Stem education as the latest philosophy of lifelong learning to develop key competencies of a civil servant

The authors explore ways of developing key competencies of a civil servant with the help of STEM education as a philosophy of training and retraining throughout life. The abbreviation of the concept, its features, principles and advantages are disclosed.

International Journal of Management (IJM) Volume 11, Issue 2, February 2020, pp 163–169, Article ID: IJM_11_02_017 Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/ijm/issues.asp?JType=IJM&VType=11&IType=2 Journal Impact Factor (2020): 10.1471 (Calculated by GISI) www.jifactor.com ISSN Print: 0976-6502 and ISSN Online: 0976-6510 © IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed STEM EDUCATION AS THE LATEST PHILOSOPHY OF LIFELONG LEARNING TO DEVELOP KEY COMPETENCIES OF A CIVIL SERVANT Anatolii Savkov Department of Parliamentarism and Political Management, National Academy for Public Administration under the President of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine Inna Suray Department of Public Administration and Public Service, National Academy for Public Administration under the President of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine Liudmyla Kotliar Department of Public Service, National Academy for Public Administration under President of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine Lіudmyla Polishchuk Department of Event Management and Leisure Industry, Kyiv National University of Culture and Art, Kyiv, Ukraine Iryna Bushman Department of Education, Neijiang Normal University, China Nataliia Vasiuk Department of Social and Humanitarian Policy, National Academy of Public Administration under the President of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine ABSTRACT STEM education is a combination of theoretical science, technology, engineering and mathematics Moreover, these disciplines are not studied separately, but in combination Students get acquainted with new directions in the development of exact sciences and engineering, and then implement what they have learned in practice The authors explore ways of developing key competencies of a civil servant with the help of STEM education as a philosophy of training and retraining throughout life The abbreviation of the concept, its features, principles and advantages are disclosed The key competencies of civil servants are identified and how STEM education affects the development of these competencies is analyzed http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 163 editor@iaeme.com Stem Education as the Latest Philosophy of Lifelong Learning to Develop Key Competencies of a Civil Servant Keywords: Civil Servant, Key Competencies, Lifelong Learning, STEM Education Cite this Article: Anatolii Savkov, Inna Suray, Liudmyla Kotliar, Lіudmyla Polishchuk, Iryna Bushman, Nataliia Vasiuk, Stem Education as the Latest Philosophy of Lifelong Learning to Develop Key Competencies of a Civil Servant, International Journal of Management (IJM), 11 (2), 2020, pp 163–169 http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/issues.asp?JType=IJM&VType=11&IType=2 INTRODUCTION Retraining and advanced training of civil servants, taking into account the implementation of the principle of lifelong learning, maximally ensuring the level of training meets the challenges of modern society is relevant in the context of the socio-economic realities of today The solution to this problem is of paramount importance for the success of the ongoing socio-economic and administrative reforms At the same time, a high level of professional training of civil servants is a necessary element of an effective public administration system New teaching methods are of increasing interest to researchers (Prokopenko O et al., 2018; Bashynska I et al, 2019; Kolesnichenko N et al., 2019; Bila O et al., 2019), especially innovative ones that meet modern society needs One of these is STEM-STEM, an abbreviation proposed in 2001 by scientists from the US National Science Foundation to indicate a revolutionary trend in the educational and professional fields STEM (S - science, T - technology, E - engineering, M - mathematics) is a term used in the USA and other Western countries to refer to the natural science and technical fields of knowledge when defining educational methodology and choosing a curriculum in schools with the aim of increase competitiveness in the field of science and technology STEM education takes part in the development of the workforce (training/retraining), national security interests and immigration policy STEM education is the key to the successful competition of the country on the world stage (Ahmad Fathoni, 2020; Sue Allen et al., 2019) Summarizing the points of view on this issue existing in the specialized literature, we can assume that such a system is constituted by the principles of systemic, unity, universality, differentiation, compulsory and continuous learning, outstripping the nature of instruction; establishing mutual rights, duties and responsibilities, establishing legal consequences; as well as ensuring high quality and effectiveness of training; public administration and coordination of all elements of the advanced training system for civil servants; taking into account domestic and foreign experience of advanced training of civil servants The most important, in our opinion, is the principle of establishing mutual rights, duties and responsibilities of participants in the educational process, i.e., a state body, public servant and educational institution The state body is obligated to provide the civil servant with the opportunity to improve his professional level at the expense of state funds, to exercise his right to promotion depending on the professional level, and to take part in the competition for filling a vacant higher position At the same time, the duty of a public servant is to improve his professional level He has no right to refuse to undergo planned training, as this will be considered as a violation of labour discipline, which entails inevitable legal consequences, in particular the imposition of disciplinary sanctions, or disciplinary measures Such a refusal can have significant negative effects when a public servant passes certification, as it can affect its results A public servant as an