Preparation of Teachers for Ecological Education of Preschoolers Taking Into Account the Natural and Sociocultural Environment of the Kindergarten

Abstract

A teacher is a key figure in ecological education of preschoolers for their safe and happy future life. Intensiveness of preschooler’s development, dependence of his life from grown-ups, direction of development to future life requires to raise social ecological responsibility of teachers before the future generation. The purpose of the article is to show the specific character of teachers’ training as the organizational and pedagogical condition of ecological education of preschoolers in the conditions of natural and sociocultural environment of a kindergarten. Analysis of theoretical sources and teaching practice allows you to identify the most valuable content lines and technological mechanisms of professional training of preschool students and practicing teachers for environmental education of children. The research methods are the analysis of the theory and practice of environmental education of preschoolers, professional training of teachers, generalization, and correlation of the analysis results with the goals of sustainable development, comparison, systematization, questioning of teachers of preschool educational organizations. Achieving the goals of sustainable development of society makes it necessary to focus the content and technologies of organizing environmental education for children on the knowledge of the consistency of the structure and functioning of the natural and sociocultural world, the allocation of ecosystems of different levels in it. In this case, the semantic needs of the future will be reflected in the pedagogical design of the present. Determination of the system-forming role of environmental education will optimize professional training and comprehend the unity of natural science and humanitarian knowledge. Strengthening the personal orientation of education by taking into account the level of training, individual interests, preferred styles of information processing, increases cognitive activity and creative self-realization of each student. The use of project activities and interactive forms and methods of designing environmental education for children create conditions for improving the professional qualities of teachers, increase the value of training. Thus, the directed specificity of the content of vocational education of kindergarten teachers from the perspective of the future increases their social and environmental responsibility to future generations and the effectiveness of the results of environmental education of preschoolers in the process of professional implementation. Keywords: professional training, ecological education of preschoolers, natural and sociocultural environment, system-forming role of ecological education, social ecological responsibility