Pashkov A. Formation of Professional Competence of Future Specialists in Digital Technologies in the Process of Studying Professionally Oriented Disciplines

The widespread adoption, first of information and communication technologies and subsequently of digital technologies, is driving a transformation of operating models in the economy and the social sphere. The relevance of this research stems from the need to transform vocational education in order to train specialists who are proficient in digital technologies and skills. One of the pressing issues facing the modern labour market is the shortage of qualified personnel in the field of information and digital technologies. The development of this sector requires the training of teaching staff capable of educating professionals who are prepared for professional practice in a digitalised environment. The scientific novelty and theoretical significance of this study lie in the fact that, for the first time: – the pedagogical conditions for the development of professional competence among future vocational training teachers in the process of studying professionally-oriented disciplines have been identified and theoretically substantiated for the first time (the use of digital technologies to develop the professional competence of future specialists; enriching the content of practical training disciplines using innovative technologies; integration of the IT sector with the didactic and methodological foundations of the educational components of practical training for vocational education teachers; fostering a reflective approach to the independent work of future physical education and sports teachers), a methodology for their implementation has been developed in the process of studying professionally oriented disciplines, as well as during industrial, teaching and pre-graduation placements; a structural-functional model has been developed for the formation of professional competence among future vocational training teachers, comprising a set of target-oriented, methodological, content-related and technological elements; a complex of pedagogical conditions; and criteria- and outcome-based components; – the content and structure of the professional competence of future physical therapy and rehabilitation specialists have been refined, along with the criteria, indicators and levels of its development. – the main provisions reflecting the specific features of the selection and organisation of the content of professionally oriented disciplines in the development of the professional competence of future physical therapy and rehabilitation specialists have been examined. – a methodology for developing the professional competence of future physical culture and sports teachers whilst studying professionally oriented disciplines has been tested; this methodology is implemented in four stages (motivational, informational, activity-based and reflective). The practical significance lies in the fact that practice-oriented improvements have been made to the content of the core training modules; a methodology for developing the professional competence of future physical therapy specialists has been developed and implemented, comprising four stages (motivational, informational, activity-based and reflective) with corresponding objectives, pedagogical conditions, content (forms) of work and expected outcomes; a set of criteria-based diagnostic tools designed to assess the level of development of students’ professional competence has been tested. The empirical study involved 240 students from the Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University, the Rivne State Pedagogical University and the Lutsk National Technical University. During the assessment phase, the needs of vocational (vocational and technical) education providers regarding the development of professional competence among future physical therapy specialists were identified, and a survey of students was conducted to determine the baseline level of professional competence among these future specialists. The survey revealed a lack of motivation among future digital technology teachers towards professional and pedagogical activities; it was established that students possess only fairly general knowledge of the fundamentals of professional pedagogical activities in vocational (technical) educational institutions, and possess an unsystematic set of core and variable skills that enable direct interaction with all participants in the educational process; difficulties were also identified among respondents when presenting their own developments, justifying their own positions, and self-analysing their own activities.