employee may be deemed not to be in charge of his post, which entails dismissal from his position http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 164 editor@iaeme.com Anatolii Savkov, Inna Suray, Liudmyla Kotliar, Lіudmyla Polishchuk, Iryna Bushman, Nataliia Vasiuk METHODOLOGY 2.1 Advantages of STEM-Education STEM training is a focus on real-world problems and problems In STEM lessons, students solve real social, economic and environmental problems and search for solutions (Fig 1) The following aspects of STEM education are distinguished: STEM training is a focus on real-world problems and problems In STEM lessons, listeners solve real social, economic and environmental problems and search for solutions STEM lessons focus on the engineering design process STEM education provides a flexible design process In this process, listeners identify the problem, conduct preliminary research, come up with several ideas for their solutions, develop and create a prototype, and then test, evaluate and implement it STEM training immerses listeners in practical inquiry and extensive study In STEM lessons, the path to learning is open The work of the listeners is actual and collective; the decision is also joint STEM training engages listeners in productive collaboration For listeners to work together as a productive team, help from teachers is needed This is possible if all teachers work together, work together, and meet the expectations of the students Theoretical teaching of the material Acquire skills by solving practical problems The standard chain «from theory to practice» Creating a problematic situation that needs to be resolved Search for a solution Gaining new knowledge STEM-chain Figure The difference between the STEM-training approach from the traditional The purpose of STEM-education is the formation and development of human-cognitive and creative qualities of a person, the level of which determines the competitive ability in the labour market and the ability to learn throughout life 2.2 Lifelong Learning of a Civil Servant Throughout life, modern people are characterized by the need to update their knowledge and competencies in connection with a change in the environment Current states compete with each other on the basis of the most significant amount of well-structured experience In addition, mobility is increasing, and in this regard, the country has to create mechanisms for the continuous adaptation of employees to changing operating conditions, especially for the development of key competencies of a civil servant (Fig 2) http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 165 editor@iaeme.com Stem Education as the Latest Philosophy of Lifelong Learning to Develop Key Competencies of a Civil Servant Fluent state and foreign language Professional knowledge (according to the position) Knowledge of legislation Leadership skills Ability to make effective decisions Personal competencies: 1) Principle, determination and demanding decision making; 2) focus on serving the community, protecting national interests; 3) System aticity; 4) Innovation and impartiality; 5) Self-organization and selfdevelopment; 6) Ability to work in stressful situations; 7) Political neutrality Ability to manage change Ability to communicate effectively and Working with Information Figure Key competencies of a civil servant In general, the key competencies of a civil servant are to determine how and to what extent the employee achieves the expected (benchmark) results in the work following the tasks set (Suray, I et al., 2019) Thus, it is necessary to train and retrain employees in current conditions: firstly, staff development becomes not so much a problem for the employee as the company as a whole; secondly, the higher the level of professionalism of a specialist, the more the employer is interested in him RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS As the study showed, STEM education positively affects the qualities of public servants, increasing them (Fig 3) As the study showed, STEM education positively affects the quality of public servants, increasing them It is worth noting a particular feature: STEM education has the best effect on those qualities that people already possessed to the best extent This is since STEM education appeared not so long ago, and civil servants undergo advanced training on the principle of STEM education, without studying at school or university http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 166 editor@iaeme.com Anatolii Savkov, Inna Suray, Liudmyla Kotliar, Lіudmyla Polishchuk, Iryna Bushman, Nataliia Vasiuk sense of harmony in organizing an idea ability to concretize or synthesize; ability to abstract or analyze; ability to regroup ideas and connections; originality, departure from the template; flexibility as the ability to grasp a new point of view and resilience in upholding one's position; ability to formulate a research question and ways to solve it; ability to see as many parties and relationships as possible in the problem; ability to see the problem; 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Figure The impact of STEM education on the quality of public servants Involvement in STEM can support not only the development of creative thinking and the development of a researcher's competence, but also contribute to better socialization of the individual, as he develops skills such as:  Cooperation Sometimes productive collaboration with teammates can be more complicated than the actual task facing the team To achieve innovative results and solve complex problems, groups with different scientific and technical backgrounds must work in the group Small, multidisciplinary teams require collaboration, mutual assistance and fast thinking to make progress towards the end of the project  Communicative Regardless of the position of the civil servant, the most courteous communication, not tyranny in the team, can contribute to productive teamwork and strengthen the authority of the leadership STEM training offers excellent opportunities for one-on-one and many-to-many communication  Creativity Creativity and innovation go hand in hand "Creative" can breathe new life into any project; show it not yet opened opportunities Moreover, those who can go beyond the acquired skills and think outside the box can invent something utterly new