; 10) To know that the scientific problem doesn’t move forward randomly, but is a result of deep studying of practice and scientific literature, reflects contradictions of process of knowledge at its historically certain stage; 11) To have an idea that the contradictions realized as difficulties, as barriers on the way to the purpose remain a fundamental principle of search; 12) To make two procedures to pass from a practical task to a scientific problem: –– to define what knowledge is necessary to solve this practical problem; –– to establish whether this knowledge may be found in science. The problem, subject, relevance of the research are interconnected. The relevance of the research proves the need for new contents, new norms or new modality of action. Studying dissertation works on pedagogics and methods of teaching shows that there was a peculiar stamp in definition of logic of the research. The methodological device of the thesis, the set of the concepts “pedagogical research”, “problem and subject”, “purpose”, “object”, “subject”, “hypothesis”, “tasks”, “a methodological basis”, “the leading idea”, includes the basic provisions submitted for defense
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– “novelty”, “the theoretical importance”, “the practical importance”, “investigation phases”, “research methods”, “results of the research”, “reliability and validity of the research”, “introduction of results”, “a type of the document”, “the user’s address” (22 points). However, now we can meet also a number of works, in most of which the researches offer a peculiar author’s logic. In this context the work by A.D. Kaydarova, where she recognizes the idea that formation of maintenance of the higher pedagogical education is caused by specifics of development of pedagogical approaches, theories, concepts and models of content of training of teachers, is interesting. The scientist offers the following logic of studying history of formation of maintenance of the higher pedagogical education: definition of socio-political and historical and pedagogical prerequisites; judgment of theoretic, methodological, historiographic study, source study and consideration of conceptual and terminological problems of historical and pedagogical science; analysis of conceptual models of content of training of teachers; identification of tendencies and prospects of development of a problem of the research. According to M.T. Gromkova, research includes three main units, each of which, has quite certain structure: Relevance of the subject of the research: –– identification of the object of the research as a system of the objective world; –– establishment of the object the research (an element of a system or relationship and the relations in the object); –– formulation of discrepancies, contradictions, problems; –– specification of the subject of the research; –– formulation of relevance of the research. Process of the research: –– research hypothesis; –– research objectives; –– research problems; –– research methods; –– contents formation.
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Results of the research: –– scientific novelty of the research; –– practical importance of the research; –– examination. If to proceed from the most generalized and known logic of the research, then it is presented by the following stages: 1 stage. The general acquaintance with the research problem, justification of its relevance, level of readiness, definition of an object and subject, research subject, formulation of the general and intermediate research objectives and tasks correlated to the purposes. 2 stage. The choice of methodology – the initial concept, basic theoretical provisions, the uniform defining course and estimated results of the research, research approach. 3 stage. Creation of a hypothesis of the research – a theoretical design the validity of which should be proved. 4 stage. Choice of methods of research. Carrying out the stating experiment for the purpose of establishment of the initial condition of the object of research. 5 stage. Organization and carrying out a reformative experiment. 6 stage. Analysis, interpretation and registration of the results of research. 7 stage. Development of practical recommendations”. 2.2. Algorithm of the choice of a subject of a pedagogical research
The correctness of the choice of a subject in many respects defines quality and result of the performance. Any subject of research is carried out in a certain scientific direction. The scientific direction is understood as science or a complex of sciences in the field of which researches are conducted: technical, biological, historical, pedagogical, etc. 1. The very first step of the researcher – the choice of an object area of research, i.e. that sphere of reality (in our case – pedagogical) in which important, demanding solutions of the problem have been
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collected. The choice of an object of research is defined by such objective factors as its importance, existence of unresolved problems, novelty and prospects, and subjective factors: education, life experience, tendencies, the interests of the researcher, his relation to this or that direction of practical activities, research team focused on a certain subject, the research supervisor. 2. The following step – definition of a problem and subject of research. The subject has to contain a problem and therefore, conscious definition and specification of a subject requires identification of a research problem. The problem is a bridge from the known to the unknown, concrete ‘’knowledge of ignorance”. Unlike the answer to a question the solution is not contained in the existing knowledge and it cannot be received by transformation of available scientific information. Essence of the problem – a contradiction between established facts and their theoretical judgment, between different explanations, interpretations of the facts. In any scientific problem there is a contradiction between knowledge of needs of people for training and education and ignorance of ways and means and methods for their satisfactory solution, answer to the questions posed. Problem sources usually are the bottlenecks, difficulties born in student teaching. The subject of scientific research is a component of a certain problem for which a solution of a number of questions is also developed. This fact has dictated the need for acquaintance with a scientific problem. The scientific problem is formulated on the basis of the analysis of contradictions between the development of science and the condition of practice. The contradiction concluded in the problem has to find reflection in a subject the formulation of which at the same time fixes also a certain stage of specification of a problem, directly or indirectly. The scientific problem defines in the most general view the purpose, objects and the final results of the research on the separate subjects being the part of this problem. 3. For the right choice of a subject of scientific or dissertation work it is necessary:
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–– to get acquainted with literature and data of practice on the studied question; –– to check the list of the dissertations defended on this problem; to study their abstracts which are stored in foreign, republican and departmental libraries; –– to get acquainted with the results of new researches in allied industries of science; –– to study and estimate a possibility of application of the existing methods and techniques of a research; –– to generalize and analyze the saved-up materials; –– to get advice from the supervisor or experts in the field concerning the name of the subject, its relevance, the purpose of work and estimated result; –– to be guided by the following provisions: compliance of the subject with a profile of scientific research institute (higher education institution); relevance of the subject; novelty of the subject; theoretical and practical importance or efficiency of its performance; a possibility of implementation of the subject in the set terms; possibility of finishing and introduction of the results of the research; existence of conditions and means for the solution of the research problems; existence of the corresponding techniques or possibility of development new prospects of the subject of the research; –– to determine the problem level (the place between scientific problems of the highest and the lowest in relation to its ranks) and to establish whether this problem has been solved earlier, i.e. to be convinced of its novelty; –– to carry out a careful system analysis of inquiries of practice and requirements of development of the most pedagogical science on the basis of which the relevance of the development of a scientific problem is established. Thus, proceeding from results of the main most typical contradictions between the existing theory and a real condition of student teaching the scientific problem and problem aspects (questions) limiting the area of the undertaken pedagogical research is formulated.
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4 The revealed scientific problem finds the reflection in concrete subjects of scientific research. 5. Highlights of process of the choice of a subject are reflected documentarily in the form of justification of the subject. Justification of the subject of the research contains scientific arguments of relevance of the expected research and is based on the following most general logic-content algorithm: essence of the problem – social inquiry – practice inquiries – inquiries of science – readiness of a problem – the idea of the research – the strategy of the research – research tactics. 6. The name of work reflects the maintenance of its main problem and includes the instruction on the end result and an object of research. The name of research is designed according to requirements of clarity, accuracy, capacity, brevity, structure (coherence and topicality i.e. unity and substantial integrity), expressiveness and adequacy. The lack of adequacy of the title of the research (heads, the paragraph) to contents and definiteness in the wording of the title is considered an essential shortcoming. In general, the title has to disclose the main result received by the researcher. 7. You need extremely to study and comprehend sources (see the list of references) and to perform the following tasks: 1) Answer control questions which are useful for putting concerning the subject of the scientific work in the course of its formulation. Subject: (Subject of your research): –– What is investigated? –– For what it is investigated? –– What is represented by a research subject? 2) Explain distinctions of concepts: problem, question, aspect, problem situation. Answer, whether the problem is: a reflection of knowledge; reflection of ignorance or misunderstanding; reflection of possible “points of growth” of scientific or practical knowledge; expression of a subject position of the researcher. 3) Outline and comprehend the glossary for researchers:
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–– The essence of the problem reflects the most acute contradictions between the existing theoretical knowledge and the practical state of the issue under study. –– The social request confirms the need to address the more general problem of pedagogy, which is part of the problem of the proposed study, dictated by the change in social conditions. –– Practice requests contain generalized references to specific difficulties in the solution of pedagogical tasks, mistakes and shortcomings in the work related to the lack of appropriate scientifically substantiated provisions and recommendations, or progressive phenomena requiring generalization, analysis and further scientific development. –– Science requests reflect the need for a proposed study for the development of science itself (theoretical and empirical); determine the place of the problem of the research in scientific knowledge; indicate the scientific continuity of the topic being developed (its problems). –– The development of the problem shows the existing depth and breadth of the problem’s development in pedagogy and the leading sciences in relation to it (philosophy, psychology, sociology). –– The idea of research contains an indication of the main (basic) direction of the research or its concept (idea). –– The research strategy points out the main principles and moments of changing the existing or emerging new theoretical knowledge. –– The research tactics determine the main theoretical and methodological positions known in science, on the basis of which it is necessary to develop the theoretical prerequisites of the proposed research as a means of increasing the practical effectiveness of pedagogical processes or phenomena. –– The research problem characterizes a problematic situation, reflecting the contradiction between the typical state of the object of research in real pedagogical practice and the requirements of society for its more efficient functioning. The problem is a concrete knowledge of ignorance, an idea of the key tasks that needs to be addressed, about the essential issues to which an answer should be found.
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–– The final result of the study reflects the positive effect expected from the study, which is formulated in two stages: the first part – in the form of public utility; the second – in the form of specific benefits, attributed to the main subject of research. –– The object of research is part of the objective and theoretical activity of man as a social being (subject). –– The subject of the research is an element of the research object, including the totality of the object’s properties and relations mediated by the person (subject) in the process of research for a specific purpose under specific conditions. The way to achieve the final result consists of a hypothetical (presumptive) indication of the expected specific benefit attributed to the main subject of the study. 4) Verify the correct selection of the topic of your study using the following matrix: –– Relevance of the topic to the scientific direction; –– The focus of the topic on the implementation of social demands (the request of science and the request of practice), i.e. relevance; –– There is a problem in the wording of the topic; –– Clarity of the object and subject of the research in the topic; –– Focus the research topic on the final result. The further process of development of the problem is connected with the definition of the object and the subject of research. 2.3. Object and subject of a pedagogical research
Establishment of an object and subject is an important step to the organization and carrying out a pedagogical research, it also serves as one of indicators of its implementation, extent of deepening of the researcher in the essence of the object and advance in the most research process. In psychology and pedagogical researches often, there are difficulties in determining and differentiation of an object and subject. Quite often applicants substitute an object of the research for either its base, or rather wide sphere where not all elements are subject to studying in this work. It is necessary to pay attention that allocation
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of a special object of the research is the sign by which belonging of process and results of research activity to the field of pedagogical science is determined, is a part of “alphabet” of scientific work, a methodological reflection. Its object and subject belong to the structure of the scientific arrangement acting as the characteristic of a pedagogical research. Scientists have developed the main requirements to creation of an object and subject of the research as the components of its structure causing the greatest difficulties in scientists. For full representation of the structure of an object and subject of research we will address definitions of key concepts such as “object of knowledge”, “object of scientific discipline”, “research object”, “object of studying”, “knowledge subject”, “subject of the theory” and “object of science”, “subject domain”, “subject of scientific discipline”, “object of research”, etc. (Table 8). Interpretation of the concepts “research object” and “subject of research”
Table 8
#N Basic concept Characteristics 1 2 3 11 Object of It is a fragment, a cut, a part, “a piece” of reality to which science cognitive, or more precisely, research activity of the subject is directed. 22 Object of These are things, phenomena, processes of reality with scientific which the subjects of science in cognitive, research activity discipline interact, i.e. “object” acts as a product of interaction of the subject and objective reality and per se does not exist out of an object. 33 Object of A wider concept, beyond far the framework of the object of cognition scientific discipline, as people of all ages and social positions, according to the theory of socialization of the personality, are, in essence, busy for the whole life with cognitive process. Links, relations, properties of a real object which are included in cognitive process. A set of real phenomena, that is described by the theory. Part of objective reality which at this stage becomes a subject of practical and theoretical activities of the researcher.
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70 1 2 44 Subject of inquiry
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66 77
88
99 110
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3 A certain set of properties and relations which exists irrespective of learning person, but is reflected by him, serves as the concrete field of the search. The concept applicable to own scientific research activity of certain scientific communities and scientists which specially and purposefully is connected with production of new knowledge or streamlining of old knowledge (that, in principle, is a new knowledge too). Object of This concept belongs more to the process of direct training studying which is connected with assimilation by students of earlier established scientific knowledge and the truths, regularities of things and the phenomena, and has no strict research character. Knowledge This concept defines those objective events, situations, proobject cesses, things, relations, to which knowledge itself belongs, or, more precisely, the sought knowledge. Knowledge What is sought for by the subject in this object of the reobject (as sub- search, that is studied eventually by this scientific discipline. ject of science / discipline) Research A certain process, some phenomenon which exists irrespecobject in peda- tive of the subject of knowledge and to which the attention gogics and of the researcher is attracted, for example, to the developpsychology ment of subjects of the bringing-up relations, to the process of formation of new educational system, to the efficiency of a certain technology. Subject of It is a result, a product of interaction of the subject and the science object of scientific discipline, i.e. a dialectic unity. The subject of a) the subject is what is in the object; scientific dis- b) the subject is what is hidden in the object; cipline in the c) the subject is a certain aspect, a cut, a fragment, a "piece" narrow sense of the object; of the word, d) the subject is an object studied by the subject at a certain means the fol- angle, a form of purposefulness of knowledge; lowing e) the subject is what is "sought" in the object; e) the subject is what it really studied in the object. Subject of Everything that is in the borders of the research object in a research certain aspect of consideration: a) as a result of establishment and assumption of an element of that property or the relation in the object which in this work is subject to deep special studying: – borders and directions of the search; – major tasks, opportunities of their solution by appropriate means and methods;
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3 b) as the assumption of the most essential relations in respect of the set problem, and assumption of a possibility of their temporary fragmentation and association in a system; c) as a foreshortening, the review point allowing the researcher to see specially arranged separate parts, relations studied, i.e. a certain aspect of studying of an object.
Therefore, from the statement of the contents of the definitions of the object and the subject, the following summary can be made. The formulation of the object and the subject of research is carried out according to the logic of the scientific apparatus and in a certain sequence. Clarification of the research object allows the scientist to take into account the diversity of pedagogical reality, to focus on concrete final results, to identify a key aspect in the object, to go immediately in the right direction. This is a very important step in the study, as it creates the opportunity to save energy and time, to concentrate on the key points of its research activities. With the same formulation of the case, the object serves as a source of information necessary for the research, the field of scientific search. The next step in determining the object and the subject of the research is to understand and establish the relationship of any component of its scientific apparatus to the new scientific knowledge that we receive, we must always remember that the subject points to that aspect of the object of research concerning which new knowledge will be obtained. If we consider the object and the subject of the research from the standpoint of methodological reflection, then, when determining the object of research, we should answer the question: what is being considered?! And an object denotes an aspect of consideration, gives an idea of how the object is to be studied, what new relations, properties and functions of the object are being studied. Exact definition of the subject gives the chance to the applicant to capture all new information about the object, the unlimited number of elements, properties and the relations existing in principle. Scientists claim that formulation of an object of research is a result of accounting of tasks, real opportunities and empirical descriptions of an object and also other characteristics of research which are available in science. So, for example,
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in an object, that is transformation of a training material in the course of training, the subject has been singled out: the ways of transformation of the training material, presenting the contents of the school textbook, in limits of its didactic expediency. An object is exposed to threefold restriction here: not all about transformation of a training material, but only about the ways of transformation; about the ways of transformation not of any training material, and only of that presenting the contents of the textbook; about the ways considered definitely in certain limits. Generalizing the results of the researches of methodologists concerning the definition of an object and an object of research, we have revealed difficulties and mistakes in the formulation of these components of the scientific arrangement, have established reference points – requirements to the methodological characteristic of an object and a subject of a pedagogical research. Difficulties in the formulation of the object and the subject of research: 1. Sometimes the object of one particular study coincides in scale almost with the object of all pedagogy: the pedagogical process in the university; the sphere of education of schoolchildren in educational institutions; methods of pedagogical knowledge. 2. Sometimes a gap is possible between the object and the subject of research. They stand out in different scientific branches, and this leads to a violation of the integrity of the conceptual work, to amorphous presentation and the lack of systematic knowledge. This cannot but lead to a decrease in the level of the theoretical practical significance of the study. Most often such a “splitting” occurs in the planes of pedagogy and psychology. 3. Sometimes it happens that the author in the definition of the subject verbatim reproduces the formulation denoting another methodological characteristic. The competitor needs to remember that: –– The object should be called not infinitely wide, but in such a way that it is precisely the circle of objective reality; –– the object should include the subject as an important element that is characterized in a direct relationship with other constituent parts of the object;
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–– the object characterizes the pedagogical reality given to us through the prism of a certain system of knowledge. Therefore, when selecting an object, it is necessary to evaluate it from certain scientific positions. Such an understanding of the object will help better understand pedagogical concepts, to see more progressive ones that meet the requirements of the time; –– definition of an object of research is an essential, substantial scientific action which is intended to focus the researcher on identification of the place and knowledge of a subject in its more complete and wider concept which is a research object, on the use of characteristics of this object as wider and complete reference points for identification of functions of a subject; –– the object of research is not just a side, a part of an object, but such part through which an object is seen, which serves as “an entrance door” in the object is which can replace it in one or other relation, which enriches the research of the object in general. The interrelation and the revealed dependence of an object and subject are higher, the way of increase in theoretical level of a research, its methodological clearness and integrity is more reliable; –– definition of a subject means definition of “perspective” of consideration, establishment of the scope of search, the assumption of the most essential relations in respect of the set problem, assumption about a possibility of their temporary exarticulation and association in one system; –– the structure of a subject includes the history of development of an object and doctrines about it; essential properties, qualities and regularities of development of an object; logical apparatus and methods necessary for formation of a subject; –– the object of research is formed on an objective basis and in the light of scientific representations by the researcher giving it, according to the accepted initial concepts, a certain interpretation and a logical form of expression; –– the object of research is a narrower concept, than an object. It is a part, a side, an object element. The concepts “object” and “subject” are relative. The concept “object of research” is more concrete, than the concept “research object”; –– defining an object of research, the researcher opens for himself an opportunity to come to a final (for this stage) result;
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–– the ratio of an object and a subject can be characterized briefly as follows: the object is objective, and the subject is subjective; –– the subject is a model of an object; –– definition of a subject removes the claims to completeness of a finished research if the work is performed according to the stated subject, that is, if that part of an object which was “taken” for studying by the researcher is considered by him as designated in a formulation of a subject; –– definition of an object and subject of the research serves as an index of deepening of the researcher into the essence of the object and advance in the research process. As the knowledge about the object develops, its new sides are discovered, which in the future will become the object of knowledge. 2.4. The purpose and objectives of pedagogical research
The previous paragraph was devoted to the choice of the object and the subject of the study, which makes it possible for you to see the difference between these concepts, to comprehend the object as an area of reality, to which the scientifically cognitive activity of the researcher is directed, and the subject as a mediating link between the subject and the object of research, reflecting the way of seeing the object of research from the standpoint of pedagogical science. Now let’s consider the next stage of scientific work. Based on the relevance of the investigated problem, the chosen object and the subject of the study, the goal of the research is formulated. The aim of the research is a certain mechanism of various actions in the system “goal – method – result”. The goal is a conscious image, a useful result that must be achieved as a result of conscious activity. In connection with the philosophical comprehension of the goal as a component of the activity, it is possible to name the basic elements that form the content of the research goal: the result, the object of research, the path of achieving the result. Scientists rightfully believe that the dialectical essence of the relationship between the goal and the research conducted to achieve it is that the goal is the form of an ideal anticipation of the result of the study, and research is a complex process
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aimed at achieving the goal. Purposefulness is the most important characteristic of human activity. Before reaching the goal, a person creates a mental image of the future that he needs, builds it in his head, performs the so-called anticipatory reflection of reality. All these provisions are fully applicable to the pedagogical process. In this regard, we give a special interpretation of the basic concepts of “goal”, “educational goals”, “learning goals,” “goals of education,” “the purpose of scientific research,” “the goal of psychological and pedagogical research”: –– the educational goal is the result that society is guided by in the development of the content of education, in the construction of educational programs, the ultimate goals of the educational process; –– the learning goal – final and intermediate learning outcomes, which students achieve in cognitive (cognitive), affective (emotionalvalue) or psychomotor fields; –– the goals of education – ideal notions about the alleged or projected result of educational activity, determining its methods and organizational forms; –– the purpose of scientific research – the central element of the structure and the most important methodological tool of research, points to the final result of the work, the object of research – this explains the special attention to the process of its formulation and the strict unambiguousness of the requirements for its formulation; –– the goal of psychological and pedagogical research – this is the result of a goal-oriented activity that projects, in turn, a purposeful transformative activity of subjects of education – educators and pupils. Any pedagogical activity begins with setting goals and is justified only to the extent that it contributes to its achievement. Not all researchers distinguish the purpose of pedagogical activity from the goal of scientific and pedagogical research. Many applicants (especially practical workers of the education system) substitute the research goal with the goals of education, training and upbringing. Scientists define scientific approaches to the goal of education in modern pedagogical theory and practice, offer teachers technology, mechanisms of goal-forming in pedagogical activity, a method of constructing a “tree of goals” and ways of practical arrangement of the process of goal-setting. According to I.P. Rachenko, “the method of constructing the goal tree” makes it easier for the teacher to analyze, design and adjust
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the goals of different levels, to transform higher goals into lower ones, and ultimately into specific goals (tasks). The target tree is a kind of a model of goal-forming technology, represented by internal and external goals.
Figure 4. Model of Targeted Technology
At the same time, internal goals are understood as a system of goals, the goal- as a set of tasks presented, and each of tasks – as a set of issues. External goals are the goals of large systems that direct and even, to some extent, restrict the operation of internal goals, concentrate efforts on the main ones. Schematically, a model of the technology of goal formation is as follows (fig. 4). Internal objectives should be adjusted in accordance with the conditions and means. Thus, the pedagogical goal is the result of foresight, based on the comparison of the educational ideal and the potential reserves of transformation of the real processes and phenomena of pedagogical reality (we are talking about the ideal of a fully developed healthy free man of a creative nature, possessing high morality and civic responsibility – instead of a “comprehensively harmonious developed personality “in Soviet times). It follows the methodological requirement of the logical unity of the theme and purpose of the study. The purpose of the study, according to scientists (A.V. Klimenyuk and others), is multifunctional. The purpose of the study performs cognitive, evaluative and prognostic functions (Look.: Table 9).
2.4. The purpose and objectives of pedagogical research The conceptual characteristic of functions of the purpose of scientific research № Function п/п name 1 2 1. Cognitive function
2.
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Characteristic
3 The purpose of the study as a prediction of the final result is the basis for: – review of the status of the research issue and the findings of the review – choice of a rational way of scientific search aimed at solving the problem; – substantiation of the subject of research; – setting research objectives; – determination of the necessary direction and breadth of theoretical and experimental research in the volume of the theme being developed; – development of a classification of the phenomena under study in the scope of the research object; – development of theoretical assumptions, suggestions and the hypothesis of the study itself; – development of the model of the investigated object and models of subjects of research; – formation of general conclusions, ideas and assumptions based on the results of the study; – construction of the structure of the presentation of the report or the thesis. Evaluative The purpose of the study serves as an evaluation criterion for: function – the completeness and correctness of the review of the status of the studied issue; – the necessity and sufficiency of research tasks; – the need and depth of theoretical research; – the completeness and consistency of the research program; – the correctness of the research methodology; – the degree of adequacy of the developed theory and experimental studies to the expected end result; – the completeness and simplicity of the developed models, classifications and logic of disclosure of the content of the research object; – the necessity and sufficiency of the volume, depth and consistency of the pilot study; – the possibilities and rational application of the results of the study.
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2 Predictive function
3 The purpose of the study allows, in its correlation with the research problem, to determine: – the feasibility of an ongoing (or already conducted) study; – its scientific novelty; – practical importance; – the relevance of the research itself; – reliability of the results obtained.
There are different approaches to defining research tasks. According to V.P. Davydova, the first task is connected with the identification, refinement, deepening, methodological substantiation, etc. of the essence, nature, structure of the object under study; the second task is connected with the analysis of the real state of the subject of research, dynamics and internal contradictions of its development; the third task – with the methods of its transformation, experimental verification; the fourth – with the identification of ways and means to improve efficiency, improve the phenomenon, the process, that is, the applied aspects of the work, the fifth – with the forecast of the development of the object under study or with the development of practical recommendations for various categories of educators. According to V.I. Zagvyazinsky, in psychological and pedagogical research it is expedient to distinguish three groups of problems. Most often, the first of the groups of tasks – historical and diagnostic – is related to the study of history and the current state of the problem, the definition or refinement of concepts, general scientific and psychological pedagogical grounds for research; the second one – the theoretical modeling of the group of problems – with the disclosure of the structure, functions and methods of its transformation; the third task – practical – a transformational task group – to the development and use of methods, techniques and means of rational organization of the pedagogical process, its intended transformation, and the development of practical recommendations. The approach of V.M. Polonsky to the definition of the problems of pedagogical research, who proposed a facet classification of research, is original. Classification means an ordered division of a certain set of objects into groups based on the use of the established
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system of division criteria and a set of certain rules. Facet is a group of homogeneous terms connected by the commonality of a feature (characteristic of the basis of division). The facet classification of research is the division of objects into independent qualification groups that characterize various aspects of research. Each facet includes many terms that are inherent in this facet and reflect the diverse features of scientific work in the field of education. Four facets are identified (tasks, results, address, type of publication) that reveal the properties of research in terms of their theoretical and practical significance. The first facet – the tasks of the study – characterizes the work in terms of the results of the planned goals. In the structure of classification characteristics for various types of research in didactics, the scientist proposes to identify tasks using the following terms: analysis; implementation; identification; hypothesis; addition; study; study; using; specification; generalization; justification; discussion; description; definition; refutation; evaluation; preparation; the confirmation; staging; construction; verification; development; development; consideration; systematization; improvement; creature; clarification; wording; characteristic. An analysis of the available literature shows that the main types of research objectives in the field of social and human sciences are established. Comprehension of the pedagogical researches performed and their systematization according to the goals and tasks allows us to state that in the dissertation works of the scientists of the Republic the goals are mainly devoted to the determination of the characteristics of the pedagogical fact, phenomenon and process, the description of a new pedagogical phenomenon, the discovery of a new nature of the pedagogical phenomenon, new terms, etc.), the creation of a methodology for the formation of specified qualities of the individual trainees. Nevertheless, researchers rarely identify the goals of revealing the interrelationship of pedagogical phenomena, the study of the real dynamics of these phenomena, the derivation of the most general laws, the creation of classification, typology (the correlation of classification with theory, the concept, the definition of kinds, types and groups and a description of their distinctive features, phenomena, etc.), the development of methods and procedures for the study to im-
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prove the accuracy, reliability of measurement, facilitate the processing of results. There is also the uniformity and unification of the tasks of candidate and doctoral dissertations in structure and content, the discrepancy between the objectives of the goal and the hypothesis of the study. Consequently, the goal setting in pedagogical research is the choice of the most optimal, from the point of view of the problem under study, ways of transforming the real pedagogical reality into a new, required state, into the desired future. Such a transformation, anticipating, while still mentally, the desired result, is the investigative goal setting. It is not difficult to see that the aim of the research is ultimately aimed at implementing the strategy of the activities of the subjects of the educational process to achieve concrete results in education and upbringing. The applicant is offered the following rules for formulating the research objective: 1. It is necessary to clearly present: –– the essence of the problem being studied and its main contradictions; main problematic issues of the forthcoming theoretical and (or) experimental nature, subject to resolution through scientific research; –– existing theoretical knowledge that can be used to explain the structure and laws of the functioning of the studied object; –– the main ways and volumes of the necessary development of a theoretical and (or) experimental justification of the scope of the study; –– existing in pedagogy (or leading in relation to the object of science) methods and means for conducting theoretical and (or) experimental substantiation of the object. 2. The result of the first stage of the scientific work is the substantiation of the topic and the statement of the purpose of the research. The theme and purpose of the study are coordinated with the scientific supervisor. 3. The formulation of the topic and the purpose of the research has two coincident structural elements: the object of research and the result. The goal also contains the third element (the way to achieve
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the result). The purpose of the study is a reasonable idea of the final or intermediate results of a scientific search. 4. The goal formulates the general design of the research. Therefore, it should be formulated in a concise and extremely precise sense. As a rule, the definition of the goal allows the researcher to finally determine the name of his scientific work, its theme. 5. Outlining the logic of the research, the research educator formulates a number of particular research tasks that in their totality should give an idea of what needs to be done to achieve the goal. Such methodologies, as the methodologists recommend, should be singled out not in a large number, no more than five or six (depending on the nature and content of the topic). 6. It is important to build a sequence of tasks that allow you to determine the “route” of scientific search, its logic and structure. In the final analysis, it is a matter of decomposing the purpose of the investigation into a sequence of its particular problems. Let’s consider the practice of implementing these rules on specific examples. А. Samples of the formulation of the purpose of the study: 1) The purpose of the research is to analyze, theoretically substantiate and experimentally test effective ways of improving the continuity of teaching mathematics, formulate didactic conditions of continuity in the forms and methods of teaching mathematics and develop systems of forms and methods that ensure continuity of mathematical preparation of pupils. The objectives of the research: 1. To reveal psychological and pedagogical features of mathematical preparation of pupils in the conditions of realization of continuity of training. 2. To identify the theoretical and practical basis for implementing the continuity of teaching mathematics at high school. 3. To develop and substantiate the concept of the pedagogical system of continuity of teaching mathematics at school and junior courses of higher educational institutions.
