Volume 13 - Issue 80 / August 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2024.80.08.13

How to Cite:

Wang, X., Palshkova, I., Yakymenko, P., Zabiiaka, I., & Terenko, O. (2024). The internationalization of teaching: keys to professional development abroad. Amazonia Investiga, 13(80), 143-159. https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2024.80.08.13

The internationalization of teaching: keys to professional development abroad

Інтернаціоналізація викладання: ключі до професійного розвитку за кордоном

Received: July 1, 2024 Accepted: August 27, 2024

 

Written by:

Xia Wang

https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8470-0533

WoS Researcher ID: KWT-5955-2024

Teaching Assistant of Music Department, Xinzhou Normal University, China.

Iryna Palshkova

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6710-5232

WoS Researcher ID: IFK-3962-2023

Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor of the Department of Pedagogical Technologies of Primary Education, South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after K. D. Ushynsky, Ukraine.

Polina Yakymenko

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4233-4098

WoS Researcher ID: JTU-9114-2023

Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor of Department of Psychology and Pedagogy, Philip Orlyk International Classical University Private Institution of Higher Education, Ukraine.

Iryna Zabiiaka

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9535-5490

WoS Researcher ID: AAD-6434-2022

Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor of Department of Foreign and Ukrainian Philology, Lutsk National Technical University, Ukraine.

Olena Terenko

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1427-921X

WoS Researcher ID: KDN-5467-2024

Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor, Associate Professor of Foreign Languages Department, Sumy State Pedagogical University named after A. S. Makarenko, Ukraine.

Abstract

This article explores the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity. It examines the characteristics of world-class universities that foster such development and promote pedagogical creativity through program and institutional mobility. The study analyzes the significance of the "International Teacher" qualification and highlights the necessity of teacher participation in international integration projects. It also underscores the role of the European Universities Initiative, the Erasmus+ program, and the new strategic framework in fostering teacher professional development within an international context. The article concludes by outlining recommendations, requirements, and strategies for supporting teacher development at institutional, national, regional, and global levels.

Keywords: professional training, foreign countries, formation of pedagogical creativity of a specialist, professional development of teachers, international educational activity.

Анотація

У статті досліджується професійний розвиток педагога як суб’єкта міжнародної освітньої діяльності. Він розглядає характеристики університетів світового класу, які сприяють такому розвитку та сприяють педагогічній творчості через програмну та інституційну мобільність. У дослідженні аналізується значення кваліфікації «Вчитель-міжнародник» та підкреслюється необхідність участі вчителів у міжнародних інтеграційних проектах. Він також підкреслює роль Ініціативи європейських університетів, програми Erasmus+ і нової стратегічної основи у сприянні професійному розвитку вчителів у міжнародному контексті. На завершення статті викладаються рекомендації, вимоги та стратегії підтримки розвитку вчителів на інституційному, національному, регіональному та міжнародному рівнях.

Ключові слова: професійна підготовка, зарубіжні країни, формування педагогічної творчості фахівця, професійний розвиток педагогів, міжнародна освітня діяльність.

Introduction

A sign of the times is comparative intelligence as a component of any scientific and creative research. International cooperation and integration provide for the synchronization of key parameters with global and European standards. In this process, higher education is the leader because its mission is the formation of pedagogical creativity in specialists, the training of highly qualified specialists who possess the vital competencies of the 21st century, and professional innovative qualifications. A modern creative researcher is called upon to carry out professional scientific research through the prism of the multidimensionality of the globalized modern world (Lokshyna et al., 2021).

The international activity of universities all over the world is considered an imperative in the development of higher education. It is becoming more and more decisive for the professional development of specialists as subjects of international educational activity.

Higher education requires special attention in the 21st century because studentship is the creator of future and present values, an expression of public opinion, and a guarantee of the formation of a civil society. This means that the democratization of student life, the formation of individual creativity, the development of skills in young people to work in a team, to be a highly qualified specialist, to be responsible for professional activities, to make decisions, to develop professionally during life – directly affects the processes of state formation in each country. It is possible to carry out such a process qualitatively when studying international educational activities in foreign countries, studying the training of specialists who possess professional, innovative qualifications and vital competencies of the 21st century.

Literature Review

We have been observing an increase in the number of studios devoted to the development of foreign education since the mid-90s of the 20th century. In particular, research is devoted to a complex of problems related to the formation of the pedagogical creativity of a specialist, foreign language learning, and the professional development of specialists as subjects of international educational activities in foreign countries.

The source base of research is expanding regularly. As a basis for its analysis in the research, we took scientific representative works in the form of training manuals, monographs, scientific articles, etc.

In the textbook on comparative pedagogy, H. Ponomariova, & M. Semenova (2014) highlighted the trends in the development of educational systems in the leading countries of the world, the approaches of the modern world to the history of the formation of comparative pedagogy as a science, outlined the problems of standardization of education, differentiation of learning, diversification of educational services, proved the importance of the influence of globalization on the development of education, the effectiveness of education for society, showed the role of monitoring the quality of education for the education, upbringing and socialization of the young generation, in the context of the European integration strategy, showed the prospects of university education.

