KHACHATUR ABOVYAN ARMENIAN STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY

Armenian State Pedagogical University today hosted the presentation of a training manual “Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development: Global Processes and Armenia” and journal “Modernization of Education in the Context of Modern Pedagogical Paradigms,” which are both intended to serve as a resource for all types of institutions of higher education. 

In his opening speech, ASPU Rector Ruben Mirzakhanyan noted with regret that little attention is paid to the issues of sustainable development today; they are not presented and studied in due order. “I hope that university education and the manual “Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development: Global Processes and Armenia” will fill the gap, including high schools in the process of solving problems of sustainable development which are of universal importance,” he said. 

Speaking about the other collection, “Modernization of Education in the Context of Modern Pedagogical Paradigms,” Ruben Mirzakhanyan said it was not accidental that the two collections were presented simultaneously: it is difficult to speak about any pedagogical problem, moreover, about modernization issues, and offer solutions to these problems without the desire to see sustainable development of the world. 

Karine Danielyan, Head of the Department of Ecology and Sustainable Development, ASPU, Doctor of Geographical Sciences and Professor, a co-author of the manual presented the book and the process of its compilation.  

In her speech, the environmentalist said although ecological norms and sustainable development are included in the Constitutions of several countries and great was the desire to present more positive trends, more problems exist in the sphere today. “The UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) is coming to an end, with countries summarizing the results of implemented work and developing plans for future activities. In 2012, Rio+20, United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which called on countries not to be sufficed with the implemented work, to go ahead, continue and expand ongoing activities. In the meantime, the University Department Ecology and Sustainable Development opened at the ASPU, and today we are presenting this manual to the public. All students of the University are familiarized with principles of sustainable development thanks to our work, and I do believe that this manual will spread in all universities and high schools.”

The presentees were also welcomed by Laura Asatryan, Head of the Department of Theory and History of Pedagogy, who presented the journal “Modernization of Education in the Context of Modern Pedagogical Paradigms” that includes article presented at a conference held under the same name.  

The latter stressed that issues of education modernization - training of specialists, democratization of society and activation of media - concern the entire pedagogical sector, and there is a need to invest in the educational process new technology innovations, activate the introduction of tested practical experience, develop intellectual potential and make it required. 

The collection consists of two parts. The first part includes Russian-language articles of educators from seven countries – Armenia, Italy, Russian, US, Japan, Slovakia and Ukraine. The second part includes articles of lecturers, postgraduate students and degree seekers from different universities in Armenia.