Being the first mentor, helping a child adapt to a new environment, teaching him to make friends, to be independent, preparing a child for school – this is far from a complete list of the responsibilities of educators in a preschool education institution. Professional training is necessary to cope with all those responsibilities because an instructor at kindergarten ought to find a key to each child, be able to help him, and surround him with care and love.
The materials of the Volyn News Agency state the above mentioned.
“Preschool age is a fundamental stage in the personality formation process,
and it is especially important who guides the child on this path”
The role of a teacher in the life of every child is extremely important. Teachers of the General Pedagogy and Preschool Education Department at the Volyn National University train professional educators for preschool institutions of Volyn and other regions.
The word pedagogue is literally translated as "one who leads a child. “Therefore, the role of the teacher is of great importance, since it is decisive who guides the child on the path of the formation of his personality, and helps to shape character. Preschool age is the basis of the basics as it is the foundation of personality-forming process. Everyone knows that the strength of the construction depends on the reliability of the foundation. That is why it is so important who brings up and educates our little citizens”, states Nataliia Semenova, the associate professor of the department.
Today, the number of people who want to become educators, according to university analysts, is constantly growing. Last year, we managed to admit 50 students. Thanks to the rolling license, the university has increased the number of students who study free of charge. Last year all 50 students enrolled on budget funding. The demand for this specialty is growing. The resources in local communities allow opening new groups or even kindergartens. There are also vacancies for heads of the preschool education branch in the education departments of the local community executive committees. The Master's degree qualification of Organizer of preschool education allows graduates to hold such management positions. Currently, there are 73,000 children of preschool age, 488 preschool education institutions, and 4,250 positions of teaching staff in the region. Many students combine studies with work. “Institutions are lining up to employ our students. Masters are all employed, 4th year students are also working.
The kindergarten directors call us and ask: “Send us someone from among your third-year students”. I am indescribably proud of our students and teachers who teach them. This specialty is basic, it is the foundation on which senior students grow up, because we all come from childhood,” emphasizes Volodymyr Antoniuk, the Dean of the Faculty of Pedagogical Education and Social Work.
“We are the only specialty where everyone is provided with the job – 100 %,” adds Nataliia Semenova, who is involved in career guidance.
There is a myth that a person of any profession can work as a kindergarten instructor
The head of the General Pedagogy and Preschool Education department, prof. Oleksandr Semenov, notes that this is far from the case.
“For some reason, there is a false idea: “What's so special about this?” But the profession of an educator is not only care about a child. It is a complex of practice and theory that supports it. Students of our faculty study such specialized disciplines as Child Psychology, Features of Child Development at Different Age Stages, etc. Our students become specialists in teaching speaking, developing artistic, logical, and mathematical skills. The educator must know methods of using means of influence on the child's development (intellectual, spiritual, emotional) and be able to use them inconspicuously”, he emphasized.
Iryna Puhach, the director of Lutsk kindergarten No.18, who is also a graduate of this University, is convinced that the specialists trained at the Volyn National University in the specialty “Preschool Education” are always interested in new methods, know how to work with the youngest pupils and skillfully apply the gained during their studies knowledge in practice.
“I worked both as an educator and a methodologist and, now, I am a director. Each position certainly has its own peculiarities, but knowledge and skills obtained at university are always useful. As a director, I am always happy to employ our university graduates of this specialty. Seven out of thirteen instructors at our kindergarten are certified specialists who were trained here. They are rather creative people who possess innovative learning technologies and know why preschool education is so important. The university provides them with knowledge on Psychology of Preschool-age Children and the peculiarities of their development.
Students who have a pre-service practice in our kindergarten and then work here as educators manifest a high level of theoretical training and are never afraid to apply theory in practice. They know how to find an individual approach to every child even when the children cannot speak yet, how to develop their independence skills, and how to prepare them for school,” she emphasized.
Another important thing is that only with a diploma of higher education a teacher can pass the certification and improve his/her qualification, which contributes to prestige and salary increase.
