Modernization of Preschool Education: Information and Communication Competences of a Teacher

Modernization of the educational system as it is defined in the Concept of a long-term socioeconomic development of RF for the period to the year 2020 is a foundation for the economic growth and social development of society, a factor of the citizens well-being and country security. Modernization touches upon the structure, content and technologies of upbringing and education on all the levels of the educational system. In the Federal Law "On Education in the Russian Federation" an essential role is assigned to the system of preschool education. On January 1, 2014 the Federal Standard of Preschool Education came into effect. The relevance of the problem under study is determined by the fact that in light of the adopted national programme for modernization of preschool education the information and communication expertise of a teacher takes one of the lead places. The contemporary researchers specify the information expertise of a teacher among the baseline competences. The need to study the given problematics is conditioned by discrepancy between the necessity to introduce information and communication technologies into the professional and educational activity of a teacher in a preschool educational organization and the low level of maturity of competences and motivation to master and introduce them. The objective of the paper consists in substantiation of conditions for development of the information and communication expertise of a teacher in a preschool institution in light of modernization of the preschool educational system. The lead approach to the research of the problem is a pedagogical experiment consisting of the summative, formative and controlled stages enabling to reveal the maturity level of the information and communication competences of a teacher and the level of motivation to introduce into proper professional and educational activity. The authors have analyzed the problems of modernization and informatization of a preschool educational system on the modern stage, professional expertise of a teacher as a basis for establishing new quality of education, and information and communication technologies of a preschool educational organization. The research of introduction of information and communication technologies into the educational process of a preschool educational organization was conducted, and model of managing the process of development of the information and communication expertise of a modern teacher was proposed. The academic novelty of the research is that there were revealed the organization-pedagogical and psychological conditions required for the efficient management of the process of development of the information and communication competences of a teacher in a preschool educational organization in light of modernization of the preschool educational system. The materials of the paper can be useful for building the information and educational environment in a preschool educational organization, as well as for planning the activities of methodological departments of the preschool education management.