КЛАСТЕРНА МОДЕЛЬ В РЕАЛІЗАЦІЇ ОСВІТИ ДЛЯ СТАЛОГО РОЗВИТКУ

Abstract

The world experience on educational clusters proves their applicability and efficiency. An example is the formation of educational clusters for economic education and business schools. Formation of educational clusters has become an important part of the state personnel policy of many countries of the world. Multidimensional notion of "sustainable development" in combination with a wide range of age-old target audiences requires new methodological approaches for building an open dialogue between a student and a teacher. Taking into account the complex nature of the research subject that combines social, economic and environmental dimensions of human activity, authors propose a scientific and educational cluster as an innovative form of implementation of cross-cutting education for sustainable development (ESD) in Ukraine. The role of the core formation of an educational cluster is best suited for universities that are open to innovation and new educational technologies. The new educational model is illustrated by ad hoc activity of Carpathian School held in Kosiv, Ivano-Frankivsk region. Target audience represented Master students of natural sciences, secondary school students, biologists and geography teachers together with civil society activists. The school organizers were "Centre for Civic Initiatives", Kosiv and Faculty of Geography of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv supported by two National Natural Parks “Hutsulshchyna” and “Vyzhnytsky”. The lecturers’ team included university professors, experts of The Regional Environmental Centre for CEE countries (REC), Hungary, the National Ecological Centre of Ukraine (NECU), leading experts of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Ukraine, employees of local museums and cultural institutions. The main goal of the School is to consider the role of civil society, local activists, entrepreneurs and authorities in building sustainable communities, to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The cluster model was tested for obtaining a professional orientation of the lyceum graduates with a strong TOT component in view of education reform "New Ukrainian School". The students were acquainted with educational materials and methodical guides of the REC multimedia toolkits "Green Package" and "Step by Step", adapted to Ukrainian needs by local experts. These materials are easily perceived by young people, Master students and senior pupils. Interactive games and dilemmas were suitable for the formation of ecologically oriented thinking and social competence of youth. The guides were also highly praised by elderly participants and recommended for training and retraining of school teachers. Interviews with the school attendees and lecturers, interviews and publications in the local mass-media showed the benefits of cluster model in comparison with traditional forms of education. The school also identified the opportunities for professional guidance, training and retraining of teachers' staff.