Natalya Kovalyova

The relevance of the research is justified by the need to apply new approaches to pedagogical research. The civilizational approach, in contrast to the formational and other scientific approaches, is actively used not only in philosophical and historical research, but also in pedagogical. The theoretical foundations of this approach help come to the heart of the studied pedagogical problems. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the disclosure of the main provisions of the civilizational approach and their application to pedagogy. This is due to the cardinal changes that took place in the twentieth century in all spheres of society, including education and the humanities. The need to apply new approaches in pedagogical research is also dictated by the development of pedagogical science and the accumulation of new knowledge, the increased interest of society in the upbringing and education of the younger generation. Since the civilizational approach includes the fundamental characteristics of the culture of a particular civilization, the specific features of upbringing and education process within the civilizations, the use of the approach will contribute to improving the quality of education, obtaining profound knowledge, developing research competences in students, and forming the cultural and historical environment of the Russian state. The theoretical significance of the study: it determines the need for a transition from a formational to a civilizational approach, as well as the development and use of an approach in pedagogy. The use of the approach by the scientific and pedagogical community shows the diversity of pedagogical systems and societies development within the framework of world civilizations. The purpose of the study is to highlight the main characteristics of the civilizational approach in the methodology of pedagogical research as well as common and different characteristics of "civilization" concept, and to determine the possibility of using the civilizational approach for a more profound study of pedagogical problems. The authors speak about some peculiarities of "civilization" concept interpretation, revealing its meaning in case of applying to pedagogy. The paper examines similar and different meanings of the "civilization" concept in pedagogy and history, as well as the unique features of the Russian civilization formation and the impact of these features on the development of pedagogical research. It is emphasized that they used an exclusively formational approach in pedagogy for a long time, but after the collapse of the world bipolar system at the end of the 20th century, scientists began to apply a civilizational approach. The authors justify the use of this approach in pedagogy of both higher and secondary schools not only by creating the most important prerequisites for the education of schoolchildren and students, but also by preserving historical and collective memory in social systems. It is believed that the use of the civilizational approach in pedagogical research contributes to the study of various processes, taking into account the specifics of the social and cultural foundations of society in which pedagogical processes take place. The approach increases the potential of scientific research, as it examines the specific features of education and upbringing created within civilizations. Pedagogical paradigms and educational models that were embedded in the socio-cultural foundations of civilizations were directly connected with the reproduction of a certain type of a person, an ethnos that was in unity with the traditions of society and the dominant system of cultural and religious values in it. The authors believe that the application of the civilizational approach to pedagogy, in the process of education and upbringing, can be an effective and essential condition for both professional and personal growth.

The article is devoted to the consideration of students' independent work in terms of the efficiency of its organization and implementation. The concept of “independent work”, traditional for pedagogy, requires qualitatively new understanding of the contemporary challenges in crisis conditions. In modern society, there has already been a contradiction between a demand for specialists focused on self-education and poorly studied problems of organizing independent work in the theory of pedagogy on the basis of advanced technical means, information and pedagogical technologies. The purpose of this article is to highlight basic pedagogical conditions for the effectiveness of students' independent work. The theoretical research methods were used for the study of this problem, as well as a method of observation, conversations with participants in the educational process and an analysis of the author’s teaching practice. Independent work was contemplated by the author in the system of broad ideas as an imperative in the formation of creative independence of future specialists and in a close correlation with independence as a personal quality. The authors focus on such aspects of independent work as a wide field of its implementation at all levels and stages of learning, the need to vary it depending on the complexity of tasks and forms of their solution. The authors of the article persist in their point of view that the main direction of students' independent work is the formation of creative independence, which allows preparing specialists with a highly organized individual style of self-education. Provisions and observations presented in the article improve the theoretical ideas about independent work as a form of educational and cognitive activity, contribute to increasing the effectiveness of the practical introduction of this process into education system in the context of modern professional requirements.