Problems and ways of self-realization of personality during the period of average adult age in modern Ukrainian society

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Problems and ways of self-realization of personality during the period of average adult age in modern Ukrainian society

Olesia Koropetska

Гуманізація і демократизація суспільних відносин, динамізм сучасних суспільно-економічних процесів, посилення ролі особистості в суспільстві, інтелектуалізація праці, швидка зміна техніки і технологій та інші виклики сучасності окреслюють нові завдання і місце сучасного фахівця у розвитку суспільства. Саме технологічні новації найбільшою мірою детермінують перехід людства від індустріального суспільства до глобального інформаційного, основним ресурсом якого є знання та освітній капітал. Зокрема, нагальною потребою сьогодення є необхідність розвитку здібностей фахівців, їх здатності швидко й раціонально адаптуватися до нових умов. Успішна європейська інтеграція України можлива в умовах низки реформ, у тому числі й у сфері освіти. У цьому випадку важливо підкреслити, що в цьому процесі концепція освіти упродовж життя є актуальною і може розглядатися як частина загальної стратегії реформування системи освіти в Україні. Організація соціально-психологічних умов розвитку дорослих може допомогти їм адаптуватися і реалізуватися в професії у новому глобальному світі. Неформальна та інформальна освіта як форма організації освіти упродовж життя розглядаються як важливий ресурс і потужне джерело поповнення необхідних знань і формою адаптації людини середнього дорослого віку до викликів сучасності, як шлях, що відкриває нові перспективи для професійного розвитку і самореалізації.

Представники середнього дорослого віку можуть продовжувати навчання різними шляхами: стати кандидатами на навчання в інститутах перепідготовки або інститутах післядипломної освіти, слухачами університетів «третього віку» або слухачами нетрадиційних навчальних закладів, таких як «Університети без стін» та школи дистанційного навчання, але головну роль у навчанні дорослих грають їхні потреби, мотиви та професійні проблеми.

В Україні актуальність цього дослідження викликає зацікавленість не лише науковців але й практиків у галузі психології та педагогіки для підтримки людей під час їх пост- професійної діяльності для їх подальшого розвитку, оновлення набутого професійного досвіду та побудови пост-професійної життєвої стратегії. Реформування та вдосконалення освіти дорослих дозволить розвивати освіту упродовж життя як цілісну систему, що відтворює гарантії та права кожного громадянина країни на безперервне навчання та самореалізацію.

Ключові слова: особистість, дорослість, середній дорослий вік, глобалізація, адаптація, самореалізація, творча діяльність.

The article deals with the problems of self-realization of the personality of average adult age in modern Ukrainian society. The peculiarities of modern globalized informative society are considered and psychological peculiarities of personality development in the adult life period are analyzed. It is emphasized the need for lifelong learning to enable of a personality of an average adult age to have the opportunity to self-realization in modern world. The ways of average adult age personality's self-realization in modern conditions of Ukrainian society are highlighted.

Keywords: personality, adulthood, average adult age, globalization, adaptation, self-realization, creative activity.

1. The formulation of the problem

The dynamism of modern socio-economic process, the strengthening of the role of the individual in society, the intellectualization of labor, the rapid change of technologies and other peculiarities of modern society outline new tasks in the development of society. Modern society needs qualitatively specialists in different brunches of economy, industry, education, culture and so on. This situation in modern society demands the modernization of all systems of society, their restructuring in accordance with the globalization challenges of time. It is technological innovations that mostly determine the transition of humanity from industrial society to the global information, the main resource of which is knowledge and educational capital. In today's conditions of the further continuous growth of the influence on life and work of people such features of modern society as transience, variability, novelty and diversity, people need new skills and abilities, among which the leading role occupy mobility, flexibility, communication skills, ability to adapt, to learn, and to make choose. In this conditions, the urgent need for the majority of countries of the world is the need to change the model of education, move from the established adaptive educational model inherent in industrial and post-industrial society to the model of innovation, the purpose of which is to develop person's ability to quickly and rationally adaptation to new conditions, which are constantly changing.

The aim of the article is to analyze the peculiarities of modern globalization processes in the world and Ukraine, to reveal their essence and influence on the professional development of personality of average adult age and the possibility of selfrealization of a person during the period of adulthood in today's globalized world.

