Abstract:

The presented report on a project of the NFF of the Ministry of Education and Science under Contract № DN05/1,14.12.2016 explores the philosophy and possibilities of digital training for modern vocational education in the cultural and creative industries in Bulgaria. The efforts of the research team are motivated by the need to trace the connection of innovations and changes in educational communications with the concept of historical continuity in the development of societies, with the perception of the world and human behavior in the era of post-post-modernism based on knowledge and skills. The main goal of the study is to identify the key philosophical and organizational issues of modern vocational training and educational interaction in an online environment based on the needs of the labor market. This defines both main directions of research – approaches for effective differentiation of target groups of students according to marketplace needs, and creating an interactive educational environment, incl. the necessary changes in the existing learning environment through the use of innovative interactive teaching methods in vocational training in the cultural industries. For the purpose of the study was made a literature review of significant publications in the thematic fields relevant to the research, as well as statistics and sociological surveys and other projects.

As a result of the set goals, the authors define several research tasks:
1) to trace the connection and succession in education from the Age of Enlightenment to the present day;
2) to analyze the philosophy of change as the new exchange currency of the modern economy;
3) to establish the condition and trends of the labor force on the Bulgarian labor market, as a basis for the formation of the offer of educational services;
4) to study the transferable soft skills and competencies necessary for modern specialists for “good marketability” and “flexible choices” on the labor market – at a price corresponding to the “present general economic conditions”, without incurring large losses;
5) to locate the real opportunities for changes in educational approaches and technologies in the Internet environment, incl. in the conditions of social pandemic isolation and remote communication.

The scientific tasks of the research require the use of interdisciplinary research tools: an analytical bibliographic study; historiographical analysis; statistical and content analysis of data and research; studying models through information search strategies; retrieval and structuring of information; contextual modelling; theoretical analysis and synthesis and others. The direct results of the research are associated to the better clarification of the condition and the degree of effectiveness of the offered vocational training programs by the CVT at the University of Library Science and Information Technology (ULSIT) – according to the needs of the labor market in Bulgaria. Creating and providing an effective interactive educational environment for the process of lifelong vocational training is a challenge that requires consideration of many factors analyzed in the article – social presence, didactic- methodical transformations of teaching and learning, productivity of the digital alternative and others. The conclusion presents the main inferences and specific recommendations. The entire study is supported and verified by reference to a wide range of bibliographic sources.

Keywords:

Didactic transformations of interactive teaching and learning, digital vocational education, labor market, labor realization of the specialists, philosophy of education, ratio of educational investments and earnings.