School-University Partnership as a Tool for Professional Development of a Novice Teacher

In the contemporary context, the professional competencies of a novice teacher should be qualitatively different from the standard set of competencies offered by traditional teacher training. Training to become a teacher should be practice-oriented. A graduating student is to possess professional competencies, organizational and tutoring skills. However, credits allocated to teaching internship are not sufficient to shape a teacher of new generation with the above competencies. It is necessary to take into account the fact that modern parents are extremely demanding on the quality of educational services and expect school to be staffed with highly qualified and experienced specialists. Therefore, university should take control of the professional development of a young teacher and simulate the conditions for professional growth of students as part of the school-university partnership, which becomes a platform for further professional growth. The aim of the research is to summarize the experience of school-university partnership between state educational institutions which was held in the period 2018-2020. The authors share the results of professional formation and development of practical skills and abilities of future teachers.


Introduction
The relevance of this study lies in the gap existing between theoretical knowledge, practical skills and professional requirements for a novice teacher, as well as between the individual's inherent readiness for a new social status and the tension between the requirements of a new social role and the graduate's preparedness to play it. Professional development is also influenced by personal and impersonal factors. A special role is given to the conditions and methods of academic management of professional development for teaching graduates.
The activities of the university-school partnership are inextricably linked with four main components: training of school teachers, mentoring, planning and modernization of schools, and conducting joint research. The authors agree that the successful professional development of a teacher is crucial and directly affects the learning outcomes for pupils. Management of the teacher's professional development should be aimed at deepening subject knowledge, a better understanding of the teaching process, a deeper understanding of the needs of pupils, the correct setting of learning goals and outcomes taking into account the cultural, linguistic and socio-economic characteristics of pupils. It also aims at the intellectual development and leadership of teachers.
Thus, general trends in the development of teacher education have developed in Russian and world practice: the role of the university in teacher training has increased, requirements for teacher educational program are tightened, and focus has been put on career guidance of school students at school, family and university levels. There is the problem of developing a training program to include all the achievements of modern science related to the improvement of teacher education.

Purpose and objectives of the study
The purpose of the study is to summarize the experience of school-university partnerships in teacher training.

Literature review
Psychological and pedagogical sources offer a large number of articles on learning and cognitive activity, made a huge contribution to the theory of learning and cognitive activity (Ananyev, 2007;Leontiev, 1975;Elkonin, 1989) and other Russian and foreign researchers (Kennedy, 2005;McLaughlin & Black-Hawkins, 2004; Morris & Chance, 1997).
Professional development may be considered as a process of personality development from the beginning of formation of professional intentions to the full self-actualization in professional activity (Pryazhnikov, Marina I. Popova, Anna N. Ikonnikova / Proceedings IFTE-202020011997. One of the first Russian psychologists who deeply investigated the problem of professional development of a personality was Kudryavtsev (1986). He defined professional development as a long, dynamic, multi-level process of personality development from the initial manifestations of shaping professional intentions to the full self-actualization in professional activity.
A person-centered model assumes a completely different attitude to the process of professional development.
Following a review of publications, the following concepts of professional development of the personality have been identified: personality-developing (Mitina, 1998), acmeological (Bodalev, 1995) and system genetic (Povarenkov, 2014). Acmeology studies at what age interval, at what age people culminate in professional capacity and for how long they persist at this level. According to Mitina (1998), the concept should comprise the unity of the person's personality and professional development, where the object of development includes integral characteristics of his/her personality: orientation, competence, emotional and behavioral agility. Mitina (1998) identified two ways of professional development of a person: adaptive behavior model and professional growth model. According to her definition, professional development refers to the process ensuring the shaping, development and actualization in the work of professionally significant personal qualities and abilities, professional knowledge and skills, as well as the active qualitative transformation by the personality of its inner world, leading to a fundamentally new structure and way of life.
According to the study by Mitrofanov (2010), many universities in England practice allocation, through contracts, of students from the first year of their study to a particular school and teachers. The types of activities in which students are involved may vary, ranging from the role of support staff to assistant teachers. Cooperation of students with general education schools helps them find their place in school life, get used to the atmosphere in which they will work, and such cooperation makes it possible to observe children, understand the psychology of their behavior in a group and combine the theoretical knowledge that they receive at university with practical skills acquired at school. Mitrofanov (2010) proposes to increase the number of hours for teaching internship, to devote more time to students' independent work and to use active teaching methods of students.
Professional development of teachers is also of interest internationally. Kennedy (2005) identifies nine key models that she then classifies according to their ability to maintain professional autonomy and transformative practice for novice teachers. In a study of 43 articles on teacher's professional development for 2016-2017, Postholm (2018) describes the characteristics of teacher professional development in the school and how this development affects the teacher's professional status. Morris and Chance (1997) describe the experience of successful professional development in the school (Memphis, Tennessee), being one of the eleven schools participating in the partnership with University of Memphis. McLaughlin and Black-Hawkins (2004) describe the partnership experience between eight secondary schools and the Faculty of Education at Cambridge University. The review of literature shows that more works are focused on specific aspects of the teacher's professional development. It is important to note a limited amount of data for a comparative analysis of models of teacher's professional development.