“There is another myth that students with a not very high level of knowledge come to study at this specialty. This is not true. There were cases when students had 198 points in the ZNO (external examination) and could have entered any faculty at any university of Kyiv but they came to us. According to the data of our university, our students have almost the highest ratings. They constantly bring prizes from competitions and Olympiads,” adds Nataliia Semenova.
You always feel young and needed here
Olena Hnirovska, a teacher-methodist of primary school No.10, has been in the preschool education system for 30 years. She tells that she has never regretted her choice of profession.
“Working with children is very interesting. Here you are always young, even though you are an adult. You can play with toys, jump, or go for a walk. With children, you always feel young and needed. Children are the people who need to be accompanied, not taught. Children are interested in everything. They are often ready to discover something new themselves, and they themselves can interest an adult in what they saw. When you have professional knowledge, you know what to do with children in this or that situation, you feel psychological moments, you know how to talk to a child, and how to bring him closer to you. There are children who have a hard time adapting to new surroundings. So you need to know what to do during the adaptation period, how to conduct classes, etc.” she emphasizes.
Students constantly have practice at preschool education institutions of Lutsk. They also have the opportunity to go to study at universities in Poland in terms of the cooperation program.
“Here, we get both theoretical knowledge and practical skills. We constantly do independent tasks, create visual materials, and design lesson plans. When there is no opportunity to conduct classes at kindergarten, we act out the lesson among ourselves. Thanks to such thorough preparation, you come to kindergarten and know what you have to do, what actions are required of you. After all, we study everything about the child and everything for him. In kindergartens, we work with the youngest children. They are still quite immature and we ought to think of a special approach to communicate with them”, – says a third-year student, Alina Paletska.
“We are expecting creative and daring students”
A good teacher, the teachers say, must, first of all, love children very much and be attentive to every little thing. After all, what is unimportant to an adult can mean the whole world to a child. Children feel a kind attitude to them very well, and they themselves gravitate toward those who come with love.
“We are waiting for creative and daring students. We try to teach them according to the principle “Show how to create something new yourself”. We are waiting for applicants who are not afraid to work outside the pattern. That is why we conduct our classes in the form of discussions and debates,” adds Oleksandr Semenov, the head of the department.
A toy museum was created at the faculty. After all, a true educator will never underestimate the role of game in a child's learning of the world. For sure, the game is a window through which children see the world. An ordinary ball can be of different sizes and different colors, it can be caught and it can jump and run away from the child. A cube is an element using which you can construct anything. All toys have their purpose. This is how children learn colors and shapes for the first time, they develop a sense of space, and the toys can be used for a story-game.
Here, at the faculty, methods are constantly updated, innovations in the educational process are used, and experiences of other countries are studied. The authorities are also planning to introduce dual education programs, when university students study theory, and have practical classes in kindergartens under the supervision of tutors.
“This year, we resumed full-time training of future educators for graduates of pedagogical schools and colleges, where they studied for three years before entering university. There are also full-time and part-time forms of studies for junior specialists and it takes two years to obtain a Bachelor's degree. We also provide a Master's degree program. Currently, all children in Ukraine have an alternative way to get preschool education: the so-called small schools, early development studios, and the like. And all of them need qualified specialists. Our students familiarize themselves with their functioning features and develop their practical skills. We have also initiated certified courses so that our students could improve their qualifications in some specific areas. For example, the “Governess” course is very popular. We issue a bilingual certificate,” adds Oleksandr Semenov.
Among the fifty-two higher education institutions in Ukraine which train specialists in the specialty “Preschool Education”, Volyn University occupies the 7th position. From the first days of the work of the admission board, it became clear that there is a high interest in obtaining this specialty. Many applicants are already asking for consultations and what documents need to be submitted.
On July 1, the registration of electronic accounts of entrants began. From July 29 to 6:00 p.m. of August 8, applications for entrance will be accepted. Individual interviews are scheduled for August 9–16. Applications and documents on applicant's results of the MST are to be submitted till August 23.
For first-year students, according to the instructions of the Ministry of Education, the learning process will start on October 1. The university informs that the EVI (single entrance exam in English) is not required for Master’s degree this year. Only a letter of motivation must be submitted.
