Recently, students of the Ukrainian Engineering Pedagogics Academy Glushchenko Anzhelika, group ДІТ-ПОХ21 and Nataliya Kapitonova, group ДКІ-ПОЦТ20 have returned from a study visit to the Roma Tre University, Italy, which took place within the framework of the ERASMUS+ PAGOSTE project. And today we are making news in a slightly unusual format for us – in the format of impressions directly from the students themselves:
«In this news, we would like to talk about our student visit to Roma Tre University in Rome, Italy. The main purpose of our visit was to explore the vocational education system in Italy, to identify different vocational institutions, to highlight the main similarities and differences between the Italian and Ukrainian vocational education systems, and to propose how to improve the education system in Ukraine, based on information receieved from persons engaged in professional training and training of teachers and trainers.
The visit was organized for 8 students who are studying pedagogy from the largest cities of Ukraine – Odesa, Kyiv and Kharkiv. This visit was overseen by Dr. Giovanni Serra, who organized our activities and made sure that we were comfortable in Italy.
We were provided with a convenient hotel, delicious and healthy breakfasts and dinners, as well as transport maps. Dr. Serra was also our permanent translator from Italian to English. We enjoyed practicing our language skills with him and other lecturers.
The main task of our visit was to compile a report that illustrated what we learned about the Italian education system in general, and vocational training in particular. We worked on it in a team and upon completion received a Certificate of success of our visit.
A characteristic feature of teaching in Italy is the knowledge of pedagogical and didactic foundations obtained directly in the classroom. That is, future teachers do not study pedagogy as a discipline in institutions of higher education. They receive a specialty in the chosen field and after obtaining a master's degree have the right to teach in any educational institution, but at the same time they undergo a probationary period during the year under the guidance of a lecturer of this institution.
We received a lot of interesting information about studying in Italy, and we, as future teachers, would like to implement some of the ideas of this country into the Ukrainian education system. During our visit, we worked on the basis of Roma Tre University with Dr. Giovanni Serra, had a meeting with Professor Massimo Margottini, and visited two educational institutions – «Domizia Lucilla» public Vocational School and «Borgo Ragazzi Don Bosco» private vocational and technical center.
Professor Margottini told us about Italy's plan to improve its education system, particularly in teacher training, while the teaching staff of the vocational school and vocational center described the current situation in educational institutions of their type. We were warmly received by each institution; the banquet with Italian cuisine was organized in the public school, and we were given gifts in the form of flash drives by the vocational and technical center.
In general, Italians are friendly and positive people who, like the majority of the world, support Ukraine in its struggle. We were even lucky enough to catch a rally in support of our country while we were walking around the city. It is worth noting that Rome is a beautiful city for aesthete tourists. The architecture impresses with its grandeur and uniqueness. Our program included prominent places, such as the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain or the Spanish Steps, as well as religious buildings and a museum. We especially remembered the Vatican museum, where everyone can feel like a time traveller and touch beautiful paintings created more than half a thousand years ago.
Our various educational and cultural program was implemented within the framework of the implementation by the Ukrainian Engineering Pedagogics Academy of the Erasmus+ project PAGOSTE (609536-EPP-1-2019-1-DE-EPPKA2-CBHE-SP) «New management mechanisms based on partnership and standardization of training professional education teachers in Ukraine».
Summarizing our visit, we are grateful for the acquired knowledge and experience that will help us in our professional activities. It was a dynamic visit, full of impressions, during which we didn’t only get to know the basics of teacher education in Italy, but also learned more about Europe, its values and plans for the future. This will help us stay on course for the development of our own country and move only forward!»