In the educational and methodological manual on comparative pedagogy, O. Lokshyna, O. Hlushko, A. Zhurylo, S. Kravchenko, N. Nikolska, M. Tymenko, & O. Shparyk (2021) showed the development trends and the state of education in the EU countries, the USA and China. Mastering the materials presented in the educational and methodological manual involves the formation of a comparative and pedagogical holistic competence of a qualified specialist – a scientist-researcher who, in the field of education and science and the field of comparative studies, has a high level of readiness for professional activity.

A. Sbruieva (2021), in the educational and methodological manual, showed the peculiarities of ensuring the quality of higher education in the institutional, national, and European dimensions of consideration; characterized the ways of formation of pedagogical creativity of a specialist, identified the fundamental factors of the development of higher education in the society of knowledge; revealed innovative approaches to the management of higher education in the modern world; summarized the trends of modernization of scientific, educational, innovative activities of higher education in the EU; singled out the stages of development, goals, dimensions of changes in the context of the formation of the European space of higher education, which took place within the framework of the Bologna process, proved the importance of the professional development of teachers today.

A historical and pedagogical analysis of the development and formation of transnational higher education in Canada, the USA, Australia, and Great Britain was carried out in the monograph by N. Avsheniuk (2015). The trends in the development of transnational higher education in developed English-speaking countries are characterized. The scientist, like previous researchers, proved the importance of the professional development of teachers today and characterized the ways of formation of pedagogical creativity of a specialist, in particular in Great Britain, Australia, the USA, and Canada. At the strategic, political-economic, social-cultural, and pedagogical levels in the second half of the 20th – at the beginning of the 21st century. The phenomenon of transnational higher education is substantiated. In developed English-speaking countries, the ways of ensuring the quality of transnational higher education have been determined, and the regulatory and legal foundations of the functioning of the educational sector have been analyzed. The author's recommendations on the professional development of teachers today and the use of progressive ideas for the development of transnational higher education have been developed.

In the field of higher education, the problem of international cooperation is considered in the article by T. Antoniuk (2013), where the author focuses on the need to strengthen the component of international cooperation in the global educational space as an important factor in the integration of the national world education system and strengthening the competitiveness of educational services on the world market.

In the article, V. Pashkov (2014) considered the problems of higher education today and presented models of decentralization of higher school management. The essence of the policy and process of decentralization on a global scale is revealed. The positive effects of the educational space from the implementation of the decentralization of higher school management are shown; the main principles of its implementation are presented. The possible effects of the use of different models of implementation of decentralization policy are analyzed on the example of foreign countries. "It is justified that decentralization is a form of liberalization of higher education management on the part of the state, which aims to increase the efficiency of activities and social responsibility of the institution of higher education".

So, in the field of education, the following has been done:

However, the ways of professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity in foreign countries are not sufficiently presented in scientific research.

Therefore, the purpose of the article is to study the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activities in foreign countries.

Methodology

Our research was aimed at the functional analysis of problems.

It involved:

The main ones were the following: use of statistical data, analysis of scientific sources:

1) Use of statistical data (significant only when they are compared) to understand the quantitative side of pedagogical phenomena of foreign education systems; to determine the relative quantitative indicators of problems in comparative pedagogy, to improve the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity in foreign countries; 2) Analysis of documents to use them to clarify the content of data from foreign education systems about pedagogical phenomena of foreign education systems, facts, etc.

During our research, in the process of comparative analysis of various educational systems of an international format, we singled out principles for scientific comparison in the experience of different countries of pedagogical experience:

The principle of the system approach requires considering the researched elements of the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity in foreign countries as a result of the properties or properties of the interaction of internal subsystems and not as separate phenomena of the analyzed system and external environmental systems; mark the processes and phenomena in the field of education of the studied foreign country as the results of identifying and determining the vectors of the evolution of authentic systems, self-development of authentic systems, comparing system-forming elements;
The principle of prioritizing the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity in foreign countries, aimed at affirming the value of a person, which is the task of researchers in comparative pedagogy to find more effective technologies of the educational process and education;
The principle of unity in the world practice of the goals and meanings of the expediency of technological variability and pedagogical activity;
The principle of the identity of the vectors of the general and the partial in the evolution of the pedagogical experience (the country's education system, higher school, school, global educational space, regional educational space).
In the course of comparative studies in the field of education, the tasks include:
Comparison of the functioning of foreign education systems and their practical application;
The use of positive experience for the development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity, justification of methods and forms of reforming national education, training and upbringing, and the role of educators in this;
Provision of information to teachers, as subjects of international educational activity, about the educational policy of international organizations and foreign countries;
Developing an objective assessment of concepts, theories, and experience of foreign pedagogical systems, highlighting negative and positive characteristics;
Taking into account the national context of the countries, considering the researched phenomenon in the light of the pedagogical traditions of the countries;
Critical assessment of the education system – structure, theoretical foundations, content, individual experience, and pedagogical technologies in comparison with foreign analogs;
Taking into account the political, social, economic, historical context, geographical, and ethnic factors;
Development of recommendations for teachers regarding promising ideas for their professional development as subjects of international educational activity and the formation of pedagogical creativity of specialists;
Reforming higher school education, taking into account the experience of other countries;
Delineation of guidelines for the integration of higher education into the scientific, global educational space.

