Professional training of agrarian sector specialists in the UK

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Professional training of agrarian sector specialists in the UK

Nataliya Tymoshchuk

Ph.D. (Philology)

Associate Professor of the Ukrainian and

Foreign Languages Department

Vinnytsya National Agrarian University

Annotation

The article considers some aspects of higher agrarian education in Great Britain. The UK's higher education system is one of the most complex all over the world. The United Kingdom uses a unitary education system to train specialists of the agrarian sector. The peculiarity of the professional training system in the UK is that curricula and training programs meet the needs of the economy. The close cooperation of entrepreneurs and agricultural education institutions; wide international relations between the institutions of agrarian education; e-learning development; decentralization; flexibility; market orientation and entrepreneurship; professional training of specialists in the agrarian sector through programs of vocational and higher education are the basic characteristics ofprofessional training of agricultural specialists in the United Kingdom.

In addition, UK higher education qualifications are professionally oriented and academic, standardized according to the National Qualifications Framework and the Framework for Higher Educational Qualification. The educational programs of higher agrarian institutions are rather flexible; it increases the quality training of specialists in the agricultural sector. The advantage of British higher agricultural education is its extraordinary flexibility in terms of methods, forms and learning styles. Curriculums provide students with a basic agricultural knowledge. Practical trainings allows students to gain experience at agricultural or industrial enterprise in the agrarian sector. The system of professional training of agrarian specialists allows British universities to develop their own postgraduate training programs. Compliance with the uniform university standards is ensured by the practice of inviting independent examiners. The distance learning plays a significant role in the training of agrarian specialists.

Keywords: higher agrarian education in the UK; professional training; agrarian sector; curriculum; distance training.

Професійна підготовка фахівців аграрної галузі у Великобританії

Наталія Тимощук, кандидат філологічних наук, доцент кафедри української та іноземних мов Вінницького національного аграрного університету

higher education professional training

Анотація

У статті розглянуто окремі аспекти вищої аграрної освіти Великої Британії, безперечною перевагою якої є її надзвичайна гнучкість щодо способів, форм, методів і темпів навчання. Автором детерміновано превалюючі тенденції професійної підготовки фахівців аграрної сфери Великої Британії, якій властивий тісний зв 'язок підприємців із закладами аграрної освіти; міжнародне співробітництво; швидкий розвиток дистанційного навчання; децентралізація та гнучкість; використання програмам професійно-технічної і вищої освіти для здійснення професійної підготовки фахівців аграрної галузі, переважання державного сектору освіти над приватним.

Ключові слова: вища аграрна освіта Великої Британії; професійна підготовка; аграрна галузь; навчальний план; дистанційне навчання.

Statement of the problem. One of the most urgent requirements to the modern Ukrainian education is its world educational standard requirements conformance. That's why a great attention is paid to the reforms of higher educational institutions, in particular agrarian ones. We should use the results of comparative-pedagogical researches on specialists-agrarians training in foreign countries to solve this problem. In our opinion system of training of agricultural specialists in higher educational institutions of Great Britain should be taken into consideration. The British experience can help us to determine its pros and cons, and use its productive ideas at our educational establishments.

Analysis of recent researches and publications. Issues of professional training at higher educational establishments are researched by A. Aleksiuk, S. Honcharenko, R. Hurevich, P. Sikorskyi, et al. The integration and modernization problems of higher education are considered in the works of S. Bazhenova, I. Ziaziun, O. Kamenska, K. Levkivskyi, N. Nychkalo, S. Sysoieva, et al. The modern system of higher technical education of the United Kingdom has been researched by Nataliia Bidiuk. Oleksander Kanivets has studied the peculiarities of multilevel specialists training in the UK. This article aims to analyse some aspects of the organization of higher education in the UK.

