Student´s cognitive self-dependence is an attribute of his or her intellectual faculties for learning ensuring in the future an active desire to acquire knowledge and apply it in action.
Analyzing the present research in the field, one can conclude that many aspects of forming students´ cognitive self-dependence in higher education haven´t been properly developed yet. In particular, distinctive features of forming students´ cognitive self-dependence in the integrated system "higher educational institution - enterprise" haven´t been displayed.
While keeping a certain amount of knowledge and skills to be acquired by the students, curricula of technological higher educational institutions do not focus enough attention to students´ independent work. Such facts as the number of students capable of acquiring a given amount of knowledge at the expense of previous training, how much time is required to learn presented teaching material are not taken proper account of. It is also essential to consider that in the present economic conditions the opportunities of learning at Universities of big cities have become lower, and establishing branches of higher educational institutions in small towns, which is, on the one hand, a positive factor because the principle of accessibility of higher education for all is applied, on the other hand, brings to increasing the number of students from rural areas, whose level of cognitive self-dependence is rather low.
In training future specialists at technological higher educational institutions the issue of the day is the lack of the students´ ability to use the potential of basic knowledge base for problem solving. Acquiring a certain amount of scientific data on the reproductive level still remains the aim of studying a field. In the meantime the purport of learning a discipline is to make a student in the first place grasp the material and in the second place make him or her familiar with the process of acquiring the learning material and methods of operating the received knowledge.
The problem of transition from acquiring a ready knowledge to acquiring knowledge useful for the students´ future professional activity based on the students´ cognitive self-dependence remains important.
The theory of developing teaching justly referred to by A.P.Aristova, P.I.Pidkasisty, N.A.Polovnikova as reproductive and creative theory of training cognitive self-dependence, is the theoretical basis of forming students´ cognitive self-dependence. According to this theory, orientation of the teaching process toward potential abilities of the students and realization make them master new skills, acquire new knowledge, create new schemes of problem solving, new ways of activity. The main tasks of an educational specialist in this process is to organize educational activity aimed at formation of cognitive self-dependence, formation and development of students´ faculties, their world outlook. It is important to establish connection between professional activities of an educational specialist and cognitive activities of a student aimed at attaining the set goals. Acquiring knowledge, formation of faculties and skills, development of creative capacities of students are interrelated processes, but their unity and development are achieved by means of purposeful efforts of an educational specialist. Consequently, cognitive activities can be both productive and creative. Formation of this faculty of students can take place both during conveying knowledge and students´ independents research.
Students´ self-dependence shows itself in different ways. There is still no unanimous understanding of the essence of students´ cognitive self-dependence. For example, in researches by G.N.Kulagina, students´ self-dependence is of intellectual nature, it determines only procedural form of their activity and doesn´t reflect volitional and motivational factors. "Students´ cognitive self-dependence is, first of all, independent thinking, displaying itself in the ability to understand a problem, a task, and in finding its solution, in the ability to make conclusions out of received knowledge, to pick out what is the most essential and crucial" [1].
Speaking about the formation of students´ cognitive self-dependence within the system of "higher educational institution - enterprise" it is necessary to consider different approaches to way of practical solution of the problem. It is important to form students´ cognitive self-dependence on the basis of the theories by B.G.Ananyev´s, Yu.M.Kulutkin, E.I.Stepanova, G.S.Sukhobskaya and others, according to which people combining studies with industrial activity (as in case of the integrated system "higher educational institution - enterprise") extend their attitude to practical activity to their studies. It displays itself in the fact that students begin to consider the process of studying as a self-educational one, the one they involve themselves in with moral certainty. They become discerning and capable of self-control and self-regulation in this kind of activity. Knowledge is considered by them as a means necessary to solve different kinds of problems arising in their lives.
The article is admitted to the International Scientific Conference " New educational technologies and principles of the educational process organization "; Rome, Florence-Venice, 2007, March 10-17;. came to the editorial office on 19.01.07