УДК 373.2.011.3-051 Scientific and methodological approaches to maintaining the professional health of pedagogical staff in preschool educational institutions

Abstract

The article examines the methodological principles of maintaining the professional health of teachers in preschool educational institutions, the issue that is relevant in today‟s pedagogical theory and practice.

It describes the fundamentals of scientific and methodological approaches, in particular: systemic, synergetic, humanistic, holistic, personal, normocentric, adaptive and valeological ones, which suggest solutions to the problem of the research. The key focus is on the analysis of the normocentric and personal approaches. The article points out that within the normocentric approach personal health is examined as a set of average norms of perception, thinking, emotional response and behavior in combination with normal indicators of the person‟s somatic state. Thus, health and norm in this context are considered as synonymous. The personal approach is concentrated on maintaining good health of a teacher, as the number of stressful factors during their work is constantly increasing and causing such side effects as emotional exhaustion, irritability, anxiety, excessive agitation and may lead to professional burnout. It emphasizes other philosophical approaches to understanding the problem of personal health, namely, phenomenological, holistic, cross-cultural, discursive and cultural ones. It stresses the point that pedagogical activity is a complex and diverse process that requires high efficiency. The article clarifies the essence of professional health as the body's ability to maintain and activate compensatory, protective and regulatory mechanisms in order to allow teachers to be more efficient and effective at work. It proves the necessity to mainstream the problem of the current research as the health of pedagogical staff is the key to their long, full, successful and effective professional activity.