Systematic Update of Educational Programs at the FMKTO Faculty

On March 13, 2026, the Faculty Council of the Faculty of Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science and Technology (FMCST) at Berdiansk State Pedagogical University held a meeting to discuss draft educational programs for three levels of higher education for the 2026-2027 academic year. The Head of the Department of Physics, Mathematics and Teaching Methodology, Oleksandr Shkola, familiarized council members and educational program guarantors with the changes introduced following the accreditation of the EP «A4 Secondary Education (Physics and Astronomy)» at the second level of higher education (October 2025), in accordance with the recommendations of the Expert Groups and the Higher Expert Council of NAQA and the outcomes of the working group.

The updated draft educational program incorporates the following changes:

• course 01 «Ukrainian Language and Academic Writing» and course 05 «Psychological and Pedagogical Foundations of the Teacher’s Professional Activity» (semester 1, 3 credits, pass/fail assessment) have been added, with their titles agreed upon with the relevant departments of BSPU;
• the logical sequence and scope of course 01-04 of the general training cycle, shared by master’s students in physics and mathematics («Ukrainian Language and Academic Writing», «Foreign Language for Professional Purposes», «Research Methodology», «Occupational Safety in the Field»), have been updated;
• the scope of the professional training cycle courses (course 06-10), which provide the foundational and methodological preparation of future teachers, has been retained unchanged, preserving their proportional weight in the curriculum;
• course «Teaching Practicum» has been moved to semester 2 (9 credits), which will facilitate its more effective completion after students acquire the necessary theoretical and professional-pedagogical preparation during semesters 1-2;
• the number of elective courses has been increased to 6, with a total of 30 ECTS credits distributed equally among them;
• the formulation of the aims and integral competence for the respective master’s programs in physics and mathematics has been refined.

The presented changes have been recommended for consideration by guarantors and working groups when updating educational programs for all specializations within the «Secondary Education» and «Vocational Education» fields at the FMCST Faculty for the 2026-2027 academic year. Guarantors have been invited to systematically review the logic of curriculum design, with a view to strengthening the practical and methodological components of future specialists’ preparation, ensuring coherence between the general and professional training cycles, and aligning the content of educational programs with the requirements of the New Ukrainian School, the National Qualifications Framework, and the professional standard «Teacher of a General Secondary Education Institution» (2024). 

The discussion took place in a constructive and collegial atmosphere: council members put forward proposals for the further improvement of normative educational documents, and the introduced changes were endorsed as measures that will contribute to raising the quality of graduate preparation and strengthening the FMCST Faculty’s standing in training teaching staff for the New Ukrainian School.

Oleksandr Shkola, 
Head of the Department of Physics, Mathematics and Teaching Methodology