2. Analysis of the recent research and publications

The study of psychological development of adult people dates back to the 20's of the last century. It was connected with the problem of adults teaching (E. Thorndike, E. Bridgman, I. Tilton, etc.) In the 1950's and 1960's after a number of experimental studies, a new adult age periodizations had appeared, among of which are the periodizations by V.V. Bunak, V.V. Ginzburg, D.B. Bromley etc. Adult period was investigated by so well known American and European psychologist as D. Wexler, V. Shevchuk, D.B. Bromley, J. Birren, etc. The analysis of a great number of scientific sources indicates that at the present times there is no single accepted universal periodization [7; 8; 10; 12].

The problems of adult psychology was also studied by a number of post-soviet scientists and great number of Ukrainian p The most famous among them are B.G. Ananiev, K.O. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya, O.G. Asmolov, L.I. Antsiferova, A.A. Bodalev, A.A. Derkach, N.V. Kuzmin, E.I. Isaev, L.I. Korostyleva, S.D. Maksimenko, V.I. Slobodchikov, M.L. Smulson, T.M. Titarenko, N.V. Chepeleva and others.

The study of the development of personality in adult period of life in domestic psychology began in 1928 by Russian scientist M.M. Rybnikov, who proposed to introduce a new period in age psychology - acmelogy. He considered acmelogy to be the part of age psychology, which studies the peculiarities of adult development [8, p. 6]. Actually domestic adult psychology appeared on the initiative of B.G. Ananiev. Analyzing the human life span, the scientist distinguished the following periods: preparation, start, stabilization, the first «peak» moment, a temporary decline, the second climax (recovery), after which there is an intensification of involution processes and the finish [6, p. 134].

3. Basic material

The chronological limits of adults period are rather conditional and depend on when the period of youth ends and the aging period begins. If we compare metric indices of the lower and upper limits of adult age in different periodizations, then we see that the lower limit of adulthood is 17 years according to Birren (the completion of youth), according to D.B. Bromley - 21 years, according to the international classification - 20-21 years, according to V.V. Bunak - 25 years. The upper limit of adult period and the beginning of old age in different periodizations are even more distinct among themselves: from 55 years (V.V. Bunak, V.V. Ginzburg, D.B. Bromley, D. Wexler) to 75 years old (D.V. Birren) [8, p. 13-14].

Analyzing the above age periodizations we can conclude that the period of adult covers approximately the segment of human life from 35 -40 to 60-65 years. Simultaneously we share the thought of those psychologists who consider that no calendar dates are unacceptable (I.B. Davydovskii), because ageing is an enormously individual process. The most important psychological factor of aging is the personality's acceptance of one's own old age (Shakhmatov).

The most important feature of the adult period is that both the subjective sense of self-awareness and the objective indicators of heyday or decline of forces are determined in a greater extent not by the chronological age, but by personal circumstances of life, particular experience, specifics of professional activity or type of occupation, settings, socio-economic status, level of education, etc. [6; 8; 9; 10; 12].

Another important criterion which indicates the entry of a per son in the period of late age is the social criterion, which is connected with the retirement of an official person. At the same time the important feature and the advantage of adult person is that she by herself determines her own path of development since she has the freedom of choice and self-realization. A person enters into a period of adult life, when she has experienced a the middle age crisis, when she is capable of the most radical steps: changing lifestyle, occupation, preferences, leisure, etc. [13, p. 161-162].

After 40's there is a radical change of values when a person becomes more introverted and less impulsive. Wisdom and insight come to replace physical and mental power. The values of «Ego» are sublimated into social, religious, civic and philosophical symbols. This is a process that K. Jung called an individualization when a person aspires to the integration and integrity of the «I». Crisis in the middle of life K. Jung considered the period of search for spiritual values in an individual's life. This time can be either a period of stagnation, or growth and a new upsurge in creative activity, which can last up to 65 -70 years. Everything depends on personality ane choice which he or she prefere [13, p. 121].

In adulthood (40-60 years), according to E. Erickson, a person faces the task of resolving the conflict between «productivity» and «stagnation». She can choose a course for further productive development, or relax, satisfying with the gained achievements or professional success.

In recent times the concepts of lifelong learning and adult education is also widely discussed in numerous works. Different aspects of this field of knowledge were investigated by S. Brookfield, M. Cole, M. Cooke, M. Feutrie, G. Fischer, B. Hooks, P. Jarvis, J. Kidd, D. Livingstone, S. Merriam, A. Rogers, S. Scribner, B. Spencer and others, who were focused on studying of peculiarities, methodology, principles and learning techniques of adult.