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4. To determine the nature, functions and levels of implementation of the continuity of teaching mathematics necessary for solving the problem of continuous mathematical preparation. 5. To determine and justify the didactic conditions of continuity in the content, forms and methods of teaching mathematics at secondary school and at the first year of higher education. 6. To develop a technology for the implementation of continuity in teaching mathematics and experimentally test its effectiveness in high school and at the first year (A.M. Mubarakov). 2) The purpose of the research – to reveal the conditions for the formation of the methodological culture of students and to determine the ways of their creation in teaching pedagogy. The objectives of the research: 1. To identify the problem of the formation of the methodological culture of the future teacher in theory and practice. 2. To disclose the content of the concept of “methodological culture” and describe its condition in today’s graduates of the university. 3. To develop an idea about the conditions for the formation of the methodological culture of students in the teacher training Universities. 4. To determine the ways of creating these conditions. 5. To develop a methodology for the formation of methodological culture in future teachers and offer recommendations for teachers of teacher training Universities (E.V. Berezhnova). 2.5. Hypothesis and the leading idea of pedagogical research
Hypothesis – (from the Greek – the foundation, the basis) is a well-thought-out assumption expressed in the form of scientific concepts, which must fill in some space of empirical cognition in a certain place, or connect various empirical knowledge into a single whole, or give a preliminary explanation to the fact or group of facts. The hypothesis, along with the theory, is the form of active reflection of reality used in scientific cognition.
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In philosophical and methodological works, the development of the hypothesis is given special attention. Such specific features of the hypothesis as a method in the development of scientific knowledge are investigated, the relation “hypothesis – law – theory”, the structure of the scientific hypothesis, the ways of its promotion and various methods of verification, evaluation of competing hypotheses are considered (L.B. Bazhenov, I.G. Gerasimov, V.N. Karpovich, P.V. Kopnin, B. Markov, I.P. Merkulov, E.Y. Rezhabek, G.I. Ruzavin, A.P. Khilke vich, V.A. Shtoff, and others). G.I. Ruzavin in his book “Methodology of Scientific Research” discloses the hypothesis as a form of scientific knowledge, its logical structure, the requirements for scientific hypotheses, heuristic principles of selection of hypotheses. The problem of scientific hypotheses is touched upon in the works devoted to the methodology of pedagogy in general, to the process of scientific research, to its structure, to the methods used (N.K. Goncharov, M.A. Danilov, V.I. Zagvyazinsky, E.I. Monoson, Y. Skal kova and others), in the recommendations for a novice competitor (S.I. Arkhangelsky, A.D. Botvinnikov, V.I. Zhuravlev, V.V. Kraevsky, A.T. Kurakin, B.T. Likhachev, L.I. Novikova ); in a number of articles on the hypothesis of a polemical nature (G.H. Valeev, A.F. Zakirova, A.V. Klimenyuk, S.I. Ganelin, V.L. Popluzhny, M.N. Skatkin, G.T. Khairullin, E.N. Shelkova, and others). In more detail the problem of the hypothesis is revealed in the works of G.V. Vorobyova, V.I. Zagvyazinsky, etc. Scientists are developing such aspects of this problem as the types of hypotheses, their role in scientific research, the connection with their other components, the formulation of hypotheses, the requirements imposed on them. However, this problem is not sufficiently investigated. At the same time, it should be noted that the candidate’s thesis of S.U. Nau shabaeva on the topic “Hypothesis as a way of development of scientific knowledge in didactic research”, defended in the research institute of general pedagogy of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the USSR, gave a certain clarity to the development of hypotheses of didactic research. In her study, the hypothesis was considered precisely as a method for the development of scientific knowledge, which
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consists in proposing an experimental verification of assumptions; the researcher examines the hypothesis in the form of a specific assumption, or an assumption that can be directly verified experimentally. 105 candidate dissertations on didactics were analyzed by S.U. Naushabayeva in order to study the features of theoretical and experimental verification of the hypothesis and the impact of this process on the reliability and validity of didactic research. As a result, the composition of the hypothesis was determined, the methods of theoretical and experimental testing of the hypothesis, the requirements that the scientific hypothesis in didactics should satisfy, the mistakes made during experimental testing that create prerequisites for their elimination are also established. According to the author, in the methodology of pedagogy the hypothesis is considered as an element of the logical structure of research. A hypothesis is understood as a scientific assumption about the nature and regular connections of pedagogical phenomena. In pedagogical research, the hypothesis fulfills a guiding function – it determines the nature of the scientific search and the result of the work. The hypothesis is preceded by a problem, after the scientific hypothesis is advanced, its development and verification take place. The results of this work will contribute to a more rational construction of hypotheses in a didactic study, since it defines the features of implementing general scientific requirements for the hypothesis as applied to the empirical hypothesis in didactics. In our opinion, there really is a need to identify the specifics of the formulation, theoretical and experimental testing of hypotheses in pedagogy, and then the research will be carried out in the most correct and economical way, and will be effective. One of the methods for the development of scientific knowledge, as well as the structural elements of the theory, is the hypothesis – the assumption that on the basis of a number of facts a conclusion is drawn about the existence of an object, the connection or the cause of the phenomenon, and this conclusion cannot be considered fully proved. The research hypothesis is a scientifically consistent assumption, a prediction of its course and result. It means a reliably unexplained explanation of the causes of any phenomena, an affirmed assumption that has a scientific basis, the reception of cognitive activity. The
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hypothesis arises from the needs of social practice, reflects scientific abstractions, systematizes the available theoretical concepts, includes judgments, concepts, inferences, representing an integral structure. The scientific hypothesis always goes beyond the studied range of facts, and not only explains them, but also performs a prognostic function. In the opinion of academician V.A. Yadova, the hypothesis – “is the main methodological tool that organizes the whole process of research and subordinates its internal logic”. Many scientists (A.V. Klimenyuk and others) rightfully believe that the need to develop a hypothesis arises when existing ideas, theories, concepts, principles, methods, laws, rules that were established by science are not sufficient to explain empirical facts as results experience. In this situation, according to these authors, the hypothesis acts as an intermediate logical construction between the existing and necessary, newly created theoretical knowledge and the logical means of transforming empirical knowledge into a theoretical one. A scientific hypothesis is always required in those cases when pedagogical research is based on a formative experiment, if assumptions are first advanced as a scientifically grounded reference point. It arises as a result of generalization of the accumulated factual material, actively influences the formation of a new theoretical concept, the systematization of scientific knowledge, the accumulation of new facts until the new scientific theory is rejected or based on it. Consequently, the hypothesis is indispensable in the situation where it is necessary to explain the causal dependencies of a pedagogical phenomenon, and existing knowledge is not sufficient for this. The hypothesis is rightfully considered the main methodological core of any research. Extensive literature, including pedagogical literature, contains an examination of various aspects of the development and testing of hypotheses. Therefore, we will focus only on those aspects of the issue that, in our opinion, can clarify the available methodological knowledge or deepen its understanding. The formulation of the hypothesis is the creative phase of experimental reasoning; the phase in which the researcher imagines a possible relationship between the two factors. The construction of a hypothesis is possible if the researcher has a scientific culture that
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allows him to observe fruitful comparisons and avoid repeating the ways already described in the literature. According to V.I. Zagvyazinsky, the philosophical literature distinguishes a working hypothesis, or a temporary assumption for the systematization of the available factual material, and a scientific (or real) hypothesis that is created when significant factual material is accumulated and the opportunity arises to put forward a “draft” solution, to formulate a provision that, with certain clarifications and amendments may be turned into a scientific theory. The process of creating a hypothesis, therefore, is long, it is often combined with other stages of the study. It is important to remember that the effectiveness of the result of a complex intuitive process of forming a hypothesis is primarily determined by the availability of facts about the object of research, as well as the ability to process and comprehend them. The task of applying the hypothesis is to rise above the available level of knowledge. G.H. Valeyev, after analyzing more than 50 works, found out: some authors set forth the hypothesis of their research intuitively, while others – by analogy. We have studied the hypotheses in more than 100 works and we are convinced that the dissertator often finally formulates the hypothesis of his research before the design of the author’s abstracts, associating it with the leading idea, the conclusions of the work, without a clear idea of the causeeffect relationships, conditions, methods, and training, on the one hand, and the final results of the educational process, underlying the experimental work, on the other hand. In this connection, we share the view of G.V. Vorobyev, from the standpoint of whom the hypothesis of research becomes the prototype of the future theory in the event that it is confirmed by the subsequent course of work. All of the above allows us to indicate the range of knowledge necessary for the correct construction of the hypothesis of pedagogical research: –– the essence, types and structure of the hypothesis of pedagogical research; –– methodological requirements to the hypothesis of pedagogical research;
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–– stages of formulation (process of formation) of the research hypothesis; –– practical recommendations on the formulation of the hypothesis of the study and typical errors in constructing the hypothesis; –– exemplary samples of the hypothesis formulation in the research in the field of pedagogy; –– the conceptual apparatus of the hypothesis problem; –– exemplary relation standards for scientists on the problems of the hypothesis and a list of sources. Let us turn to the characterization of this knowledge: А. Scientists investigating the types of hypotheses in pedagogical research Single out mainly descriptive, explanatory and prognostic hypotheses. The basis for the classification is the function of science (G.V. Vorobiev, Y.K. Babansky, etc.). Researchers unanimously determine the content of these hypotheses: а) descriptive hypothesis (the causes and possible consequences are described). b) an explanatory hypothesis (an explanation is given for possible consequences of certain causes) (ibid., p. 19). c) the prognostic hypothesis extrapolates the remote future state of social reality on the basis of a mental experiment. According to the logic of the formation the hypotheses are divided into inductive, deductive and complex. B. Systematizing and generalizing the existing knowledge, G.Kh. Valeyev believes that the structure of the hypothesis of pedagogical research can be a three-part, including a) statement; b) the assumption; c) scientific justification. For example, the teaching and upbringing process will be so-and-so if you do it like this, because there are the following pedagogical patterns: first .... secondly .... thirdly ... However, the pedagogical hypothesis may look in another way, when the justification is not formulated explicitly. At the same time, the structure of the hypothesis becomes two-fold: it will be effective if, in the first place .... secondly .... thirdly .... A similar hypothesis becomes possible in the event that the statement and assumption merge into one
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in the form hypothetical statement: it must be so and so, because there are the following reasons. There are heated debates on the problem of the structure of the hypothesis of pedagogical research, as evidenced by numerous publications in the pages of theoretical journals in the field of pedagogy. In our opinion, in practice, the research activities of applicants have three-part hypotheses. In this connection A.D. Botvinnikov notes that it is desirable to formulate the hypothesis according to the scheme: “If ...., then ....... as ......”, which allows realizing descriptive, explanatory and prognostic functions of the hypothesis. Subsequently, supporting this logic of constructing a hypothesis, V.I. Zagvyazinsky recommends the use of the “conceptual chain”: the initial fact – the problem – the original conceptual provisions – the idea – the hypothesis – the desired result. In his opinion, such a logic of hypothesis formulation is definitely traced in innovative experience and innovative searches. В. The hypothesis of pedagogical research should correspond to the following methodological requirements: logical simplicity and consistency, probability, breadth of application, conceptuality, scientific novelty and verification. The first requirement – logical simplicity implies that the hypothesis should not contain anything superfluous. Its purpose is to explain as many facts as possible by a smaller number of assumptions, to represent a wide class of phenomena, to proceed from few grounds. Often a preliminary introduction before the formulation of the hypothesis is superfluous: due to the ascertaining experiment, it is assumed that ..., as a result of a preliminary study of this problem and an analysis of the subject of research, a hypothesis is put forward ... and so on. The requirement of logical consistency is deciphered as follows: firstly, the hypothesis is a system of judgments, where none of them is a formally logical negation of the other; secondly, it does not contradict all available reliable facts; thirdly, it corresponds to the laws known and established in science. However, the latter condition cannot be absolutized, otherwise it will become a brake on the development of science. The requirement of probability states that the basic assumption of the hypothesis must have a high degree of feasibility. In other
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words, the hypothesis can also be multidimensional, when, in addition to the basic assumption, there are also secondary hypotheses. Some of them may not be confirmed, but the main position should carry a high degree of probability. The requirement of breadth of application is necessary so that from the hypothesis it would be possible to deduce not only those phenomena for the explanation of which it is intended, but also possibly a wider class of other phenomena. The requirement of conceptuality expresses the prognostic function of science: the hypothesis must reflect the corresponding concept or develop a new one, predict the further development of the theory. The requirement of scientific novelty assumes that the hypothesis should disclose the continuity of previous knowledge with the new ones. The requirement of verification means that any hypothesis must be verified. As you know, the criterion of truth is practice. In pedagogy, the most convincing are those hypotheses that are tested experimentally, but a variant of logical operations and conclusions is also possible. The requirement of concreteness implies the depth of the hypothesis, corresponding to the purpose and objectives of the study, and the breadth that encompasses the object and subject of the research. In other words, the hypothesis must correspond to a specific goal and describe a particular object of study. By some scientists (O.S. Grebenyuk and others) these requirements are designated as: the principal verifiability of a hypothesis, its maximum generality; mandatory possession of a predictive power; fundamental (logical) simplicity; continuity of the proposed hypothesis in relation to prior knowledge. Each hypothesis must meet the most important methodological requirements for science: consistency and verification. C. An indispensable component of the applicant’s methodological knowledge of the hypothesis is knowledge of the essence of the process of formation of the hypothesis. Formulation of hypotheses is preceded by an analysis of the state of the theory of pedagogy as a set of utterances of varying degrees of scientific validity, reliability, prob-
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ability of implementation. Possible ways of constructing hypotheses are the study and analysis of facts, the use of analogies, the development of a set of probable “trajectories” of the movement of the object of research, as a result of which the latter acquires the qualities planned by the experimenter if the best one is clarified and realized from all possible “trajectories” (V.G. Vorobiev). The following components of the researcher’s actions to develop a hypothesis are possible: –– a discovery of a phenomenon that cannot yet be explained; –– a comprehensive study; –– formulation of the hypothesis as a scientific assumption of the causes, links, etc.; –– definition of the consequences that are logically derived from the alleged cause, if the cause had already actually been found; –– checking whether the consequences correspond to the facts of reality. The applicant must also know the typical mistakes in the formulation of the hypothesis of the study: –– self-evidence of what is put forward as a scientific assumption; –– absence of cause and effect relations of pedagogical phenomena in the hypothesis; –– lack of concreteness of the hypothesis; –– it is obvious that the hypothesis is not required in the studies on the history of pedagogy, comparative pedagogy and for generalization of pedagogical experience, since the explanation of cause-effect dependencies in these situations is based not on the formative experiment, but on ascertaining, as well as on logical and historical methods of evidence. Sharing the point of view of scientists who expressed the opinion that it is difficult to find the most suitable of the hypotheses, nevertheless decided to illustrate some of the samples of their formulation: D. Samples of the construction of hypotheses of the dissertation research: 1) Theme: “The system of preparing future teachers for social and pedagogical work”.
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Hypothesis: the readiness of future teachers for social and pedagogical work as an integrative personal education can be formed if three blocks are harmoniously realized in the training system: motivational-target, substantive and procedural, then the professional orientation of the pedagogical process of the university will meet the adequate expectations of the society, since in this way, future teachers master their own forms and methods of social and pedagogical work with students (G.Z. Menlibekova). One more example. 2) Theme: “Pedagogical bases of formation of professional interests of studying youth”. Hypothesis: If the model of preparation of schoolchildren and students in a seamless system of continuous engineering and technical education will reflect the object of activity of the future engineer, it will effectively carry out the formation of professional interests in accordance with the mechanism of origin and development, as well as the structure of the examined personality quality, since prerequisites for the selection of methods and means of pedagogical influence are created, as well as the content of the activities of students in school, favoring the professional activity (L.H. Mazhitova). Hypothesis is often called a reference point of scientific research. The process of creating a hypothesis is complicated. As can be seen from the contents of the previous section, the problem is clarified in the hypothesis, the theoretical foundations are presumed, it predetermines the nature of the required factual material, and also establishes a certain aspect in the approach to the development of this material and its collection and analysis line. Scientists each time comprehend the step-by-step algorithm for constructing a pedagogical hypothesis: –– the researcher fixes the occurrence of the problem situation; –– proves the impossibility of explaining the causes of a new phenomenon using known methods and means of scientific research; –– comprehensively studies new phenomena; –– formulates scientific assumptions about the possible cause of this phenomenon;
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–– simultaneously determines the consequences that are logically derived from the alleged cause; –– performs experimental verification of the correspondence of these consequences to the facts of reality. Methodologists also formulated a number of practical recommendations for describing the research hypothesis: –– the hypothesis should not include too many assumptions (usually one basic, rarely more); –– it cannot include concepts and categories that are not unambiguous, not understood by the researcher; –– when formulating a hypothesis, value judgments should be avoided; –– the hypothesis should be an adequate response to the question posed, correspond to the facts, be verifiable and applicable to a wide range of phenomena; –– it should have a perfect stylistic design, logical simplicity; –– continuity with the existing knowledge. Types of hypotheses in pedagogical studies Basis for classification 1 1. As the complexity and scale of the study increase
Types of hypotheses 2 *hypothesesassumptions (functional) *hypothesesconcepts
Characteristics of hypotheses 3 * These hypotheses are characteristic for studies on narrow topics. * Similar hypotheses are based on the development and concretization of the tasks of education (training) and outline the methods of their experimental verification. * They predict the development of education and its fundamental principles.
Table 10
Authors, sources 4 Danilov M.A. The main problems of methodology and pedagogical investigations // Soviet pedagogy. – 1969. – №5. – С. 70-87.
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2 *hypothesesforecasts of fundamental importance and a long period of validity. *hypothesesproblems. *explanatory hypothesis. * prognostic hypothesis.
3 * These hypotheses suggest a systematic study based on a vast empirical and theoretical material. * These hypotheses are aimed at modeling the cause-effect mechanism of the pedagogical phenomenon.
4 Methodological problems of the development of pedagogical science / Pod. Ed. ETC. Atutova et al. – M.: Pedagogika, 198. – P. 82.
Descriptive hypothesis Explanatory hypothesis
The prognostic hypothesis extrapolates the remote future state of social reality on the basis of mental experiment and continuous self-correcting experimental-search work. It describes the causes and possible consequences It explains the possible consequences of certain causes, and also describes the conditions under which these consequences are necessarily investigated. The hypothesis includes elements of the two previous types of hypotheses, preserves the inherent course of thought.
Babansky Y.K. Problems of improving the effectiveness of pedagogical research. (Didactic aspect). – M: Pedagogy, 1982. – P. 18-19
Table 10 continuation 3. The main functions of science
94 1 4. By complexity
5. According to the logic of formation
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3 A complex hypothesis simultaneously includes in its structure a description of the phenomena under study and an explanation of Simple hypoth- the cause-effect relaeses (inductive tions. and deductive) The inductive hypothesis is built on the basis of experience data or observable facts and is a predictive generalizing conclusion related to a whole group of *Complex phenomena similar to hypotheses the one being studied. (inductiveDeductive hypothesis deductive) contains some theoretical generalization, on the basis of which a number of assumptions are developed. Inductive-deductive hypothesis.
4 Valeyev G.K. Hypothesis of pedagogical research // Pedagogy – 1999. – №5. – С. 24 A. Klimenyuk et. al. Methods and methodology of pedagogical research. Statement of the purpose and objectives of the study. Kiev, 1988. – P. 37-38.
Researchers reveal the essence of the hypothesis, based on the grounds for its classification. The hypothesis of pedagogical research precedes its leading idea. Traditionally in the scientific apparatus the hypothesis is followed by the research tasks. The objectives of the study are considered in close relationship with its purpose. Therefore, the applicant tries to link the hypothesis with the leading idea of pedagogical research. The hypothesis is uncertain, probable knowledge, not yet proven logically and not confirmed by experience, to be considered in a reliable experience. Of importance is the main, the initial knowledge, the concept for the systematization of knowledge, the reflection of the essence, which includes both knowledge of the pedagogical object and the ways of its transformation. The leading idea expresses the author’s initial positions and the general direction of the research.
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According to M.A. Danilova, the leading idea and the general direction of research are very important coordinates of the study. The author gives a vivid example of the nomination of the leading idea of the study. In her opinion, the problem of forming the foundations of a dialectical-materialistic worldview can be studied in its entirety and in various aspects, depending on the leading idea, as the problem of transforming the acquired knowledge into beliefs, as the process of forming skills to develop views themselves, as the problem of educating students in self-reliance to the analysis of phenomena of reality, etc. And although in all these studies the general ways of shaping the worldview of students will be affected, yet each of them, having its own “leading idea,” acquires features of specificity that will have a positive effect. The leading idea basically determines the nature of the research process. Scientists emphasize the importance of facts that support the idea, or contradict the idea. Only then the leading idea stands before the researcher as the main way to solve the problem. That is, the leading idea is the main guideline for the effective solution of the research problem. The leading idea of the research is closely connected with the hypothesis, which is the anticipation of the ways of solving the problem, the course of the research and its results. Methodologist M. N. Skatkin believes that the basis for any research should be the leading idea as a guiding star of the research process, giving it a general direction, a certain angle of view, a certain vision of the subject. The leading idea determines the design of the research, the leading idea is based on the theoretical concepts that have been developed in science. Some scientists (O.S. Grebenyuk, M.I. Rozhkov, etc.) interpreted the essence of the idea as the logic of the study. In our opinion, the idea is closer to the essence of the leading idea, the concept of research. The idea is realized by the scientific apparatus of research, it guides the researcher in developing a conceptual idea. The conceptual idea is the most essential component of the study. Scientists-methodologists simultaneously use the concepts “idea”, “design”, “concept”, “hypothesis”, as well as “key idea”, “leading idea”, etc. V.I. Zagvyazinsky suggests the following “conceptual chain”: the initial fact-the
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problem-the initial conceptual positions-the idea-the design-the hypothesis-the desired result. According to him, the idea is embodied in the design, and then – in the course of testing the hypothesis. Scientists note that in the research, the idea is most often born with the intention, the latter being most open, conscious, while the idea is often hidden. The hypothesis is born together with the leading idea and develops in thinking about the essence of the problem, in analyzing the facts, previous solutions of the problem and approaches to it, in elucidating the reasons for the unsatisfactoriness of these solutions. The development of a hypothesis is the opening up of contradictions, which constitute the essence of the problem and are indicated by the leading idea. The hypothesis follows from the leading idea and is determined by it. For researchers, as a positive example may be offered the leading idea that was put in the basis of the study of V.S. Shubinsky on “Dialectical and logical contradictions as a means of developing dialectical thinking in students” (P. 79). V.S. Shubinsky, based on the thesis, put the idea of the need and opportunity to develop dialectical thinking not only in senior students, but even in middle-aged ones. In accordance with this idea, he developed a system of didactic means aimed at forming in students a dialectical way of thinking. He proved the truth of this idea in the course of many years of experimental verification. For the concreteness of our reflection on the leading idea of the study, we give some examples of its formulations: Samples of the hypothesis and the leading idea of pedagogical research: 1) Theme: Development of higher pedagogical education in the Republic of Kazakhstan in the period of formation of market relations. Hypothesis: If scientifically substantiate the theoretical approaches to the organization of training of pedagogical personnel in the Republic from the standpoint of market relations, then the revealed leading trends and stages of development of the system of higher pedagogical education will make it possible to formulate recommendations for successful reform of it, since they are developed taking into account the specifics of training teachers in the Republic Kazakhstan.
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The main idea: the scientific understanding of the problems of higher pedagogical education in the period of the establishment of market relations in the Republic of Kazakhstan will facilitate the adoption of effective decisions on reforming the system of teacher training, which in turn will lead to an improvement in the quality of higher pedagogical education, the status of the teacher in society and the flexible integration of the system of pedagogical education in the world educational space.(R.B. Mukhitova). 2) Theme: Formation of engineering and technical thinking of undergraduate students. Hypothesis: If we organize educational and cognitive activity of first year students of high school within the framework of a professional direction of education, then their engineering and technical thinking will be formed efficiently, since in this subject-activity content of training the features of the object and typical (generalized) tasks will be reflected by professional activity in the field of training. The main idea is that engineering and technical thinking of students of junior courses of the university is formed in the process of professionally directed training, which fosters the rapprochement of students’ educational and cognitive activity with their future professional activity (A.M. Salamatina). 3) Theme: Formation of interest in professional activity of future officers -border guards. Hypothesis: interest in professional activity as a special personal education can be formed if the professional training of future border officers in the system of higher military education is carried out with an orientation toward a model of the investigated quality, the significance of which is realized by the cadets, this ensures their personal and professional growth, since they master the necessary knowledge and skills in the work. The main idea: interest in professional activities is a special personal education of the future border officer, therefore the formation of this quality is an integral organic part of the educational process of the military institute (Malgadzharova TG).
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2.6. Criteria for the quality of pedagogical research
According to V.M. Polonsky the following components in the structure of the results of pedagogical research may be distinguished: –– an objective component (general scientific, general pedagogical or specifically pedagogical level); –– a transformative component – a disclosure of changes occurring at the objective level; –– a specifying component determines various conditions, facts and circumstances. Academician V.I. Zagvyazinsky highlights a number of provisions of the methodological plan, the observance of which makes it possible to ensure the correctness, scientific viability and practical use of complex socio-psychological and pedagogical studies. Among these provisions there are: 1) a verified and realistic target orientation. It is noted that it is impossible to contrast social goals to the goals of personal development. Therefore, the orientation of education, the strategy of its development should be social-personal. 2) striving for a state of harmony as one of the goals of education and at the same time a mechanism for its transformation. Pedagogical science and even more pedagogical art are connected with the problems of achieving harmony of socialization and individualization, personality and collective, algorithmization and creativity, tradition and innovation, and so on. 3) A holistic and integrated nature of the program and project documents and the research and practical activities carried out on their basis. Sociologists, economists, demographers, doctors, culturologists, lawyers, psychologists, teachers, administrators, parents should participate in the development of holistic integrated projects. Psychological-pedagogical and even social-pedagogical research is a real thing if a common, jointly developed concept is adopted and if complex research methods are based on the research. 4) A combination of normality and variability. State standards of education should be laid down as mandatory standards in the project documentation. Not only regional and school components of educational programs, but also methods and means of transformations can act as constituent elements. 5) Unity and demarcation of practical and research aspects and aspects of transformational activity.
