INFORMATION AND DIGITAL COMPETENCE AS A TOOL OF BUILDING THE INDIVIDUAL TRAJECTORY OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The authors offer an opinion that the effectiveness of lifelong learning directly depends on the specialist's construction of his/her own individual trajectory of professional development. The law interprets it as a personal way of realising the teacher's professional potential, that is based on his/her free choice of educational institutions, subjects of educational activity, types, forms, pace of learning, which contributes to the greatest possible disclosure of the specialist's professional opportunities [1]. It is noted in the article that under the conditions of the digital society's rapid development, the list of professionally significant qualities of a teacher is supplemented by another important component – information and digital competence. Possession of it ensures a high level of information and technological culture of a specialist and opens wide opportunities for both his/her further education and professional activity. The content of the article emphasises the importance of possessing information and digital competence for teachers of out-of-school education institutions. It is noted that out-of-school education, as a part of the informal education sector, differs in its specificity from other structural elements of the domestic education system, which is entirely aimed at the formation of a competent personality capable of self-realisation in the conditions of a society directed towards the digital transformations in the most important areas. But a significant part of teachers has not yet realised the essence of such changes, that cause a change in the place and role of extracurricular education in the XXI century. And this did not have an effect on their position regarding their own professional development. It remains passive. The content and nature of the changes accelerate the need to change the position to the opposite, which will ensure the professional development of the head of the studying group as a modern specialist. The authors emphasise that the possession of information and digital competence will allow heads of the studying groups to build an individual educational trajectory of professional development based on their own professional interests, requests and preferences. The final result on this path will be: self-development of the teacher, his/her students and the quality of extracurricular education.