Results and Discussion

Characterization of the features of a world-class university, which ensures the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity and contributes to the formation of pedagogical creativity of a specialist through the use of programmatic and institutional mobility.

The study of famous scientists K. Mohrman, Ma, W., & D. Baker (2008) prompted us to take as a basis the characteristics of a world-class university presented by them:

The spread of the mission in the global dimension, its international character both in scientific research and in the field of educational services;
Acquisition of new roles by academic staff, first of all: grant activities, commercial contracts for scientific work, consulting business structures, etc.;
The high intensity of scientific research;
Differentiation of university funding sources by attracting funds from business corporations, competitive grants, profits from start-up activities, state resources, and private benefactors, which bring the products of scientific activity of university scientists to industrial application;
Application of global recruitment strategies for administrative staff, researchers, best students, and teachers;
The development of a new type of partnership between business, universities, and the state aimed at the professional development of the individual as a subject of international educational activity, the formation of the pedagogical creativity of a specialist, and the production of knowledge as a public good;
Membership in international programs, numerous organizations, and global partnerships;
Creation of an extensive system of interdisciplinary centers and research laboratories to develop academic activities;
Support and initiation of academic partnerships to internationalize the content of education, development of teaching and student mobility, and implementation of professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity.

Let's consider the main forms of program and institutional mobility, which ensure the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity and contribute to the formation of the pedagogical creativity of a specialist. Program and institutional mobility, which together with student mobility constitute the main forms of international education, are carried out together, serving as components or complementing each other.

The main forms of software mobility are:

Distance education, the purpose of which is the use of modern ICT, e-learning, online learning, satellite television technologies, video conferences, etc. in higher education;
Within the framework of the implementation of a joint educational program between several universities from different countries, the teaching of a training course abroad, and, as a result – the awarding of a joint academic degree to students after the completion of the program within the framework of an academic partnership.

Institutional mobility is a rapidly progressing phenomenon, limited in size, involving foreign direct investment (human, intellectual, financial, material, etc.) of educational providers or institutions of higher education. The opening of a branch, higher education institution, or educational center by a private educational provider in another country is the most popular form of institutional mobility, which is necessarily accompanied by program mobility because it involves mastering a curriculum that contributes to the successful professional development of specialists as subjects of international educational activity and ensures the formation of pedagogical creativity of a specialist and ends with the awarding of a professional qualification or an appropriate academic degree.

Let's consider the leading strategies that determine the educational and political priorities of one or another state or even an entire region for the professional development of specialists as subjects of international educational activity and contribute to the formation of their pedagogical creativity. It is important to understand the trends of the professional development of a specialist, in particular, and the process of internationalization of higher education, in general, is the knowledge of national strategies that occupy an important place in the educational policy of different countries of the world.

There are economic and academic, as well as cultural, political, and social reasons for determining such strategies.

Let us name the leading strategies that determine the educational and political priorities of a particular state or an entire region to develop the internationalization of higher education, the professional development of specialists as subjects of international educational activity, and contribute to the formation of their pedagogical creativity (Sbruieva, 2021).

Such strategies are:

A strategy for the development of mutual understanding and professional development of specialists as subjects of international educational activity;
A strategy for promoting skilled migration;
Strategy for obtaining profit;
A strategy for building the potential of a particular state or an entire region to develop the internationalization of higher education (Borysenko et al., 2022).

The program and the approved qualification "International teacher" within the professional development of specialists as subjects of international educational activity were created based on the "Standards of the International Teacher" formed by the National Institute of Higher Education in the context of the internationalization of higher education.

For the professional development of teachers, the formation of pedagogical creativity of specialists and versatile didactic and methodical support for their high-quality professional training should be ensured.

In the process of practical activity, each teacher must demonstrate compliance with their qualification level with established international professional standards. Therefore, within the framework of continuous professional development, to increase the professional, international, and intercultural competence of teachers, together with the University of Cambridge (Great Britain) and the European Council of International Educational Institutions, the qualification "International teacher" was approved and a program of such training was developed.

Under this program, experienced teachers with priority areas of international activity who have two years of work experience (and longer work experience) at the university are admitted to study. Active participation in the international work of the institution of higher education is mandatory because evidence of it is provided by the applicant for study in the form of an individual professional portfolio, which serves as a kind of "pass" to the internship program (Avsheniuk, 2015).

This program was created based on the "Standards of the International Teacher" formed by the European Council of International Educational Institutions, which provides an opportunity to implement the principle of person-oriented education.

The certificate of an international teacher is awarded to those teachers who have prepared a portfolio of he established samples of personal solid pedagogical international activity and have completed their studies under the program (Nakonechna et al., 2017). The presence of such an international certificate indicates:

Study in an international context;
Willingness of teachers to work in a higher education institution, taking into account a personally oriented approach;
Develop professionally as subjects of international educational activity;
Improve professionally throughout life.