Methodology
The study used the following diagnostic tools: theoretical (analysis; synthesis; generalization; modeling); diagnostic (questionnaire method; observation; interviewing; survey; conversation; method of challenges and tasks); empirical (study of the experience of educational institutions, regulatory and educational documentation; lesson observation); experimental (summative and formative assessment, control experiment).

Experimental base of study
North-Eastern Federal University (Yakutsk) and Municipal Educational Institution L.G. Kolosova Secondary School No. 33 in Yakutsk represented the experimental base of the study.

Stages of the experiment
The pedagogical experiment was carried out in three stages: at the first stage, a theoretical analysis of the existing methodological approaches in the academic scientific literature, as well as theories and methods of academic research, was conducted; the problem, purpose, and research methods were identified; questionnaire survey was conducted among young teachers (service records up to 3 years), observation of schoolchildren aged 12-14 years (7 th -8th grade students), and students aged 17-19 years, interviews of the administrative and managerial staff of a general education school, interviews with parents of schoolchildren; at the second stage, a partner school was selected, a cooperation agreement was concluded, a cooperation model was developed, under which the work of the student scientific club was organized. The purpose of the club was to intensify the educational, cognitive and scientific activities of student teachers, aimed at developing the competencies necessary for novice teachers. During the period of work at the school, theoretical knowledge was put into practice, the students developed the ability to apply the acquired knowledge in professional activities; at the third stage, students' competencies necessary for research and teaching activities were assessed and analyzed. On the part of the university, theoretical and methodological interpretation of the partnership was carried out, as well as self-analysis of the actions of students in order to form not specific actions, but the formation of students' professional thinking.

Stages of the model implementation
Introduction of school-university partnership model involved the following stages of experimental work: determination of the initial level of development of professional competencies among students enrolled in "Teacher Education" specialty at the Institute of Modern Languages and International Studies of North-Eastern Federal University (Yakutsk) using the questionnaire method, methods of survey, lesson observation, statistical processing of research results.

Formative stage
Development of professional competencies of novice teachers at the institution of higher education is a complex and multifaceted process, which is based on the unity of interests, the partnership of teachers and students, traditional and modern methods of organizing diverse activities. An effective schooluniversity partnership requires positive motivation, high culture, mutual responsibility, and readiness for constructive cooperation of all participants in the partnership. In the course of the formative experiment, we organized activities as part of the cultural and educational project aimed at improving the universal, general professional, professional and special competencies of novice teachers of a foreign language (see Table 1).