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In general, the results of the study are a set of new ideas, theoretical and practical conclusions, obtained in accordance with the goals and objectives of the work. These are: theoretical positions (new concepts, approaches, directions, ideas, hypotheses, patterns, tendencies, classifications, principles in the field of teaching and upbringing, development of pedagogical science and practice), their clarification, development, addition, development, verification, confirmation, refutation ; practical recommendations (new methods, rules, algorithms, proposals, normative documents, programs, explanatory notes to the programs), their specification, development, addition, development, verification. In the pedagogical literature, certain aspects of the research result as a methodological problem have been considered so far: the criteria for evaluating the quality of the results, their typology, and the terminology and definitions. The developers believe that the results of the studies have a general structure that allows them to be viewed in the form of three complementary components: objective, transformative and concretizing. Recently, the problems of quality of the candidate and doctoral theses have been raised again and again. One of the parameters for assessing the quality of the completed dissertation research is the novelty of the research. And this is not accidental, because the essence of methodological value lies in the assessment of the methodological base of scientific and technical products. It is in this database that the application, the implementation of the developed methodological recommendations, the rules for the implementation of new research activities, the created tools, techniques and conceptual schemes of this activity are implemented. Therefore, the methodological value is characterized by the degree of novelty. It is well known that science is a highly specialized human activity in the development, systematization, testing of knowledge for the purpose of their highly effective use. At the same time, science is knowledge that meets the requirements of originality and reliability, validity, etc., and by the time of its creation is not in the list of previously established scientific knowledge. As it was noted by G.I. Andreev, S.A. Smirnov, and V.A. Tikhomirov, the scientific novelty of the thesis is a sign that gives the author the right to use the concept “for the first time” when describing the results obtained by him and the study as a whole. The concept of “first” means in science the fact of the absence of such results before
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their publication. The research can be original, if no one before the author of the dissertation was engaged in it, or the author has obtained scientific results that differ significantly from the known ones. What is the novelty of the research? In the pedagogical dictionary of V.M. Polonsky gives the following definition of the category under consideration: “Novelty is a criterion of the quality of information (the results of scientific research). It reflects new socially significant knowledge, facts, data obtained in the course of research or practice. “ Novelty as a component of the scientific apparatus was developed more as a criterion of novelty for the evaluation of completed studies. There are two types of novelty – theoretical and practical. Theoretical novelty includes such types of knowledge as concept, hypothesis, regularity, method, model, approach, principle, etc., practical novelty – rule, proposal, recommendation, means, requirement, methodical system, etc. V.V. Egorov, E.G. Skibitsky write that “often dissertators have a great desire to use the word” for the first time”. But this word must be used very carefully. First, you cannot be absolutely sure that all the constructions made are really completely new; secondly, modesty always only adorns the real scientist. “It is possible to agree with this opinion, indeed, when determining the very novelty and its degree, often the applicants feel insecurity and misunderstanding. In this regard, we consider it appropriate to identify and consider the levels of novelty and their characteristics, which are presented in figure 5. Levels and characteristics of novelty
Figure 5. Novelty of pedagogical research
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At the same time, as the researchers note, indicators of the evaluation of novelty are: –– scientific discovery; –– a holistic scientific concept; –– a new scientific idea that enriches a new scientific concept; –– a new scientific idea within the framework of a well-known scientific concept; –– enrichment of the relevant scientific concept with new evidence and facts; –– an original scientific hypothesis offering a new scientific view, a new interpretation of the problem; –– specification of the structure of pedagogical science; –– justification of the theory; –– introduction of new concepts or changing their old interpretations; –– a controversial, but interesting judgment on the topic or the problem; –– refuting obsolete ideas and positions; –– recommendations on the application in practice of new scientific ideas and campaigns. In the following picture, we outlined the criteria for the novelty of the results of the study (according to the book “Methodology of General and Ethnic Pedagogy in Logical Structures”, Almaty, 2005. – p. 145).
Rules
Figure 6. Criteria of novelty of the study
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Thus, using the category of “scientific novelty” in pedagogical research, one must be very careful in using this category. There is always a difference between objective reality and ours views about it. Therefore, the novelty can be either authentic or imaginary. “Trustworthy novelty is ontological, i.e. the truth of things; imaginary novelty is such only in the epistemological sense (the truth of representations). In fact, the ontological novelty often differs from the epistemological notion of it, that is reflected in the attribution to the research carried out of those merits that it does not really possess”. To assess the scientific novelty of the study, it is possible to use the following characteristic features: –– determination of historical pedagogical and other prerequisites for the creation of a new system; –– disclosure of the essence of key concepts and their interpretation (structure, function, content); –– theoretical model of the formation of the sought-for quality; –– substantiation of the content of the pedagogical system; –– development of methods for the formation of desired quality; –– identification of pedagogical conditions for the effective functioning of the proposed system; –– Introduction into scientific circulation of modern (newly discovered) sources (archival materials, records, etc.); –– determination of the trend and prospects for the development of the pedagogical phenomenon; –– determination of concepts, theories, methodological approaches to the problem under study. EXAMPLE 1. Dissertation of K.M. Ushakova “Improving the skills of management personnel in the education system in an unstable situation” (specialty – theory and methodology of vocational education). The novelty of the study: “The strategic factors currently present in the Russian education that affect the effectiveness of management activity are identified: instability, heterogeneity, and inadequate resources. The concept of “organizational culture” has been introduced and developed with the aim of evaluating the Russian educational organization. Organization-
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al culture is seen as a parameter that integrates formal and informal organizational structures. The actual concepts describing the state of the educational organization at the present time are revealed: the development of organizations, organizational culture, individual and group organizational resources, the content of a hidden contract, professional behavior styles. The influence of the leader’s view on the organizational culture is investigated and the most relevant explicit and implicit views of the leader are identified as the main object of pedagogical influence (content of the hidden contract, the idea of an ideal subordinate, preferable style of professional behavior, etc.). Interactive procedures (trainings, exercises), corresponding to the assimilation of new concepts, forms of professional behavior and aimed at the effective solution of professional management tasks, have been developed. A resource approach has been developed to determine the development potential of the educational organization: three levels of human resources are identified: the level of personal professionalism, a small group and the organization as a whole. A didactic mechanism for analyzing organizational situations (questionnaires, feedback forms), which are also an instrument for developing the personal professional skills of the listener in the course of the full-time study period and the targeted impact on the pedagogical staff in management activities was developed. EXAMPLE 2. Dissertation of L.M. Tsirulnikova “Variability in the organization of a rural school” (specialty – general pedagogy): “The scientific novelty of the study is that the concept of the various types of organization of a rural school has been developed. The main periods of the cultural and historical practice of the rural school are identified from the point of view of its varietal organization: the formation, development, unification and the revival of diversity. The notion of “variability” of education, its substantive, procedural, typological, system-structural and the level characteristics were revealed, the concepts of cultural appropriateness and the suitability of the rural school were substantiated, the integrative characteristics (leading
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components) of the content of education in the rural school were defined – “peasant folk culture”, “professionally” “labor”, “local lore or ethnographic,” compensatory “invariants of the organization of the agrarian, farmer education, reflecting the structure of the complete, a set of socio-economic conditions, socio-educational and organizational-pedagogical conditions and factors that determine the variability of the organization of a rural school were defined, and the procedures for multifactor analysis for solving a different class of educational problems were developed. The methods of diagnostics and the main types of sociocultural situations of the rural school were identified, and the variants of differentiated strategies for their development were determined. A typology of developing rural schools was developed on the basis of various ways of co-organizing the activities of schools with other social institutions and communities. The technology of educational innovations in rural schools was uncovered, including the diagnostics of pedagogical innovation, the analysis of its regular stages in the rural school, the methodology for studying the extraordinary pedagogical experience of rural teachers and collectives, the mechanisms for managing rural general education systems of the traditional, transitional and experimental-innovative types. The procedures for the formation of agrarian educational policy as a mechanism for cultural compromise, the coordination of educational needs and requirements, different socio-professional and age groups of the rural population were developed. “ As we see from the above examples, the problem of the interrelation between science and practice plays an important role in the structure of scientific novelty. There is no such branch of knowledge which would not face the task of the development of its relations with production. The relationship between theory and practice is complex, it is the character of dialectical unity. Based on the philosophical position of the relationship between theory and practice, we can determine what is the unity of pedagogical theory and practice. 1. Pedagogical theory is: а) first of all, a set of scientifically sound knowledge about the educational process: its components and their regular connections, the
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interactions of objective laws of learning and teaching that determine the optimal nature of educational and training activities; b) a system of knowledge about the principles and methods of managing education, which allows organizing educational and training activities on the basis of modern achievements in pedagogical science. 2. The practice of teaching and upbringing is an educational activity. The concept of «interaction» is broader than the idea of introducing the results of pedagogical research into practice, it expresses an agreed bilateral transformative relationship between science and practice. Interaction of theory and practice in any of the existing types of pedagogical activity (educational, managerial, research activities, activities on the transfer of pedagogical science materials to teachers, educators). The question of the relationship between pedagogical science and practice was mainly solved in the context of concrete research, manifesting itself in each of them at all stages, from conception to conclusions. The analysis of works devoted specifically to the essence of the relationship between theory and practice testifies to serious attempts to comprehend it. At the present time, the problems of using pedagogical innovations in the context of interaction between science and practice are studied more deeply. Many researchers of the movement of innovation are associated mainly with the use of pedagogical innovations. The sessions of the All-Union Methodological Seminar (19721988) and the All-Russian Seminar (1994-2006) were devoted to raising the efficiency and quality of scientific works, theoretical studies on pedagogy. Evolution of approaches to the analysis of these relationships develops from studying the processes of introducing research results into practice (R.O. Amosova, V.E. Gmurman, V.S. Gribov, L.I. Gusev, P.I. Kartashov, V.I. Kotlyar, H.I. Liimets, N.V. Kukharev, N.O. Nilson, T.V. Novikova, V.I. Chepelev, etc.) to the relationship between pedagogical science and practice (K.N. Volkov, V. Kraevsky, E.Ya. Solyar, G.I. Shchukin, and others).
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Studies of pedagogical science can be of different types, of different theoretical level, which cannot but affect the nature of links with practice. The results of fundamental research and the specific methodology for carrying out a particular topic have, initially, due to their characteristics, a different focus. These studies set different goals, solved different problems, due to the different nature of the relationship with practice (See: Table 24). Main directions of the research of the problem of interaction of pedagogical science and practice № 1 2 3 4 5
6
Table 11
Authors of monographs Zhuravlev V.I.
The studied aspects Results of the research of interaction Interrelation of pedagogical Basic concepts: interrelascience and practice tion, interdependence, interference, mutual assessment. Kartashov P.I. Introduction of recommen- Algorithm of processes of dations of pedagogical introduction of results of science in practice of school researches in practice Krayevsky V.V. Ratio of pedagogical Intrinsic characteristic of science and practice scientific and practical knowledge Kukharev N.V. Pedagogical theory and Regularities and factors of school practice interaction Skolkovo Ya. Experience of strengthenForms of the study of paring the interrelation of the ticipants of introduction pedagogical theory and practice Turbovskoy Ya.S. Relationship of pedagogi- Interaction components. cal science and practice as Interaction levels (informamethodological problem tion, organizational and informational complex and state).
Therefore, the conceptual unity of all issues of the problem of ensuring quality of the carried-out dissertation research, can be provided only by consideration of relationship of pedagogical science and practice as complete system including the interconnected, dynamically developing components.
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It is also necessary to note that at all, apparently, objective criteria by which dissertation works and scientific research are estimated elements of subjectivity are inevitable. Reduction of their influence requires external examination from outside of “neutral”, and therefore more objective experts. The following parameters are the reliability and validity of the research that act generally as qualifying standards to results of a pedagogical research. According to V.M. Polonsky, it is possible to allocate the following constituing components in the structure of the results of a pedagogical research: –– Objective component (general scientific, all-pedagogical or concrete and pedagogical level); –– Transforming component – a disclosure of the changes happening at the objective level; –– The concretizing component specifies various conditions, facts and circumstances. Undoubtedly, knowledge of the scientific apparatus of a pedagogical research conclusion is accumulated, analyzed, drawn. Developers of this direction state a condition of the methodological apparatus and quality of dissertation researches. Illegibility of designated research problems, amorphy of a conceptual terms’ framework, commonality of set of the known techniques of a research, need of validity of relevance by contradictions between the available theoretical facts which can’t be explained from positions of a traditional paradigm, correctness in a formulation of tasks, hypotheses, conclusions, the choice of methods, the proof of pedagogical efficiency of the protected innovation are noted. The considerable reserve of improvement of quality of researches is already available in practices on standard methodology (M.A. Danilov, V.I. Zhuravlev, V.I. Zagvyazinsky, V.V. Krayevsky, M.N. Skatkin, etc.). In standard methodology a number of the provisions concerning an object and a subject, the purpose and the logic of a research conducting the ideas, technology of carrying out an experiment, registration of results, etc. is formulated. The concept “standard methodology” has been introduced by V.M. Polonsky. He considers that it is very important to increase the level of methodological lit-
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eracy of researchers, as well as the level of possession of the general methodological knowledge as prerequisites of scientific creativity and concrete standard knowledge as bases of a methodological reflection (V.V. Krayevsky). The methodological literacy, according to him, is a condition of scientific creativity. Also, he specifies the fact that authors of dissertations most often are not able to distinguish scientific activity from practical, novelty of results from their practical importance. It is known that the theoretical journal “Pedagogika” states from time to time the low level of dissertation researches in which the same common faults are pointed out: conclusions repeat starting positions, hypotheses are axiomatic, subjects are irrelevant, tasks are excessive, the protected provisions are abstract, recommendations are not real, etc. In our Republic a complex analysis of quality of dissertation researches is still absent though the problem vision on separate components of the scientific device appears, e.g. publications about hypotheses of a pedagogical research. In the pedagogical press the problems of typology and levels of the research perspective are discussed, the base of classification of problems moves forward (information, conceptual, qualimetrical and organizational and methodical). For its characteristic scientists introduce the concept of “heuristic potential of a research” which is understood as a set of the cognitive means and methods used by developers of the selected problem. The theoretical and practical significance of the following components of the scientific organization of the research reviewed in the context of the assessment of quality and efficiency of a pedagogical research shows fundamental nature of a dissertation research, integration scale of a pedagogical research with other branches of knowledge (with philosophy, psychology, physiology, economy, policy, etc.). It is necessary to mark that determination and formulation of the theoretical and practical significance is caused by the comparison with real-life conditions, i.e. these parameters show methods, measures of achievement of goals. It is important also that these parameters were specified or planned technologies of self-realization – ways and tools
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for necessary and sufficient conditions, movement stages to the purpose. However, in aspiration to their development “it is impossible to lose sight of the old truth: not to attribute to an object of research bigger accuracy rating, than that which is predetermined by the nature of a subject”. Any line item shall be formulated so that it would be possible (at least in implementation process) to confirm or refute it by means of the known facts. Now we will pass to the determination of the entity of categories “theoretical and practical significance” of the research. For this purpose, we will analyze the existing, most widespread determination shown in table 12. In case of determination of the theoretical significance of the research scientists specify inaccuracy of relation of scientific novelty and the theoretical significance of operation in one statement as they disclose different aspects of operation. We agree with scientists that in “the section “novelty” it should be shown what scientific result is achieved by the author of the dissertation”, and in the section “theoretical significance” the application of scientific result to the area of scientific knowledge should be described. Thus, the analysis which is carried out above shows that the theoretical importance of the result of the research defines those changes which have occurred or may occur in connection with the received results, in what degree they help to solve problems which were not set or were solved partially earlier. Proceeding from the theoretical importance, it is possible to explain and predict the emergence of the facts and phenomena that from former positions could not be expected and explained, as well as to open ways for the development of new methods and approaches, which may serve as a starting point for the subsequent decisions in education. Practical results have activity character and, as a rule, represent knowledge connected with the research object, ways of use of the object in practical activities of people. These are new techniques, rules, algorithms, offers, normative documents, programs, explanatory notes to programs.
2
1 1
№
Determination of the theoretical importance 2 3 Polonsky V.M. The theoretical Dictionary on importance of the retraining and search – the criterion pedagogics. – M.: of scientific research Higher school, reflecting the influ2004. – 516 pages. ence of the received results of research on the existing concepts, ideas, methods in the field of training and education Andreyev G.I., etc. In the help of writing of the thesis and papers: bases of scientific work and registration of results of scientific activity: Studies. grant. – M, 2003. – 272 pages.
Authorss
New theoretical principles, regularities of the development of science. Improvement of the main structures and mechanisms of development of science and practice.
4 Criteria for evaluation of the theoretical importance of the research, the list of signs on the basis of which the theoretical importance of the results of scientific and pedagogical research is assessed.
Evaluation criterion 5 The practical importance of the research is determined by the impact which is exerted (or can be exerted), by the results of the research on teaching and educational process, a technique of teaching and training, the organization of educational work, etc. – number of users or interested persons; The practical importance of the results of the dissertation research can be determined by the nature of their use and extent of introduction in practice. Its " evidence”.
Determination of practical importance
Determination of categories “theoretical importance” and “practical importance”
The criteria are based and approved as a result of experimental work systems of methods and means of improvement of economic, technical and social development of the state.
6 – significance value;
Criteria of assessment
Table 12
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1 3
2 Egorov V.V., Skibitsky E.G. Organization and technology of scientific research. – Novosibirsk: JSC Novosibirsk Book Publishing House, 2006. – 426 pages.
3 In the section "theoretical importance" it is indicated, to what part, what area of "scientific knowledge" it is attributed.
4 Laws or regularities, the general concept and the system of information in general are formulated. Essential manifestations of the theory are disclosed: contradictions, discrepancies, opportunities, difficulties, dangers, the new problems which are subject to the further research are singled out.
5 "The practical importance" is determined by the value that a dissertation research will have. The scope of the theory in practice and area of real life is outlined. The standard model of the project of effective use of knowledge is created. Recommendations for higher level of the organization of activity are made.
6 "The practical importance" is defined the value that a dissertation research will have. The scope of the theory in practice and area of real life is outlined. The standard model of the project of effective use of knowledge is created. Recommendations for higher level of the organization of activity are made.
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We have dwelt on the concepts of the theoretical and practical importance, now let us consider the levels of these categories. Levels of the theoretical and practical importance of SPR (it is made according to V.M. Polonsky)
Table 13
Theoretical importance The researches changing the existing theoretical ideas on a number of major problems in one field of pedagogics have the problem level.
Practical importance Researches the results of which are important for the solution of the private practical questions connected with a technique of teaching, training or education have the private method level. Researches that contribute to the Researches the results of which results development of separate pedagogical are important for the solution of the disciplines have disciplinary level: general questions of a technique of t didactics, theory of education, school- teaching, training and education have ing, pedagogics history, etc., are opened the all-methodical level of the practical by the basic concepts and categories of importance. these disciplines, regularities, methods, etc. Works the results of which make impact Researches the value of which extends on all fields of pedagogics have all-ped- on the all-didactic (branch) have the agogical level, and are beyond separate level of the practical importance in all disciplines, form general methodological field of didactics or the theory of educaand general theoretical provisions. tion.
Thus, the singled-out levels of the theoretical and practical importance of the research are the cornerstones of definition of the degree of the importance of the results of the research. For identification of the degree of “satisfaction” or “dissatisfaction” with the results of the research in educational practice, in the “theoretical importance” and “practical importance” parameters there are various options of examination. So, A.M. Novikov allocates methodological, technological, praxeological, complex examination. “Methodological examination is expedient at the beginning of the research... also allows establishing the objects of research, the main directions of scientific search, basic positions of the research following from the condition of science, requirements of science and already developed modern scientific concepts.
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Technological examination directly analyzes the program of scientific search, the culture of an experiment, a condition of its carrying out, theoretical, diagnostic and financial security. Praxeological expertise analyzes the scope of the results of the research, the condition and the rules of use of the theory in practice. Complex examination of the results of scientific research is carried out by the competent organizations and persons with further inclusion the authors, performers of a subject in a relevant list”. At the same time, a wide arsenal of techniques and components of this examination is used. For example, the most widespread parameters of assessment of the theoretical importance are as follows: –– novelty; –– conceptuality and substantiality; –– prospects. The theoretical importance of the research is defined by an expert way. At the beginning the general formula of work is defined, and then it is compared with the basic option. When determining the practical importance, as we have already considered above in contents of table 13, as the basis of the analysis the following parameters are taken: –– main categories of users and their number; –– significance values; –– economic and social efficiency; –– scale and volume of introduction; –– readiness for introduction. The practical importance is also defined by an expert way, and practical workers to whom the developed recommendations are given, have to be among experts. At the first stage questioning regarding the practical importance and usefulness of the received results is carried out. Then biographical particulars are analyzed, the work formula on the basis of comparison with the basic option is developed (See: Appendix 2). By drawing up expert assessment of the quality of the prepared dissertation the investigation of the expertise of opponents and the
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head of the organization is based on a number of criteria which are reflected in Table 14. Criteria and indicators of assessment of quality of the research (according to A.P. Tryapitsyna, N.I. Zaguzov, S.A. Pisareva)
Table 14
Criteria for Indicators for assessing quality of thesis research. evaluating the quality of the thesis research. Degree of – Scientific discovery novelty of the – A holistic scientific concept. research – A new scientific idea that enriches a new scientific concept. – A new scientific idea within the framework of a well-known scientific concept. – Enrichment of the relevant scientific concept with new evidence and facts. – An original scientific hypothesis that offers a new scientific view, a new interpretation of the problem. – Justification of the theory. – Clarification of the structure of pedagogical science. – Introduction of new concepts or changing their old interpretations. – Controversial, but interesting judgment on any topic, problem. – Rejection of obsolete ideas and positions. – ������������������������������������������������������������ Recommendations on the application in practice of new scientific ideas and campaigns. Theoretical – All methods of scientific thinking at the wording of the theory importance of are used: analysis, synthesis, generalization, etc. the research – The ideas, arguments, proofs, denials are stated, as well as their confirmation or denial. – All ��������������������������������������������������������������� elements of the statement of the theory are described: axioms, hypotheses, scientific facts, conclusions, tendencies, stages, station, factors and conditions. – ��������������������������������������������������������������� Laws or regularities, the general concept and the system of information in general are formulated. – ���������������������������������������������������������������� Essential manifestations of the theory are disclosed: contradictions, discrepancies, opportunities, difficulties, dangers, new problems which are subject to a further research are isolated. – The ����������������������������������������������������������� reality phenomena which make the basis of practical actions in this or that area are fully stated. – Relations of this phenomenon with others are studied.
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Criteria for Indicators for assessing quality of thesis research. evaluating the quality of the thesis research. Practical im– The scope of the theory in practice is outlined, in the field of portance of the real life where this regularity, the idea, the concept is revealed. research – The standard model of the project of effective use of knowledge in reality is created. – Recommendations for a higher level of organization of activity are made. – The regulating norms and requirements within the framework of the optimal activity of the personality and a team in the sphere of the research are defined. – Ratios of spontaneously – empirical and scientific knowledge are characterized. – Methodical recommendations about the research subject are evidence-based. Objectivity, – The theory is constructed on rather authentic, checked data and reliability the facts. of the research – The concept is proved methodologically and factual, reasoned from the position of the results of scientific search (experiment) of the analysis of the actual material. – The idea has received confirmation with the use of various methods of research and has an accurate methodological basis. – The idea follows from the analysis of practice, experience of activity (synthesis of the Advanced pedagogical experience). – Comparison of data the author previously created on similar related subject is used. –A ������������������������������������������������������������� complex technique of research is applied, mutual checkability, comparability of the data obtained by different methods of investigation were ensured. – Introspection and self-examination of the results of the research are applied. Questions for self-control 1. What is the subject and the object of the research? 2. What is the problem? 3. What is a problem situation? 4. Name problem elements. 5. What is the justification of a problem? 6. To what criteria do real problems correspond?
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Chapter 2. The logic and the structure of a ... 7. What is problematics? 8. What is a question and a task? 9. What does the leading idea differ from a hypothesis in? 10. Give definition of the notions “idea”, “plan”, “hypothesis”, “concept”. 11. How do the hypothesis and the leading idea, the leading idea and a plan, a plan and the concept of the research correlate in the research activity? 12. What is the novelty of the research? 13. What is it expressed in? 14. What parameters of the definition of the degree of novelty of the research? 15. Why at the formulation of novelty of the research the interrelation of the theory and practice is most often shown? What is it caused by? 16. Call the most typical mistakes at the formulation of novelty of a research. Give examples.
Tasks for independent work Option 1. Determine the object of research for the following topics: –– ethnopedagogical factors of multicultural education; –– development of the high-tech educational environment of educational institutions on the basis of information technology; –– quality management of the educational process in the vocational and pedagogical college; –– development of the methodological foundations of the pedagogy of the ХVII-ХХI centuries. Formulate the research problem on «Pedagogical technology of managing the process of teaching gifted children.» Evaluate the relevance of the research problem on the topic «Formation of the andrological competence of the methodologist in the process of professional development» according to objective criteria of real problems. «The analysis of practice of professional education and professional development as well as theoretical works on problems of professionalism and activity of the methodologist has allowed to draw a conclusion on existence of contradictions between: – andrological in nature character of andrological competence as an integral phenomenon necessary for the successful solution of modern professional problems by methodologists; – a complex (integral) nature of andrological competence as a professional and personal phenomenon that requires a fairly long and systematic training, and short-term and discrete course preparation in the system of professional development; – theoretical development of andrological principles of education answering to the current trends of the changing education and the declarative nature of their implementation, both in the system of professional development, and in the organization of methodical work in educational institutions» (Vavilova L.N., Kemerovo, 2003, the abstract, page 4-5).
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Formulate the purpose of the following researches: “Orientation of the teacher to the value of scientific knowledge as a factor of the development of pedagogical competence”; “Design of the synergetic environment in the higher education in the conditions of introduction of credit system of training”; “Familiarizing of pupils of a gymnasium with scientifically – research activity”; “Development of subjectivity of the school student in operating conditions of a new paradigm of education”; “Pedagogical acmeology as independent subject matter”; “Development of the theory of the research activity of the teacher of higher education institution in the context of continuous pedagogical education”; “Methodological and theoretical bases of a pedagogical qualimetry”; “Design of the creative educational environment on the basis of information technologies in higher education institutions”; “Work program of the academic discipline as an indicator of the quality of the activities of the teacher.”. Prove legitimacy of formulations of a hypothesis of your research, proceeding from the requirements to creation of a hypothesis. Option 2. Define what components of the scientific organization of the research (base, an object, a subject) are discussed in the following formulations: –– pedagogical staff of high school No. 162 of Almaty; –– process of formation of a gymnasium on the basis of high school with profile training (the bases of the economy and the rights); –– pedagogical conditions of formation of political culture of future expert in the conditions of the university. Give examples of problems and contradictions. Formulate the problem of the research and evaluate its compliance with formal and logical criteria of real problems. Write out the purposes and tasks of the following successfully defended dissertations and correlate them to the requirements imposed to the formulation of these components of the scientific apparatus of the study: “Theoretical and methodological foundations of the information model for the formation of the student contingent of universities” (T. Balykbaev); “Methodology of success of activity as category of pedagogics” (A.K. Rysbayeva); “Formation of the subject of ethnoculture in the conditions of the higher school” (G.K. Tleuzhanov); “Pedagogical bases of formation of a significant image of professional activity of the teacher in the system of university education” (A.A. Bulatbayev); Formulate the leading idea of the PhD thesis on the topic “Formation of students’ readiness for research activities on environmental issues”.