Such received qualification reflects the nature and essence of innovative teachers with the professional development of specialists as subjects of international educational activity, prognostic thinking of an international scale in the conditions of internationalization of higher education.

As the research shows, the main goal of such an innovative program is to provide teachers with a wide range of international opportunities for:

Formation necessary for the implementation of teaching and training of professional skills and knowledge in the international context;
Development of specialists as subjects of international educational activity, their special competencies in teaching international groups of students, with prognostic thinking of an international scale and improvement of their educational achievements in an intercultural environment;
Continuous professional development in terms of the internationalization of higher education;
Development of abilities in the process of international pedagogical activity regarding professional improvement, personal improvement, and self-control in institutions of higher education in an intercultural environment;
Reflection on the personal activity of specialists as subjects of international educational activity, in particular, as an international teacher (Ivannikova et al., 2023).

The content of the program is based on five closely interrelated standards and corresponds to five aspects of a teacher's professional activity, which are key in the conditions of internationalization of higher education and form requirements for the intercultural professional competence of a modern teacher as a subject of international education activity The standards can be used as a basis for the professional development of specialists as subjects of international educational activity, for checking the qualifications of teachers of higher schools of local or international status, for developing an international curriculum in higher education institutions, for training students.

Let's analyze these standards in more detail:

1) By the first standard – education in an intercultural and international context – ensures the effectiveness of communication and work in an intercultural environment, familiarization of teachers with the characteristics of education in the international dimension, understanding of the peculiarities of a diversified society, combination of international aspects of work with local needs; 2) According to the second standard – the pedagogical competencies of an international teacher – provide an opportunity for a wide variety of methods and strategies of teaching modern students, for the development of internationalized curricula for institutions of higher education, which are aimed in the international context at adapting to the needs of students, to help students achieve an active, academic success, for professional development of specialists as subjects of international educational activity, for becoming responsible citizens of global society; 3) The third standard – education of students for whom English is an additional language of communication – is important for the formation of intercultural competence of teachers because teachers create a positive learning environment that meets the needs of future professionals who study English as an additional language of communication, strengthening the respect of students to their culture and native language; 4) The fourth standard – mobility of students – is an integral part of the professional development of specialists as subjects of international educational activity and is the main requirement for the functioning of a modern institution of higher education. Teachers, through empathy and compassion for students, apply their intercultural competence to accompany them in the educational and social international environment of higher education institutions; 5) The fifth standard – reflective practice – further professional development during life, taking into account the international context of modern professional activity in a diversified student body, which requires teachers to be reflective practitioners to increase the level of professional development of specialists as subjects of international educational activity and improve international competence (Shetelya et al., 2023).

The teacher training program with international status includes four components that ensure the professional development of specialists as subjects of international educational activity:

In "on-line" mode – training courses;
On the Internet – online training;
At the university – theoretical training;
In a higher education institution – practical activity (Sydorenko et al., 2023).

During the entire period of professional development of specialists as subjects of international educational activity and innovative professional training, teachers collect documents and materials that allow monitoring of the level of skills, abilities, and knowledge and certify the formation of their international competence in acting as international teachers.

It is important to divide all documents into three categories as evidence of the professional development of specialists as subjects of international educational activity and professional intercultural development of the teacher, namely:

1) Directly related to the student group and the practical work of the teacher, evidence about the teaching activity of the teacher, based on the author's methodical developments; 2) Evidence of students' educational activities for personal development of students; 3) Evidence of the reflective practice of the teacher aimed at the professional development of the teacher as a subject of international educational activity, provided based on the results of systematic and regular evaluation of his activity (Avsheniuk, 2015).

The trainees in the portfolio provide evidence of the following types of work, which are related to the five standards of the "International Teacher" qualification and are oriented towards practical application:

Implementation of the developed extracurricular project;
Teaching, planning, evaluation of the curriculum;
Development and conducting of the seminar;
Conducting several empirical studies-surveys of students;
Development, understanding, and implementation of the student's professional development plan (Kutsak et al., 2023).

Participation in international integration projects, in particular under the programs of the European Union, to exchange experience between European countries and countries of the world for the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity and the formation of pedagogical creativity of specialists.

The exchange of experience and strengthening of contacts between the countries of the world, the deepening of integration processes in all spheres of society's life requires the field of higher education to be widely involved in the process of professional development of teachers and improvement of the quality of higher education of talented youth. Necessary for employment in the world labor market is the professional development of teachers, the formation of a specialist's pedagogical creativity, and professional competence. And it is higher education that is designed to form in student youth, these components of a future specialist with the possibility of international educational activities in foreign countries. Higher education is ensured by the effectiveness of integration mechanisms, characterized by innovativeness in modern conditions (Kozmenko et al., 2022).

The main goal in developing a higher education strategy is the quality of professional training of specialists. Improving the quality of professional training of students makes it possible to participate in international projects under the programs of the European Union.

During the last decade, higher education was formulated as an industry that provides a high level of scientific, intellectual, and cultural potential for society and, due to the deepening of the permanent relationship between public organizations, governments, institutions of higher education, scientific institutions, teachers, students, scientists, contributes to the improvement of the quality of training students and promotes the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activities in foreign countries.

