The quickly changing social reality has called into being new objectives, content, methods and technologies of education. It resulted in other requirements for the educator. Nowadays the educator has to perform functions not only of a teacher, instructor, advisor, tutor, but also an investigator, who discovers new principles and modes of training and upbringing, combines traditions with innovations, strict algorithms and rules with creative research, uses new information and communication technologies in his activity.
Only he, who will acquire the scientific cognition methodology, will be ready for scientific-pedagogical research and will be able to use the obtained result in his practical activity, can achieve this work and conform to modern requirements. In present-day education there appeared a demand for purposeful research activity of the pedagogue.
The necessity of investigative position formation in the teacher able to realize his research activity orients the system of continuous professional education to new forms of scientific-methods work with teachers.
In January 2007, under our scientific supervision, an authors´ scientific school of pedagogues "ACME", the objective of which is to assist the professional-personal enhancement of teachers and their mastering of scientific cognition methodology was opened. The school united the pedagogues engaged in initiative scientific research. The integration of educational processes with innovative and research work has become an activity norm of the pedagogic workers having joined the scientific school and developing new educational areas and new technologies.
The authors´ scientific school opening within the advanced training system is conditioned by the following purposes:
- the promotion of scientific-pedagogical and scientific-research activity of various educational institutions pedagogues;
- the performance of research activities on professional, pedagogical and managerial activity actual problems;
- the introduction of scientific findings and developments into pedagogical practice;
In this case we use the approach to the consideration of the scientific school as an objectively conditioned organization form of the scientific activity of a group of pedagogues-investigators. The scientific school of pedagogues "ACME" - is a study personnel, within the framework of which the scientific communication culture becoming takes place, the norms of professional and social behavior of an academic community are accustomed.
The main function of the school in science (as any school) - is an educational one and oriented to the reproduction of scientific personnel through teaching pedagogues scientific work foundations, expansion of their scientific outlook. Together with that, performing the educational function, the authors´ scientific school of pedagogues "ACME" is oriented to a joint research activity on the leader´s program and under his supervision.
In the scientific school of pedagogues "ACME" the work is performed on the unitary scientific and research program. The theme - is "Acmeology of Education". The research control function is performed by the research manager.
Why is the scientific school of pedagogues called "ACME", and the research program is denoted as "Acmeology of Education"?
The pendency and complexity of many problems of theory and practice of education at the turn of XXI century under new conditions of socio-economical and informative-culturological development of the society are known to have become the appearance cause of a variety of integrative sciences about education. It is natural, because education as a social sphere of human life activity mustn´t be considered as a pedagogical reality only and lead educational problems only to pedagogical aspects. The system of education has various associations with science and society and the education itself is the sphere of scientific knowledge system functioning. Every educational problem represents a complex interdisciplinary problem demanding the integration of knowledge for its analysis and solving. Educational problems are becoming the core of new scientific disciplines; the "dual subordination" academic fields design principles.
One of such academic fields the acmeology of education has become. It is a psycho-pedagogical science, which integrates the knowledge about human development in educational milieu, about tops reaching in human life activity and development in conditions of educational activities in various types and kinds of educational systems. It is the acmeological approach that puts forward an integral human development as the purpose of education and considers individuality as the top value.
For the purpose of objective and thorough investigation and development of education it is necessary to use the integrated methodology, within the structure of which the acmeological approach occupies a worthy place as a new methodology of education. The acmeological approach forms a high achievement motivation, need for success, high results, human inner life revival, his intellectual development and spiritual maturity. In connection with this, the social role of the pedagogue´s post-graduate education system, its strategic ideological function grew significantly. The teacher´s consciousness reorganization, the disclosure of his individuality formation and self-development mechanisms at the post-graduate stage appear especially important in the aspect of solving new educational tasks.
In accordance with this, the participants of the scientific school "ACME" work out nowadays such significant problems for education as the professional-personal enhancement of the pedagogue in conditions of innovative activity of an educational institution, the arrangement of conditions for creative activities of teachers, the provision of effective interaction of teachers and learners by means of the acmeological approach implementation, the formation and development of an acmeological position of the educational process subjects, the creation of acmeological space of the lesson.
Let us name the principal positions defining the essence and main activity characteristics of the scientific school of pedagogues "ACME" (SSP):
- the purpose of the SSP educational activity is not the transfer of knowledge and skills as it is, but teaching scientific creativity;
- the systematic nature and training content mastering consistency is defined by the logic of research and evaluation on the higher priority subject;
- the educational process in the scientific school isn´t restricted by time frames, they are individual for every SSP participant;
- the educational process in the SSP "is deepened" in the process of the scientific and research activity itself on the priority subject;
- the SSP participants are offered a free hand at the research subject choice within the framework of the school scientific and research program;
- the training individualization is combined with the research and evaluation collective character;
- the educational interaction result is the becoming of the teacher as a scientist and obtaining objectively new scientific knowledge.
The formation of professionally personal readiness of the teacher for independent scientific and research and scientific educational work is performed by means of the following functions realization by the scientific school:
- Information-training: constant field extension and deepening of knowledge in the area of cognition theory and methodology occur; teachers get current information in panel sessions, lectures and seminars.
- Consultative: in the process of professional experience and self-educational activity apprehension teachers can take opinion of the research manager immediately, if there is a need.
- Organization-communicative: an ongoing psycho-pedagogical seminar, which satisfies the need of teachers in professional communication, research and evaluation experience interchange, provides the acquaintance with current achievements in its academic field and fringe areas of the scientific knowledge, is created.
- Motivation inspiring: the activation of self-education, self-improvement, self-actualization in the professional and scientific-pedagogical activity, personal development, and also the teacher´s research methods mastering conation activation.
- Axiological-organizational (conceptual-ideological): the actualization of professionalism and creativity value; conceptual framework apprehension of professional (pedagogical) and scientific and research activity, perspectives of professionally personal development.
- Developing: various forms and methods of scientific and educational interaction of pedagogues at the post-graduate stage, self-educational activity are oriented to the development of all sides of the teacher´s personality - the need-motivation sphere, value system, conceptual thinking, operational-technological components of the pedagogical activity, ability and readiness for scientific activity, etc.
- General-cultural: widening of the teacher´s general-cultural horizon, the promotion of their human culture and ability to creative self-actualization.
The education at the scientific school of pedagogues should result in the formation (becoming) of an independent scientist, the definition of his own professional position in the scientific and research activity, the defence of doctoral dissertations in pedagogy and psychology.
The work is submitted to the Scientific International Conference "Higher School Scientific Research in Priority Orientations of Science and Technology", June, 16-23, 2008. Came to the Editor´s Office on 28.01.2008.