Abstract:

Extensive development of industrial civilization, integration of science and culture as well as global changes in the world expect university graduates to possess new qualities and, thus, respond quickly to the challenges of time, join innovative processes, use the competences in brand new conditions, and constantly acquire new ones. Russia is solving this issue by reforming the system of higher education, particularly, by establishing university-based educational clusters that bring together the educational and research potential of the university and business itself, which a Bachelor’s training is focused on.

Following the Bologna Process, the Federal State Educational Standard specifies that all training programmes should offer several occupations that a student can master. The first place is taken by the occupations directly related to the selected training programme and educational programme specialisation. For example, for Design Studies students this is Art, Design, and IT. The bottom of the list is organizational, management and teaching activities. In fact, the two latter ones are not considered when drawing up the curriculum. At the same time the labour market realities are such that a certain percentage of Design Studies graduates seek employment in educational institutions of different tiers and types, e.g. in 2013 32% of Design Studies graduates of Kazan Federal University, Russia, were employed by state schools and institutions of supplementary education for children, in 2014 - 36%, in 2015 – 40%, and this year 43% of the graduates are going to choose teaching as a career.

The thing is that it is essential for students doing a Bachelor’s degree to acquire a cluster of pedagogical competences that help them adapt to a profession of a teacher in a fairly short period of time. Thus, the educational cluster, the centre of which is the academic university, together with the world of business should also involve educational authorities and educational institutions where students will do internship and school teaching. The function of the university in the cluster is to produce an innovative product – a competent flexible specialist that will meet labour market requirements under specific social and economic conditions.

The cluster of pedagogical competences is based on the core teacher training competences which are related primarily to the issues of training and education of students. Teacher training, as one of the activities contributing to purposeful development of the student, their mastering of the basics of culture, and comprehensive development of their abilities, is based on the core competences of the teacher and includes personal qualities, a goal-setting ability, an ability to motivate and organize training, and information competence.

The article presents the study results of the formation of basic competences of teachers of Fine Arts, Technology and teachers of supplementary education for children (case study of the teachers of Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan); the analysis of the educational institutions’ demand in teachers of relevant specialisation. The survey has shown educational institutions’ demand in university graduates possessing pedagogical competences along with high-quality training in design. One of the solutions to the problem is seen in creating organizational and pedagogical conditions to ensure that Design Studies students will develop a cluster of pedagogical competences.