The state policy of European countries contributes to the creation not only in their country of equal opportunities for obtaining quality education but also to the expansion of access to European higher education for all students, fully recognizing the diversity of the missions of higher education (scientific research, training, services related to the cultural development of the nation and with the socialization of society). The mobility of researchers, teachers, and students is necessary for enrichment with European experience, to research the problems of European higher education, and to improve the quality of education and professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity, which strengthens cultural and academic internationalization.

The experience of studying the best practices of foreign countries allows:

To study the global trends in the development of higher education, the European space as a desire for a democratic education system;
To make higher education accessible to the entire population of the country;
To ensure the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity;
Familiarize with the procedure of granting independence and autonomy to the best institutions of higher education in the world;
Increase interest in gifted youth, move away from the focus on the "average student";
To expand the market of educational services;
To search for additional resources for the education of the disabled and persons with developmental disabilities;
Ensure constant updating of student training programs with the aim of professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity.

Solving such problems in the world educational space is provided with the help of large international programs and projects aimed at the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity:

Erasmus – a project whose goal is to ensure student mobility within the program, where 10% of students have the opportunity to study at universities in another European country of the European Commonwealth;
Lingua – a program that ensures the improvement of the effectiveness of learning foreign languages, which begins at the primary school age;
Iris – a system of projects aimed at expanding the professional education of women;
ESPRIT – a program that unites the efforts of computer companies, European universities, and educational and research institutes to create new information technologies;
APOLLO – a project that provides European-style training in higher education institutions;
AIESEC – foreign internship programs that allow students to acquire practical knowledge, programs of the International Association of Young Specialists, and students working in the field of information technology, management, and economics. AIESEC is engaged in holding seminars and conferences with young people in different countries;
DAAD – scholarship programs of the German Academic Exchange Service in the field of higher education, aimed in both directions at the support of international cooperation and the implementation of exchange programs;
IREX – a program of the International Exchange and Research Council, provides students with the opportunity to study in two-or three-year colleges or universities in the United States for one year, where they study such courses as journalism, business, international relations, disciplines of information and computer direction, economics, law, agriculture, political science, sociology, etc.

Participation in the Tempus / Tacis program, which is a program of the European Union, plays a major role in the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activities in foreign countries and in improving the quality of professional training of students. The program is aimed at supporting economic and social transformations in partner countries. The program is implemented based on cooperation with higher education institutions of the European Union through the improvement of higher education systems in these countries.

The main areas of implementation of this program are quite diverse, which were developed gradually when higher schools became partners of such projects of international importance under the Tempus / Tacis program as SusFood, AGFED, AGRIPOL; Susfarm; Conception of the sustainable development in the training of specialists for agriculture.

A special place among the tasks of the Tempus / Tacis program is the assistance of higher education institutions in the reorganization of existing courses and the creation of new courses that are introduced into the educational process of institutions at the expense of the selective part (Kuchai et al., 2017).

The task of another direction of the Tempus / Tacis program is to provide financial assistance to universities to improve the methodological base of professional training and the material and technical base (this especially applies to institutions of higher education with a student contingent of more than 30-40 thousand) (Puhach et al., 2021).

According to the Tempus / Tacis program, teachers can undergo internships in the most prestigious European institutions, which is of great importance in the direction of the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity in foreign countries, improving the quality of professional training of students, and forming the pedagogical creativity of specialists.

Internships under this project can last from one week to three months. The quality of professional training, which ensures the active activity of specialists, is significantly increased, the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity in foreign countries takes place under the condition of the transformation of students from objects into subjects, the influence of internships on the organization, techniques, methods, content is observed professional training.

The Tempus / Tacis program provides not only the training of teachers but also the training of students, their internships, and practice, which takes place in the higher education institutions of Great Britain, Germany, the Czech Republic, France, and other partners on international projects.

Therefore, new prospects are now open in the cooperation of higher education institutions with foreign educational institutions, which contributes to the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity. As an implementation of the Bologna agreements, the exchange of students and teachers in terms of increasing academic mobility for professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity, holding joint scientific forums and meetings, scientific research, exchange of scientific publications, internships at universities – this is a short list of cooperation of institutions higher education in foreign countries.

We believe that increasing the mobility of scientists, teachers, students, and administrative workers will provide each person with professional development during international educational activities, and the global education system will significantly increase the competitiveness of specialists in the market of educational services and strengthen the role of education in social transformations in their countries (Antoniuk, 2013).

The role of the idea of the European Universities Initiative and the Erasmus+ program and the new strategic framework (Council Resolution on a Strategic Framework for European Cooperation in Education and Training towards the European Education Area and Beyond (2021–2030)) in the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity in foreign countries.

The practice of developing innovative networks is becoming more and more popular. Their members interact creatively with the aim of professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity in foreign countries:

In the creation of new technological information;
In the creation of fundamental new scientific knowledge;
In transfer and distribution;
In the provision and definition of qualifications that are necessary and relevant for the sustainable, intelligent, comprehensive, and innovative union – the development of Europe.

Worth the attention of the European Universities Initiative (EUI).

