Developing the Pedagogical Competence of German Teachers (Experience of Tu Bergakademie Freiberg)

Problem statement. Under the influence of European integration, globalisation and with the aim of building a single European higher education area, an important task for Ukrainian educators is to study the practical experience of foreign colleagues, in particular, in improving the pedagogical competence of teachers in higher technical education institutions. This study aims to investigate the issue of improving the pedagogical competence of teachers at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg (where one of the authors is studying under a double degree programme). Given the high standards set by German society for teachers responsible for training young professionals, we consider it necessary to analyse in detail the features of the current system of teacher training in Germany in order to be able to improve the Ukrainian system of training/retraining of scientific and pedagogical staff for higher technical education institutions. The purpose of the article is to investigate the professional development path that German teachers go through; and to analyse the innovative methods and programmes that help them become not only specialists in their field, but also effective teachers. Through this research, we aim to contribute to the understanding of the education process in Germany and to identify practices that may be useful in the context of improving higher education in Ukraine. Conclusions. The developed German system of retraining and professional up-skilling of pedagogical staff (represented by state academies/in-service training institutes and special centres of teacher education within universities) is aimed at comprehensive support of teaching staff for their continuous professional growth as civil servants responsible for the quality training of young professionals for the needs of the leading EU state. It is important to note the urgent need to use the achievements of German experience in practical training and professional up-skilling of teachers in the Ukrainian system of training and retraining of pedagogical and scientific-pedagogical staff in the field of professional pre-university and higher education. The analysis of the process of improving the pedagogical competence of teachers at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg gives grounds to assert that this task is key to ensuring quality education in higher education institutions. It is worth emphasising that the TU Bergakademie Freiberg actively invests in programmes for the professional development of its teachers. These programmes cover various aspects, ranging from technical updates to pedagogical innovations. The combination of professional up-skilling courses for teachers and supervision of students' internships is a clear indication of the dual form of education that is well organised in German society and is currently being actively implemented in Ukraine.