EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS OF GEOGRAPHY TEACHER’S TRAINING: CONTENT, STRUCTURE, IMPLEMENTATION OF UNIVERSITY AUTONOMY

Abstract

As of 2022, in Ukraine, almost 1600 applicants are studying at 35 educational programs of specialty 014 Secondary Education, subject specialization 014.07 Geography. In 16 training programs, a combination of geography teacher training with additional specializations (local history, biology, English, history, economics, physical education and natural science) was implemented. The analysis of the practices of forming the content and structure of the educational programs for the training of geography teachers showed that in the absence of a higher education standard for the specialty 014 Secondary Education, general and professional competencies, as well as program learning outcomes generally reflect the requirements for professional knowledge, skills and abilities of future specialists, as defined by the professional standard of the teacher and the national qualifications framework. Most of the general competencies are common to all the analyzed SPs, however, in some SPs, the list of competencies includes those that reveal the uniqueness of educational programs in terms of their professional affiliation. Professional (subject) competencies and program learning outcomes, despite their significant quantitative differences, have common features and generally implement proportionally 3 areas of geography teacher training: pedagogical, subject geographic and methodological training. The total volume of all geography teacher training programs is 240 ECTS credits, including the volume of the elective part – almost at the level of the minimum defined by the legislation of 25%, but the amount of credits allocated for practical training in different programs varies significantly – from 5% to 16%. Taking into account the importance of geography in the context of its outstanding role in the formation of national consciousness, identity, understanding of the origins of Ukraine's independence and its place in the European and world space, as well as the needs of post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, it is necessary to unify the content of geography teacher training by approving the standard of higher education in the specialty 014 Secondary Education with clearly defined competencies of professional pedagogical and subject direction.