To form the pedagogical creativity of a specialist in the context of the implementation of modern tasks, the "Europe 2020" program was launched at the EU Social Summit in Gothenburg and grew into an actual, necessary for today, flagship program for the creation of the European Education Space, which should be formed in society by 2025.

The idea of the European Universities Initiative (EUI) is to strengthen strategic partnerships between higher education institutions within the EU and to promote the creation of about twenty universities in Europe, which are organized by uniting higher education institutions "from the bottom up" and will be university alliances.

Such European university alliances, which, by promoting identity and European values, will become the universities of the future, revolutionize the competitiveness and quality of European higher education, which are network universities that allow students to obtain a scientific degree by combining the educational process in several EU countries:

To improve the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activities in foreign countries;
To get the opportunity to teach, train, and research unhindered movement between partner institutions.

To achieve a big step forward, in particular, the professional development of teachers, the European Commission, as part of the Erasmus+ program, is testing different models of cooperation between European universities with the help of two competitions.

According to the requirements of the Erasmus+ program, Alliances must meet the following requirements:

Cover a wide geographical range of higher education institutions from all over Europe;
Include partners as subjects of international educational activity from all types of higher education institutions;
Involve various student organizations to develop their own mobility programs at all levels of education;
To offer student-oriented educational programs that are held jointly on inter-university campuses;
To be based on a long-term jointly developed strategy aimed at excellence, sustainability, and European values;
Apply an approach in which external partners, scientists, and students in interdisciplinary teams will cooperate to solve the biggest problems facing Europe today (O'Malley & Myklebust, 2021).

At the end of February 2021, EU member states agreed on the implementation of a new strategic framework (Council Resolution on a Strategic Framework for European Cooperation in Education and Training towards the European Education Area and Beyond (2021–2030)) with the aim of further cooperation for the period 2021–2030 in the field of education (Council of the European Union, 2021).

The specified strategy is characterized by five priorities:

Strengthening of higher European education;
Mobility for all and availability of continuous education;
Increase in favor of fair and equal access to the level of quality, justice, success, and inclusiveness to the education system for all;
Increasing the level of motivation of specialists in the field of education, competence, and professional development;
Support through professional training, education, and digital transformation education.

Therefore, with the aim of professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity in foreign countries, attention is focused in the field of higher education on further coordination with initiatives within the Bologna process, full implementation of the European initiative for the development of higher education (for example, the European Research Area), with to avoid duplication of tools and structures (Plakhotnik et al., 2023).

Attention was paid to the tasks planned by the EU Commission, the transformation of universities. A goal has been set for higher education – among 25-34-year-old citizens of EU countries – to reach the share of graduates of higher education institutions at the level of 45%.

The new strategic framework in the field of education, regarding the development of cooperation regarding the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity in foreign countries, will continue with the "ET 2020" strategy, which was completed at the end of 2020 (Education and professional training ‒ 2020) (Sbruieva, 2021).

Dependence of teacher status on professional development in foreign countries.

The status of a teacher depends on the cultural traditions of any country. Eastern countries (China, South Korea, Japan) have a high status in the teaching profession with appropriate financial remuneration. It is most prestigious to teach students, especially high school students, in China how effective learning affects admission to higher education and provides free education when receiving a major. Teachers in China are constantly working on their professional development and have the status of civil servants.

In Japan, great importance is attached to the professional development of teachers, the number of male teachers is 45% in primary school and 82% in secondary school.

In the world, there is an increase in the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activities in foreign countries and the qualification level of pedagogues. In particular, in Japan, 67% of primary school teachers have a bachelor's degree, and 85% of such teachers are in high school, but great importance is attached to studying under international programs.

In the USA, where great importance is attached to the professional development of teachers, 3.1 million teachers work in public schools, in total, there are about 3.5 million school teachers. To get a job in an educational institution, a future teacher must, after testing, receive a certificate for the right to work in an educational institution, where great importance is attached to the professional development of teachers. In the United States, a teacher's working week lasts 40 hours. The number of men in the educational system is 25%. A teacher's salary has advantages (decent pension, benefits, health insurance) in parallel with the career growth of a specialist, the teacher's salary increases ("advanced", "advanced", "one who is advancing", "beginner", "novice").

100% of teachers working in US educational institutions have a bachelor's degree, and 35% of teachers have a master's degree. The problem of providing educational institutions with qualified teachers in developing countries is still unresolved and acute.

Great importance is attached to the professional development of teachers in Great Britain. Teachers in this country are municipal employees. During the school year, working according to the main work schedule, a teacher who has to teach 190 days must be available to students, administration, and parents at least 195 days a year. The salary is quite decent and depends on the teacher's qualifications.

The vast majority of teachers in France, with a weekly workload of 18 hours in an educational institution, also have the status of a civil servant and a decent pension if they have completed their full years of service.

