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Background. In the context of the implementation of the Federal Educational Program for Preschool Education, many kindergarten teachers face difficulties in organizing a developing environment, which leads to tension and disagreements within the team. Studying the teachers’ attitudes towards this issue will not only reveal the professional aspects of improving the quality of the educational environment, but also identify areas for working with teaching staff.

Objectives. Identification of the essence and contradictions in the attitude of preschool teachers towards the organization of a developing material and spatial environment.

Sample. The study involved 28 respondents aged 25 to 65, including teachers and specialists from preschool educational institutions in the Ivanovo region.

Methods. The study was based on discursive design and qualitative content analysis of pedagogical essays that expressed the author’s position on the main issues of creating a developing environment in a kindergarten. The analysis of the essays’ content was conducted based on four aspects of the organization of the subject space, including approaches to zoning, the composition and content of corners (activity centers), aesthetic design, and the possibility of children’s participation in changing the space.

Results. It has been revealed that determining approaches to zoning the group’s space presents a particular challenge for modern educators, as they must choose between a clear division of the environment into play areas or a “dispersed” arrangement of materials. Educators have expressed a desire to increase the diversity of the play areas, with a trend towards moving away from unpopular play centers and encouraging children’s initiative and creating conditions for their activities. A separate issue is the difference in approaches to understanding the aesthetics of a kindergarten between educators and supervisors, which can hinder the collaborative creative work of educators and children within the group’s physical space.

Conclusions. The essence of teachers’ attitude to the organization of the developing environment is expressed in the contradiction between the need to comply with formal requirements, which are expressed in the structuredness of the space and its external attractiveness, and the importance of providing conditions for the child’s initiative and activity. Improving professional training and working with pedagogical teams can be carried out by transforming professional values from a superficial understanding of the environment as a system of “correct” corners to the formation of a holistic image of the environment as a space for the developing interaction between the teacher and the child.

Background. In the context of a shortage of teaching staff in preschool education, the importance of studying the specifics of a teacher’s professional identity is increasing as a condition for developing management mechanisms to increase the prestige of the profession and the quality of teacher training.

Objectives. In the course of the research, the specifics of the professional identity of a preschool teacher are revealed as his personal attitude to the moment of reality associated with a sense of professional success.

Sample. The study involved 119 respondents aged 25 to 65 years, teachers and specialists of preschool educational organizations in the Ivanovo region.

Methods. The research is based on a discursive design using high-quality content analysis of pedagogical essays on the topic “Pedagogical insight or the moment when I felt that I was a good teacher.” The analysis of the essay content was carried out on the basis of a three-component structure of professional identity, including cognitive, emotional and behavioral components.

Results. It is revealed that teachers identify their profession and its importance with conducting classes and direct interaction with preschoolers. A tendency has been revealed to shift the focus of the cognitive component from the realization of professional activity to choosing a profession, solving personal problems and self-improvement. The behavioral component manifested itself in the teachers’ increased concern for the mood of children, the desire to entertain and please them, which determines the choice of methods and means of work. The emotional component is a contradiction between the pleasure of communicating with children when working in preschool education and doubts about the importance of the chosen profession and the correctness of their actions.

Conclusions. The value of a child’s vivid emotions is a factor that regulates the teacher’s choice of methods and means of work in favor of entertainment formats and orientation towards the external expression of positive emotions by children as a result of interaction with the teacher. The improvement of professional training and work with teaching staff can be carried out through the training of monitoring the development of children and pedagogical reflection. Further research requires identifying the nature of the influence of the ratio of the levels of development of the components of professional identity on the style and quality of the teacher’s work.