Among the diverse contexts for lifelong learning the concept of adult education has become of vital importance with the emergence of new technologies. Today it is important how we receive and gather information, how we collaborate and communicate with others. Adult education is considered as the acquisition of formal qualifications or new skills of work and leisure throughout life. It began to gain popularity in the late 1960's and early 1970's. Nowadays adult education is seen as a concept of recurrent and lifelong learning. Lifelong learning has become «an organizing principle of all forms of education and exists in any of the three contexts:

- formal as structured learning that typically takes place in an education or training institution, usually with a set curriculum and carries credentials;

- non-formal as learning, which is organized by educational institutions but non credential. Non-formal learning opportunities may be provided on the workplace and through the activities of civil society organizations and groups;

- informal education that is learning that goes on all the time, resulting from daily life activities related to work, family, community or leisure [3, р. 9-10].

Adult representatives of the able-bodied age may continue their studies in different ways: to become applicants of retraining institutes or institutes of postgraduate training, knowledge universities for the «third age» or non-traditional educational institutions «Universities without walls», «schools of artificial learning» or distance learning, but the main role in adult learning is played by their needs, motives and professional problems. As education plays an important role in personality's development, non-formal adult learning programmers are important to provide opportunities of learning and to form new skills and knowledge for a large percentage of people who are beyond the reach of formal education.

K. Bandyopadhyay and P. Sharma developed some principles guiding the process of the effective non-formal adult learning. They are concerning the psychological peculiarities of adults. First principle notes that adults come to the learning situation with a well-defined self-concept, and if their learning is facilitated it helps them to build up their self-concept. If the self-concept is low, the learner thinks that she / he is incapable, ignorant, inexperienced and powerless. This blocks new learning. Such self-concept may have been conditioned by adverse circumstances, by marginalization and exploitation. If the learner is helped to overcome this low selfconcept and recognizes that she / he is capable, has something to contribute and has the potential to learn, she / he becomes more open to the learning process. Similarly, an unrealistically high self-concept may also block learning. Secondly, adult learning is an emotional experience, both in the sense that certain emotions are associated with learning, and that learning occurs through feeling as much as thinking or acting. All changes entail risk. Thus, the act of learning creates anxiety, stress, perhaps fear, frustration or helplessness. This needs to be understood and handled with sensitivity, especially when dealing with those who have never gone to school and are very apprehensive about the learning situation. Moreover, feelings are an important mode of learning, a basis for learning, and a vehicle of learning. We avoid what angers us, or frightens us, or what is unpleasant for us. Conversely, we are eager to find out more, learn more, about the things which bring positive feelings. Thirdly, we should remember that adults choose themselves whether to learn or not. Adults need to be interested and ready before they learn something. They need extra support, encouragement and guidance. Learning improves when self-directedness is encouraged, when learners are involved in planning and monitoring the process. Interest to learn can be heightened by feedback on their progress and success. Fourthly, adults willingly learn that, what they think is relevant to their lives and their problems. Adults accept that knowledge which they can apply in practice. Hypothetical problems which are far removed from their reality seem for them a waste of time. Learning is easier when it involves practical material related to current concerns. Fifthly, adults learn based on experience. Adults come to a learning situation with a rich storehouse of past experience which can be both a potential learning resource or an unavoidable hindrance, because past experiences determine how a learner interprets new experiences, and how she / he learns. Moreover, adults equate experiences with themselves, their under - standing of the meaning of life. Devaluing or ignoring adults' experience is tantamount to a personal rejection. Sharing of experiences of learners and trainers, and giving value both to past and present experiences, creates a readiness for new learning [1, p. 10-11].

Researchers of adult education M. Cooke, G. Selman, M. Selman, P. Dampier summarized that the purposes of non-formal education may vary, but the general purposes are: professional, social, recreational, and self-development. There are some characteristics of adult education such as: relevance to the needs of disadvantaged groups, concern with specific categories of person, a focus on clearly defined purpose, flexibility in organization and methods [2].