The main part of the research. The UK's higher education system is one of the most unique and complex of all that exists not only in Europe but also throughout the world. A comprehensive system of qualifications and training programs demonstrates transparency and facilitates mobility of staff and students. The level of autonomy of higher education institutions in Great Britain is the highest compared to similar institutions in other countries. More than 150 higher education institutions and the number of students in individual universities and colleges ranges from 500 to more than 150,000 [6, 70].

According to the administrative division and the existing traditions the system of education in the UK is divided into three subsystems, i.e. England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland [9]. The educational systems of England, Wales and Northern Ireland differ slightly in their structure. However, the Scottish system of education has its own traditional features.

It should be mentioned that the United Kingdom uses a unitary education system to train specialists of the agrarian sector [9]. According to Nataliia Bidiuk, vocational training in the UK has two directions: academic (university) and professional (non-university educational institutions) and trains specialists on a graduated basis [1, 11-12]. In her opinion, the peculiarity of the professional training system in the UK is that curricula and training programs meet the needs of the economy [2, 13].

Considering the professional training of specialists in the UK Oleksandr Kanivets has defined its main peculiarities, i.e. decentralization and flexibility, and market orientation; most UK educational institutions train both by vocational and higher education programs; the UK higher education qualifications can be both professionally oriented and academic, standardized according to the National Qualifications Framework and the Framework for Higher Educational Qualifications; the public education sector domination [5].

The bachelor's, master's, and doctor's degrees are most commonly used both in the UK and other Western European countries [4]. Therefore, professional training of the agrarian sector specialists should be considered in the context of traditions of the higher education organization.

In the UK there are more than 450 state and 50 private educational institutions that offer a large number of specialties for science and technology, including agriculture. They are colleges of further education, institutes, technical colleges, sixth form colleges, colleges of technology, etc. [3]. British schools, sixth form colleges, colleges of further education, tertiary colleges both teach sixth-grade educational subjects and have vocational courses.

Colleges of further education are often quite prestigious educational institutions, students from all over the world master the professional skills there [9]. Local entrepreneurs pay great attention to the college curricular and students training in order to choose future employees. The interaction between educational institutions, industry and commerce is encouraged by the government.

These colleges vary in terms and length of training, form of ownership (private or public), quality of training, etc. There are specialized agricultural colleges among them. Other colleges train a wide range of specialties and professions. Over the past two decades, most of the specialized colleges have been united with colleges of general education and are now multidisciplinary institutions (only 34 agricultural are specialized ones in the UK now).

The vast majority of colleges have educational programs in five or six fields of vocational training. Nowadays the British colleges of further education are playing a very important role in the training of specialists of the agrarian sector because they provide employment of a significant number of young people, adults, immigrants, people with disabilities, and convicts.

Berkshire College of Agriculture, Bicton College, Harper Adams College, Kingston Maurward College, Rodbaston Campus (part of South Staffordshire College), Royal Agricultural University, Scottish Agricultural College, Shuttleworth College, Rutland County College, and University of Reading are the main agricultural colleges and universities of the UK [9]. The system of professional training of agrarian specialists allows British universities to develop their own postgraduate training programs. Compliance with the uniform university standards is ensured by the practice of inviting independent examiners. It should be mentioned that the curriculum of different agrarian universities may vary significantly.

Theoretical and research types of training are practiced at the postgraduate level. The theoretical postgraduate course consists of three levels. The training takes place in the form of lectures and consultations; it lasts a year (the term is shorter than in other countries). The results are evaluated by various written tasks. It is necessary to write a thesis for master's degrees, i.e. Master of Science, (MSc), Master of Agribusiness, Master of Animal Science, Master of Food Security, Master of Crop Production, Master of Agricultural Economics, Master of Agricultural Systems, Master of Genetics and Breeding, and Master of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition [35]. The research postgraduate course differs from the theoretical one because students spend more time for researching than theoretical studying [3]. Some educational institutions offer a Bachelor's degree in Philosophy (BPh).