If a teacher works in socially disadvantaged areas – "special educational zones" where people from an immigrant background live, his salary is automatically increased due to an allowance. A teacher is hired on a competitive basis, where, by legal regulations, the teacher's professional development as a subject of international educational activity, nationality, age, physical condition, moral character, academic degrees, and diplomas are taken into account. The weekly workload is: in primary school – 26 hours, in secondary school – 30 hours. With the academic degree "agrezhe", which gives the right to teach at humanities and natural sciences faculties of universities and lyceums, the teacher's workload is 15 hours.

German teachers of educational institutions have a decent salary, the status of an official that guarantees tax benefits, a high pension, etc. In Germany, great importance is attached to the professional development of teachers, and the accounting system for total working hours is approximately 48 hours per week.

The teaching profession is respected in many EU countries, although it does not provide opportunities to get rich.

The profession of teacher in the countries of Western civilization is predominantly female.

In almost all EU countries, Australia, and North America, more than 90% of teachers are women. There are more male teachers in universities, elite schools, lyceums, and gymnasiums in the USA, Great Britain, France, and Italy – their number is 50% or more, and in countries with African and Eastern cultures, men make up a significant percentage even in elementary school.

In developed countries, the system of teacher training and retraining works stably, where the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity in foreign countries increases, the pedagogical creativity of a specialist is formed, and the correspondence between the needs of educational institutions in teachers and their satisfaction is taken into account.

The governments of these countries contribute to raising the material and moral status of teachers. The teaching load of a teacher depends on the type of educational institution and the country (Ponomariova & Semenova, 2014).

The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2022) provided official data that confirms the massification of higher education in recent times. In particular, indicators of the growth dynamics of higher education in the world have been provided over the last 30 years. The demand for higher education has increased, according to UNESCO, from 68 million students in 1991 to:

100.8 million in 2000; 164.582 million in 2009; 223.671 million in 2021.

By the beginning of the XXI century, traditional leaders in quantitative indicators of higher education systems were in Western Europe and North America. Today, the countries of the Pacific region and East Asia have the largest number of students.

In ensuring the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity and social justice in education, the countries of Northern and Western Europe have achieved particular success, where education in institutions of higher education is available to all citizens of the country because it is practically free.

Germany finances the support of its students within the framework of the Federal Law, adopted in 2001, on the promotion of education, which is provided jointly and under the supervision of the federal center (65%) and the states (35%), where, within the framework of international educational activities in foreign countries, a large the importance of the professional development of teachers.

In addition to similar social programs and international educational activities in foreign countries, the Netherlands directs financial support to increase the equality of educational opportunities for all people by implementing a system of student loans to stimulate the success of the Netherlands and its international educational activities. In higher education, there is a principle: "a loan – then a scholarship". If students of higher education have fulfilled the requirements of the program, receiving state financial assistance in the form of a loan that turns into a scholarship, it does not need to be returned.

When providing state support for education in the Scandinavian countries, both the success rate and professional development of teachers, as well as the student's financial situation, are taken into account. The argument here is that such low-income students of higher education are forced to spend more time on part-time work and, therefore, cannot study well, like students from well-off families.

Principles of the modern strategy for the development of the worldwide system of continuous education.

Innovation in the educational space of higher education has made possible the practical creation of open universities that exist today in both developing and developed countries. In each of these open universities, hundreds of thousands of people from the democratic strata of the population, who combine study and work, receive higher education. Internet technologies give higher education an open mass character, enable the formation of research and educational networks, multi-channel information acquisition, and its exchange with the best universities in the world. For the high-quality creation of an open space of education, the initiative of the world's leading universities to publish their scientific achievements on the Internet for free to popularize education and science throughout the world and ensure wide access to new knowledge is of great importance (Budnyk et al., 2022).

In the conditions of the knowledge society, the process of massification of higher education is directly related to the implementation of the principles of continuous education, since professional knowledge is quickly updated, there is a significant acceleration of the growth of information resources, which makes it impossible to obtain a one-time (once and for life) higher education. The international community has been making active efforts for more than fifty years to develop the concept of lifelong education.

Let's consider the principles on which the modern strategy for the development of the worldwide system of continuous education is built:

Ensuring, through the development of the educational offer, the availability of education in any place and at any time for everyone's education;
The development, for all interested parties, of partnerships in formal education systems and beyond them for cooperation in the implementation of educational activities;
Provision of an adequate resource base of the education system, transparent and fair distribution of resources;
Taking into account the educational needs of each potential or actual student of higher education, along with taking into account the educational needs of society as a whole, communities, organizations, and the labor market;
Adaptation of educational opportunities to the interests and needs of higher education seekers;
Creating a culture of education in society by increasing the level of citizen participation in the continuous education system, developing the educational offer, and stimulating the growth of demand for education;
Taking into account the results of informal and non-formal education;
Formation of assessment and monitoring mechanisms and quality assurance of continuous education to ensure continuous improvement and growth (Sbruieva, 2021).

Recommendations, requirements, regulatory rules, development of functioning, and development strategies at the institutional, national, regional, and international levels of development of teachers as subjects of international educational activities in foreign countries.

The further progress of the phenomenon of the development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity in foreign countries determines the need for requirements, recommendations, regulatory rules, and the development of strategies for its functioning and development at the institutional, national, regional, and international levels (Rojas-Bahamón, 2022).

