Prospective Pedagogy: Conceptual and Methodological Fundamentals

Abstract

The necessity for prospective training of specialists is determined by the fact that solving global problems, rapid social change and solving professional problems are closely related to prospective skills and it is oriented towards achieving the professional goal with anticipatory methods. In this regard, the European Union plans priorities for the years 2020-2023, including the study from the perspective of civil society: "Work of the future: ensuring lifelong learning and training of employees", and the Republic of Moldova makes forecasts of the labor market from the perspective of the employer, where the knowledge of the real situation and the prediction of changes will take place, taking into account both the influence of demographic and economic factors on employment and unemployment. In this sense, NAFE (National Agency for Employment) highlights that "the forecast identifies the economic activities where jobs will be created/ liquidated and signals the discrepancies between supply and demand, current and possible future." It is important to note that this document highlights as a major obstacle in the activity specific to the workplace, is the lack of learning to learn competence (desire to learn something new), digital skills and social-civic competence (communication and teamwork) for employees. [122] Another factor is highlighted by the National Strategy "Moldova 2030" [123] which refers to the fact that the current system of initial and in-service training of teachers does not ensure the necessary quality to meet the challenges of a changing society. Where, the emphasis is on the quantity of educational programs and less on their quality. Some teachers are trained according to outdated professional programs, and the discrepancy between the theory learned and the skills required for employment does not motivate students to have a persevering attitude in the educational process. The national PROGRAM in the fields of research and innovation for the years 2020-2023 [124] adopted in 2019 by the Government of the Republic of Moldova, provides different results for each strategic priority. One of the expected outcomes of the Strategic Priority Plan: Societal Challenges is to increase employment and forecast skills in areas and occupations in line with labor market requirements. In this regard, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has launched the Future of Education and Skills 2030 project. The aim of the project is to help countries find answers to two major questions: ● What knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values will today's students need to thrive and shape their world? ● How can training systems develop this knowledge, skills, attitudes and values effectively? In the National Qualifications Framework we identify a special emphasis placed both on preparing educational beneficiaries with the requirements of the labor market, and anticipating future requirements by planning predictive goals, decision making, etc. Thus, the compatibility of specializations, training system and curriculum will be achieved, which requires a thorough analysis of the infrastructure for education and research, training of human resources in the medium and long term. However, the National Employment Strategy for 2017–2021 approved in 2017 highlights that “the labor market is strongly influenced by internal and external socio-economic factors, and in this context the quality of the workforce is gaining great importance. The education system must be adapted to the requirements of the labor market, so as to generate a labor force with a high degree of adaptability to the rapid changes of the labor market and to the increasingly diverse requirements of employers.” At the same time, the same strategy stipulates "the reduced capacity of the public and private system to predict development at the sector level and anticipate the need for qualifications at the national and sector levels." [122] The listing of various policy documents both internationally and nationally claims the need to anticipate the specifics of future professional activity, intervention in the particularities of work with reference to the emergence of new skills, others become obsolete, but also the determination of professional and personal qualities. of the student, necessary to face the educational/work process of today and in the future, planning his / her actions in order to analyze the risks and make decisions. However, as V. Popa [86] sustains in the Report on specific objectives of the education and training system (Brussels, 2001), the representatives of the European Council started from the hypothesis that the society assigns to the education different points of centering, since what particularizes our times is not the existence of change, but its superaccelerated rhythms. Thus, it emphasizes the need to substantiate theoretically and methodologically a new field – Prospective Pedagogy (PP). Upgrading the educational process in the light of PP requires a responsible analysis, as the future creates increasingly higher requirements. These requirements need changes depending on PP trends, which will substantiate the elaboration of the new educational policies and the university education system. Thence, the scientific approach for a possible theoretical and methodological substantiation of the PP became one of the key matters of the modern pedagogy. The need to explore this field in the present is dependent on several factors: [64] 1) the accelerated rhythm of the change, the globalization, the challenges of the 21st century, the innovations and the creativity, the internationalization of the university education; 2) the need to ensure the quality and the performance of human resources at the global, national and local level; 3) the lack of a sustainable policy at the state level in the field of PP; 4) the shortage of prospective investigations in relation to the education; 5) the weak information level of specialists in the field of education as the report between the demand of labor market, society and the university offer; 6) the skills of the specialist needed on the labor market. Simultaneously, when different aspects of education science are explored, the Prospective Pedagogy as fundamental field is not researched in details, is not conceptualized. This situation is seen as a dilemma or a shortcoming of the education sciences. The emphasized prospective character in education confirms its importance in training the personality to integrate into society, and the labor market.

Local economies preparing for a turbulent future

“…Governments and HEIs can also help students transition to the new economy by providing training programmes and resources. Consequently, the need for lifelong learning and adaptability will only increase, and individuals need to stay ahead of the curve by continuously upgrading their skills and knowledge (Lungu 2022;Van Tonder 2022).…”