Trends in the development of higher education in modern conditions

Trends in the development of higher education in modern conditions are considered. It is noted that globalization in education leads to an increase in academic mobility, the unification of curricula and teaching methods, the wide dissemination of distance education. Under current conditions, the main task of education in the 21st century is the use of new information technologies in the dissemination of knowledge, including the use of remote sensing methods.

One of the characteristic features of the modern period of the development of civilization is that the scale of changes occurring in all spheres of the life of society is significant, and their consequences are radical.

Globalization in education leads to an increase in academic mobility, the unification of curricula and teaching methods, and the wide dissemination of distance education. Under current conditions, an understanding emerged of the need to use new forms in education. In 1971, at a conference of ministers of European countries, there were five main directions for the development of education:

• mutual recognition of diplomas;
• the formation of a European university;
• cooperation of secondary and higher education;
• the creation of a European center for educational development;
• the establishment of an institution of higher education that is not limited by state borders.

In 1976, a program of action was presented. In 1992, the Maastricht Treaty was signed, aimed at the formation of a single European education. In June 1999, the Bologna Declaration appeared, which became a turning point in the development of higher education in Europe towards integration.

Formation by 2010 of the European educational space is subject to the following tasks:

• increase the ability of graduates to find employment;
• increase citizens mobility;
• increase the competitiveness of education.

In September 2001, the Paris International Conference on Education was held. Its participants (represented by 127 countries of the world) drew attention to reforms designed to improve the quality of education in the context of globalization, cultural diversity, the achievements of scientific and technological progress, and the search for new learning approaches on the principle of “learning to live together”.

Globalization processes occurring in the modern world become a catalyst for the transformation of the traditional education system. The activity of most educational institutions is transformed with the development of information technology. The formation of a unified educational space and the global market for educational services is taking place, which, according to forecasts, by 2005 will amount to 90 billion dollars.

Thus, the main task of education in the 21st century is the use of new information technologies in the dissemination of knowledge. These technologies make it possible to delocalize the system of dissemination of knowledge using the technology of distance education, thanks to which quality education becomes available to every inhabitant of the Earth, regardless of where they live. Such education is the most democratic, it can be adapted to the level of knowledge and needs of the individual learner. In this regard, many countries are turning to the idea of ​​continuous distance learning, in which basic education is considered only as preparation for a professional career that a person makes all his life. In the conditions of intensification of scientific knowledge, which forms the basis of the global economy, lifelong learning should become a priority.

Globalization in the field of education involves the integration and coordination of national educational systems. Therefore, the problem of strategic orientation and integration of national education systems is of particular importance. National education should strive to preserve the best traditions and standards of classical education. At the same time, it is necessary to introduce innovations into domestic education. Reforming the educational system should be focused on developing a model that takes into account both domestic experience and the best achievements of world educational practice.

The 21st century is the epoch of the information society, the epoch of technological culture. The formation of a global information society brings to the fore the problem of the spread of knowledge. Distance education brings knowledge closer to the consumer, allows you to offer educational services to everyone, regardless of geographic, state, temporary or other factors. The strategic goal of distance education is to ensure citizens the right to receive education at any level at the place of their residence or professional activity. This goal is achieved in line with the global trend of mobile knowledge dissemination through the exchange of educational resources.

According to foreign experts in the XXI century, for every working higher education will be the minimum level of education. In the world there is an internationalization of education not only in content, but also in teaching methods and organizational forms. Education is becoming a tool for the interpenetration of not only knowledge and technology, but also capital, a tool to fight for the market, and solutions to geopolitical tasks. At the same time, remote technologies, possessing a high degree of coverage and long-range actions, play the main role. For example, in the United States, about 1 million people are currently studying distance learning programs. Training courses transmitted through four educational channels are available throughout the country, and via satellite to other countries of the world. E-learning programs are being developed in more than 30 countries. In Europe, the example of the National University of Distance Education in Spain, which celebrates its 20th anniversary, is illustrative. The university includes 58 training centers in the country and 9 abroad (Bonn, Brussels, London, Geneva, Paris, etc.)

Recently, distance learning is beginning to be widely implemented in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and other CIS countries. A positive example in the field of application of the latest information and telecommunication technologies in education is the Modern Humanitarian Academy (more than 200 training centers in Russia, training centers in the CIS countries - Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, more than 145 thousand students).

Distance learning contributes to the integration of various structures and the development of a system of continuous education distributed throughout the country, continuing education and retraining of the population. Unlike traditional forms of education, distance learning allows you to:

• build an individual training schedule
• provide and satisfy the needs for educational services in the mode that is most convenient and comfortable.

Distinctive features of the educational process are flexibility, adaptability, modularity, economic efficiency, customer orientation, and reliance on advanced communication and information technologies.

It is believed that education based on information technology is the third global revolution in the development of mankind: the first is associated with the appearance of writing, the second with the invention of printing [1].

New information technologies in education have significant advantages:

1. These technologies contribute to eliminating the lag of the peripheral regions of the states from the capital and other university centers in the context of free access to education, information and cultural achievements of human civilization.

2. They create conditions for the development of the world educational space, the export and import of education, the unification of the world’s intellectual, creative, informational and scientific-pedagogical potentials.

3. Educational innovations successfully influence the resolution of a complex of social and economic problems, primarily, the eradication of unemployment, crime, etc.

4. Modern telecommunications allow developing effective teaching technologies that improve the quality and accessibility of education.

For the further development of information educational technologies it is necessary to solve the following strategic problems:

• systematization , that is, there must be a single strategic policy in the field of the educational process;
• Complexity (sharing of psychological, pedagogical, educational, methodical and organizational support of information educational technologies);
• communications (it is necessary to raise the level of telecommunication technologies while providing them with the necessary financing);
• standardization (existing information educational systems are qualitatively different from each other in models, technologies, forms of organization);
• regulatory support.

Solving the above problems will lead to a dramatic improvement in the quality of education.