One of the top issues for school leavers in Russia is the choice of a future profession and educational institution. According to some researchers (S.S. Kravtsov, A.N. Leibovich et al), the most available form of vocational guidance is a specialist schools program, aimed at differentiation and individualization of education. Continuity of education is important at all its stages and levels. Putting an integrated model of a multidisciplinary school based on network learning, into educational practice could help achieve this objective. Schools with technical specialism could follow the example of the «specialist school - technical college» system, used by the Association of the Izhevsk University Complex and the Izhevsk State Technical University (ISTU). The main advantage of this system, compared with normal schools in the network, is an organic link between general education schools and institutions of primary, middle, higher professional and additional education. The principles of the system are:
- Social orientation (taking into account social needs and development of scientific ideology);
- Linking theory to practice (choosing future profession with due regard for the current demand for labor);
- upbringing character of education (career counseling in order to develop a balanced personality, uniting civil, labor, moral, aesthetic and physical education);
- polytechnical character (career counseling in cooperation with polytechnical education, acquaintance of students with the basics of modern production);
- accessibility and informed choice (school students can familiarize themselves with a wide range of professions, learn the psycho-physiological requirements of different professions, study options, chances for professional growth and etc., in order to make a conscious choice of the profession);
- systematic character and continuity (introduction of vocational guidance at school, starting from the 1st grade, under condition of continuity of this work throughout the school years);
- multidimensionality (complexity) (career counseling is aimed at preparing a student for a good choice of a profession: in civil, social and economical, psychological and educational, medical and physiological, and professional aspects);
- taking into account age and individual characteristics (gradual professional self-determination of schoolchildren, according to their age and personal traits: professional interests, inclinations and abilities);
- cooperation of school, family, employers and public organizations (all involved sides have a common approach to vocational guidance);
- self-determination (final choice of a profession is made by a schoolchild taking into account advice of school, family, employers and public organizations).
In order to provide an effective management of the «specialist school - technical college» system, an integrated monitoring system for education quality control was developed. It was designed basing on methods of qualimetrics and educational cybernetics. Such a complex approach let standardize and schematize the monitoring procedures and provided objective, qualitatively and quantitatively comparable information about the level of students knowledge.
The suggested qualimetrics technology of a complex monitoring includes four steps: marketing, organization, project and experiment.
The first monitoring step was to conduct a marketing research, in order to estimate real and perspective job opportunities for the graduates of the ISTU, by the example of specialization «Technological education». The aim of the second stage was to set goals and tasks for children education in specialized classes, as well as for the bachelor and master students at the technical college. The third stage related to developing subject thesaurus and creating databases of educational control material and experts, invited for their development and validation. At the experimental stage, an algorithm of the education quality monitoring was developed.
Monitoring of education quality in the framework of the «specialist school-technical college» system, let determine students´ individual ratings. For students at the pre-higher education department, it was later used for assessment and admission to university. Results of the monitoring research were obtained, processed and analyzed in the following aspects: meaning of career counseling; advanced knowledge in specialism before entering the technical college; education quality at the ISTU; influence of the students´ participation in scientific methodical and scientific practical conferences, on the educational success; importance of practical training for professional development, and other aspects, mentioned in the article. Created information databanks were used for both external and internal evaluation of the technical college.
The monitoring research, conducted at the engineer-pedagogical faculty of the ISTU, has revealed, that it is necessary to intensify the fundamental part of students´ education. For this purpose, new courses have been developed and introduced into the bachelor study program, in framework of the following educational aspects: world outlook development, continuing physics-mathematical and technical training, organization and management education, qualitology and reflexive methodological training. The courses are: «Principal physics in modern technologies», «Modern technical devices and their operation» and «Education quality management».
To sum up, the qualimetric monitoring should be regarded as an integral management part for all integrated educational systems, including the «specialist school - technical college» system.
The work is submitted to Scientific Conference "The Problems of International Integration of Educational Standards", England (London) - France (Paris), April 20-28, 2009. Came to the Editor´s Office on 09.02.2009.