CONTENT COMPONENT OF PROFESSIONAL TRAINING OF HIGHER EDUCATION applicants IN THE PERIOD OF FORMATION OF INDEPENDENT UKRAINE

The article presents an analysis of the content of professional training of higher education students in a higher education institution during the period of formation of independent Ukraine. The transformation of the content of education, the influence of international educational processes, the formation of educational standards and the priorities of modernisation, which determined the further development of the educational environment of Ukraine, are considered. The study has shown that during the formation of the Ukrainian higher education system, the content component of professional training has undergone a significant revision in both structural and content aspects. In particular: - the concept of educational content was redefined, which led to the formation of a multi-level structure of educational programmes, which provided for a clear division into three key components: fundamental, professionally oriented and variable training; - a competence-based approach to learning was introduced; - the practice-oriented component of the education content was expanded; - the humanitarian component was integrated into the structure of professional training; - Adaptation of Ukrainian education to European educational standards was carried out; - interdisciplinarity and adaptability of the content of education to the needs of the modern professional environment were enhanced; - the national component in the content of higher education has been intensified. The main characteristics of the content of professional training at the present stage are: modular and competence-based structure of educational programmes; balance between theoretical and practical components of student training, variability of educational programmes; interdisciplinarity and flexibility of content; digitalisation of the educational environment; internationalisation of educational content; humanitarian and ethical training. It is concluded that the reform of the content component of professional training in Ukrainian higher education institutions in the 1990s – early twenty-first century was accompanied by profound structural and methodological changes. These transformations were driven by the need to build its own educational policy focused on humanisation, competence-based approaches, democratisation and integration into the European space. Despite the challenges and difficulties of implementing the reforms, the foundations of a modern multi-level model of training adapted to the needs of the labour market and socio- cultural changes were laid.