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Option 3. Allocate a presumable object of research in the following subjects: “Formation of professional competence of teachers in the use of neural educational editions in the course of training”; “Formation of creativity of the teacher of the higher school in the system of continuous education”; “Scientific and practical basis for improving the system of professional development of pedagogues of general secondary education” How can the topic and object of research be formulated in which the following subject is singled out: the process of forming the future teacher’s readiness for personal-oriented learning? Study the characteristics of the contradictions of the research on “Theory and practice of modular-rating technology of education in higher education (on the basis of the practical course of the Russian language)” (N.A. Akhmetova). Study the author’s abstracts of the defended dissertations (section of the relevance of the study). Explain the relationship between the chain “problem – topic – relevance of the study”. Try to build a system of tasks for pedagogical research on topics: –– ”System of training of future teachers for valeological work”; –– “Debate of the technology in the formation of tolerance of high school students in modern conditions”; –– ”Formation of interest in professional activity in future teachers of higher education institutions”; –– ”Formation of creative culture of future engineer-teacher”; –– ”Source study base of a historical and pedagogical research: essence and structure”; –– ”Management of innovative and didactic activity of the teacher at school”; “Development of methodological fundamentals of the general and ethnic pedagogics at a turn of 20-21 centuries”; –– ”Formation of ethnopedagogical competence of teachers in the system of the increase in their qualification”; –– ”Formation of key competences of school students in educational process”; –– ”Theoretical-methodological bases of the design of the content of higher education”; –– ”Research hypothesis as a way of development of scientific knowledge in the field of ethnopedagogy”.
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METHODS AND RESEARCH EXPERIENCE IN THE FIELD OF PEDAGOGY 3.1. Methods and techniques of pedagogical researches
An important concept of pedagogical research is the methods of pedagogical research. In the collective monograph “Introduction to scientific research in pedagogy” it is noted that “the knowledge of pedagogical phenomena and processes, as well as in other spheres of scientific knowledge, is achieved (according to the empirical and theoretical level of research) by the ascent from the concrete, as it is given in perception and representation, to the abstract and from the abstract to the concrete as a collection of different definitions and relations. The ascent from the abstract to the concrete is of the utmost importance for the construction of the theory: it characterizes the process of theoretical thinking. Scientific abstraction consists in abstracting and generalizing the most essential features of the cognizable object. Such an abstraction gives a person a fuller and deeper understanding of reality than immediate sensations. “ Research methods are interpreted as a conditional category, combining both forms of thinking, and general models of the research procedures, and ways (methods) of performing research activities. Philosophers revealed the essence of the method, the unity and difference between the theory and method, logical methods, methods of constructing empirical knowledge, methods of constructing theoretical knowledge. 119
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In pedagogics methods are developed considering these achievements and specifics of the subject of pedagogics as a scientific discipline. In all listed works certain attention is paid to the methods of pedagogical research. In these works, various classifications are given: empirical, theoretical, comparative-historical methods (Ya. Skalkov), empirical-theoretical, general scientific, empirical general scientific, concrete and scientific, special methods (A.V. Klimenyuk, etc.). However, the analysis of textbooks in pedagogics of various years of the edition shows relative similarity of their classifications. Authors are unanimous in understanding of the essence of methods of pedagogical researches. Methods of pedagogical research are a set of methods and the operations directed to studying of the pedagogical phenomena and the solution of various scientific and pedagogical problems. For many years insufficient attention was paid to the development of concrete methods of scientific research. The research of methods of knowledge of the pedagogical phenomena was started in the middle of the 60th. It was connected with more active development of problems of methodology of pedagogics in general. Problems of a technique of pedagogical researches are considered by E.I. Monoszon and A.I. Piskunov. These works, according to N.P. Kuzin, M.N. Kolmakova, represent in essence the first complete and multidimensional study of a modern pedagogical experiment, the research assuming an integrated approach to the object and the system and structural analysis of the interacting factors on the basis of creative realization of the principles and regularities of materialistic dialectics. In the 60-70th new perspective directions in the methods and technique of pedagogical research (modeling, predictive methods, diagnostic methods, etc.) appeared. In the process of expansion of complex works in the field of pedagogics cross-disciplinary links got stronger, the system of planning of scientific activity was improved. Authors of the collective monograph “Problems of Methodology of Pedagogics and Methods of Researches” M.A. Danilov, N.I. Boldyrev, R.G. Gurova, G.V. Vorobyov contributed to the development of methods of pedagogical research. In this monograph they described a dialectic method of knowledge, stated in detail concrete methods of research, considered the opportunities of application of sociological
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methods in pedagogical researches. Subsequently, lectures under the title “Methods of a Pedagogical Research” were prepared and published. Many developers of the problem (N.V. Kuzmina, N.V. Savin, B.P. Korotyaev, I.F. Kharlamov, I.P. Pidkasisty, etc.) are limited to transfer of separate methods of research, such as an observation method, an experiment, etc. The following group of authors carried out a classification of methods of research traditionally, having divided them into empirical, theoretical, mathematical ones (V.A. Slastenin, V.I. Zhuravlev, V.I. Zagvyazinsky, and others.). Yu.K. Babansky’s approach to the classification of methods of a pedagogical research is original: he focuses on a research objective, on information sources, according to the logic of development of a research, on the way of processing and the analysis of these researches. This classification aims the researcher to be guided by criteria of the choice of methods adequately essence of a problem. Except well-known methods the developers offer also other methods from practice of interdisciplinary sciences as: ranging, scaling (N.V. Kuzmina, V.A. Slastenin, I.P. Podlasy), content analysis methods, terminological methods (P.I. Pidkasisty, etc.), method of counts, estimation (rating) (Yu.K. Babansky, N.V. Kuzmina, etc.), indexing, correlation. In general, it is possible to note that methods of research develop in the context of an intensification of pedagogical science. Search of definition of the main directions of development of methods of pedagogical researches has been conducted. Development of methods of pedagogical researches is included in the general process of updating of an education system and pedagogical science. Developers of the problem prove the need to change the settled methodological-gnoseological attitude (“paradigm”) in the development of pedagogical knowledge, in the use of methods of pedagogical research, to overcome orientation to perceive the understanding of a scientific method as a knowledge method, but not transformation of pedagogical reality. Among the important directions of improvement of methods, the researchers mention a specification of general scientific methods and approaches in pedagogical research. Among general scientific methods there are the following ones: the analysis,
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synthesis, induction, deduction, an axiomatic method, generalization, abstraction, an ascension method from abstract to concrete, observation, an experiment, analogy, modeling, a hypothesis, extrapolation, cybernetic methods, a formalization method, system and structural, etc., comparison, opposition, questioning, interviewing, testing, a training. In the literature there is as yet no single classification of research methods. The main methods, for example, include: 1) the method of “ascent”; 2) the method of modeling and the principle of systemic; 3) experiment and observation. The methods of obtaining empirical knowledge (observation, experiment), the development of knowledge (axiomatic, hypothetical-deductive, etc.) are distinguished. As theoretical methods, scientists call the following ones: analysis of literature, archival materials, documentation and products of activity; the analysis of the conceptual-terminological system; analogy; constructing a hypothesis; constructing a mental experiment; forecasting; modeling; as empirical methods – observations; conversations; pedagogical consultation; study and generalization of mass and individual pedagogical experience; scientific and pedagogical expedition. The following classifications of methods of pedagogical research is most widespread: 1) theoretical analysis of literature (analysis, comparison, comparison, generalization); 2) study of practical experience (all types of observation); 3) methods of collecting primary information (observation, study of documentation, survey); 4) expert methods (individual peer review, collective peer review); 5) pedagogical experiment in all its forms; 6) statistical methods. It is interesting to classify methods in connection with the stages of scientific cognition: 1) fact (observation, experiment, modeling); hypothesis (method of similarity, difference, residue, accompanying changes, mental experiment); 2) theory (axiomatic method, method of constructing formalized systems, hypothetical-deductive) (A.P. Sheptulin). The task is set in pedagogical science to master the general scientific methods and techniques that are developing now: systemstructural and functional analysis, algorithmization, probability-statistical, theoretical-informational, game-theoretic and others. Shubinsky singles out the following directions in the development of methods
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of pedagogical research: 1) the development of methods as a result of selection and creation of new methods corresponding to the solution of priority problems of modern pedagogy; 2) specification of general scientific methods and approaches in pedagogical research; 3) priority development of theoretical research methods; 4) development of a new type of methods – “meaningful” research methods; 5) the disclosure of the predominant function of methods and the union with the cognitive method; 6) development of synthetic methods of research – metamethods. A qualimetrical tool for pedagogical research intensively develops. In the research of the problem of self-realization and self-development of subjects of pedagogical process the use of methods according to humanitarian approach is supposed: comprehension of one’s own experience, a method of reflection, a method of understanding, introspection, self-report, included observation, empathic listening, identification, biographical presentation, interpretation of the inner world of a person. For example, the method of the included observation gives the chance to participate really in experimental work, group discussions, role-playing and business games, practical works. The researcher acts as the equal participant of joint action with examinees, shows the relation, announces own attitudes. Identification as a method of understanding of other person unlike emotional compassion (empathy) uses intellectual logical operations: comparison, the analysis, a reasoning also allows to realize and understand attitudes and motives of the teachers participating in the experimental work. In the recent years methodologists began to focus the attention at the development of the principles of the choice of methods of a scientific and pedagogical research (the principle of set of methods of a research; the principle of adequacy of methods to a being of the studied phenomenon, to those results which are supposed to be received, to the researcher’s opportunities; the principle of the ban of experiments, the use of the research methods contradicting the ethical standards capable to do harm to examinees, educational process). According to them, the methods of a research are characterized by: 1) ambiguity of the course of pedagogical processes, plurality of the factors which
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are at the same time influencing the results; 2) impossibility to repeat pedagogical processes. In manuals general scientific and specific methods of a research are offered, the sequence of investigation phases depending on research types is revealed. The methods of didactic researches are as follows: selective observations of practice of training, poll, rating, synthesis of the Advanced pedagogical experience, skilled verification of programs, textbooks, modeling, experiment, etc. Conditions of the effective solution of problems of didactics are a system approach, application of methods of interdisciplinary sciences (psychology, sociology, etc.), mathematical statistics and logic, a complex research of various aspects of training. In didactic researches of the 70s the preference was given to the quantitative methods applicable to assessment of the scope and positivity of the teaching material, rate of training and their dosage both during the entire period of training and at the lessons. When considering the methodological foundations of the educational process, it is important to determine the methods for its study. In pedagogical literature, there are successful attempts to establish a range of these methods. For example, a sample of a didactic study on the adequate use of such methods as scientific methods of observation, analysis and generalization of experience, a didactic experiment, is the research of L.V. Zankov. He paid exceptional attention to the methodological aspects of research, development of methods. He described these methods in detail in relevant publications, used the experiment as the leading method of pedagogical research and its various types – from the special ones, aimed at introducing separate changes in the pedagogical process, to an experiment involving the construction of an integrated system of instruction in one and many classes, paying attention to the novelty and the reliability of the findings. In the pedagogical literature, the possibilities of a laboratory experiment in didactics were specially considered. The laboratory experiment reveals the links between different ways of structuring and systematization of the material and the level, quality of its assimilation. Laboratory experiment in didactic studies provides reliable data, both in the development of hypotheses, and in refining theoretical conclusions.
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Problems of methods of a didactic research have found reflection in the monograph by V.I. Zagvyazinsky. The scientist has proved that methodological provisions and the principles in methods receive the effective, tool expression. He considers the forms of logical thinking in a didactic research: induction and deduction, the analysis and synthesis, formalization and modeling, comparison, classification and generalization, abstraction and specification, ascension from concrete to abstract and from abstract to concrete. V.I. Zagvyazinsky allows a thought that in classification of methods there can be a division of methods into methods of an empirical and theoretical research. He refers to the methods of an empirical research the following ones: study of literature, documents and results of activity, observation, poll, estimation (a method of competent judges), studying and synthesis of pedagogical experience, skilled pedagogical work, a didactic experiment, and to the methods of a theoretical research – theoretical analysis and synthesis, abstraction and specification and idealization, modeling, specification of theoretical knowledge. As a basis of criteria of the choice of methods of research the following provisions are offered: adequacy of methods to an object, subject, to the general research problems, the saved-up material; compliance with the modern principles of scientific research; scientific prospects, i.e. the reasonable assumption that the chosen method will yield new and reliable results; compliance with logical structure (stage) of the research, etc. The academician Yu.K. Babansky in the book “Problem of Increase in Efficiency of Pedagogical Researches” in chapter III “The choice and application of methods of research in didactics” offers the following set of methods: methods of pedagogical observations, conversations, interviewing and questioning, rating and a self-assessment, “a pedagogical consultation”, the diagnosing examinations, a pedagogical experiment, theoretical methods of a pedagogical research (a method of the comparative-historical analysis, an ascension method from abstract to concrete, modeling, a method of counts, etc.). Concerning the definition of methods of the research as tools of pedagogical knowledge and transformation S.I. Arkhangelsky’s approach is of interest. He notes that the theory and practice of all areas of scientific knowledge (we will emphasize – and the area of the
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higher education) face new and original problems which require the urgent solution, and not so much by descriptive, qualitative methods and means, but using numerous exact evidential means. Didactic researches carry out descriptive, explaining, predictive, practical and estimated functions. The relation between these functions of didactic researches is accurate. Now scientists pay a close attention to the classifications used in didactic researches. Classification is a widespread method of representation of scientific knowledge. It is an independent procedure of scientific research. The use of classifications demands from the scientist due scientific preparation and professionalism in the field of the culture of research work and methodology of judgment of innovations in an education system as the object of his activity (A.V. Korzhuyev) and application of methodological approaches to forecasting and design of methodological culture of the teacher. The forecast and advancing are closely connected with such method of work in education as design. We will note that this method is already widely used in the scientific and technical sphere (for example, in astronautics), in architecture and design and also in some other areas. Only quite recently it has found its application in the solution of problems of education. The design method slowly and truly enters the process of the organization of research. At the same time the methodology of pedagogics has to prove, in our opinion, the developing models of valuable orientations of educational systems (encyclopedism, humanitarism, naturalism, pragmatism), traditional selective structures in society (competitive, sponsorship, particularism, universalism). As an example of the choice and application of separate techniques, we would like to refer to the experience of studying motives of cognitive interests of educational activity of the school students revealed in handbook administrations of school on the organization of educational process. (Part 3. /M.: Pedagogical Search center, 2001. – 160 pages). The authors of this collection recognize that the most effective motive inducing the school student to assimilation of knowledge is cognitive interest. In this regard they offer the following techniques of studying the level of development of interest of school students.
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METHOD 1 Study of the relation of younger school students to educational activity Purpose: to determine the presence of positive motivation in students. ORDER OF CONDUCT For data acquisition about the attitude of younger school students to educational activity it is possible to use the questionnaire which includes the list of kinds of activity, a part of which is directly connected with educational ones. Pupils are offered to emphasize among the listed occupations favourite ones. The questionnaire can have approximately such appearance: Emphasize your favorite activities: –– to watch TV; –– to play sports; –– to do homework; –– to read books; –– to go to school; –– to play with children on the street; –– to solve different problems; –– to be engaged in a club; –– to go to the cinema; –– to work at a lesson; –– to draw; –– to go to the country; –– to play board games. ANALYSIS OF RESULTS Data acquisition about the relation of younger school students to educational activity may be performed also by the analysis of their compositions. Children are offered to write a composition on one of three topics: “My day off”, “My favourite subject”, “My hobbies”. Analyzing their compositions, it is important to establish who of pupils gives preference to the topic which is directly connected with educational activity and who, choosing the subjects “My Day Off”, “My Hobbies”, writes about educational activity.
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Comparison of the questionnaires and compositions allows drawing conclusions on the relation of younger school students to educational activity. To characterize the process of formation of educational activity in pupils of a certain year of training, it is necessary to carry out observation, conversation, experimental works two-three times a year at the interval of 3-4 months. For determination of age features a similar work is carried out along with pupils of different classes. METHOD 5 Studying the attitudes of schoolchildren towards learning Purpose: to study the attitude of schoolchildren towards learning. ORDER OF CONDUCT Choose from the class three students, about whom the class teacher says that they are learning below their abilities, and do the following work. 1. Look through the notebooks of these students in all subjects. Check the data in the table. Surname, name of the student
Doing homework in all subjects In total tasks а b c
executed а
ab
c
completely executed а b c
without mistakes а b c
а, b, c, etc. – subjects. Draw a conclusion on the relation of these pupils to the performance of homeworks. 2. Observe during the day the work of these pupils at all lessons. Find out at what lessons and how often they express readiness to answer (raise a hand, show impatience and so forth) to stimulate the teacher, what estimated judgments are addressed to them by the teacher (positive, neutral, negative). 3. In a conversation with pupils find out, how much time they spend for preparation of lessons in general what lessons are especially
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pleasant to them and what are not pleasant and why? How do treat the achievements and failures in the education? Are you satisfied in general with the results of the education? ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS Assess the attitude of schoolchildren using teaching points «2», «3», «4», «5», based on the following criteria: «5» – shows an increased interest in learning, is active in the classroom, always is ready with his homework, deeply perceives success and failure in learning, possesses a sense of duty and responsibility in educational process; «4» – shows responsibility in in educational process, fulfills all training tasks, but not always completely and without errors, is not indifferent to success and failures; «3» – does not exhibit responsibility in learning, not all homeworks are done, there is no interest in high scores; «2» – shows a negative attitude towards learning and the requirements of the teacher. 3.2. The study and synthesis of Advanced pedagogical experience (APE)
The theory of knowledge states, that the concept is not only a reflection of knowledge, but also a means of its active transformation. From this standpoint, the very fact that APE is singled out as a scientific category confirms the establishment of permanent emergence of new formations in teaching and upbringing process, the autonomy of its existence is of fundamental importance for the entire process, for it represents the objective reality of a new qualitative level and a great scientific social value. In modern pedagogy, experience (here and hereinafter it is a question of pedagogical experience) is defined as “the totality of knowledge, skills acquired by the teacher in the process of practical teaching and educational work. There are other definitions of the concept of pedagogical experience. According to E.I. Monoszon, pedagogical experience is a prac-
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tical pedagogical activity and the result of this activity, expressed as the personality of the human being educated, trained. M.N. Skatkin distinguishes the concept of pedagogical experience in a broad sense, defining it as a practice of teaching and upbringing, and narrowly – as “the skill of the teacher, acquired as a result of more or less lengthy work (a synonym for experience).” I.K. Zhuravlev develops the concepts of Advanced pedagogical experience and pedagogical practice, considering the second one as a broader concept. “Under the Advanced pedagogical experience, the concrete experience of this or that teacher, school, area, etc., that has led to achieving such results most of which meet the qualifying standards, at this or that stage of the development is usually understood” – M.V. Zvereva writes. The main attention of scientists is drawn to the criteria of introduction of the Advanced pedagogical experience. By bringing together all signs qualifying the pedagogical experience as Advanced pedagogical experience a rather wide complex of these is formed. We will perform this operation, and we will look at a range of criteria. There is a number of requirements (signs, criteria, indicators, etc.) which have to satisfy the best experience: a) increase in the efficiency of teaching and educational work; b) novelty, innovation; c) compliance with the requirements of pedagogical science; d) compliance with the tendencies of social development, progres sive ideas of science; e) expansion of the area of pedagogical reality; f) improvement of the quality of the result of pedagogical process; g) achievement of good results of pedagogical work; h) creation of a complete system of comprehensive development of the identity of the school student; i) disclosure of the new pedagogical facts; j) creation of new pedagogical values. Grouping pedagogical experiment on the different bases, it is possible to receive the following versions: On quality: advanced, positive, effective, inefficient, rational, irrational, negative.
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On scale: single, typical, individual, group, collective, mass. On novelty: innovative, creative, reproductive. In pedagogical literature for the last 50 years of studying, generalization and use of the Advanced pedagogical experience (APE) in relation to the conditions of activity of educators are considered in the following aspects: a) a component of work on professional development and professional skills of teachers, heads of schools, educators (G.A. Abramova, Ya.S. Bentsion, T.B. Borisova, A.K. Gorshkov, P.I. Drobyazko, A.N. Zevina, G.I. Zorina, A.F. Ivanov, T.M. Kvirkeliya, M.I. Kondakov, L.I. Kolesnichenko, V.N. Kotlyar, N.A. Filippova, P.V. Hudominsky, S.P. Chernov). b) direction of intra school methodical work (G.A. Antsiz, A.M. Gelmont, G.I. Gorskaya, H.I. Zolotar, H.I. Liymets, V.T. Rogo zhkin, V.P. Strezikozin). c) development tool of pedagogical works of teachers, heads of schools, educators (T.A. Abdullaev, E.S. Bereznyak, A.D. Demintsev, N.V. Kukharev, Yu.A. Konarzhevsky, V.M. Norglik, M.S. Pashkova, L.E. Pleskach, I.P. Rachenko, A.S. Totanova). d) method of pedagogical research (Yu.K. Babansky, V.I. Zhu ravlev, V.I. Zagvyazinsky, L.V. Zankov, H.I. Liymets, M.I. Makhmutov, E.I. Monoszon). e) result of interaction of pedagogical science and practice (A.A. Arlamov, V.V. Krayevsky, N.V. Kukharev, A.A. Levshin, T.V. Novikova, Ya.S. Turbovskoy). f) specific type of pedagogical activity of teachers, heads of schools, workers of an education system (T.R. Abdullaev, A.M. Gelmont, L.I. Gusev, V.E. Gmurman, A.E. Erzhanov, V.I. Zhu ravlev, Z.A. Zagumenova, A.N. Zevina, P.I. Kartashov, A.G. Kozlova, T.F. Kuldavletov, G. Lukpanov, T.G. Mikhaylenko, M.S. Pashkova, M.N. Skatkin, A.H. Surmanidze, N.I. Ternovaya, N.A. Tuchnin). We will treat each direction apart in aspect of judgment of studying of APE as method of a pedagogical research. The generalized characteristic of theoretical regulations on a role, specific features of studying, generalization and use of APE as a factor of improvement of pedagogical activity is reflected basically in the form of the provi-
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sions, conclusions and the ideas disclosed in the analyzed works and used during the search. We consider it necessary to characterize the fundamental sources directly related to a problem. Study, generalization and use of the APE in the system of professional development is an important condition and guideline of teachers to the solution of common problems, and not just private tasks, development of their independence of thinking. The first group of authors, considering studying, generalization and use of the APE as a component of work on professional development of employees of schools and methodical institutions, offers an integrated approach to this work, defines the value and role of separate forms and methods of increase in professional skills in studying and evaluation of experience (regional/city meetings, course retraining, methodical work), analyzes shortcomings of this work, develops a technique of assessment of knowledge, skills of synthesis, the experience of teachers. In the book by A.N. Zevina the necessity of an integrated approach to the professional development of pedagogical staff, including determination of the available experience in those subjects and on those problems a correct solution of on which the high standard of knowledge and skills of pupils depends first of all, is emphasized, as well as a purposeful organization of the new experience for overcoming the difficulties which were found in the course of the development of new programs; the experience assessment from positions of providing with it the high level of the main knowledge and skills of all and each pupil is also considered. The results of work on the organization, generalization and distribution of the APE are formulated in theoretical conclusions, practical recommendations. They contain the analysis and the description of the checked and evidence-based experience, the system of work of the advanced teacher is revealed. At the same time, these authors, considering the study, generalization and use of APE as a professional development component, did not pay attention to accounting of inquiries of teachers and other employees of schools at the choice for them of forms and methods of professional development.
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Organization of studying, generalization and use of the APE is a necessary condition for the increase in the efficiency of methodical work at school. It is proved by the second group of authors. For example, A.M. Gelmont pays a special attention to the work of the teacher on evaluation of the experience, on acquisition and creative application of the techniques and methods approved by the experience of the best teachers. At the same time individual work on the increase in professional qualification is considered by the author in connection with collective creative exchange of experience. The third group of authors, considering the study, generalization and use of the APE as a means of developing pedagogical creativity of school teachers, points to the main professional difficulty in mastering the APE – isolation of the main idea of best practice. For example, T.R. Abdullaev in the thesis study “The system of work of district method cabinets in the study, generalization and dissemination of best experience (on the basis of teaching physics, chemistry and biology)” reveals the level of scientific and theoretical training of methodologists in assessing pedagogical experience, in this study, tested by methodologists in this field, outlines the most effective ways to improve the study and dissemination of APE. The author believes that the study, synthesis and dissemination of APE is the main means of developing the creative activity of methodologists. At the same time, the analysis of the experience as a means of pedagogical APE, being a source of creative work, is akin to research activity. The fourth group of authors, considering studying, generalization and use of the APE as a method of pedagogical research, marks out specific features of scientific level of studying and generalization of the APE, focuses attention on the interrelation of the experiment and generalization of the APE. For example, Yu.K. Babansky recommends to use information on the APE in concrete scientific and pedagogical research, he emphasizes the influence of the best experience on the development of pedagogical science. Singling out the role of the APE in the development
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of pedagogical science, he notes that the APE can perform several functions at the same time: research hypothesis specification; expert assessment of close, average and far prospects of the development of the respective field of pedagogics; natural pedagogical experiment which is estimating the efficiency of the developed concept; means of skilled check of the chosen option on the basis of comparison and expert assessment of several versions of the solution of a certain teaching and educational task. H.I. Liymets’s recommendations are directed to identification of opportunities of introduction into practice of work of the teacher of the results of a research on the basis of the analysis, generalizations and assessment by the teacher of old and new systems of work. Studying, generalization and use of pedagogical experience acts as the initial stage of the research activity of the teacher. The fifth group of authors, proceeding from a gnoseological role of the system of interrelation of pedagogical science and practice, comprehends the system of interaction of scientific and pedagogical institutions, groups of researchers, certain scientists and practical activities of employees of schools and departments of education, discloses the role of scientific knowledge in creative activity of the teacher, the mechanism of transformation of scientific recommendations into the experience of teaching. V.V. Krayevsky considers an overall picture of relations of pedagogical science and student teaching, the role of scientific knowledge in the creative activity of the teacher and gives some methodological reference points for the practical workers taking a way of scientific activity. The ratio of pedagogical science and practice appears as a ratio of two kinds of activity: scientific and practical. Such approach to the consideration of the problem of interaction of pedagogical science and practice is methodologically true, allows us to define initial positions in the development of the system of activity of the scientific and methodical centers which are carrying out the function of transfer of materials of pedagogical science to teachers and educators to the design ways of implementation of recommendations
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of pedagogical science in practice of work of teachers and methodologists. The sixth group of authors discloses the functions of the teacher and educators on studying and generalization the APE, the structure and maintenance of tools of activity in this field. For example, in T.R. Abdullaev’s and L.I. Gusev’s master’s theses the functions of workers of the regional methodical office on studying, generalization and distribution of the APE according to standard situation are stated, shortcomings and difficulties of the regional methodical office’s work are elucidated. A.H. Surmanidze concretized the effective forms of studying and distribution of the APE, he tried to define the efficiency of the use of the APE in the professional development of pedagogical staff and improvement of teaching and educational process at schools. For the improvement of work on studying and distribution of the APE he offers the instructions, schemes, requirements, the list of organizational actions, such forms as oral and written consultations of teachers, pedagogical reading, seminars, singling out intra-school, regional, district levels of practical activities on studying and synthesis of the experience. The analysis of school literature, the experience of institutions for the improvement of the level of teachers, the very logic intrinsic to the process of studying and generalizing the APE, allow us to determine the following set of principles in relation to the study, synthesis and use of APE in the conditions of the scientific and methodological centers. 1. The principle of analytical justification. 2. The principle of expediency. 3. The principle of planning. 4. The principle of organization and efficiency. 5. The principle of using information. 6. The principle of control and regulation of the process of studying and summarizing the APE. Let us briefly characterize the above-mentioned principles.