Results
As a result of school-university partnership, practical training of students has been improved, and competencies have been developed that determine the successful inclusion and professional development of novice teachers during their study at an educational institution. Thus, during the period of study at university, students have already received the necessary skills for spreading and promoting the knowledge of foreign languages, literature, culture and using them in educational work, which is also considered to be one of the requirements for the results of training under the "Teacher Education" program.
See Table 1   Analysis of the survey data of young teachers (35 teachers aged 21-25 with experience up to 3 years) allows to conclude that there are aspects that require special attention at the stage of training of novice teachers: 1. The input of society in the training of specialists may be irretrievable if no commitment to the occupation chosen is developed during the training period.
2. In the context of transition to digital education, the importance of the worldview maturity of a specialist, his/her ability to think strategically, to understand the main trends in the development of his/her own occupation and society as a whole, sharply increases. Marina I. Popova, Anna N. Ikonnikova / Proceedings IFTE-20202009 3. In the conditions of rapid obsolescence of information and transition to the paradigm of "lifelong education", the learning process itself is inevitably individualized. Thus, both a student and a graduate constantly face the need for an informed and responsible choice, which implies the availability of outstanding personal qualities of the individual -determination, consistency, the ability to make decisions independently and the willingness to assume responsibility for their consequences.
4. Professional knowledge, skills and abilities are only a tool that can bring great benefits to society and humanity, provided that the graduate has moral qualities.
The professional development of students is facilitated by the sociocultural developing environment of the university and the implementation of school-university partnership system, which contributes to professional development, self-development and future professional self-actualization.
As -study (monitoring) of interests, dynamics of professional and value-based orientations of students as a basis for planning events as part of school-university partnership; -implementation by supervisors of coordinating educational extracurricular activities, determining its area, monitoring and assuming responsibility for its results; -development of a system of moral and material incentives for the students; -providing the material and financial base of extracurricular activities; -improvement of the extracurricular activities management system; -using the educational potential of learning items to expand the cultural horizons of students, their creative and social activity; --modernization and development of recommendation documents (including methodological ones) that ensure the functioning and development of school-university partnership system; -monitoring the content and performance of extracurricular activities, using its results to adjust plans and decisions.
The main results of school-university partnership are evaluated at the institute level. School-university partnership system ensures the achievement of two groups of results: quantitative and qualitative.
Quantitative results with formalized indicators: student awards in scientific and creative competitions, contests and scientific events, an increase in the number of scientific publications, the number of graduates pursuing the occupation they were trained for. Qualitative results with no formalized indicators, because they relate to the inner world of a person: life values, ideals, socio-cultural needs, professional growth and commitment to the teaching profession. In this regard, only the results of the first group are recorded and verified, the results of the second group are taken into account by supervisors and are not subject to verification.
Students together with the supervisors, developed a common concept, organized the work of a scientific student club where the students were involved in active, systemic, teaching activities, which allowed students to be involved in real-world school projects, the Olympiads and contests, research work and show all the facets of teaching, opportunities for self-development, including through the development of soft skills, creative self-actualization and increasing the level of responsibility.
The authors came to the conclusion that the novice teacher lacks information about the specifics of the educational system in the school, teaching activities, teaching staff, and the parent community. Novice teachers demonstrate lack of practical skills in communicating with parents, students, and colleagues.
These are stressful factors and the source of dissatisfaction, doubts about the chosen career and serve as prerequisites for a possible reason for leaving the educational institution.
This type of activity allows to increase professional motivation of students. The process makes students feel more responsible for their own learning, as it requires them to develop their own path creatively, which arouses enthusiasm for creating a high-quality result and manage their professional activities.
The novice teacher in this case becomes the organizer and assistant of the process, and not an authoritative leader. Pupils stop feeling pressure, feel relaxed, which contributes to emergence of new areas and development of creative abilities. Fear of receiving a negative assessment and condemnation by the teacher often prevents the pupil from becoming a participant in the process and abstracts him/her from work. In a relaxed atmosphere, pupils are free to express their thoughts and opinions, which is especially important at their age.
Inclusion of a student scientific club in the educational process of the school has proven to be an effective tool for developing creativity in students, since the task of enhancing creative activity outside of school hours is being addressed, a new form of control over acquired knowledge appears, and a comfortable psychological environment is created in the classroom. The above determines the need to use schooluniversity partnership not only with the aim of improving the quality of subject training, unlocking the creative potential of a new generation, but, to a greater extent, contributes to the development of professional qualities and thinking of students, for whom the Institute provided conditions for vocabulary build-up, development of communicative and grammatical skills, increasing interest in the language, revealing creative abilities and professional potential.
Communication between students and pupils contributed to the professional development of aspiring teachers, and for schoolchildren such communication created a comfortable environment, helped to reveal hidden talents, remove the psychological and language barrier and form a positive motivation for learning activities. The function of supervisors was to interact with the school administration, provide methodological support to students in preparation for classes, followed by an analysis of their actions, psychological support and general monitoring of the cultural and educational project.
The project was conducted in English. At the final stage of each lesson, joint self-analysis of students and schoolchildren was conducted, the results were discussed and joint planning of the next meetings was carried out. All discussions were held under the supervision of tutors, but without their direct participation, which inspired students and developed their professional autonomy. The implemented school-university partnership turned out to be an efficient method for the development of educational and cognitive activity for both secondary school pupils of a general education school, and for students the completed project was a complete life cycle project (from idea to implementation).
School-university partnership was organized and tested as a tool for the professional development of a novice teacher, which includes the organization of systematic teaching activities for students, improving professional motivation, implementation, planning and coordination of school-university partnership, methodological support, psychological support and monitoring the activities of a novice teacher as part of implementation of cultural and educational projects at school. Thus, in the process of planning, organization, motivation and monitoring of practical activities, students are subject to targeted impact in order to ensure their professional development. The result of system wide interaction with the school is the reduction of negative aspects, the adaptation of the aspiring teacher to the external and internal environment of the general educational facility.

