PhD in Pedagogy, Leading Researcher, Laboratory of Preschool Education, Institute of Developmental Physiology of the Russian Academy of Education, Professor, Department of Preschool Pedagogy, Moscow State Pedagogical University, Moscow, Russia
Background. The development of a national system for teacher training and changes in higher education levels require an improved assessment system for students’ readiness for professional work. A demonstration exam is an effective mechanism for such assessment, enhancing the practice-oriented nature of midterm and final student of pedagogical universities assessments and aligning educational outcomes with professional expectations in preschool education.
Objective. To develop and test assessment materials to implement a procedure for independently assessing the readiness of students and graduates for professional work in preschool education, taking into account employers’ opinions.
Sample. The study participants included 170 students from five federal state pedagogical universities pursuing higher education programs in the “Pedagogical Education” majors in Preschool Education.
Methods. The study utilized a combination of theoretical and empirical methods: analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature and law regulatory documentation, comparison, generalization, modeling, a pedagogical experiment, questionnaires, and quantitative and qualitative data processing methods.
Results. Practice-oriented assessment materials for the demonstration exam were developed, taking into account the specifics of preschool teachers’ professional activities and employer opinions. These include a list of competencies (job functions, actions) to be assessed, examination assignments, assessment criteria, and indicators. The results of a pilot study of assessment materials at five pedagogical universities across the country implementing preschool teacher training programs indicate a high level of development of the required competencies among more than 70% of students in the disciplines and 60% in the internships. The survey revealed that the majority of students were satisfied with the new exam format, as well as some difficulties in preparing for it, confirming the need for psychological and pedagogical support for students in both real-life and virtual environments.
Conclusions. The developed assessment materials enable the implementation of a procedure for independently assessing the readiness of students and graduates for professional work in preschool education. The assessment materials can be used to conduct demo exams for the midterm and final assessments of future teachers, as well as to assess the developed competencies of current preschool teachers.
The relevance of the subject of the article. The approval and implementation of the Federal Educational Program of Preschool Education is currently a particularly relevant and significant problem for the preschool education system, since it is aimed at creating in Russia a unified educational space for the upbringing and education of children from birth to admission to a general education organization, providing equal, high-quality conditions for preschool education, regardless of the child's place of residence.
The purpose of the article. To characterize the formation and development of the idea of programming in Russian preschool education and education, to reveal the features of the Federal Educational Program of Preschool Education as a regulatory document defining the vector of development of the modern system of domestic preschool education.
Description of the research progress. The purpose of the study was to identify the formation and development of education and training programs in kindergartens, to describe the specifics of the Federal Educational Program of Preschool Education. The study analyzed the program documents defining the content of preschool education and training at different historical stages. Its structural components were characterized, the content of the target, content, organizational sections was disclosed, the extensions and clarifications introduced into the Federal Program for the first time were highlighted.
Research results. A generalized retrospective analysis of the experience of developing and implementing preschool education programs from 1918 to our days is presented, and the ways of transforming the idea of programming in preschool education are outlined. An analytical review of preschool education programs revealed a sequence of expanding the content of preschool education, the emergence of new sections in their structure, justified by a change in educational paradigms, the introduction of new approaches, achievements of science and practice. The Federal Educational Program defines the basic volume and content of preschool education that are uniform for the Russian Federation and are mastered by students in organizations that carry out educational activities according to educational programs of preschool education, allows them to realize the fundamental functions of preschool education. It was developed in accordance with the Federal Educational Standard of Preschool Education, takes into account the traditions and scientific and theoretical foundations of domestic preschool education, the experience of creating and implementing educational programs of preschool education.
Conclusion. The Federal Program is the successor to the best traditions of domestic preschool education, includes educational and methodological documentation that defines the goals, objectives, content of educational and pedagogical work with children of infant, early and preschool age in modern conditions. The Federal Program ensures the unity of the content of education in all organizations engaged in educational activities for preschool education, creates conditions for the formation of traditional Russian values in children, and preserves the possibility of developing the variability of preschool education.