So, the aim of adult education is to help adult to satisfy their personal needs and achieve their self-development and professional self-realization. Recent resources have advocated non-formal adult training programs which are more student-centered, are participatory by its nature, and reflect adult education principles. As it was stated in UNESKO Education strategy 2014-2021: «The entire education system is designed to facilitate lifelong and `lifewide' learning and the creation of formal, non-for- mal and informal learning opportunities for people of all ages. The concept of lifelong learning requires a paradigm shift away from the ideas of teaching and training towards those of learning, from knowledge-conveying instruction to learning for personal development and from the acquisition of special skills to broader discovery and the releasing and harnessing of creative potential. This shift is needed at all levels of education and types of provision, whether formal, non-formal or informal» [2].

The main skill that an education institution should equip a person in the age of global changes is the ability independently learn, find and select necessary information, acquire education throughout life, generate new ideas. The modern labor market requires from the specialist not only deep theoretical knowledge, but also the ability to independently applying them in non-standard, constantly changing life situations.

The phenomenon of globalization covers virtually all spheres of social activity, which causes a whole range of challenges. In the current conditions of transition from a knowledge society to a society of competent citizens, globalization in education leads to its internationalization, standardization of knowledge and the formation of a unified system of values. In the twenty-first century humanity has realized that school or university education is not enough to solve new problems, in particular those that are inextricably linked with the global challenges of our time, the most important of which are technological, demographic, environmental information and other challenges.

Technological challenges lead to the transition into a fundamentally different technological level of development of education, where the priority is given to the development of creative abilities, what requires the transition from the supporting education to the developing education, to strengthening the fundamentalisation and humanization of education. Demographic challenge encourages taking into account demographic changes in the distribution of human resources, requiring an immediate increase in the level of literacy of the population, the ability to acquire and apply the knowledge gained in various situations, especially in non-standard conditions. Environmental challenge arose as a result of a significant deterioration in the ecological situation and the threat of a global ecological catastrophe. This challenge requires increased environmental education and the formation of environmental con sciousness. Information challenge is connected with the necessity of transition to the information society and adaptation to the information environment, requires solving the problem of information inequality, development of information culture and competence of the person.

During the period of the post-industrial revolution, marked by the explosion of new scientific information and the widespread introduction of progressive innovative technologies based on the use of computer technology, the life duration of mass professions sharply decreases. Even in those professions which do not change the name, the nature and content of labor change substantially.

For the unit of measure of the aging of expert knowledge, American researchers have suggested to introduce the concept - «a period of professional half-life,» which is defined as a period of time during which half of the professional knowledge and skills of specialist die or become irrelevant or not actual because of the emergence of new information. It lasts less than five years. This is especially true for professions related to information technology, where this process lasts 2 -3 years. It means that if a person receives a specialty degree, for example, a programmer's specialty, then at the time of graduation, more than half of the special knowledge and skills that he or she has received at the junior courses die or become unnecessary. In this case, a graduate of the university, for the renewal of knowledge, must learn to study independently, to update and refresh knowledge throughout the whole professional life. In other branches of knowledge, «professional half-decay» is a bit slower, but of course this process is inevitable. Thus, in medicine and psychology, on average, it lasts 7-10 years [9, p. 163-164].

So competitiveness of a specialist is based today not on the amount of know - ledge acquired in the university, but on his or her ability to acquire and update know - ledge independently, on ability to apply it creatively. That is why, throughout the world today, the systems of adult education are being developed and formed, which would promote human development, its creative abilities, self-improvement and selfrealization.

Conclusion

Successful European integration of Ukraine is possible under conditions of a number of reforms, including in education. In this case it's important to underline that in this process the concept of adult education is vitally urgent and can be considered as a part of general strategy of reformation of the system of education in Ukraine. Organization of social and psychological conditions of development of adults can help them to adapt and realize themselves in profession in a new globalize world. Non-formal and informal education as a form of organization of adult education becomes a source of replenishment of necessary knowledge and a form of adaptation of adult to challenges of the modernity. Moreover, motivated and conscious learning throughout the life opens new opportunities for personality's selffulfillment at any age, including adult people. In Ukraine, the relevance of this research attracts interest of high-level scholars and practitioners in the field of psychology and pedagogic to support people during their post-professional activities for their further development, updating of acquired professional experience and building of post-professional life strategies.

Reforming and improving adult education will allow developing adult education as a holistic system that reproduces guarantees and rights every citizen of the country for continuous education throughout life. It will orient a person on the universal values, the ideals of humanism and will make it accessible to all layers of the population.

learning adult specialist

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