Discussions
Partnership between the university and schools is developing in three areas: development of educational autonomy, development of students as researchers, and leadership in education.
One of the many tasks of the school and the teacher is to attract the attention of pupils through involvement in an accessible and interesting environment for them. A cultural and educational project with schoolchildren in a foreign language has become such an environment in the context of our work. In the process of creative activity, students independently obtain information, which, in turn, is absorbed much better. The cultural and educational project is a powerful tool for learning, which gives students the opportunity to work together, consider issues and problems from different perspectives, increase their awareness of future profession and improves managerial skills.

Conclusion
There have been changes in the goals and content of education in the modern context. Modern education is developing dynamically and acquiring the features of innovation. It does not replicate existing knowledge and experience, but creates new educational practices and assimilates new formats of activity.
A modern teacher works in rapidly changing environment. Thus, when training an aspiring teacher, it is necessary, starting from the first year, to develop willingness to carry out teaching activities (planned, systematic, periodic and even spontaneous), to address professional teaching objectives. A future young teacher should be willing to perceive the continuous updating of the structural elements of the pedagogical system: goals, objectives, forms, methods, techniques, etc. in the logic of the competenc ebased approach; willing to work in a team, group, tutoring, in collaboration with parents. A graduate of the teacher education program should have a personal readiness for teaching activity with the ability to analyze, evaluate himself/herself as a subject of teaching activity, conduct self-analysis, collaborate with other participants of the educational process.
School-university partnership is an effective tool for the professional development of the novice teacher and is determined by the following conditions: -availability of theoretical and methodological support for the process of involving students in professional activities, as well as the regulatory framework governing the activities of departments and all participants of school-university partnerships; -availability of an organizational structure that ensures clear interaction between all participants of schooluniversity partnership and decision-making based on the analysis of reliable information received through feedback channels.
The implementation of school-university partnership turned out to be effective in the educational practice of training novice teachers. Activities that should be carried out with the aim of professional development of novice teachers and the development of their practical skills and abilities were designed. To ensure the professional development of novice teachers, surveys and discussions were conducted, professional plans for the future were discussed, the presence or absence of interest in the future occupation was recorded, a team united by a common goal was created, consisting not only of students participating in the project, supervisors, as well as current heads of educational institutions.