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1. The principle of analytical justification. Pedagogy has thoroughly developed the principles of pedagogical analysis: objectivity; the principle of interconnection and interaction; the principle of development; system approach, the principle of the main link; a complex approach; targeted planning; mass character; the principle of educational influence. 2. The principle of expediency of studying and generalization of pedagogical experience. The expediency of activity in the study of the experience means, first, that the goals of the study and generalization correspond to the real needs of the teacher, school, and district. Secondly, it means a well-considered coherence of the goals of individual subsystems, links of the study and generalization of experience. Thirdly, expediency implies continuity, the logical development of the goals of studying and generalization of the experience. 3. The principle of planning the study and generalization of the Advanced pedagogical experience. Planning is the organizing basis for all work on the study and synthesis of the APE. Planning in the education system is based on the following principles: scientificity; concreteness; democratic centralism; a combination of prospective and current planning; highlighting the leading links of the plan. 4. Principle of organization and efficiency of studying and synthesis of the Advanced pedagogical experience. Content of this principle includes coordination of the work for the optimum interaction of various links (a method of combining, schools of the best experience, basic schools) in studying and synthesis of pedagogical experience. 5. The principle of the use of information in the course of studying and synthesis of the Advanced pedagogical experience. Sources for studying, generalizations of the APE are the actual material about it in various literary and documentary sources. A successful use of the APE in practice of teaching and educational work depends, first of all, on accurately organized service of information on its state,
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a comprehensive analysis and correctly drawn conclusions for practical actions. 6. The principle of control and regulation of the process of studying and synthesis of the Advanced pedagogical experience. It is possible to take a group of the principles of the organization of measurements as a basis of this principle (rationing, account, control, optimality) in the system of the principles of the scientific organization of pedagogical work. In total these principles represent a complete orientation at the organization of studying, generalization and use of the APE as there is not only a logical relation between them, but moreover, in each subsequent principle a previous one is deepened and specified. The integrity of the principles is that they define initial positions for the solution of a uniform problem. The method in pedagogical activity is the system of techniques which is thought over, ordered, checked in practice specifying how it is necessary to work, being conformed with a goal. Methods of studying and synthesis of the experience are the ways of learning and transformation of the experience, achievement of certain results in knowledge and transformation of the experience and its practical use based on the regularities of pedagogical processes. In pedagogical literature a certain attention is paid to the issues of the history of scientific and practical development of problems of methods of studying and generalization of the APE. Researchers note that methods of studying the APE throughout the history of development of school and a pedagogical thought changed significantly according to their intrinsic characteristics, the main directions and the system of application, the general program, the nature of interaction with other methods, the level of their application. They find research approach to the development and application of methods of studying of valuable experience in the process of its creation and improvement from the 20s. By means of application of various methods of studying and synthesis of experience the main ways of the increase in efficiency of preparation and retraining of teacher’s staff are outlined (See: Table 15).
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№ № 1 1
2
3
Historical periods, authorsdevelopers 2 The 20s (S.T. Shatsky, N.K. Krupskaya, etc.)
Methods for studying and synthesizing the APE
3 – empirical methods (observation, poll, conversations, examinations, interview, questionnaires, studying of school documentation and products of creativity); – research methods (experiments, research versions of programs of studying and synthesis of concrete experience, pedagogical conferences, congresses, expeditions); – development of scientific and pedagogical programs. The 30-40s – observation; studying of of the documentary sources, quality XX century of knowledge of pupils, con(P.P. Blonsky, versations; interview; control F.F. Korolev, and test works; etc.) – method of monographic studying of the identity of teachers’ innovators.
Theoretical conclusions, which can be based on the current stage 4 – Specific programs of use of each method when studying experience, setting of interrelations of its application with other methods, the main direction of application of methods and all technologies of this process. – Application of methods of studying and synthesis of valuable experience at the research level by the teacher, heads of schools.
– The system of application of methods of studying and generalizing the APE for identification of various tendencies in mass practice. – Monographic studying of experience of the advanced teachers and heads of schools. – Carrying out pedagogical expeditions. Continuation of Table 15 The 50-60s – Direct observation; – Combination of efforts of the XX – studying of methodical of scientific and practical century documentation; workers in the direction of (A.M. Gel– analysis of student’s development of creative mont, notebooks; professional activity of broad M.N. Skatkin, – special performance of writ- masses of teachers, search N.P. Tuchnin, ten tests and laboratory works of new forms of pedagogical M.A. Daniof pupils; stimulation, mastering relov, S.V. Ivasearch approach to the analynov, etc.) sis of practice, identification of the best experience.
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4
5
2
3 – conversation, correspondence, collecting of materials about the best pedagogical experience; – analysis and scientific generalization. The 70s of – The research of practical the XX cen- works directed to creation tury of promising experience and (N.M. Talan- subsequent studying, genchuk, eralization and multilateral T.I. Shamova, analysis by application of the G.I. Schuki- systematic fixed observations, na, E.I. Mo- special experiments; noszon, – practical and experimental N.V. Kuzmi- methods. na, M.N. Skatkin, etc.) The 80-90s of the XX century (Yu.K. Babansky, V.E. Gmurman, V.I. Zhuravlev, N.V. Kukharev, V.I. Zagvyazinsky, Ya.S. Turbovskoy, etc.)
– scientific generalization of the APE; – technique of diagnosing pedagogical experience as the method of studying and synthesis of pedagogical experience.
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– The research methods connected with the development of scientific programs, creative research, scientific and pedagogical technique of work. – Research materials (programs and techniques of work on an individual scientific subject, experimental manuals and various materials to difficult sections of the textbook). – A methodological and theoretical entity of each of the methods of study and synthesis of this experience, characteristics of the development of the goals and tasks of the program, the general technique of their application depending on the type of experience, level of its development and the system of functioning. – The diagnosing technique allowing the teacher to approach the plan basis, methodological and theoretical aspects of application of methods of study and synthesis of experience.
The study, generalization and use of the APE by many scientists is considered as a method of pedagogical research, specific features
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of scientific level of generalization of the APE are selected, attention to the correlation of an experiment and generalization of APE is paid. Proceeding from the needs of prediction of the development of school, B.S. Gershunsky defines the following nomenclature of methods of study, generalization and implementation of pedagogical experience: experience ascertaining methods (observation, documentation study, the inquiry, interviewing, setting an experiment, etc.); a group of methods of theoretical assessment of the entity of this experience (the theoretical analysis and synthesis, comparing, analogy, idealization, a mental experiment, etc.) and a group of methods used at the implementation stage (constructing, creative experiments, expert assessment, etc.); specific methods of pedagogical prediction (simulation, extrapolation of tendencies, expert evaluation, etc.). The author, specifying the varieties of these methods, recommends to apply them correctly, considering specific features of the studied pedagogical objects and the phenomena. –– Researchers (V.E. Gmurman, and others.) note empirical and theoretical levels of studying the pedagogical experience and levels of the analysis of this experience: 1) empirical; 2) analytical; 3) research. At the empirical level there is a simple description of work of teachers, at analytical – there is a comparison, search of sources of origin of valuable experience, approach to the analysis of opportunities of use in this direction of administrative activity, at the research level – the development of a certain program and technique of solution, the analysis of the activity of the best teachers and heads of schools. It is possible to distinguish the following methods of studying, generalization and use of the APE: –– methods of acquisition of the actual material: observation, studying of references and school documentation, collecting the actual material, poll, pedagogical experiment; –– methods of processing the actual material: pedagogical analysis and synthesis, comparison and classification, induction and deduction, analogy and modeling, explication; –– methods of rational statement of the results of studying the experience (according to the contents – the description, in the form of reports, articles, developments);
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–– methods of use of experience: methods of normativity and invariancy, specification and specialization. We will pass to a short characteristic of separate methods of studying, generalization and use of the APE. First group of methods: Observation – purposeful perception of any pedagogical phenomenon in the course of which the researcher receives concrete actual material. Types of observation: individual and collective, continuous and discrete, continuous and partial, open and hidden, direct and mediated, introspection, observation search. Observation methods: visual, genetic; comparison methods; psychological. Observation stages: definition of the purpose and problems of observation; choice of the object and subject of observation; the choice of the way of the observation which is least influencing the studied subject and providing the collection of the necessary information, the choice of ways of registration of observable processing and interpretation of the obtained information. Requirements to observation: focus, systematicity, sequence, completeness of processing of results. Study of references and school documentation – drawing up the bibliography; studying of literary and documentary sources; explanation of a subject of studying the experience; definition of the tasks; development of the plan or program of studying the APE; definition of the corresponding methods of studying and generalization of the APE. Collecting the actual material – collecting the facts about the pedagogical phenomena, the analysis of these facts by means of comparison, the analysis, synthesis, generalization, classification and systematization; description of actual data; selection of the most essential facts. Poll – questioning, a conversation, interviewing, testing. The procedure of their carrying out: drawing up questions; the analysis of the answers using a classification provided in advance and by certain signs. Pedagogical experiment – scientifically conducted experiment in the field of educational or teaching work, observation of the studied pedagogical phenomenon in the conditions created and controlled by the researcher. Types of a pedagogical experiment: stating and
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forming. Main stages of carrying out an experiment: the stage preceding an experiment; preparation for carrying out an experiment; carrying out an experiment on checking the efficiency of a certain system of measures; summing up the results of the experiment, interpretation of reliability of the results. Second group of methods: Pedagogical analysis and synthesis – stages of the pedagogical analysis of the results of studying the APE; statement of a general purpose of the pedagogical analysis; data processing; analysis of the results; collecting additional data; registration of results and improvement of the technique of the analysis; the use of the results; organization of control the use of the results of the experience. Stages of generalization of the APE: establishment of certain natural relations on the basis of which transition from the single to the special and to the general is carried out; classification of collected material by groups and types of the facts; selection of the most important, characteristic, reflecting the existence of this pedagogical phenomenon; the description of the experience on the basis of its theoretical judgment, display of its place in the general system of work of the teacher; revealing under what pedagogical conditions the optimum results in training were achieved, what difficulties were met, offering the best options of this experience creative use. Comparison and classification – the general scheme of application: preparation for comparison; definition of the purpose and tasks; choice of objects of comparison (facts, phenomena, relations, relations, ideas); development of techniques of carrying out comparison (selection of techniques and the sequence of comparison, determination of the signs for comparison, preparation of schemes, tables and other forms for recording the results of comparison); development, establishment of similarities and distinctions, determination of essential signs, processing of the results, the choice of methods for processing of results of comparison; assessment of the results of comparison, comprehension of a possible use of conclusions in follow-up activity. Types of comparison when studying the APE: comparison
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using one sign, comparison using several signs, comparison of various stages in the development of one pedagogical phenomenon. Induction and deduction. Induction – a method of cognitive activity by means of which the general conclusions are drawn on the basis of consideration of partial conclusions concerning various kinds of this situation, transition from private judgments to the general judgments. Deduction – a method of cognitive activity by means of which on the basis of general conclusions partial conclusions are drawn. Analogy and modeling. Analogy – a kind of cognitive activity by means of which this phenomenon is related to the known phenomena on the basis of compliance, similarity of signs or relations is carried out in the course of transition from a special case to another special case on the basis of compliance, similarity of a number of signs, transfer of information from one subject to another is made. Modeling – a method of cognitive activity, by means of which direct studying of specially created models reflecting these or those features of objects and phenomena is performed. Explication method – a method of expansion of the experience from the result to the initial position, to its emergence and course for the purpose of its specification, argumentation and scientific justification. (An explication – from Latin explicationem, i.e. specification of concepts and statements natural for the language of science by symbolical logic). Third group of methods: Methods of rational statement of the results of studying and synthesis of experience, language and its sign expression, transfer of the experience, its use by other persons possible only through rational statement of thoughts; a conclusion of the regularities following from experience, representing its manifestation as reality. The description of the experience represents the transfer of its characteristic signs in a varying degree of revealing and estimating integral experience, and its separate elements and parts with all their transitions. The more purposefully, more systematically and more accurate is the description, the more reliably it reflects the experience, and the
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more valuable it is for the subsequent scientific synthesis of experience. Fourth group of methods: Method of normativity and invariancy. The essence of this method consists in reduction of the result to the pattern convenient for the use in practice. It is aimed at the methodical completeness of the result of studying and synthesis of the experience giving the chance of its use in various situations. Here the identification of invariants, development of limits, levels of criteria, norms, rules, recommendations and the conditions of application of the experience are included. It is a method of a peculiar technological and methodical processing of the ideas and conclusions on the use in practice. The method of specification and specialization are two cumulative, integrally connected methods. A method of specification is a method of application of the general conclusions to the solution of specific objectives and for an illustration of the generalized theoretical provision of concrete examples and the facts for the purpose of enrichment of the studied contents. Such is the list of methods of studying, generalizing and use of the APE. Knowing the general structure of the process of studying, the generalization and use of the APE and its methods, the teacher thinks over what methods of activity, what specific actions and operations are necessary at this stage of studying of the APE, at the same time, what methods of studying and synthesis of the experience will be used for the most successful solution of the tasks set at this stage of analysis of the experience. 3.3. Planning and organization of pedagogical experiment
The beginning of the development of the theory, and the concept of the experimental method was put by F. Bacon, who considered the experiment as the most important means of knowing the truth and the only way to overcome imperfections in the sense organs. Bacon believed that
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a scientific experiment is a type of experience in which an active and purposeful intervention of a person in the course of nature takes place. The pedagogical experiment is characterized by a number of specific features. It is a scientifically organized experiment in conditions accurately considered in order to establish the dependence between this or that condition of upbringing, learning and development, and its result. Yu.K. Babansky believes that the essence of the experiment lies in the fact that it puts the phenomenon under study in certain conditions, creates systematically organized situations, reveals the facts on the basis of which a non-random dependence is established between the experimental influence and its objective results, and that the pedagogical experiment is intended for objective and evidentiary verification of reliability of pedagogical hypotheses. In the pedagogical experiment, an active effect on the pedagogical phenomenon takes place by creating new conditions corresponding to the purpose of the study. Creation of new conditions for active influence on the pedagogical phenomenon requires the introduction of new factors or changes in existing ones. The main task of the pedagogical experiment is to elucidate the comparative effectiveness of the content, methods, techniques, tools, conditions, factors, methodological recommendations, methodological system used in the field of education and upbringing, and choose the best for the relevant situations. The experiment makes it possible to identify the necessary conditions for the realization of certain pedagogical tasks, to study the regularities characteristic of the pedagogical process. The method of pedagogical experiment makes it possible to exert an active controlled influence on the studied pedagogical phenomenon or object by creating specific conditions determined by the purpose and tasks of the study. The pedagogical experiment is of a complex nature, since it involves the joint use of observational methods, interviews, questionnaires, diagnostic works, creation of special situations, etc., that provide a scientific and objective and evidence-based verification of the validity of the hypothesis substantiated at the beginning of the study. It allows a deeper testing of the effectiveness of certain innovations
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in the field of education and upbringing, comparing the importance of various factors in the structure of the pedagogical process and choosing the best combination for the relevant situations, identifying the necessary conditions for the realization of certain pedagogical tasks. The experiment makes it possible to detect repetitive, stable, necessary, essential relations between phenomena, i.e. to study the regularities characteristic of the pedagogical process. In contrast to the usual study of pedagogical phenomena in natural conditions through their direct observation, the experiment makes it possible to artificially separate the phenomenon under study from other ones, and purposefully change the conditions of pedagogical influence on the subjects. Pedagogical experiment requires the researcher to have a high methodological culture, careful development of his program and reliable criterial apparatus, which allows him to fix the effectiveness of the educational process. In pedagogical practice, the “experiment” is often used not in the strict sense of the word – not as a research activity, often with an uncertain and unknown result. The word “experiment” is often combined with, although close, but not identical concepts of “search”, “search work”, “experience”, “experimental work”, “research work”, “actual experiment”, etc. There are no clear boundaries between these concepts in the mass pedagogical practice. To a greater or lesser degree, they all assume some share of the “actual experiment”, which becomes clear from the analysis of various definitions of the concept of “experiment” given in encyclopedic dictionaries. Multiplicity of definitions should not confuse the researcher: each of them highlights one or another side of the phenomenon, shows different variants of the essence, and, what is especially important for us, reflects the real progressive practice of the development of a modern school (vocational school, technical school, etc.). We give these definitions. Experiment is a scientifically based experiment. Experiment is an examination of ideas, hypothesis testing. The experiment is the reproduction by someone of the developed methodology (technology, system of measures, etc.) under new conditions by another teacher or manager.
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Experiment is a research work in school on this or that problem. An experiment is a method of cognition, with the help of which a pedagogical phenomenon is studied in natural or artificially created, managed and controlled conditions, a new, more effective method of solving a pedagogical problem, a task. Experiment is a directed and supervised pedagogical activity on creation and approbation of new technologies of education, upbringing and development of children, school management. Experiment is a research method that involves the identification of significant factors that affect the results of pedagogical activity and allows varying these factors in order to achieve optimal results. In pedagogy, a creative search, experimental work assumes experiment, i.e. search activity, creation of new pedagogical experience It is impossible to clearly and strictly distinguish all the above-mentioned concepts. Concrete innovative pedagogical activity can refer to a certain notion by a dominant feature: the newer it is, the closer it is to the actual experimental work. The more it is reproducible in other conditions with other teachers using already known technologies, the closer it is to the experimental work, during which the search for the new and its subsequent approbation may well occur, i.e. again, then, it is the actual experiment. Thus, the concept of pedagogical experiment reflects the following aspects of the problem: –– Types of school transformation strategies: strategies for local, model and system changes. Different ways of updating any parts of the school life: improvement (modification, modernization, rationalization) of the already existing experience of the school itself; the development of the experience created outside of a specific school; the development of existing scientific and methodological developments; the way of trial and error; a creation of a new practice of education through the conduct of a scientifically based and methodically provided experiment. –– Interpretation of various variants of the concept “experiment” – general and special in terms of “search work”, “research work”, “experimental work”, “creative work”, “innovative work”, etc. Experiment as a method of research, suggesting the identification of signifi-
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cant factors affecting the results of pedagogical activity and allowing them to vary in order to achieve optimal results. Experiment as purposeful and strictly controlled pedagogical activity on creation and approbation of new technologies of training, education. The difference between the experiment and other research methods. Experiment is a creation, directed organization of a new experience. Experimental platform is a special form of organization of search activity. The concept of “experiment” in a narrow and broad sense. –– Risk in pedagogical experiment. Teacher’s right to risk and error. Consideration of compensation in case of a negative result in the experimental activity. –– Variety of types of experiments. Classification of experiments on the mechanisms of creative activity, underlying them, and on the levels of novelty: a modification, combinatorial and radical (innovative) experiment. The ascertaining and forming experiment. According to the general idea of a scientific experiment, the pedagogical experiment acts as one of the methods of empirical research, which (as well as a selective survey and measurement) has its own characteristics, its structure and carries its functional load in pedagogical research. The definition of the content of pedagogical experiment as a concept must be based and built on the basis of general scientific ideas about the experiment as a method of scientific cognition. The essence of the experiment is to purposefully make changes during normal processes in accordance with the research objectives and its hypothesis. “Active intervention in an object for the study of individual parts and relationships of the object is called an experiment” – this definition is given by M.A. Danilov and N.I. Boldyrev. The organization of the experiment will make it possible to discover the relationships between the phenomena under study, to conduct a deep qualitative analysis and, as far as possible, to accurately quantify the results of the study. For the pedagogical experiment, it is characteristic that the researcher is actively involved in the process of appearance and development of the phenomena under study. Thus, the researcher tests his hypotheses not only in relation of already existing phenomena, but
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also in relation of those that need to be created. The knowledge of the essential interdependencies and properties of pedagogical essences on the basis of experimental research and verification of theoretical assumptions and conclusions make it possible to control these phenomena, improve them, create new phenomena and enrich them with new experience. In the system of pedagogical research methods, the experiment now occupies an increasingly important place. It was covered in the works of many teachers: L.V. Zankov, N.K. Goncharov, M.A. Danilov, N.I. Boldyrev, Yu.K. Babansky, A.I. Piskunov, V. Okon and others. The possibilities and methods of applying the experimental technique in pedagogy are determined by the level of development of this scientific discipline, its character as a social science discipline, its conceptual and logical structure. Before pedagogical science there is a serious task to develop and improve the methodology of experimental research that meets the requirements of scientific study of such a complex social phenomenon as educational processes. At the same time, pedagogy has the opportunity to draw on the rich knowledge and valuable experience that was brought about by previous development in the field of experimental research in science in general and in social sciences in particular. The concept of experiment in science develops and expands. The variety of logical structures of experimental research is very important for pedagogy. They enrich its ability to use the experimental method in different ways so that its application really corresponds to the tasks of research and the nature of the phenomena that constitute the subject of pedagogy. Unlike observation, which is conducted at the background of the experience that already exists, the experiment involves intervention in the teaching and educational practice, i.e. the experiment necessarily transforms the process and the conditions in which the phenomenon under investigation proceeds. This transformation consists in the fact that some conditions are weakened or eliminated, other ones are amplified or introduced again.
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Thus, the pedagogical experiment has a number of features that distinguish it from other scientific methods. 1. The direction of the experiment to identify any regular connection. 2. Controllability of the conditions on which the studied pedagogical phenomenon depends. Since the pedagogical experiment is a specially set up experience, its specificity is the creation of controlled conditions in which the object of the research receives optimal opportunities for its manifestation under the pedagogical influence on parameters corresponding to the design of the experiment. 3. Activity of the researcher’s interference with the purpose of revealing a regular connection in the studied pedagogical process (or phenomenon) by creating special experimental situations for the formation of a given quality. 4. Managing the pedagogical phenomenon. Actively interfering in the process to be studied, the researcher can manage it, arbitrarily change the phenomena of interest, cause certain phenomena to shape the pedagogical process as a model for pedagogical practice. 5. The repetition and repeated reproduction of the experiment under different conditions when certain phenomena are isolated from extraneous influences give grounds for revealing general trends and regularities. 6. Proof of the experiment. The pedagogical experiment has the properties of evidence due to the possibility of repetition, which gives objective validity to the facts obtained, which in turn gives a nod to establish a general trend and regularity. 7. Testability of experimental data. Specificity of the pedagogical experiment as a method is that its data in the process of mass longterm approbation are tested in pedagogical practice for confirmation of the correctness of the theoretical inference and its practical utility. 8. The possibility of using technical, mathematical and other research tools (monitoring and computing). 9. A certain construction of the procedure for the experiment, the structure and interrelation of its elements, which include the formulation of the hypothesis, measurement of results, analysis and synthesis of the facts obtained.
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In accordance with the specifics of the pedagogical experiment, certain requirements are made to it. We list some of them. The experiment should: 1) have a specific goal and specific objectives; 2) go according to a pre-designed plan; 3) be conducted in real, natural conditions; 4) be well organized (place, time of the experiment, its scope, participants of the experiment, description of the experimental material, methods of carrying out the experiment, and description of the technique for observing the course of the experiment); 5) include clearly defined and quantified minimum of experimental factors; 6) have easily comparable data; 7) be conducted repeatedly; 8) prevent possible errors; 9) provide objectively reliable data; 10) reveal any regular interrelation in a pedagogical phenomenon under controlled conditions. Most details of the development of the experimental program are discussed in A. Sidenko’s works. (See: Appendix 1.) In pedagogy, several main types of experiments are distinguished. First of all, natural and laboratory experiments are distinguished. In the first case, the experiment is conducted in normal, natural conditions of education and upbringing – at school, in the classroom. The experimenter observes the initial state of activity, the behavior of schoolchildren, or other characteristics that stem from the content of scientific research. Then the researcher or teachers themselves implement the recommended changes in the content, forms, methods of teaching and educational activities. After that, the level of education, development or success of the schoolchildren’s learning is again studied and a conclusion is drawn about the effectiveness of the system of measures applied in natural conditions. In the case of a laboratory experiment, a group of students is singled out in the class, the researcher conducts special conversations with them, individual and group instruction, and monitors their effectiveness.
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Experiment as a scientific method from the end of the XIX century was used in psychology to study various mental functions (memory, attention, etc.). This experiment was called a laboratory experiment. At present, a laboratory experiment is used in pedagogy relatively rarely. A new type of experiment is used, which is a simplified, “chamber” version of the laboratory experiment. It is conducted with each subject individually, in a separate room, according to a strictly developed plan and instructions. The time of the task execution and the nature of the errors are considered, additional questions are allowed. Instead of the instruments and laboratory (experiment) equipment, the subject work with the materials familiar to them: cards, geometric figures, constructors, etc. is conducted. Based on the laboratory experiment, A.F. Lazursky developed a method of natural experiment. The influence of any condition or factor chosen by the researcher on the activity of the students or on certain of its parts is experimentally tested. Psychological and pedagogical experiment was formed on the basis of natural experiment. However, unlike the latter, it is a method of active, purposeful study of individual aspects of the educational process, behavior, relationships of students in the team. Psychological and pedagogical experiment, as a rule, states qualities, personality traits, as it were, captures, fixes the process at a certain stage of research. Identifying facts, it performs a cognitive and evaluation function, the ultimate purpose of which is the development of the theory. In psychological and pedagogical studies, there are ascertaining and forming experiments. In the first case, the educator-researcher establishes experimentally only the state of the studied pedagogical system, ascertains the fact of the relationships between the phenomena. When a teaching researcher applies a special system of measures aimed at the formation of certain qualities in students, to improve their educational and work activity, we say already about the forming experiment. The above types of experiment in pedagogy do not exclude each other.
3.3. Planning and organization of pedagogical experiment Types and kinds of pedagogical experiment
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Criteria Types of the experiment The purpose of the experiment Constant (diagnosing) Comparative Creative (forming) Search (corrective) Controlling Teaching The duration of the experimental conditions Short-term Long-term Structure of pedagogical phenomena studied Simple Complicated Terms and conditions Laboratory Natural Complex Mental Method of organization Experiment by the method of a single similarity Experiment by the method of a single difference Cross
Consider the most common types of pedagogical experiment for the intended purpose. The ascertaining (diagnostic) experiment – for its research purpose is used to check the available knowledge or certain assumptions, to ascertain the facts, certain relationships between the pedagogical effect and the result. The ascertaining experiment allows determining the initial data for the further research (for example, to determine the initial level of knowledge and skills of students). It usually precedes the learning experiment and is not just a statement of the condition of
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the given object, but also an analysis of the state of the matter in the practice of teaching and upbringing. A comparative experiment is conducted with the aim of comparing the results of education or upbringing in control and experimental groups. A creative (forming) experiment is used to transform the pedagogical process. In setting up an experiment of this type, the researcher changes the content, forms and methods of teaching in accordance with the hypothesis put forward, the goals of education and training. A search (corrective) experiment is conducted with the introduction of a new factor and new methods, techniques, forms, means, in order to search for (correct) the optimal state. The control experiment is conducted with the introduction of a new factor, to control and determine the effectiveness of its application. The stages of the experiment determine some of its parts and their sequence. The parts allow for the succession of the system of measures embodied in the hypothesis and record the sequence of actions carried out at specific intervals. The stages act as a function of fixing intermediate results and their evaluation and adjustment. In presenting this issue, you should pay attention to: 1. The need for special preparation for any experiments at school (analytical stage). 2. Diagnostic stage: the analysis of the difficulties of teachers, managers of management links, the analysis of the state of the educational process on the problem, the identification and formulation of contradictions that need to be resolved as soon as possible with the help of any changes, new techniques, technologies, structures, new functionality. Identify the problem of the experiment and justify the relevance. 3. Prognostic stage: statement of the goal, its decomposition into the fan of the experimental tasks, construction of a new technology model (structure methodology, system of measures, etc.), hypothesis formulation, forecasting “expected positive results, as well as possible damage, losses, negative consequences etc., thinking over compensa-
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tory mechanisms (measures, reserves, etc.). Development of a detailed experimental program. Examination of the program. 4. Organizational stage: provision of conditions for the implementation of the experimental program, preparation of the experimental material base, financial support for the experiment, distribution of managerial functions, organization of special training, scientific and methodological support of experimental work, moral and material incentives for teachers conducting experiments, searching, selecting and engaging supervisor or consultant. 5. Practical stage: implementation of the system of measures laid in the hypothesis, the implementation of new technology (methodology, system of measures, etc.), through which it is expected to improve the effectiveness of teaching, education, development of students. 6. Generalizing stage: processing of the data, correlating the results of the experiment with the goals, analyzing all results, correcting the hypothesis (model, new technology) in accordance with the results, design and description of the progress and results of the experiment. 7. The implementation phase: the dissemination of a new methodology (or implementation as a managed process) in a pedagogical team, a directed organization of experience in the implementation of the material developed in the course of the experiment. The pedagogical experiment consists of a number of stages: 1. The ascertaining stage. Its goal is to “make a copy”, to construct a schematic model of the phenomenon that is to be studied. Thus, having discovered the extreme instability and insignificant mobility of students’ knowledge, numerous errors in the work on the learned rules (orthographic or mathematical), the researcher sets out to identify the causes of these phenomena. Valuable facts can be obtained as a result of monitoring the daily work of teachers. Experimental control work with whole groups of students (strong and weak), individual students, makes it possible to accurately determine the actual state of students’ knowledge, outline the contours of the experimental methodology. The ascertaining experiment can be carried out not only at the beginning of the investigation, but also during the assessment of school
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students after a certain time, when the conditions and influences that were applied experimentally operated. 2. The second stage of the research – forming, or constructing – is of a decisive importance for the pedagogical experiment. For researchers whose tasks are limited to ascertaining the facts, by establishing the characteristics of certain pedagogical phenomena, it is sufficient to fix the state of students’ knowledge, to characterize the mistakes made by the class or the relations that have developed between the students. The task of pedagogical research is the disclosure of dependencies, laws, the causes that triggered the phenomenon under study. I.P. Pavlov, demanding “to hunt for a fact,” warned that one should not remain on its surface, it is necessary to look for the laws that govern it. These laws and regularities are not revealed when the phenomena are stated. At best, a known assumption, hypothesis, may arise at this stage. Its verification and confirmation (or elimination) constitute the task of formulating or constructing experiment, without which the psychological and pedagogical experiment remains incomplete. However, it is impossible to build even the most primitive forming experiment without studying first the state of the problem. Therefore, it is justified and grounded to consider the ascertaining (preliminary) and forming (constructing) stages as links in a single chain of pedagogical research. Based on the analysis of the results obtained by preliminary observations and supplemented with special control tests, the researcher formulates and clarifies his hypothesis. Next, he checks it, building up the process of education or raising children in a new way, introducing the condition that should ensure the increase in effective ongoing educational work. This feature (students) is specified in a large number of student groups. However, with this construction of training it remains unproved that the results obtained were a consequence of the condition that the researcher re-introduced. In order to prove the decisive role of the new psychological and pedagogical component, the experiment is often carried out simultaneously in several classes (experimental, control). To obtain “pure” results, the researcher tends to equalize these classes (by composition, age of children, their academic performance).
