The thesis deals with the issue of practical training for prospective technicians-technologists in food industry colleges.
The generalization of relevant psycho-pedagogical studies has made it possible to specify the concept of “practical training for prospective technicians-technologists in the food industry”. It is interpreted as an obligatory component of their professional training, which introduces prospective specialists to the organization of a modern food company, familiarizes them with modern professional technologies and techniques in the food industry and develops their practical skills, abilities and professionally important qualities. The thesis proves that the result of practical training is practical preparedness, that is both ability and readiness of prospective technicians-technologists to perform professional functions in food production. Besides, it shows the relevant ways to improve the goals, content, types and stages of practical training for prospective technicians-technologists under the requirements of the labour market and the competency-based approach in education.
The thesis justifies practical training as a complex integrated quality, which consists of the following components: motivational (students’ awareness of the value of the future profession; motives of learning and professional activities), cognitive (knowledge and potential cognitive readiness for practical activities), activity-related (practical skills and abilities which prospective technicians-technologists require to perform professional functions as both skilled workers and managers) and subjective (professional subjectivity, reflection, independence, autonomy and responsibility). Besides, it determines the criteria (motivational-axiological, cognitive-procedural, operational and personal-reflexive) and indicators that allow one to assess the levels (low, average and high) of practical preparedness in prospective technicians-technologists in the food industry.
The thesis identifies and justifies pedagogical conditions of practical training for prospective technicians-technologists in food industry colleges (boosting motivation towards professional activities through self-management during practical training; updating the content of practical training, taking into account the labour market requirements; introducing step-by-step methods of practical training). It presents the author’s model of practical training for prospective technicians-technologists in food industry colleges, which combines target theoretical-methodological, content-related, organizational-methodical and diagnostic-effective blocks. The elaboration of the model has also made it possible to further develop the provisions on the implementation of the requirements of methodological approaches (competency-based, systemic, contextual, axiological and activity-related) and principles of practical training of prospective technicians-technologists in food industry colleges. It has become possible to verify the effectiveness of both pedagogical conditions and models during the pedagogical experiment.
The thesis presents the educational and methodological support to improve practical training of prospective technicians-technologists in food industry colleges. It includes a thorough programme of practices, guidelines for organizing and conducting practical training, situational and practical tasks, research project topics, pedagogical tests.
