Psychological and Pedagogical Conditions of Professional Education of Managers

Abstract

The research addresses the practical problems of a corporate university to effectively establish the psychological competence of managers. Training has the following requirements related with 1) the formation of a complex personal education — psychological competence, 2) the forms and teaching methods that ensure effective training for adults. The purpose of the study is to create psychological and pedagogical conditions for the effective formation of psychological competence (including the specifics of energy enterprises). As a result of the analysis of the requirements of psychological competence and its key aspects (cognitive, behavioral, motivational, value-semantic, regulatory) in the framework of the competence-based approach, as well as teaching methods in the context of the modular approach, we established learning principles, including structural, content and technological flexibility of learning modules. Among the types of training that provide technological flexibility we have chosen non-imitation and simulation methods of active learning partially implemented through e-learning technologies. The designed training program consists of 6 main modules and covers 497 middle managers of energy enterprises of Irkutsk region. The training program was individually created based on the career plans as a part of an expert assessment of the level of development of psychological competence. Individual modular training program contributed to the development of those components of competence that were determined as insufficiently developed. We employed D. Kirpatrick model to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. The model includes three parameters: evaluation of learning based on the results of feedback, tests of knowledge and skills, self-assessment of the level of development of psychological competence. The study showed a positive dynamics of all parameters explained by the use of important conditions that ensure the effectiveness of learning. They are the following: student's active participation in the learning process, continuous reinforcement of student’s actions using self-control, individual approach to educational and cognitive activities; application of the indicative basis of activity; flexible management of students’ activities that turn into self-government; reflective approach and principle of problematic learning.