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3. At the third stage, the ascertaining experiment is again conducted, during which quantitative and qualitative differences of the experimental and control classes are revealed. The advantages of the former are manifested in a higher level of responses even of those students who at the beginning of the experiment gave average or low rates. The reliability of the influence of the experimentally introduced condition is increased if those who have produced the lowest results at the ascertaining stage are selected as experimental classes. The success of schoolchildren convincingly confirms the positive influence of the phenomenon under study. In developing the methodology for conducting the experiment, the researcher must clearly understand the purpose of the experiment and its place in the general course of the research and see the entire process, the situation and the possible results of the experiment. The methodology for carrying out the pedagogical experiment is diverse and depends on the duration of the conduct, its goals, the complexity of the structure of the pedagogical phenomena studied, and other factors. When developing it, it is recommended: –– to determine the initial data, the hypothesis, having previously observed the studied pedagogical phenomena and processes; –– to pick up objects and create conditions (if possible, aligned) for experimentation; –– to systematically observe the development of the phenomenon (or object) under study, accurately record the facts; –– to carefully develop the procedure for the experiment; –– to conduct registration, measurements and assessment of the facts using various means, methods (schemes, questionnaires, tests, mathematical apparatus); –– to create repetitive situations with the change in the nature of the conditions; –– to confirm (or refute) the previously received data; –– to move from empirical material to logical generalizations, to a theoretical interpretation of the obtained factual material, to the discovery of the lregular links between impact and result.
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The teacher-researcher always has a question: how many students should be included in the experiment; how many teachers should participate in it? To answer this question means to implement a representative (indicative for the whole population) sample of the number of experimental objects. The sample should be representative in terms of student enrollment. If the researcher checks a new system of measures, which he then applies to all types of schools in the country, then the students of day, evening, urban and rural schools of different regions should take part in the experiment. If the educator realizes the impossibility of carrying out a wide experiment, he narrows the research task and concretizes it before studying the really possible number of objects and their nature: leaves only urban or only rural schools, only junior, middle or senior classes. Thus, the tasks of the experiment and the number of objects included in it are closely interrelated and can influence each other. However, the decisive element is still the task of the experiment, which the researcher plans in advance. He determines the necessary character of the sample. Next, the researcher needs to narrow the number of experimental objects to the minimum required. For example, from the number of rural schools to take not ten, but two or one school, from the junior classes, too, take not three but two or one class. For this purpose, it is necessary to consider the specifics of the object and the subject of the research. If we are talking, for example, about testing a technique for studying a topic in history, physics, or another subject, then in this case we can confine ourselves to one experimental and one control class. In the experimental class, the necessary changes are made in accordance with the developed system, and the control process is a normal process. It is very important for the experimental class to be typical in the number of students and not exceed the control class in terms of academic achievements. In terms of the composition of boys and girls, in terms of social composition, it must also be typical. If the researcher-teacher wants to identify typical reasons for undergraduate students in a modern school, he will have to collect information about the students of each age group from urban and rural schools, poor progress of boys and girls, etc. In this case, a special
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survey should help obtain data on the reasons for the underachievement of schoolchildren of all grades from the first to the final one. For example, in one pilot study, it was necessary to cover three thousand students. When, on the basis of a table of random numbers, about 250 students were selected from about three thousand ones, the distribution of the causes of underachieving began to be repeated. This gave grounds to dwell on information on 250 pupils for more in-depth analysis. If the researcher poses the task of studying the reasons for the underachievement of pupils of a certain age or of one of the classes, or only in urban schools, etc., he will accordingly have to select at least 250 people, too. When it comes to the experiment on educational problems, then there are cases when only 30-40 people are involved in the experiment. Usually an experiment must involve some formed collective. If the researcher develops recommendations for a whole age group, then the experiment should include representatives of each individual age. Sometimes the subject of the experiment allows us to limit ourselves to a laboratory experiment altogether – the work with a small group of schoolchildren. Usually this concerns the problems of reeducation of pedagogically neglected schoolchildren, the problems of self-education, individual development of the person, development of abilities, talents, etc. In all these cases, experimental and control groups are elected. Thus, there are no, and there cannot be any single standard decision on the choice of the number of experimental objects. And always it is necessary to prove the representativeness of the sample both in terms of the representativeness of students, teachers, and in terms of the objectivity of the results that can be obtained for the appropriate contingent of schools, classes, pupils and teachers. It is necessary to warn not only from underestimation of the number of objects chosen for the experiment, but also from overestimation of this number, since in the latter case the experimenter is extremely overloaded, does not analyze the course of the experiment in depth and gives unproven recommendations.
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3.4. Methods of statistical processing of the results of pedagogical research and their design
At the present stage, all scientists recognize that it is important in the practice of pedagogical measurements to use the mathematicalstatistical apparatus for approbation and standardization of the test, analysis and correction of the distribution of empirical research data. At the same time, high reliability and validity of pedagogical measurements are the parameters that certify the receipt of objective reliable information. The results of the study are considered reliable if they provide high accuracy of measurements and give close results when repeated in the same sample, provided that training of the test subjects has not changed before the re-diagnosis. In the most general interpretation, reliability can be considered as a characteristic of the existing differences between the test results and the true scores of the subjects, insofar as these differences are generated by random measurement errors. The most important factor affecting reliability is the internal consistency of the test, which is ensured by the high homogeneity of the content of tasks selected for it. Although the conclusion is based on mathematical justification, it can be obtained based on common sense. It is understandable that the accuracy of the test scores increases as the homogeneity of the test content increases, when the content of all tasks is aimed at measuring only one variable. V.V. Yegorov, E.G. Skibitsky note that the use of mathematical statistics is caused by the need to establish the reliability of the differences between outcomes of learning, some educational effects in control and experimental groups, classes, etc. The authors mention the criteria most often used in pedagogical studies, these are the Student’s test, the Fisher test, the X-square method, etc. Here we only make references to a more detailed literature, for example, materials of this nature can be found in V.P. Bespalko “The terms of pedagogical technology.” – M.: Pedagogika, 1989. – 192 p.; Savelieva A.Ya., Novikova VA, Lobanova Yu.I. “Preparation of information for automated learning systems: A method, a manual for teachers and students of universities” / Ed. A.Ya. Savelyev. – M.:
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Higher education., 1986. – 176 p.; “Non-traditional ways of assessing the quality of knowledge of schoolchildren. Psychological and pedagogical aspect: Sat. sci. tr. ed. by E.D. Bozhovich – M.: New School., 1996. – 96 p.; Novikova A.M. “Scientific and experimental work in an educational institution, (business advice)”. – Moscow: Publishing house “Professional Education”, 1998. – 136 p. Along with the true score, the measurement error is also considered in the theory of pedagogical measurements. If it exceeds the permissible limits of the planned accuracy, then it is not necessary to speak about achieving any objectivity, even when in the process of pedagogical measurement, the influence of subject teachers was eliminated and standardized tests were used. Details in the methods of statistical processing of the results of pedagogical testing can be found in the following literature: 1. Zvonnikov V.I., Naidenova N.N., Nikiforov S.V., Chelyshkova M.B. “Scaling and equalization of the results of pedagogical measurements”. M., 2003, 2. Neiman Yu.M., Khlebnikov V.A. “Introduction to the theory of modeling and parametrization of pedagogical tests.” M., 2000, 3. Chelyshkova M.B. “Theory and practice of designing pedagogical tests.” M., 2002, 4. Yefremova N.F. “Modern test technologies in education.” M., 2003. If we turn to the analysis of the forms of registration of the results of the study, most often used to describe graduate students and undergraduates, it is necessary to mention a form such as a report on research work, which is an official document. The scientific report should contain full information about the work performed or its stage. The authors of the report are the executors of the research work. Common requirements are the clarity and logical sequence of presentation, the persuasiveness of arguments, the conciseness and clarity of formulations, the concreteness of the presentation of the results of work, the validity of recommendations and proposals. Structural elements of the research report are: 1) title page; 2) the list of performers; 3) the abstract; 4) the content;
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5) a list of abbreviations, symbols, symbols, units and terms; 6) introduction; 7) the main part; 8) conclusion; 9) a list of sources used; 10) annex. The abstract briefly reflects the scope of the research, the purpose of the work, the research method and tools, the results obtained and the degree of their implementation, the scope. Information on the amount of work, the number of illustrations, tables and a list of key words (no more than 15) characterizing the main content of the report are given. The abstract should not exceed one typewritten page. The introduction gives a brief description of the state of the problem being studied, the necessity of the research, the relevance and practical significance of the research topic is justified. The main part of the report describes the characteristics of the research (theoretical or experimental), justifies the choice of the direction, provides the methods for solving the tasks, reveals the general logic of the research, the stages of the research work. Next, a detailed description of the results of the study is given, it is indicated that the results obtained correspond to the tasks posed, their reliability and trustworthiness. In conclusion, brief conclusions on the results of work, proposals for their use, introduction, are formulated, an overall assessment of their scientific, social, pedagogical value is given. The application includes bibliography, tables, documents and materials, which are only mentioned in the report, minutes of the lessons and other types of activities, acts of implementation. The report on the research work can be typewritten. The rules for its registration are common. The scientific article on pedagogy is subject to general requirements for scientific research. As a rule, the article reveals a narrow problem, a limited number of issues, there is declared a part of a larger research work. At the same time, the article has a definite, completed character: the author must raise the problem, put forward a hypothesis, state the system of evidence and the results of the study, draw conclusions.
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The report on the pedagogical theme is a scientific report (often the first one) based on the results of the research at a scientific conference, symposium. In contrast to the article in the report, the description of the experiment, the conditions of its conduct and the results obtained demand a large place. Since the report assumes an oral presentation of the material, its structure and style of presentation are designed for direct contact with the audience. In the structure of the report, Y. Echo identifies the following components: the title, the table of contents, the introduction, the review of sources and literature, the main part, the conclusion and the list of used literature. Y. Echo believes that the review of the literature is divided into a review of primary sources and a review of the secondary ones (or the actual literature). The first means texts that are the object of research. These include texts belonging to the pen of the author, historical documents, legislative and other normative acts, etc. The texts that you use are not the immediate object of your research. The review of literature, which in some works, for example, in historical works, sometimes stands out in a separate table of contents, needs a special comment. He outlines the following requirements for the literature review: –– Historiography should be absolutely complete, i.e. no research related to your topic should be missed; –– Historiography should be systematized according to the criteria of chronological sequence, nationality (or language of presentation) of authors, scientific level, membership in scientific schools, etc.; –– The views of the most prominent scientists on this problem should be briefly analyzed and compared. The special form of scientific generalizations is theses. This is a summary of the main provisions of the report or a scientific article without the system of evidence, factual material. The thesis gives the final conclusions obtained as a result of the research. Methodical recommendations are a form of scientific relation that tells about theoretically grounded and practically verified methods of effective introduction of scientific achievements into the practice of teaching and educational work, for example, about the conditions necessary for obtaining high results, about the technology of applying sci-
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entific achievements in practice, about factors that reduce efficiency. Methodical recommendations can also outline the rules for conducting various methods of scientific research, for example, experiment in the conditions of the educational process at school or the use of sociological methods in studying the effectiveness of educational work, The form of the presentation in the methodological recommendations should be of an advisory nature and emphasize the technology of work itself, the methodology for carrying out the task. As a rule, the recommendations do not disclose questions of theory, attention is focused on a detailed description of the methodological side of the matter. A relatively new form of disseminating scientific information and summarizing the scientific work is deposition, which means – transfer to storage. A number of scientific works, including pedagogical sciences, deal with important but private issues that are not of interest to the general public. In addition, the need for depositing arises when the work performed cannot be published quickly, because the relevant collection is not planned to be published by the institute in the near future, and the author is interested in approving its priority, to promptly bring the research results to the scientific community. The monograph on pedagogy is a profound and versatile study of a particular scientific problem; it differs from other forms of scientific relations in the most complete and detailed manner, and in ideal cases, by exhaustive coverage of the scientific topic indicated in the title; the integrity of the problem and its presentation; the fundamentality of both the study and the presentation of the results; generalized conclusions; theoretical orientation; the breadth of the source study base. The monograph substantiates the importance of the problem under study, reveals the picture of the current (for a specific time) state of scientific development of the topic, various points of view, understanding of the issue, analyzes the literature available on this issue. With the transition to a 2-step system of higher education (bachelor’s-master’s degree), the quality of the master’s thesis is becoming topical. In this connection, we would like to describe an approximate structure for the implementation of master’s theses (See: Table 17).
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The tasks of the stages
The content of the work
1. Selection of 1. Choosing the theme of the master's the themes of re- thesis. search concern. 2. Acquaintance with scientific works on research problems. 3. Registration and consolidation of the topic at the department. 3. Регистрация и за крепление темы на кафедре.
2 S Т А P P
2 Э 1 А П
2. Drawing up a project for execution planning
1. Acquaintance with the methods of research, reflected in the literature. 2. Refinement of the logic of research on the theme of the master's thesis. 3. Discussion and clarification of the plan for the preparation of the master's thesis with the scientific supervisor.
1. The systematization of research sources.
1. Creation of a special notebook indicating specific sections of the master's thesis in accordance with the plan for its implementation. 2. Identify the literature for each section (author, title, publisher, year, pages).
2. Development 3. Write out the thoughts, data, qualitative of the introduc- and quantitative indicators of the tion to the thesis characteristics required ster's thesis.
3. Definition of the methodology
1. Scientific substantiation of the relevance of the topic.
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1. Conducting research: – in libraries; – in laboratories; – in the archives; – in educational institutions and other organizations in accordance with the topic of the study. организацияхвсоответствиистемойисследования.
2. Development of the 1. Discussion of the section of the thesis content of the section on individual assignments. 3. Preparation for the report. Discussion with the supervisor of the prepared section of the material.
4. Addition and
1. Showing the materials to the head of the research, to consultations. 1. Studying the content of the methods and the choice of the necessary method for the research. 1. Making additions according to the remarks of the supervisor.
registration of section 1
2. Grammatical and stylistic processing of the text.
of the thesis
Statistical processing of materials. 2. Construction of tables, diagrams, drawings, diagrams, historums.
2. Processing of the sections of the study
1. Development of specific research materials.
3. Writing of the main sections of the thesis
2. Determination of the place of illustrations
3.5. Approbation and implementation of the results ... 5 . Processing of all sections.
6. Drawing up a list of used literature 7. Preparation of the title page and specification of the application of the dissertation 8. Computer pattern of the thesis
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1. Work on remarks of the supervisor 2. Clarify the location of illustrations. 3. Stylistic processing of the text of each section 1. Drawing up a list of literature 2. Checking, refining the text. 1. Preparation of the title page 2. Clarify the fields of application 1. Use the interval 1-1.5 between lines 2. Each section starts a new page. Differentiation of the conclusions after each section, paragraph.
9. Checking the text 1. Preparation of the after computer typing verified text of the work. 10. Make a review of 1. Ready mock-up of the final thesis the master's thesis. 2. Preparation of reviews for the master's thesis. 3. Consultation with expert specialists.
3.5. Approbation and implementation of the results of pedagogical research
The system of introduction of scientific achievements and pedagogical experience that has developed in Kazakhstan includes the activities of all parts of the education system from the republican institutions to the school.
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The analysis allows to identify several typical shortcomings in the organization of implementation, affecting its effectiveness. These are: 1) the lack of relevance of the subject of implementation, the known spontaneity in the choice of scientific sources and the addressees of the introduction; 2) the predominance of the functional approach in the implementation of scientific results and the relatively rare integrated use of the achievements of pedagogical science; 3) hyperbolization of the introduced direction of science and underestimation of all other aspects of the educational process, that leads to incorrect estimates and conclusions; 4) lack of knowledge and consideration of the specifics of the conditions under which the implementation is carried out; insufficient support by the data of already developed best practices; inconsistency in the work in formation of samples; a low level of generalization and propaganda of the best practices. The questions of introduction of the achievements of pedagogical science are reflected in the works of M.A. Danilova, F.F. The Queen, V.E. Gmurman, A.E. Izmailova, P.R. Atutova, Yu.K. Babansky, L.V. Zankova, M.I. Makhmutova and others. The beginning of scientific research in this field was laid by MN. Skatkin, who was one of the first to address the generalization of the experience of the school and teachers as a source of enrichment of pedagogical science. In subsequent years, the problem of introducing scientific achievements into pedagogical practice has undergone multilateral research in various aspects. In the works of N.V. Kuzmina, H.I. Liimetsa, Y.S. Turbovsky psychological and pedagogical aspect are given, in the works of V.E. Gmurman, L.I. Gusev, M.I. Makhmutova, Z.E. Mikhailova, P.I. Kartashova – organizational and managerial aspect, in the works of V.I. Zhuravleva, L.S. Shkolnik – informational, in the works of O.A. Nilson, V.I. Chepeleva – scientific aspect, in the works of V.V. Kraevsky, T.V. Novikova – methodological aspect in terms of transforming theoretical knowledge into a normative one. Now, the studies are being conducted in a number of universities (Voronezh, Volgograd, Borisoglebsky, Kostroma, Kurgan, Ust-Kamenogorsk, etc.).
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In the field of view of researchers there are such questions: the theory of the implementation process, its methodological foundations, patterns; organizational and methodological principles; criteria for assessing the quality and effectiveness of the implementation process. Despite a significant number of research works, the problem of introduction is still at the stage of formulation, the implementation lags behind the development of scientific ideas. One of the gaps in theoretical developments is that they do not fully disclose the essence and regularity of the dialectical development of practice corresponding to scientific achievements. An active study of the problems of introduction began in the late fifties. A considerable number of articles have been published on the problem, thesis research was carried out. In a number of monographs (MI Makhmutova, VZ Mikhailova, Ya. Skalkova), the authors consider the introduction as the central problem of the relationship, the interaction of pedagogical science and practice. The study of works on the problem points to the multilateral nature of implementation of such a social phenomenon. In order to generalize the degree of the theory of introducing the achievements of pedagogical thought into practice, an attempt is made to generalize the fund of theoretical provisions contained in the most well-known publications, whose authors addressed the problem of introduction as a subject of scientific research (See: Table 18). Table 18 Generalized characteristics of the fund of theoretical provisions on the problem of the introduction of the research results into the practice of schools and recommendations of pedagogical science on this problem № 1 1
Authors, aspects of consideration 2 M.N. Skatkin, V.E. Gmurman. Yu.K. Babansky, P.I. Kartashov (theory)
Characteristics of the fund 3 – an indicative way of introducing new teachers into practice; – the concept of “implementation”; – a set of principles for implementation; – the conditions for successful implementation; – methods of innovative activity; – the implementation process;
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2
2
V.V. Krayevsky, IN AND. Zhuravlev, A.A. Arlamov, T.A. Novikova (methodology)
3 – types of implementation; – shortcomings in the implementation work; – management of the implementation process; – stages of implementation; – the types of pedagogical research results and the specifics of their implementation; indicators of scientific readiness for implementation and use; – the functions of schools, methodological services, educational authorities, IP on implementation criteria; – effectiveness of implementation (evaluation); – Typical implementation programs; – criteria for evaluating pedagogical recommendations. – typology of scientific and pedagogical result and the features of their implementation (methodological, fundamental, applied, experimental design, inventive and rationalization activities, actual production activities); – social determinism of implementation; – the concept of the relationship between what is and what is due, the role of implementation in their harmonization; – methodological function of the manifestation of the law of change of activity as the cause and consequence of the need of the introduction; – profitability of implementation; – theoretical provisions for the creation of a pedagogical information bank; – the idea of two-stage implementation of intermediate and final results according to practical requirements; – models of implementation processes, indicators and criteria for their effectiveness and quality of innovation results; – the educational effect of involving schoolchildren in the procedure of updating the pedagogical process; – typical algorithm of the implementation process; – measures for forecasting, updating the system when introducing a new one into one or more of its systemforming components; – characterization of conditions that hinder innovations; – legal norms and duties of the implementation by participants; – generalized factors affecting the development of the pedagogical idea, the stages of its promotion into school practice, etc.
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2 M.N. Skatkin, Ya.S. Turbovskoy, N.V. Kuzmina, N.V. Kukharev (methodology and practice)
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3 – the nature and purpose of the implementation process; – the logic of the implementation process; – implementation as a goal-oriented activity; – levels of preparedness of practice for the perception and use of scientific data; – a system of conditions that determines the effectiveness of implementation activities; – levels of implementation; – creative activity of a teacher or educator in the solution of pedagogical tasks; – regularities and factors of interaction between pedagogical theory and practice; – the mechanism for converting scientific recommendations into the experience of a team of teachers; – algorithm for the implementation process.
The terms “implementation” and “use” were widely used in scientific articles. Implementation is a system of measures for the mandatory application of scientific research. Use is the application of scientific research on the initiative of educators. To avoid the unpopular “game in the definitions” today and not to plunge into the existing terminological discrepancy, we will adopt these definitions with a little refinement. And “implementation” and “use” should be considered, in our opinion, as the transformation of existing pedagogical experience on the basis of scientific recommendations in the first case in a normative (or mandatory) way, in the second, on the initiative of schools and teachers, “implementation” bears an imperative coloring, “use” – voluntary. So, introduction is a socially conditioned kind of activity. Thus, research scientists have determined the scope of activities, where the category in question is its functional purpose and identified significant characteristics (See: Figure 7).
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Figure 7. Implementation of achievements of pedagogical science and PSR in the practice of schools
For the study, it is important to determine the essential differences in implementation from other types of relationship between science and practice: propagation, agitation, use, application, dissemination. As Y.S. Turbovskaya emphasizes, these categories are characterized by the activity “in breadth”, the implementation of any individual aspects of the relationship between theory and practice, for example, information. At the same time, implementation is a set of measures, a system of organizational relations aimed at transforming “in depth”. Summarizing the work of scientists involved in identifying the parameters of the degree of implementation of the results of the study, we identified the following ways of approbation and implementation: –– Publications in print of the results obtained (domestic, foreign), as well as in encyclopedic publications; –– Presentations with the reports and reports at international, republican, regional congresses, symposiums, scientific and practical conferences, seminars, trainings, pedagogies, meetings, educators’ congresses, conferences and seminars at the University faculty, August conferences of educators; –– Discussion of the main research provisions at the meetings of the department, the laboratory, the Scientific Council of the research institutes, the universities, the IPI, the UIA, the centers, pedagogical
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councils, methodological associations of schools, the collegium of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, other branch departments, methodological seminars for postgraduate students, implementation of doctoral and candidates research results; –– Introduction of programs, textbooks, methodological recommendations, standards, the QMS on the subject (availability of acts on implementation) in higher educational institutions, colleges, schools; –– Participation in scientific projects at the national and international level (availability of the research program, publications, reports on research, state registration number); –– Obtaining grants at the competitions “The best teacher of the university”, “The best teacher of the year”, etc. (availability of documents on participation in the competitions for the I. Altynsarin, M. Auezov Prizes, competitions of young scientists, laureates, fellows, contestants, etc.) and the list of works submitted for the competition (competition of the akimat, government, President); –– Publications about activities, about performances, etc. (output data); –– Membership in sectoral, cross-sectoral and international organizations (academies, universities, institutes, etc.) (availability of copies of the documents); –– Frequency of citation (copies of the sources); –– Reviews of the scientific works of the applicant; –– Radio and TV programs within the research topic, newspaper publications. Implementation issues are most often associated with a willingness for it, a positive motivational background allowing a quick and with minimum effort and time organizing a fairly effective implementation and the formation on its basis of samples of advanced, better, more modern practice. The notions “cognitive” and “regulative” barriers and their classification are borrowed from A.M. Hon. In the category of cognitive barriers, there are such negative indicators of the human factor as the lack of a “sense of novelty”, the inability to see the problem; the inability of the individual to resolve cognitive contradictions; lack of necessary technological knowledge,
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skills; lack of the ability to translate into the language of science specific pedagogical situations, and some others. In the category of “regulatory” barriers, there is distrust, a biased attitude to the quality of the introduced novelty, to the organizers of the implementation, a lack of confidence in the competence of the administration; absence of expectation of a positive effect; understated or inflated self-esteem; inertia, stiffness as a personality trait and a number of others. As theoretical prerequisites for the restructuring of the implementation process in the pedagogy, VI. Zhuravlyov proposes studies that carefully consider the logic, methodology, as well as the results of implementing certain proposals of scientists, teachers, pedagogical collectives, educational institutions. The author of the book delivered a report at the All-Union Scientific and Practical Conference on the topic “Activity of the Central UIA of the Ministry of the Kazakh SSR on the preparation of materials for scientific research and generalized experience for their use by the teacher” in 1985. Subsequently, a series of scientific and practical conferences on the problem of introducing achievements in pedagogical science and best practices were held in Kazakhstan. Introduction is a specific kind of pedagogical activity of a teacher in mastering scientific knowledge. Implementation involves conscious participation in the organization of the process of the impact of this knowledge on practice, a special system of actions to improve practice. Research scientists (Yu.B. Babansky, V.E. Gmurman, V.V. Kraevsky, M.N. Skatkin and others) determined the scope of activities, where the category in question, its functional purpose, distinguished essential characteristics are considered. To characterize the “innovative capabilities” we have identified two categories: the attitude of the process entities to the implementation and their readiness for implementation. In turn, each of them is revealed through a series of indicators: the relationship – through the need (what?), the interest (to what extent?), the motive (why?), the orientation (for what?). Readiness – through a set of innovative knowledge and skills, as well as the existence of a number of pedagogical conditions that
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ensure the effectiveness of innovative activities, as well as innovative experience, satisfaction with the creative microclimate of the team and compliance with scientific and methodological support. Theoretical search and experimental data allow us to single out the following sufficient minimum of “innovative” knowledge and skills of the teacher: –– knowledge of the introduction of a specific type of pedagogical activity (scope of functioning, functional purpose, characteristics, correlation with the notion of “innovation” and some others); –– skills that belong to the research group: a) to formulate difficult questions of practice in the form of a scientific problem; b) to relate the possibilities for solving it, which are available in the proposed subject for implementation (idea, program, methodology, etc.) and own experience; c) to construct a preliminary system of pedagogical action in accordance with the objective of the introduced subject; d) to conduct monitoring, pedagogical experiment with a variation of individual factors and follow-up of results; e) to find and use the necessary basic and auxiliary information. The structure of the knowledge and skills of the teacher is important in the practice of schools (See: Table 19). Table 19 Structure of knowledge and skills of the teacher in the implementation of the achievements of pedagogical science Knowledge
Skills
1 1. Methodological knowledge about the methods of scientific and pedagogical research, scientific foundations of the introduction of DPC, various approaches to the study, generalization and implementation of DPC, the essence, criteria and functions, principles and methods of implementation.