in many other fields (Robert J Sternberg, 2019) Therefore, STEM training is becoming more and more popular, and it is these professionals who are asked to see it in many areas (Fig 4) http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 167 editor@iaeme.com Stem Education as the Latest Philosophy of Lifelong Learning to Develop Key Competencies of a Civil Servant MATHEMATICS LIFE SCIENCES STATE SERVICE 11 PHYSICAL SCIENCES 12 TRADITIONAL ENGINEERING 26 COMPUTING 38 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Figure Demand for STEM professionals Involvement in STEM can support not only the development of creative thinking and the formation of a researcher's competence, but also contribute to better socialization of the individual Although the direction of STEM is megapopular, there is still no consensus on what, for example, is the STEM profession Usually, experts agree that STEM specialists use their knowledge of natural sciences, technology, engineering or mathematics, trying to understand how the world works With this understanding, they approach problem-solving The development of key competencies among civil servants is the task of the state Improving the education system following the challenges of the economy of a new technological structure the digital economy, including the training of highly qualified personnel who own world-class technologies to solve unique problems, is achieved through STEM education, namely: a) The creation of a state coordinating body in the field of supporting STEM education; b) Developing a program of postgraduate STEM education; c) Creating conditions that stimulate civil servants in studying STEM subjects, for example, through bonuses and allowances for salaries; c) Improving the regulatory legal framework for the implementation of networked forms of education This will ensure the maximum geographical approximation of professional education of civil servants to the real business sector and the practice-oriented educational programs The introduction of STEM training should be gradual To involve civil servants in practical activities, it is desirable to expand the range of forms and methods of preparation, ways of educational interaction Work experience has shown the fruitfulness of integration, revealed the prospects for further development and improvement of this approach to learning CONCLUSION It is safe to say that the widespread introduction of STEAM education is capable of changing the economy of our country, making it more innovative and competitive According to some reports, attracting only 1% of the population to STEM professions increases the country's GDP by $ 50 billion The needs of STEM specialists in public administration are growing two times faster than in other occupations as STEM develops its capacity for research and analytical work, experimentation and critical thinking Recently, a creative direction has been http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 168 editor@iaeme.com Anatolii Savkov, Inna Suray, Liudmyla Kotliar, Lіudmyla Polishchuk, Iryna Bushman, Nataliia Vasiuk actively developing in this system, which includes creative and artistic disciplines (Art) It is he who adds another letter to the abbreviation - STEAM And this is entirely justified because a future based solely on science and technology is unlikely to please anyone REFERENCES [1] Prokopenko, O., Holmberg, R and Omelyanenko, V Information and communication technologies support for the participation of universities in innovation networks (comparative study), Innovative Marketing, 14(3), 2018, pp 17-29 [2] Bashynska, I et al., Game risk management methods for investment portfolio optimization, International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering, 8(2), 2019, pp 3940-3943 [3] Natalia Kolesnichenko, Inna Osadchenko, Svitlana Yashnyk, Valentyna Kharlamenko, Valentyna Slipchuk, Nadiia Gramatyk Methods of Pedagogical Psychology in Education, International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering, Volume-8 Issue-4, November 2019, pp 4018-4023 [4] Sweety M Antony and Dr Vijayakumar A, Status of Technological Competencies of Library Professionals in Colleges of Kerala: An Analytical Study International Journal of Library & Information Science, 5(3), 2016, pp.133–140 [5] Olena Bila, Viktoriia Miziuk, Tamara Gumennykova, Antonina Kichuk, Olena Sagan, Lyudmyla Perminova The Use of Modern Interactive Technologies in Learning: Correlation Analysis of the Results, International Journal of Innovative Technology and Exploring Engineering, Volume-8 Issue-8, June, 2019, pp 3172-3175 [6] Ahmad Fathoni, STEM: innovation in vocational learning, January 2020, DOI: 10.23887/jptk-undiksha.v17i1.22832 [7] Sue Allen et al., STEM Guides: professional brokers in rural STEM ecosystems, December 2019, DOI: 10.1080/21548455.2019.1700317 [8] C Kalyan Chakravarthy and Dr V Sunitha, Brain Training for Learning Vocabulary to Enhance Language Competencies in the Students of Mechanical Engineering, International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Technology, 9(12), 2018, pp 948– 953 [9] Suray, I et al., Public Administration and Innovation Policy in a Networked Society, International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering, Volume-8, Issue-4., November 2019, рр 3604–3609 [10] Robert J Sternberg, Critical Thinking in STEM Disciplines, January 2020, DOI: 10.1017/9781108684354.014 [11] Ridwan, Analysis of the Competencies of Accounting Department Graduates Based on Stakeholder Perspective in the Central Sulawesi Province, International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology, 8(8), 2017, pp 45–53 http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/index.asp 169 editor@iaeme.com .. .Stem Education as the Latest Philosophy of Lifelong Learning to Develop Key Competencies of a Civil Servant Keywords: Civil Servant, Key Competencies, Lifelong Learning, STEM Education. .. this Article: Anatolii Savkov, Inna Suray, Liudmyla Kotliar, Lіudmyla Polishchuk, Iryna Bushman, Nataliia Vasiuk, Stem Education as the Latest Philosophy of Lifelong Learning to Develop Key Competencies. .. editor@iaeme.com Stem Education as the Latest Philosophy of Lifelong Learning to Develop Key Competencies of a Civil Servant Fluent state and foreign language Professional knowledge (according to the position)