We formulate the general requirements for the development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity in foreign countries at the institutional, national, regional, and international levels, compliance with which is necessary for the successful study of foreign pedagogy and high-quality education in higher education:

Before turning to the specific problem of the development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity in foreign countries, it is necessary to imagine the system, forms, and methods of education and upbringing, the content of education, the structure of practice, and theory of pedagogical science of education of the country being studied;
The approach to foreign documents and sources should be done by a scientist with pedagogical practical experience of the country whose experience in the development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity is being studied.
In the perfect study of the functioning of the education system, in particular, the development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity in foreign countries, it is very important to identify the socio-cultural conditions in which the education of the country being studied operates.

Therefore, the approach to the study of the problem of the development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity in foreign countries should be unbiased, with the desire of the researcher to expand his horizons and highlight progressive ideas for his country. It is necessary to very carefully transfer categories and phenomena from the studied country to the higher education of one's country, the national system of teacher development.

To develop teachers as subjects of international educational activity in foreign countries, we will formulate recommendations and regulatory rules and develop strategies for functioning and development at the institutional, national, regional, and international levels. We take as a basis the best work of researchers – K. Larsen, J. Martin, & R. Morris (2002), and J. Knight (2006):

Expanding students' access to higher education for professional development as subjects of international educational activities in foreign countries;
Actualization of lifelong education;
The change in the quality of human resources, which depends on the emergence of the knowledge economy, has caused an increase in the demand for high-quality professional training by obtaining higher education, which is the motivation and main driver for the flourishing of all forms of creativity of a specialist;
Providing all students with equal access to quality educational services and services that meet the needs of the development of specialists as subjects of international educational activities in foreign countries;
The priority direction for the cooperation of various organizations and countries should be the accumulation of data since, without a reliable database, it is impossible to develop normative rules and effective strategies for the educational sector. Many international organizations, in particular UNESCO and OECD, jointly develop relevant directives on the development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity in foreign countries, ensuring the quality and transparency of qualifications in education;
Development of academic mobility of students and teachers at the national and international levels;
Increasing the due attention of national quality assurance agencies to the quality of exported or imported training courses and programs provided by private new commercial providers that are not included in the national quality assurance system of a foreign country;
Development of international quality standards and procedures for the development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity without putting the standardization of education and the sovereignty of the national system at risk;
Development of new innovative approaches in the accreditation of higher education institutions and certification of accreditation agencies;
The recognition of qualifications and the enrollment of credits at the local and international levels is caused by the growing academic mobility;
Attracting talents, strengthening the transnational movement of scientists, teachers, and future specialists. The power of reason and intelligence in most countries of the world is becoming an important factor in the labor mobility of highly qualified workers, economic development, and technological progress, it is part of the growing competition in the conditions of the knowledge economy for human capital;
Ensuring the quality of the development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity in foreign countries at the institutional and national levels to create new regional networks for guaranteeing the quality of transnational educational services.

Conclusions

A sign of the times is comparative research as a component of any scientific and creative research. The international activity of universities all over the world is considered imperative in the development of higher education and is increasingly becoming a determining factor for the professional development of specialists as subjects of international educational activity.

Therefore, the article describes the features of a world-class university that ensures the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity and contributes to the formation of a specialist's pedagogical creativity through programmatic and institutional mobility.

The main forms of programmatic and institutional mobility, which ensure the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity and contribute to the formation of the pedagogical creativity of a specialist, are considered, and the leading strategies that determine the educational and political priorities of a particular state or region with the aim of professional development of specialists as a sub-objects of international educational activity and contribute to the formation of their pedagogical creativity.

The program was analyzed, and the importance of the approved qualification "International teacher" within the professional development of specialists as subjects of international educational activity, which was created based on the formed international "Standards of the international teacher" in the conditions of the internationalization of higher education, was proven.

As the research shows, the main goal of such an innovative program is to provide teachers with a wide range of international opportunities. The teacher training program with international status includes four components that ensure the professional development of specialists as subjects of international educational activity, which are discussed in the article.

It is shown the need for teachers to participate in international integration projects, in particular under the programs of the European Union to exchange experience between European countries and countries of the world for the professional development of teachers as subjects of international educational activity and the formation of pedagogical creativity of specialists.

The importance of the idea of the European Universities Initiative and the Erasmus+ program and the new strategic framework (Council Resolution on a Strategic Framework for European Cooperation in Education and Training towards the European Education Area and Beyond (2021–2030)) in the professional development of teachers as subjects of international education is shown activities in foreign countries.

Emphasis is placed on the dependence of the teacher's status on professional development in foreign countries.

The principles of the modern strategy for the development of the worldwide system of continuous education are highlighted.

Recommendations, requirements, regulatory rules, and strategies for functioning and development at the institutional, national, regional, and international levels of development of teachers as subjects of international educational activities in foreign countries have been developed.

Since professional knowledge is quickly updated, there is a significant acceleration of the growth of information resources, which makes it impossible to obtain a one-time (once and for life) higher education, the process of massification of higher education is directly related to the implementation of the principles of continuous education and requires further research in the conditions of the knowledge society.

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