2 1. Research: 2. Ability to accumulate factual material (observe the pedagogical process, study documentation and the results of students’ work, conduct a conversation, use materials, questionnaires, sociological methods).
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Continuation of Table 19 2. Managerial knowledge of the organizational aspects of the study, synthesis and implementation of DPC (the definition of the main direction, planning, control), the stages of implementation work, school regulations, regulations on methodological work in the basic school, the school of excellence, creative groups. 3. Technological knowledge about the methodology for studying the needs of teachers in scientific recommendations, drawing up a plan for the introduction of DPC,
2 3. Ability to analyze and summarize the materials of the accumulated experience in the implementation process (dismember the phenomenon under study into component elements, compare, identify the main links in the experience, draw conclusions, generalize, explain the essence of experience in the categories of science). 4. Ability to formulate the results of the studied experience (state the essence of the experience in the form of a report, an article, and arrange the results in the form of a stand, album, etc.). 5. Skills to diagnose and model the teacher's activity system, develop a plan or program for the implementation of available trends, the structure of materials based on scientific results or results of implementation.
6. Communicative skills to provide concrete assistance to teachers on the issues of implementation, to motivate teachers with new ideas, to argue the feasibility of their use, to identify elements of innovation in the activities of teachers, to select scientific information.
We considered it expedient to single out the following groups regarding the innovative capabilities of teachers, based on these guidelines. First, the group, which we called “a group of initiators”. It is characterized by a high level of knowledge about the achievements in science and software, the ability to promote and apply this knowledge in their work, providing specific methodological assistance to other teachers. In the group of “stimulants” there is an ability to argue the appropriateness of using the achievements of science and software.
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The group “informants” is characterized by gaps in the skills to use the achievements of science and practice, knowledge of the technology of their application in the practice of teachers, although they are active propagandists. We have singled out the “group of conservatives”, where there is a denial of the need for science to improve practice. Orientation to these characteristics, the creation of favorable conditions to a large extent contributes to improving the management system of innovative activities of the teacher. For it is he who is the central link of science and practice. It is important to note that the achievement of goals and the solution of problems of implementation is carried out according to a certain, consistent pattern, through a series of interrelated stages that make up its components. The objects of the introduction in the 70–80-ies of the twentieth century were the scientific and pedagogical theories, recommendations developed on their basis for improving school practice; scientific generalized Advanced pedagogical experience, etc. For example: –– scientifically based theory of optimization of the educational process and advanced experience of introducing this theory into practice by the pedagogical staff of the secondary school No. 17 of Aktyubinsk; –– the idea of the focus of education and upbringing on the formation of a comprehensively and harmoniously developed personality, and in this connection – the experience of the Buranovskaya secondary school of the East Kazakhstan region, led by the People’s Teacher of the USSR K.N. Nurgaliev; –– the idea of the organic unity of teaching and upbringing, giving learning a developing character in the experience of creative, talented teachers, such as N.D. Bulycheva. T. Zhurynova, P.L. Miroshnichenko, S. Abdilmanova. L.P. Merezhkovsky and others; –– the idea of an integrated approach to education, which focuses on the inclusion of students in a variety of activities of student selfgovernment, the organization of extracurricular educational work at the place of residence, and the experience of the pedagogical teams of
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secondary schools No. 35 of Petropavlovsk in North Kazakhstan and No. 34 of Ust-Kamenogorsk of the East Kazakhstan region. Thus, the introduction of the research results and recommendations of pedagogical science into the practice of schools is both the content and procedural component of the teacher’s research culture. Self-control questions 1. Give the definition of the term “research” 2. What empirical methods of research do you know? Describe their advantages and disadvantages. 3. How such methods of theoretical research are connected, in terms of analysis and synthesis? 4. What does it mean to pick up method of research? What criteria should be used? 5. How the system analysis of pedagogical phenomenon is performed? 6. When is it expedient to use simulation of pedagogical phenomenon? 7. When is pedagogical experiment used? 8. Which method of the research have you already used and how successful was it? 9. What scientific problem would you like to investigate using pedagogical experiment? How do you imagine this? 10. What is the difference between pedagogical experiment and supervision? 11. Name the features of the organization and execution of pedagogical experiment 12. What is reliability and validity of the results of the research? How are they verified? 13. What forms of formalization of the results of pedagogical research do you know? 14. What is the “implementation” of the results of research? Tasks for independent work I. Complete a logic scheme of methods of pedagogical research. Theoretic
Empiric ___________
Analyses Supervision Ranging Abstracting Note-taking II. Allocate methods which are defined as traditionally pedagogical ones. 1. Supervision.
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2. Study. 3. Studying of products of student’s creativity. 4. Abstracting 5. Conversation. 6. Mathematical methods. Answer: _____________________________________. III. What conversation is the example of scientific and pedagogical research method? 1. A conversation between class teacher and parents about the education of children in the family. 2. The teacher’s conversation with pupils who are late for the lesson. 3. The teacher’s conversation with pupils about the rules of behaviour in social places. 4. A conversation with pupils about safety regulations. 5. The teacher’s conversation, during which the effective methods of stimulation student’s interest to study material are described. 6. The Principal’s conversation with boy offending girl. Answer: ______________________________________. IV. To what method is it possible to correlate the differences specified below? 1. Statement of the task, object definition, А. Conversation. development of observation scheme. 2. Results that are necessarily noted. B. Supervision. 3. Received data processing. C. Experiment. Answer: _____________________________________. V. Fill in the table. Specify the presence or absence (+, -) of a specified attribute Method
Process creation
Condition change
Defining hypothesis
Supervision Natural experiment Laboratory experiment Right answers: I Synthesis, generalization, classification, comparison, note-taking
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1. modeling. 2. Studying of products of activity, documents, questionnaires, conversation, interview, sociometry, method of independent specifications. 1. Mathematical, registration, ranging, scaling, indexing, correlation. II. 1, 2, 3, 5 III. 1, 5 IV. B V. – – + –++ +++ VI. Develop the program of the experiment on the topic “Formation of the student’s interest to the subject”. VII. Formulate the purpose, task and define methods of research on the topic “Re-education of an aggressive teenager”. VIII. Test yourself on the development of professionally-significant personal properties and qualities of individuality. IX. Develop your questionnaire in order to find out, for example, the attitude of student to education computerization (it is possible to take any question interesting for you). X. Make up the scheme of conversation (questions on the problem interesting for you) with students, their parents and teachers. XI. Develop the program of supervision for a lesson (the aspect is any) and offer the way of registration of the supervision data.
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RESEARCHER’S GLOSSARY 1. Abduction is the procedure leading to the best explanation of a phenomenon or event, after a comparison of validity of a few hypotheses. 2. Abstraction – 1. A process of distraction from some specifications (properties, attitudes) of subjects under investigation, from their initial verbal registration; from the carriers of specifications of subjects interesting for us; from some of our abilities and opportunities; 2. A result of distraction representing some abstract subjects. A process of distraction from some properties and attitudes of subjects under investigation is called abstraction. 3. Axiomatic method is the way of construction of scientific theory, in which some situations of the theory are chosen as the initial, and all other situations are rejected by pure logic way, by means of proofs. Situations proven on the basis of axioms, are called theorems. 4. Algorithm (from лат. аlgorismus) is a clearly given sequence of actions, transformations, calculated in respect of a separate object or a set of objects. It is widely used when training the rules of spelling, at arithmetic actions, etc. 5. Analysis – 1. A cogitative operation enabling to produce partition of the whole into parts; 2. A method of the object research enabling to isolate separate parts from the whole and to subject these to independent studying; 3. An elementwise separate studying of components, blocks, the subsystems of the process under investigation. 6. Analysis and synthesis is the division of the object into the main parts. Synthesis (from Greek – synthesis – connection) – the unification of parts of objects derived from the analysis or separate objects to some system. Analysis and synthesis are applied both to real, practical, and in cogitative activity. 7. Analogy similarity between subjects, phenomena etc. Deduction on analogy (or simply – analogy) is an inductive deduction, when on the basis of similarity of two objects on any one of parameters a conclusion is drawn about their similarity to other parameters. 8. Questioning is a variety of research interrogations enabling, based on written answers. to offer questions to reveal the points of view and tendencies taking place in the group of tested students. 9. Practical approval is establishing the validity, competent evaluation and constructive criticism of the grounds, methods or results of research work, approval of it. 10. Artifact is a doubtful fact distorted as a result of influence of random factors. 11. Aspect is one or another part of the subject, phenomenon, concept; point of view, look at anything; point of view, from which any phenomenon, concept, perspective is considered.
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12. Conversation is a research method enabling to reveal the features of the person of the person, the nature and the level of his knowledge, interests, reasons of actions, and act on the basis of the analysis of the answers to the delivered questions. 13. Bibliography is the list of books, articles, other sources. 14. Verification is a concept used in logic and methology of scientific knowledge for the designation of the process of establishing the validity of scientific statements. 15. Conclusion is establishing the validity of some statements on the provision of validity of some other statements. 16. Hypothesis – 1.An assumed, put forward conventional preliminary explanation of some phenomenon, object, for the purposes of the solution of a particular problem; 2.A scientifically justified , but unevident assumption requiring special proof for one’s final statement as a theory or its disproof. 17. Diagnostics is the process and the ways of determination of the degree of the development of personal qualities, progress in the development, dialogue, as well as of the efficiency of functioning and development of the systems, technologies, techniques of pedagogical projects. 18. Report is a verbal scientific message or written account on the research and its conclusions intended for reading aloud. 19. Doctrine is a managing idea, system, guiding principle. 20. Reliability is a validity, proof, knowledge, indisputability. 21. Task-1. An assumed located result of the research including the requirement and condition (known and required); 2. In educational research it is the link, the phase of movement to the purpose, the purpose given in particular, requiring situation transformation 22. Law is an expression of general, essential, frequently repeated relations, subjects and phenomena of pedagogical reality admitted compulsory. 23. Law is an expression of relations and interdependence of pedagogical phenomena. 24. Concept – 1. An idea, supplied by means of its implementation; 2. An idea, connected with the representations of the ways of its realisation methodically issued, but existing only in the researcher’s consciousness. 25. Knowledge is a result of a process of reality, the knowledge which has received the acknowledgement in practice; an adequate reflection of the objective reality in the person’s consciousness (representations, concepts, opinions, theories). 26. Idea – 1. The main idea, the initial knowledge, the concept for knowledge ordering, substance reflection including both knowledge of pedagogical object, and definition of the ways of its transformation; 2.A thought about the content and the ways of transformation of reality in the direction of achievement of a desired purpose, ideal. 27. Ideal object is an object of research on the theoretical level taken as a determined mental model. 28. Indicator is a gauge, a thing, a meter generalising several parameters and enabling to evaluate a particular phenomenon, action, activity.
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29. Interview is a variety of research interrogation. In a verbal dialogue it allows the researcher to reveal an initial principle, initial position. In modern pedagogical researches interviews realise: a system approach orienting the researcher to the deployment of the object integrity, revealing its inner relations and attitudes; a complex approach to a consideration of the group of phenomena; a holistic approach – providing an integrity of an object – nonreducibility of the whole to simple parts; a personal approach assums the attitude to the pupil as to the person, as to a selfconscious subject with his own development, and as to the subject of educational interaction; a business approach – its is essence consists of recognition of the unity of the mentality and activity, unity of the structure of internal and external activity, mediation of interpersonal attitudes. 30. True means the reflection an adequate reality by a learning subject that is checked later by social practice. 31. Category is an extremely common fundamental concept reflecting the most essential, natural relations and attitudes of reality and knowledge. 32. Classification is an ordered division of a determined plentitude of objects into groups on the basis of use of conventional system of signs of division and the set of determined rules. 33. Conceptual imeans containing conception. 34. Conception – 1. The system of views, a particular understanding of phenomena, processes, managing idea for their treatment and explanation; a leading activity concept; 2. The system of the initial theoretical situations which provides the basis for a research approach. 35. The criteria-1.A measure of evaluation, a sign, rule, on the grounds of which the choice or evaluation of scientific and practical activities is produced; 2. A sign, serving as a basis for classification of phenomena, actions or activity that are evaluated by the appropriate indicator. 36. Logic – 1. A science of laws and forms of thinking; 2. A run of reasoning, deductions; 3. An internal law, inherent to phenomenon, process, society. 37. Method is a way of studying pedagogical phenomena, processes and laws and their practical implementation. 38. Technique is a set various forms and ways of the methods use, through which the knowledge of phenomena and processes is implemented. 39. Methodological culture is a thinking culture which assumes the knowledge by the teacher of the determined rules and techniques of scientific knowledge and ability to apply them during the solution of pedagogical tasks. 40. Methology 1. The most communicating system of principles of the organisation of scientific research, of the ways of achievement and construction of scientific knowledge; 2. A doctrine of scientific method of knowledge; a set of methods used in science; the system of principles and ways of organisation and construction of theoretical and practical activities. In pedagogics methology is defined as a doctrine of principles, methods, forms and the procedures of studying and transformation of pedagogical reality.
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41. Methology science is a part science, investigating the structure of scientific knowledge, techniques and methods of scientific knowledge, the ways of justification and development of knowledge. Systematic solution of methodological problems is given in methodological conception which is created based on the determined gnosiological principles. 42. Simulation 1. A set of methods of construction of the models and studies on the example of the appropriate phenomena, processes, the systems of objects (first copies); 2. A set of methods of application, use of the results of studying the models for definition or verification of specifications of objects of research themselves, for the improvement of control of them, for checking the appropriate hypothesis about the first copy, for rationalisation of the ways of re-construction of the designed objects. 43. Model measure is a sample, norm – 1. In the widest sense it is any mental or sign image of a simulated object (first copy); 2. A specially developed or specially selected object reproducing specifications of the object under investigation. 44. Thinking is an active process of reflection of the objective world in the concepts, opinions, scientific theories, hypotheses and so forth, having integrated nature connected with the solution of nontrivial tasks; a top product of a specific form of an organised matter – human intellect. 45. The direction is a way of development; a social, scientific flow, grouping, scientific school; a group of works united by a uniform purpose, generality of outlooks, methods of research. In pedagogics various directions united by purposes, methods of research exist. 46. Science is one of the domains of human activity, the function of which is the production and ordering of knowledge about nature, society and consciousness. Science includes activity on production of knowledge. The term “science” is used also for the designation of separate areas of scientific knowledge – physics, chemistry, biology and so forth. 47. Scientific report is an official form of submitting the results of scientific work; a detailed description of preconditions, tasks, techniques, contents, course and results of the research work. 48. Novelty is the criteria of quality of the information (the results of scientific researches). 49. Innovation is a purposeful change introducing new stable elements (innovations) causing the transition of the system from one condition to other. 50. New in the didactics means 1.Something firstly created or made, having appeared or arisen recently, instead of the former thing, condition, approach, etc.; 2. Something related to the nearest past; 3. Something not enough familiar, littleknown, for the first time created didactic innovation. 51. Integration is a mental transition to a higher step of the abstraction by the way of revealing common signs (properties, attitudes, tendencies and so forth) of subjects of the area under consideration; transition from the concepts having a smaller volume, to the concepts having a greater volume. 52. Justification it is the way of rational definition of the starting point of scientific search that ensure reliability, checkability and reproducibility of the results.
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A choice of the initial grounds of scientific search has a creative character and depends on many parameters of research (problems, topics, purpose etc.);2. A proof of the research relevance – the element enabling to judge about the depth of understanding by the author of the problem of his own research and respectively about the quality of the performed research. 53. Object research is a determined set of properties and attitudes which exists apart from learning, but is reflected in it, serves as a particular search area. Establishing of the object and subject is important step in the organisation and execution of didactic research, and serves as one of the ratings of its implementation, the degree of the researcher’s rapprochement to the essence of the object and advancing in the research process. 54. Explanation – 1.A revelation of the essence of the scientific object; revealing of deductive interrelations between abstract objects, by virtue of which there is a particular knowledge about the object under study; it is implemented by virtue of determined law which given object is subject; 2.One of the most important functions of scientific theory as a whole. The concept explanation is used also in everyday language to explain a phenomenon to make it clear for the others. 55. Description is one of the functions of scientific research consisting in recording of the results of the experiment using the terms of natural or formal language. It can be empirical (in the description of empirical objects) or theoretical (descriptive) in the description of abstract objects. 56. Opponent means protesting; an opponent in a dispute; the person to whom the evaluation of the results of the research were entrusted. 57. Interrogation is a research method enabling to reveal psychological features of people on the basis of their answers to the offered verbal or written questions. 58. Optimisation – means improvement, perfection of the process for the achievement of its peak efficiency; the increase in the rate of the process with a view of achievement of high results. 59. Experience – is an empirical cognition of the objective reality; a unity of knowledges and abilities, skills. E. acts both as a process of person’s practical impact on the external world, and as the result of this impact in the form of knowledge and abilities. 60. Experimental didactic work is a specially organised research work conducted according to a preliminary developed program or project. 61. Definition is establishing the sense of the introduced symbol, term, subject either by their verification with the help of familiar words (nominal definition), by the way of inclusion into the context of familiar words (contextual definition) or by obvious formulation (obvious or normal definition ). 62. Valuation is the assessment of the phenomena under investigation with the engagement of the most competent persons, opinions of whom, complementing each other, allow characterising the phenomena under investigation objectively. 63. Evaluation – 1. An attitude to a social phenomenon of human activity, behaviour, establishing the importance, conformity to the determined norms and morality principles (approval and blaming, consent or critics etc.). It is defined by
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a social position, outlook, the level of culture, intelligent and moral development of the person. On the other hand, the account of reasons, purposes, the means of action, conditions, places in the system of behaviour of the person are the necessary conditions of correct evaluation; 2. A kind of an opinion about the determined phenomena; it may be quantitative and qualitative, integrated. 64. Paradigm is the set of theoretical and methodological situations accepted by scientific community at a known phase of the development of science. The paradigm is used as a sample, model, standard for scientific judgement of hypothesis and the solutions of tasks arising in the process of scientific cognition. 65. Acknowledgement is one of the criteria of validity of the theory or law, conformity with the put forward assumption. 66. Completeness is a logic-methodological requirement to axiomatic theory and characterising the sufficiency of its expressive and deductive means for particular purposes. 67. Postulate is the initial statement, assumption accepted in the framework of a certain scientific theory applicable to real situation. 68. Rule is the concept reflecting a regularity in pedagogical phenomena or processes and determining a certain activity. 69. Practice is people’s activity; a development and transformation of objective reality; a general base of the development of human society and knowledge. 70. Object of research is everything that is included in the research object boundaries in the determined aspect of consideration as a point enabling to see a specially determined separate parts, relations under investigation, i.e. determined aspects of the object studying. 71. Principle is the main, reference position. 72. Problem is a representation about the key tasks which should be solved, as well as the knowledge of vital issues, to which it is necessary to find the answer; 2. (from Greek problema – difficulty, obstacle) – a theoretical or practical question, requiring its solution, an ambiguity or contradiction arising in the process of cognition, comprehension by the subject of impossibility to solve difficulties and contradictions arising in the given situation, the means of our knowledge; 3. A set of difficult theoretical and practical tasks, the solutions of which have ripened in the society. From socially-psychological positions a problem is a reflection of the contradiction between a social need for knowledge and known ways of its obtaining, a contradiction between knowledge and ignorance. A problem arises when human practice meets difficulties or even comes across “impossibility” in the achievement of the purpose. A problem can be global, national, religious, business, interdisciplinary and depends on the scale of arising tasks; 4. A theoretical or practical question which should be studied and solved. 73. Problems are a set of co-ordinated problems connected to each other by the common idea presenting internally a whole system: methodological, generaltheoretical, methodical problems and the problems of introduction of the research into practice, each of which may be divided into sub problems.
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74. Program 1. A content and a plan of works, activity; 2. An account of main provisions and purposes of activity of a political party, organisations, separate personality; 3. A summary of the content of subject. 75. Psychological-pedagogical test is a complex of diagnostic procedures, required for initial orientation regarding object. 76. Terminology -1. In a wide sense there is a set of terms, specific names and lexical means used in the theory and practice of training and education; 2. In a narrow sense there is a set of terms fixing the main didactic concepts as scientific ones. 77. Test is a standardised task enabling to reveal presence or absence of knowledge, abilities, capabilities, as well as the attitude to one or another subject. 78. Testing is a research method which allows revealing the level of knowledge, skills, and as well abilities and other qualities of the person by the way of the analysis of the ways of performance tested in a series of special tasks. 79. Interpretation is a sense revealing procedure of speech, various terms and symbols. 80. Fact-1. Objective and incontestable event, the unit of empirical knowledge about a phenomenon, a separate relation existing in pedagogical reality (practice) taken out of relations with others; 2. Attracting or reliable fixed relations between phenomena and events, validity of the knowledge of which can be proven scientifically. 81. Factor is the reason, propulsion of any process, a phenomenon determining nature, direction, signs. 82. Experiment – didactic 1. A general scientific method of knowledge enabling to receive new knowledg from the causal investigation of relations between didactic factors, conditions, processes at the expense of planned handling by one or a few variables and registration of respective alterations in the behaviour of the investigated object or system; 2. A method of research assuming revealation of essential factors affecting the results of pedagogical activity, and enabling to vary these factors with a view of achievement of optimum results. 83. Expert is a specialist carrying out a study, examination. 84. Examination is consideration, research of any problems the solution of which requires special knowledge in the area of science, technology, arts and so on. 85. Explicitation is verification of concepts and statements of natural and scientific language with the aid of the means of symbolical logic. 86. Extrapolation is a logical-methodological procedure consisting in transferring, dissemination of: 1. qualitative specifications from one data domain to another one, from the past and present to the future; 2. quantitative specifications of one data domain to another one, one unit to another one on the basis of methods specially developed for this purpose; 3. some equations formulated for one data domain, to another one data domain within the limits of one science, or even to other areas of knowledge that are connected with their modification or with reeinterpretation of the sense of the components of these. 87. Empirical method is a registration and description of directly observable phenomena, facts and visible relations between them.
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88. Empirical knowledge is knowledge about a separate phenomenon or separate relations taken out of relations with other ones. Empirical knowledge gives just a description of phenomena not disclosing their essence. A unit of empirical knowledge is a fact. 89. Approximate structure of the program experiment (based on Sidenko А. How to develop experiment program?) // National education. – 1998. – №4. P. 36–40.
The Topic of the experiment
he Performer of the experiT ment
The Supervisor of studies, of the experiment, consultant, manager
The Relevance of the topic
The Idea of the experiment
The Concept of the experiment
2
3
4
5
6
2
1
1
Item of the program
№п/п
A strict definition of the ideas of the experiment through determined forms, methods, logic of disclosure of the content, the account of particular conditions of the class, etc.
The problem of practice contradictions, from which the necessity of an experiment on the given topic follows The most common representation of the problem situation, the direction of the researcher's activity, the image of the desired change in the pupil
Surname, name, patronymic, position, rank, the place of work, telephone
Surname, name, patronymic, position, rank
Title of the experiment
3
Content
How to you see the embodiment of the project, of the idea of the experiment? How to embody the idea of the experiment in practice?
What is not arranged, of what the problem situation consists? What is wanted to be changed? Why the given problem should be studied at present? What circumstances cause the necessity in actions directed to the changes in the pupil? What do you want to change in the pupil, at the expense of what and how?
How the experiment is named?
4
Question to be answered
Researcher’s glossary
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The Subject of the experiment
Pedagogic aim
Purpose
Tasks
8
9
10
11
2
The Object of the experiment
7
1
4
What do you want to develop and to approve? What do you want to create as a result of ongoing experiment? What textual result?
What new knowledge about the object of the experiment will be obtained? What influence will it have? How the object is considered: what properties, parts, relations, functions are intrinsic to the object?
Actions on the achievement of in- What actions should be committed in order to termediate results, directed to the reach the purpose of the experiment? What interachievement of the purpose mediate results are required for the achievement of the purpose? What steps should be taken for the achievement of the purpose?
Expected result presented in the form of methodical recommendations, development of lessons, plans, author's programs, conceptual situations, principles, pedagogical technologies and so forth
Expected result of pedagogical activities which is expressed in positive changes in the pupil that appeared due to experimental development
What is investigated? What are the boundaries of pedagogical impact? What is the area of changes of practice? Properties, relations, functions What new knowledge about the object of the exintrinsic to the object; a part of the periment will be obtained? What influence will it object disclosed in a given experi- have? How the object is considered: what propermental research ties, parts, relations, functions are intrinsic to the object?
3 The boundary of the research and change of practice
190 Scientific pedagogical research methods
15
The criteria of the evaluation of Signs or parameters, on the expected results grounds of which the evaluation of the efficiency of the experimental development is performed The terms of the experiment The time of beginning and assumed completionof the experiment
14
The means of evaluating the results of the experiment: questionnaires, interviews, texts of examinations, tests, experimental didactic materials
Diagnostic toolkit
3 Scientifically substantiated, logical assumption regarding the way of realization of the idea and concept of the experiment, a set of impacts, a system of measures on maximal realization of the experiment tasks, in detail stated by the model-innovation, due to which it is expected to receive a determined efficiency of teaching and educational process
13
2
Hypothesis
1
12
4
What is the duration of the experiment?
With the aid of which signs, parameters of the efficiency of the experimental materials will be evaluated: programs, techniques, principles etc.?
With the aid of what means will be exercised the control of results?
What will you verify? In what consists Your assumption of how it is possible to realize the idea and concept of the experiment? What do you assume controlling impacts on the realization of experimental tasks?
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Pedagogical collective participation Who participates in the experiment? in the experiment on a given topic Distribution of functional duties of all persons participating in the experiment
The ways of correction, compensation of negative consequences
The list of the participants of the experiment
Functional duties
Experiment base
The scale of the experiment
18
19
20
21
22
Duration of the experiment – the time and scope by the volume of the material: one lesson, several lessons on the topic, a quarter, year, several years
Group of trainees, a class, class parallel, the whole school
What is the volume of teaching material included in the experiment area, and what is its duration?
What quota is allocated to the experiment?
Who and what for is responsible in the experiment?
Control of the impacts on the part What particular actions can compensate negative of the experimenter eliminating consequences of the experiment? How it is posnegative consequences sible to compensate negative consequences?
Slowing down the rates of learn- What are possible negative consequences? ing, deviations from the base component of the content of education, change of educational purposes provoking negative changes in a trainee
Forecast of probable negative consequences
4 What intermediate results, and in what sequence are assumed to be achieved?
17
3 Parts determining intermediate results of the experiment and sequence of their achievement
2 The stages of the experiment
1 16
192 Scientific pedagogical research methods
Status of the experiment
The format for representing the results of the experimenter for mass practice
Scientific-methodical provision of the experiment
24
25
26
2
Type of the experiment
1
23
3
4 What type of the experiment do you implement?
List of experimental materials for teachers, managers trained
What is the level of provision of the experiment with scientific-methodical material?