To obtain a Ph.D. degree (Doctor of Philosophy, Ph), an original research must be conducted; a paper or a dissertation reflecting the results of this work must be published. Duration of training, as a rule, is two years. Some educational institutions have developed training courses for the Ph.D. as a part of international cooperation. As a result, foreign students spend some time at educational institutions of the UK; they spend the rest time at the educational institutions of their country.

British universities have the right for their own admission rules at the postgraduate level. To apply for a master's degree, you must have a first degree of the appropriate speciality (that is, in order to obtain a master's degree in Animal Science, you must have a bachelor's degree in Animal Science). Almost all universities in the UK, including those providing training for agricultural specialists, offer courses for obtaining a Master of Business Administration (MBA), but different forms of training are available [3].

The part-time form is becoming more and more popular in the UK because it is both progressive and accessible. Part-time curricula offer an effective and convenient method of education [3]. This form of training is cheaper, it is one of its advantages, too. The principle of autonomy is the basis of distance learning programs in the UK. Teacher assistance is provided by e-mail.

The distance learning plays a significant role in the training of agrarian specialists. While getting the essential knowledge to those who need it most remains difficult and expensive, much optimism has been generated as a result of the increased growth and sophistication of new electronic information services - even in remote rural areas. Information and communication technologies (ICTs), and such specialized ICT applications as E-learning, are offering new options to deliver knowledge and information to farmers directly and indirectly through knowledge intermediaries. E-learning is increasingly being mentioned as a viable approach to overcome the challenges of information and knowledge delivery [10, 81].

E-learning can benefit every agricultural community around the world, from research scientists in American universities to the poor subsistence farmers of developing countries. It can benefit persons of all ages, all locations, and bridge the gaps created by mountains, deserts, oceans, wars, and political boundaries. E-learning in agriculture can assemble resources and knowledge from distant places that may otherwise be unobtainable. It can connect farmers with far away researchers and experts. It can also dramatically increase the numbers of farmers who can be reached by single training programs [12, 51]. Recently, multimedia software has covered all the subjects taught at the British universities.

Today, more than 50 universities in the UK offer distance post-graduate programs. Among the training courses for agricultural specialists, the courses in natural sciences and engineering are the most popular ones. There are Open Distance Learning Quality Supervisory Councils (ODLQC) in the country.

The University of London, the Open University, the National College of Further Education, the University of Edinburgh, Scottish Agricultural College, Horticultural Correspondence College in Aberdeen, Institute of Animal Physiology (Cambridge), agricultural faculties of Oxford University, Cambridge University and the University of Reading, provide distance professional training of agrarian sector specialists [11]. Such great number of institutions proves the dominating of correspondence study of agrarian specialists at the UK.

The UK higher education system traditionally includes academic universities and colleges. Universities are divided into collegial and unitary by their structure. For instance, Oxford University and Cambridge University are college ones, because they include respectively 39 and 29 colleges. Unitary Universities have faculties and training departments. Both the Oxford University and Cambridge University universities have agricultural faculties. The University of Reading and the University of London have agricultural faculties, too.

Conclusions

Taking into account the local economy needs while training specialists of the agrarian sector; close cooperation of entrepreneurs and agricultural education institutions; wide international relations between the institutions of agrarian education; e-learning development; decentralization; flexibility; market orientation and entrepreneurship; professional training of specialists in the agrarian sector through programs of vocational and higher education are the basic characteristics of professional training of agricultural specialists in the United Kingdom. In addition, UK higher education qualifications are professionally oriented and academic, standardized according to the National Qualifications Framework and the Framework for Higher Educational Qualification.

The educational programs of higher agrarian institutions are rather flexible; it increases the quality training of specialists in the agricultural sector. The advantage of British higher agricultural education is its extraordinary flexibility in terms of methods, forms and learning styles. Curriculums provide students with a basic agricultural knowledge. Practical trainings allows students to gain experience at agricultural or industrial enterprise in the agrarian sector.

This article does not researched all the aspects of professional training of agricultural specialists in the United Kingdom. Therefore, further research is considered promising.

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