The Main Directions of Open and Distance Learning Development in the Universities of Western Europe (The End of the 20th – the Beginning of the 21st Century.)

Abstract:

In the last decades of the 20th century, regarding the rapid movement of the society towards its humanistic characteristics, a number of integration processes were taking place in all social spheres including the field of education. The example of this phenomenon is considered to be the European Cultural Convention, the main purpose of which was to organize a multicultural and mobile European educational space where the transmission of steady knowledge meeting the requirements and needs of the late 20th century is possible. The integration of international relations, the increase in demand for highly qualified specialists who are able to identify and solve problems, sets the task to train creatively thinking specialists. The educational system in a whole and higher education in particular, which is aimed at preparing  young people for professional activity, is called upon to solve this problem. The renewal of education in the global space, its democratization, its diversification are carried out taking into account interests of individual and social development. There is an attempt to overcome professional isolation and cultural limitations in education, to bring up  a well-educated and harmoniously developed personality, this attempt is true for the entire world community of the late 20th  century.

nsdlogo2016