Article, report, methodical recom- In what form the summary of the experiment will mendations, program and so forth be described?
Legal status of the experiment, What are individual claims to the status of the its in-school, individual or collec- experimenter? tive conditions: municipal level; federal level
Establishment, search, forming
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1
№ p/p
Very high (4)
Levels
Results of research justify new conceptions essentially, laws in the didactics area; they fundamentally change our ideas concerning the content of education, principles and methods of training, laws of educational process. A whole theory of the content of education, methods, didactics principles are developed and justified. On the basis of conceptual didactics, the methodical proposals are formulated; conclusions are confirmed theoretically and experimentally. New direction in development of applied didactic researches and related subjects is disclosed.
Specification
Theoretical importance Methods of analy- Levels sis n4k4p4, i.e. novVery elty corresponding high (4) level, conceptuality or evidence – 4, prospects are very high and still can have the following formula: nЗk4p4. a) The majority of practical workers of different groups and domains. b) It is important for the solution of general pedagogical problems. c) They can be introduced in the scale of the country. d) Very high. e) All necessary standard materials for teachers and other practical workers are developed.
Specification
Table
Methods of analysis а4в4в4г4д4, the main categories of users and their number; significance values; in- economical and social efficiency; scale and volume of implementation; readiness for implementation.
Practical importance
The card of determination of theoretical and practical importance of the research
194 Scientific pedagogical research methods
2
№ p/p
High (3)
Results of the research develop, nЗk4pЗ; complement, introduce new el- n4kЗpЗ; ements to the content of educa- nЗkЗpЗ tion, methods and the forms of training, laws, principles. The theory of the content of education, methods, didactics principles are developed and justified; conclusions are confirmed. Prospects for applied didactic researches are disclosed.
Theoretical importance High (3) a) The whole group а3в3в3г3д3. of persons of given category without dependence on the duration of work and operating conditions. b) Necessary for the solution of general methodical questions. c)They can be introduced in the scale of the Republic. d) It is higher than existing. e) Standard materials and recomendations for teachers are made
Practical importance
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3
№ p/p
Satisfactory (2)
Results of the research are spec- n2к2p2; ified, as well as separate situan2кЗp2; tions concerning the content of n2к2pЗ education, methods, principles, the forms of training and other issues of the didactics; conclusions are partially confirmed. Separate theoretical situations concerning various part of the content of education, methods of training, principles are put forward. Conclusions are partially confirmed. Prospects for the solution of private questions within the limits of the given didactics area are disclosed.
Theoretical importance Satisfactory (2)
a) Separate groups а2в2в2г2д2. (teachers, trainees, specialists, heads and organisers of national education, etc.). b) Important for the solution of the group of interconnected problems of training, education. c) Areas It may be introduced in the area… d) Somewhat higher than existing. e) Standard materials determining teachers' activity are developed.
Practical importance
196 Scientific pedagogical research methods
4
№ p/p
unsatisfactory (1)
Results of research repeat n1к1p1; known theoretical conceptions, n1к2p1; ideas, hypothesis, approaches n1к1p2. in the area of the content of formation, principles, laws, methods of training without which or their verifications and additions. Scientific conception or separate theoretical situations are not formulated; they are given without any justification and known facts are contradicted. There are no perspectives for further works.
Theoretical importance unsatisfactory (1)
a) Individuals а1в1в1г1д1 (teachers, trainees, specialists) interested in the given problem. b) Important for the decision of private problems within the limits of a narrow area. c) The results can be introduced in one or several schools. d) Close to the existing norms or below them. e) General didactic and methodical proposals are developed.
Practical importance
Researcher’s glossary
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198
Scientific pedagogical research methods Formation of the research culture of the teacher in the conditions of university education
The main goal of the university training, in our opinion, should be not only the formation of professional activities to solve practical pedagogical problems, but also the creation of the foundations and readiness for technological and scientific research. Having determined the final goal of professional and pedagogical preparation, it is necessary to gradually specify the content of learning as an object of assimilation, which must be described at the theoretical, qualitative levels and at the level of the educational material. Higher pedagogical education is quickly responding to changes in the social, economic and cultural situation in the country, changing demands for specific professions. Against the backdrop of this process, at the same time, the basic contradiction of the higher pedagogical education, the fundamental subject preparation and methodological, psychological and pedagogical support of the future teacher is aggravated. Being universal, this contradiction is especially acute in the preparation of pedagogues for innovative schools that solve specific educational problems. We assume that a way out of this contradiction is possible in modern conditions in two variants: –– Concentration of the institution’s efforts on fundamental substantive and psychological-pedagogical training, with the introduction of an additional year of study.���������������������������������������������������������������������������������� In ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������� this way, it would be possible to make a transition from curriculum for training specialists to a curriculum for training in the magistrates, and, finally, to remove the link between the preparation of a specialist and a master. Let us also note that the implementation of such a model in many respects would contribute to the solution of the problem of consolidation of pedagogical staff at schools; –– Transferring the focus from mastering specific techniques and technologies to mastering common methods of analysis, design and implementation of pedagogical activity to developing a research position. Pedagogical institutes and universities should train such teachers who would answer modern requirements for vocational training, constantly updating their knowledge, linking them with life, science. The scientific work of students is guided to perfection of the professional and pedagogical preparation of future teachers. There are two forms of familiarizing students with the scientific work on pedagogy – a research work and training and research work (education and research work of students). The organization of training and research work starts from the first year. The main tasks of it are as follows: – to awaken the student’s interest in the subject, equip him with elementary research skills. It is important that this interest is maintained and developed primarily by a pedagogue. In the second and third years the forms of work are more diverse. The organization of the training and research work in pedagogy continues during the fourth year. Educational and research work on pedagogy, elective course “Methodology and methods of psychological and pedagogical research” contributes to the effective
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involvement of students in pedagogical activities, helps to take pedagogical theory, forms the quality of the researcher and promotes to the formation of a professional pedagogical readiness for the teacher’s work. A similar experience has been accumulated in many higher educational institutions of the Republic. Experimental pedagogical work was carried out in the al-Farabi KazNU by taking into account the accumulated experience of the department of general and ethnic pedagogy (now the department of pedagogy and educational management) in the formation of the professional and research culture of the future pedagogues with the orientation towards the fundamentalization of higher university education. In the al-Farabi Kazak National University the orientation was chosen for the research character, the fundamentalization of the psychological and pedagogical preparation twenty years ago. This kind of direction has required not only a content change in training plans and programs, but also a comprehensive organizational support. In this sense pedagogues are prepared in the educational and scientific pedagogical complex “University – School”, which includes the following structural divisions: –– the department of pedagogy and educational management, which provides a proper pedagogical and psychological education, being the core of all work on the preparation and retraining of pedagogues for general and higher schools; –– basic experimental schools #159, #161, #162, where the experimental plots have been organized and, in accordance with the innovative educational projects, the development and testing of new teaching technologies are being conducted; –– the school of the young teacher; –– schools of young scientists. The department of Pedagogy and Educational Management provides the following processes, which in general constitute basic pedagogical education, training and retraining of pedagogues of comprehensive and higher education: –– mastering of fundamental subject, pedagogical and psychological knowledge; –– mastering of specific techniques and methods of pedagogical work; –– research, design and reflection of their own pedagogical education and their own pedagogical activities; –– self-determination in the diversity of pedagogical paradigms, practices. The basic principles of training are as follows: –– Fundamental subject preparation for the first two years is carried out on subject faculties entirely according to their cirruculum, and further on with their participation; –– Implementation of psychological and pedagogical training from the third year. The guiding idea is the idea of education as development. This means that the future pedagogue should be able to provide innovative processes and prepare to become the initiator and the subject of innovation in education. A necessary component of professional pedagogical education at the university is an original research that serves not only as the process of proper teaching in higher
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education, but also as the design process and the prognostic work in relation to the field of education in general, and to its pedagogical work in part. Important, too, is a wide professionalization, presupposing the complex nature of pedagogical activity, that starts from the diagnosis of the level of the development of the child and proceeds to the didactic analysis of training activities; from the ability to build an interaction with the student before the organization of training and to building research teams. The scientific research work or practical development in the field of general or subject pedagogy or psychology and the methods of teaching subject become the core of self-education for most students of the fourth year and of the master’s degree program. Preparation of the master of pedagogy is an urgent task for the modern education. Experienced pedagogical work was carried out at the department of pedagogy of the al-Farabi KazNU in order to prepare the future teachers of pedagogy for scientific research in 1997-2015: the factors that determine the problem of training the candidates for research methods, the direction of the problem development, the structure of the masters’ readiness for research, the model of the master preparation, the ways and means of establishing the future scientific worker, the content and methods of work on the continuous scientific and research training of the masters, the subjects of special courses on research disciplines. The pedagogue-researcher can no longer satisfy the demands of the current Kazakstan society in the higher educational institutions of the country. Nowadays, an initiative, widely educated teacher-researcher is required. In the preparation of such a specialist, a major role is played by the master in a classical university conditions and those who teach master course students. Many researchers (V.K. Marigodov, A.A. Slobodyanyuk, S.A. Pisareva, L.V. Mardakhayev, and others) pay attention to the formation of a dynamic model of the creative personality. The authors believe that the master must be perfect in economic methods to manage the strategy of modern production, to have a solid base of computer literacy, to know the theory and practice of planning a multifactor experiment and methods of processing the results, and to have the knowledge of system-technical kbowledge in their field in full, to orient themselves in solving complex scientific, technical and engineering problems [601, 20]. A master’s degree is an academic degree of a master’s degree program, master’s diploma certifies a graduate as a highly qualified specialist who possesses the appropriate methodology and scientific apparatus of a chosen science and a system of updating knowledge in the process of professional activity, capable of carrying out scientific research and qualified education at a university. The Master’s Degree in the al-Farabi KazNU is the academic level of higher education for a period of up to 2 years, providing deep theoretical and practical knowledge in the chosen direction of science and pedagogical education. Specialist is prepared for practical, scientific research, methodical, consultative activities in the field of pedagogy, didactics and
Researcher’s glossary
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other issues of education and training in accordance with the specialization received, as well as for the management of specific tasks in the field of specialization. Throughout the years of study at the university there is a continuous and purposeful accumulation of ideas, facts, laws, hypotheses, concepts and many other components of generalized knowledge. Their main sources are the scientific disciplines studied at the university, as well as a huge accompanying scientific information that goes to the secretaries thruogh various external information channels. In order for this effective and powerful informational flow to lead to learning from the system’s learning, special methodological work is required. The research work of the master is one side of this special work. The formation of the readiness for the research work of the masters is one of the pedagogical education tasks at the university. Readiness for R & D is predisposed by the candidates: systemic and strong general pedagogical, methodological, theoretical, didactic and technological knowledge, used as a research work’s foundation; effective incentives that motivate the person to continuous education; developed skills of selfcontrol of knowledge and skills when using various sources in various forms of selfformation; forms of operation of mental activity (analysis, synthesis, generalization, classification, comparison, the identification of the essential, the establishment of cause-effect relationships, the abstraction, etc.); identification of problems and choice of ways to solve them, etc. All these components of readiness for research work are in a dialectical unity, in close interconnection and penetration [602; 603]. The Department of Pedagogy pays a lot of attention to the preparation of the candidates for scientific research work, due to the insufficient level of preparation of the bachelors for scientific knowledge. The model developed by the department of pedagogy for the master’s training includes the profession of the scientific worker (knowledge of methodology, methods, technology of pedagogical research, theoretical thinking, creative direction, ethics of scientific workers, examination of scientific pedagogical knowledge). The pedagogue should have a methodology of scientific and pedagogical research, be able to correctly determine the theme, formulate objects, the goals and the tasks of his work, understand the essence of pedagogical experimentation, and have good control over the technology of the experiment. The main ways and means of establishing and forming the future scientific worker are theoretical training, writing of master’s thesis, preparation of scientific articles, participation in scientific and practical conferences, self-education, research practice, development of programs and projects for obtaining grants for the master’s dissertation [604; 605; 606]. During the pilot pedagogical work, an attempt was made to create a system of continuous scientific and research training of the masters, which begins at the first course and continues throughout the two courses. The content and structure of the whole system determines the following goals: to instill a steady interest in selfeducation, research and experimental work; to give necessary knowledge about the structure, content and methodology of research work; to form the skills and abilities of research work, which are necessary for the pedagogue, to develop flexible methodical
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thinking; to develop a creative scientific approach to the work of the pedagogue, to select the most capable masters and to involve them in the development of scientific didactic problems, the education theory, pedagogical management, and the introduction of scientific results of magistracy research into the practice of work at schools and universities. The department of Pedagogy and Educational management has been conducting the preparation of students and masters according to two specialties: “Pedagogy and Psychology” since 1996, “Social Pedagogy and Self-cognition” since 2011, preparation of doctors for those specialties since 2014. In the doctoral course the basic subject is “Philosophy and methodology of pedagogy” (a textbook on this discipline has been prepared and published), and an elective course “Theories and technologies of socio-pedagogical research” is also provided. Among the elective courses conducted by us, we can name the following: “Methodology and methods of pedagogical research”, “Actual problems of higher education pedagogy “, “Methods of organization and conducting pedagogical experiment”, “Trends and perspectives of the development of pedagogical science”, “Pedagogical innovation as a theory and practice of innovations in the education system”, “Theory and methodology of education in high schools”, “Study, generalization and the use of VPO as a method of pedagogical research “,” Organization and planning of research work “,” Methodology of organization and conducting pedagogical experiment “,” Methodology and methods of didactic research”, a short course of lectures, training aids have been prepared [607]. The organization of the above-mentioned courses takes into account the thesis that in the fundamental science framework – the independent science disciplines that study science as a whole system – as a discipline of the science discipline, pedagogical studies have been singled out. The ideological theoretical and methodological basis there is the general theory of pedagogy. These studies explore and shape: 1) the theory of scientific and pedagogical knowledge (levels: empirical and theoretical, language (conceptual and instrumental apparatus) and the subject of pedagogy, scientific and pedagogical facts, problems, ideas, hypotheses, laws and principles of organization of the pedagogical process, typology, ideals, criteria and norms of the scientific cognition of pedagogical knowledge); 2) the theory of scientific and pedagogical activity and its methodology; elements of the universal (philosophical), scientific, interdisciplinary and disciplinary (proper pedagogical) methodology; 3) the theory of management of pedagogical activity (organizational structures, the mechanisms of self-regulation and reproduction of scientific and pedagogical staff, etc.). And it is not accidental that in many educational institutions of the CIS countries the study of a new discipline “Philosophy and methodology of science”, “History and philosophy of science” has been introduced [608]. When determining the content of the masters training in science disciplines, it was recalled that the science was comprehended by a complex of knowledge and a methodological apparatus that reflected the scientific culture of the modern scientific community, and the fact that it was reproduced in the sphere of education among specialists was not in doubt. University teachers believe that the knowledge of
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the essence of science, the types of scientific knowledge, methods of science, the organization of the scientific community should become a mandatory introduction in specialty for the first-year students, and for the candidates, aspirants – a general theoretical basis for training young scientists. Scientists and teachers, engaged in the development of the theory and practice of the pedagogical process, see in the science an adequate theoretical and methodological instrument of scientific research. Based on these theoretical provisions, the department determined the system of criteria for assessing the professional competence of the pedagogical masters in accordance with the model of their preparation. The solution of this complex problem is possible only on condition that the research institutes are officially included in the educational process of the university, when the prospects of social development, the science and technology development are brightly and persuasively revealed to them. At the same time, the methods of training should be significantly oriented towards active research work, and the forms of the organization of education are aimed at ensuring the individual characteristics of the masters, their interests and abilities. Among the activating methods of masetr’s scientific activities, the developers distinguish: brainstorming, the method of focal objects (garland of associations), the method of synectics, morphological analysis, the method of control questions, the method of ASIP (algorithms for solving inventive problems), “crushing” method (decomposition), “combination” method (composition), the principles of “matryoshka” (one object to be placed inside the other), the method of inversion (approach to the object under study from opposite positions), “harming in favor” method (use harmful factors for obtaining beneficial effects), “empathy” method (“revitalization”, “spiritualization” of the object), “start from the end” method, the principle of adaptation, the principle of conflict situation, etc. In our opinion, there is no need to interpret the widely known methods of activating the work of the masters. Taking into account the importance of the management of the methodology and the methods of pedagogical research, the scientists who teach at the department, like Z.A. Isaeva, N.D. Hmel, A.T. Tabyldiyev, Zh.R. Bashirova, K.Zh. Kozhakhmetova, V.I. Kopylov, A.K. Kusainov, S.N. Laktionova, A.K. Mynbayeva, A.A. Bulatbaeva, A.B. Mukasheva, G.K. Kasen, Z.B. Madalieva and others conduct methodological seminars on the themes “Integration of Pedagogy and Philosophy”, “Pedagogical Innovation as a Theory and Practice of Innovations in the System of Education”, “Development of Ethno-Pedagogy in Kazakstan”, “Trends and Prospects of Social Pedagogy in the CIS Countries”, “Methodology of Modern Pedagogy”, “Pedagogical Quartermeter”, etc. [609; 610; 611; 612]. Theoretical lectures are organically supplemented by masters’ practical assignments. For example, according to a special course “Methodology of the organization and conduct of the pedagogical experiment” it is planned that following tasks will be carried out by the masters: “Determine what kind of pedagogical experiment will be used in your research”, “Formulate the hypothesis and objectives of a pedagogical experiment” on the basis
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of studying the author’s abstracts of dissertational research in order to clarify the way in which the hypothesis and objectives of the research are formulated; “Make a plan for a pedagogical experiment in your research”, “Determine if all the requirements for a pedagogical experiment are implemented by you when developing an experimental plan” for collective discussion during practical meetings. As a result of this special course, the masters develop a program of pedagogical experiment in the frames of their master’s dissertation, the articles about the theoretical concept of the forthcoming experiment, study the real state of the experimental objects. It should be noted that as a result of training the master has the opportunity to work as a teacher of innovation schools, a teacher of the university, scientific researcher of the research institute, a manager and a social worker. There are certain results of involving the candidates in research work: the high-quality preparation of the master’s dissertation (A. Bulatbaeva, V. Sidorov, V. Tuleshova, A. Zhetpisova, G. Ibraeva, etc.), publication of the articles together with the scientific leaders, participation in scientific and practical conferences, obtaining grants for the exchange of experience abroad, etc. Masters – graduates are successfully trained at the faculty, working as university teachers. Prospects for the professional training of research teachers are seen in the mobility and viability of educational plans, the modernization of working programs in accordance with the requirements of the society for the education of a specialist, the study and optimal use (taking into account the specificity of Kazakhstan), foreign experience in training pedagogues and scientific workers, improving the program of scientific research candidates, the orientation of their practical activity on the work at educational and scientific research institutions, scientific and methodical onesorganizations providing training process, a theoreticalmethodological and technological preparation of the future masters of pedagogy. In addition to the high learning effect, the research strategy is important for the development of purposefulness, perseverance, self-reliance, interest in self-formation, initiative and activity, it forms the creative abilities and professional orientation of the pedagogue personality. For the implementation of the above strategy, the training models of the pedagogue and the corresponding training plans have been developed and tested: 1) the normative preparation that all university students, who are specializing in philology, history, chemistry, biology, geography, mathematics, physics, etc. must complete; 2) pedagogical specialization. The curriculum includes courses in pedagogy, didactics, general and social psychology, theory and methods of teaching the subject, two pedagogical courses of choice and one pedagogical practice for 11 weeks. At the end of the university, all students take a qualification exam on pedagogy, psychology, theory and methods of teaching the subject, on the basis of which they are assigned the “teacher” qualification. At the end of the fourth year all students choose the direction of specialization. The Kazak National University named after al-Farabi developed three directions of pedagogical specialization: a pedagogue – researcher, a social pedagogue, a head of educational institutions.
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Specialization “pedagogue-researcher” presupposes mandatory and elective courses of specialization. Mandatory courses include the history and philosophy of education, the methodology and methodology of pedagogical research, the history of the method of teaching the subject, the psychology of development, the psychology of teaching the subject, the theory and methodology of educational work. As a result, students take credits, pass exams and write scientific references. Elective courses begin in the sixth term and continue in the seventh, eighth and ninth at the rate of four hours a week. To this end, the Department of Pedagogy has developed a course of studies, special courses and diploma theses. The departments have prepared a “fan” of special courses so that students can make a choice based on their scientific interests and tendencies. All students who have chosen the specialization of a “pedagogueresearcher” do their degree work on pedagogy or theory and methods of teaching subjects. In addition, students do pedagogical practical training, the main objective of which is to conduct an experimental work on the subject of the thesis. The educational plan “Pedagogue-researcher” is distinguished favorably in terms of the volume of educational assignments, such as in the selection of educational disciplines from the curriculum of pedagogical universities, and can fully ensure the readiness of students who have chosen this specialization for research, technological and practical activity of the teacher of any educational institution. No less important problem is the programmatic and methodological support of specialization courses, the preparation and publication of work programs, study guides for special courses, methodological recommendations for the implementation of various types of research assignments [613]. The process of the basic preparation of the future teacher and training of the working teacher for mastering his research culture can be traced by the example of the activity of the Department of Pedagogy of the Abay AGU (see. 2.3). The longterm cooperation of members of the department of pedagogy and teachers’ collectives shows the real ways of forming the basic experience, the pedagogical experience, the innovative experience, the scientific experience of teachers, based on the introduction of the theory of a holistic pedagogical process in the system of teacher training based on school practice and the system of training the scientific workers from the number of the best teachers of the Republic. The Department of Pedagogy organized the study of the scientific recommendations for the improvement of teaching and educational process by teachers, the experience of the implementation of the pedagogical process management through the scientific educational methodical complex (SEMC), where the representatives of the university and school cooperate. The results of the cooperation convincingly prove the reliability of the searches, they reveal precisely those features of the holistic, pedagogical process that must be known to the teacher, the administration of the school, in order to influence directly the result of the interaction of the pedagogues and students. The specifics of the teacher’s work restructuring, taking into account the theory of a holistic pedagogical process, can be clearly seen in practical recommendations to
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the directors and the authorities on the application of the conclusions and proposals for the theoretical development of the pedagogical process management principles in the general education school, of the plans for the scientific practical seminar, specific materials for studying the state of the main characteristics of the pedagogical process of the school [614]. The scientific and methodical complex also directed the activity of the School of a Beginning Researcher [615]. In all schools, which cooperate with the department of pedagogy, different variants of such cooperation were developed. Variants were determined by the department in view of the conditions of the specific school, the needs of the pedagogical staff, but the SEMC was guided by one idea – the completeness of the features of the holistic pedagogical process in the practical activity of teachers and school principals. Work began in 1976 at secondary schools # 29, #2 – in the form of a scientific practical seminar, in 1987 – at secondary school #36, in 1989 – at secondary school #125, in 1990 – at railway school #45, in 1993 – at grammar school #27 in the frames of the scientific and educational-methodical complex. To the results of such cooperation (in the frames of SEMC), the science school N.D. Hmel refers: the reorientation of teachers to a joint, scientific justification of the object of their activity – the pedagogical process in the classroom, the school; armament with the methods of scientific and pedagogical research of the educational and educational process of the class, its course, results, the formation of the children’s collective; introduction of methods for enhancing the culture of professional and pedagogical relations; training in the technique of self-taught teacher’s work, etc [616, 17]. 6) The general experience of the work of the pedagogical department with the pedagogical colleges of general education schools for almost twenty years allows concluding that the introduction of knowledge of the holistic pedagogical process into the practice of school positively manifests itself in the improvement of the educational and training process of the classroom and school. This conclusion is confirmed by the results of numerous studies of members of the pedagogical department, teachers and school administrators. A concrete example of the realization of the scientific school is N.D. Hmel’s opinion that the theory of a holistic pedagogical process is an object of the teacher’s professional activity in the experience of school #125 in Almaty. The pedagogical staff of this school was working on the problem “Intensification of the educational and educational process on the basis of diagnostic studies”. The school encounteres the tasks that are set taking into account the perfection of the leading characteristics of a holistic pedagogical process: 1) a systematic diagnostics of the school educational process state; 2) an increase in the level of self-employment in the pedagogue; 3) study of the formation of the children’s collective; 4) the use of elements of collective cognitive activity; 5) study of the students family portrait and the provision of psychological and pedagogical assistance to parents; 6) the introduction of the methodology of business relations between the teachers involved in the pedagogical process.
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The school pedagogical staff decided that one of the important factors in the intensification of the educational process is the development of general educational skills. For an in-depth study of the holistic pedagogical process foundations and the introduction of them into practice, each teacher, according to the proposed program, selected the most interesting topic and worked on it. At the same time, individual teachers and small creative groups diagnosed the status of educational activities of students in their classes. The analysis of the experience of secondary school #125 in Almaty shows the movement of a practicing teacher- from the stage of professional growth to the level of the teacher-researcher. So, on the basis of this school’s experience, it is possible to trace the process of the “teacher engaged in pedagogical work” formation, “a teacher studying his activity”, “a teacher studying the activities of students”, “a creatively working teacher”, “a teacher-innovator”, “a teacherresearcher” formation. The pedagogical staff, working on a methodical problem, acted as the initiator of the increase in the effectiveness of the educational process, theoretical preparedness for teachers’ comprehension of the structural components of the pedagogical process, leading indicators of the educational process and forecasting its perfection, the creative skills of colleagues, scientific and practical recommendations for improving the self-sustaining work of schoolchildren. Experience in the implementation of the systematic approach to managing the teaching and learning process was reflected in the Candidate’s dissertation of G.B. Omgarova on the topic “Formation the preparedness of the pedagogical collective of the school for scientific research work”. The way of intellectual growth of the pedagogue has been passed; from the creatively working teacher to the creatively working pedagogical staff, from the teacher-practician to the teacher-researcher. The results of the experimental pedagogical work allowed us to take into account the peculiarities of the formation of the need in knowledge in the students and masters, a stable orientation at the need for a lifelong learning experience, regardless of what future activities they will be engaged in, as well as to determine the content of the readiness of future pedagogues for R & D: their deep and strong scientific, theoretical and professional knowledge, used in the high-quality research work; effective motives that encourage the person to continue his education; formed operations of mental activity; the skills of self-determination of cognitive activity. All these components of readiness for scientific and research work are in a dialectical unity, in close interconnection, in the mutual penetration [617].
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CONTENT PREFACE........................................................................................................3 CHAPTER 1. THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL BASIS OF PEDAGOGICAL RESEARCH..................................................5 1.1 Methodology of pedagogy in the context of relevance of the researcher’s subjectivity: essence, levels, functions...............................5 1.2 Pedagogical facts, regularities, principles, ...............................................17 theories as forms of scientific knowledge.......................................................17 1.3 Methodological bases and approaches .....................................................25 as a basis for pedagogical research.................................................................25 1.4 History and trends in the development ....................................................39 of the methodology of pedagogy....................................................................39 CHAPTER 2. THE LOGIC AND THE STRUCTURE OF A PEDAGOGICAL STUDY..................................................................54 2.1. Defining the problem of pedagogical research........................................54 2.2. Algorithm of the choice of a subject .......................................................63 of a pedagogical research................................................................................63 2.3. Object and subject of a pedagogical research..........................................68 2.4. The purpose and objectives .....................................................................74 of pedagogical research...................................................................................74 2.5. Hypothesis and the leading .....................................................................82 idea of pedagogical research...........................................................................82 2.6. Criteria for the quality of pedagogical research.......................................98 CHAPTER 3. METHODS AND RESEARCH EXPERIENCE IN THE FIELD OF PEDAGOGY............................................................. 119 RESEARCHER’S GLOSSARY.................................................................181 REFERENCE..............................................................................................208
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SCIENTIFIC PEDAGOGICAL RESEARCH METHODS Textbook
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