The thesis is devoted to the study of the problems of science teachers’ professional and pedagogical activity improvement through the development of their pedagogical mas-tery. Based on the analysis of theoretical and methodological approaches (system, cultural, personal-activity, competence, axiological, acmeological, reflexive and andragogical ones), psychological and pedagogical foundations of teachers’ professional activities, the peculiarities of teaching natural subjects at secondary schools, as well as the study of con-ceptual aspects of continuous professional self-improvement of a personality the author reveals the essence, content and structure of teacher’s pedagogical mastery, specific prin-ciples of effective process of professional self-improvement of science teachers (continui-ty, integration, innovation, integrity, priority, self-development) and defines the criteria, indicators and levels of science teachers’ pedagogical mastery.
The author concludes that a science teacher’s pedagogical mastery is an integrative characteristic of his/her high professional and pedagogical competence, based on personal, business and professional qualities that are manifested in perfect knowledge of the subject, ability for productive pedagogical interaction, creativity in educational activities, readiness for constant personal and professional self-development. The following structural compo-nents of a science teacher’s pedagogical mastery have been defined, namely: professional and personal (pedagogical potential, psychological and pedagogical culture, personal ma-turity of teacher, pedagogical ethics, professional and pedagogical reflection, actualization of the teacher’s personality) and operational-activity ones (subject-pedagogical compe-tence, professional and pedagogical experience, critical pedagogical thinking, perfect ped-agogical technique, individual style of pedagogical activities, creativity and readiness for innovation). They are developed in the process of professional self-improvement and ac-tive life of a teacher.
Considering the general functions of a teacher at a general secondary educational in-stitution and the characteristics of lifelong professional education, the author has developed a model for the development of science teachers’ pedagogical mastery in the process of continuous professional self-improvement (target, conceptual and didactic, content-designing, organizational-technological and criteria-diagnostic blocks) and substantiated the organizational and pedagogical conditions for its implementation, namely: integration of the activity of advanced training courses, teachers’ associations and professional and pedagogical self-education of teachers; interaction of science teachers in the regional in-formation and methodological space; scientific, methodological and expert-advisory sup-port of teacher’s self-improvement. The process of continuous professional self-improvement of science teachers, organized according to the author’s model and certain conditions, promotes the personal and professional progress of teachers, their self-development and self-realization. There is an advanced training of science teachers taking into account the perspective needs of the educational sector and, therefore, teachers’ com-petitiveness increases.
The author’s methods for the development of professional and personal, operational-activity components of the science teachers’ pedagogical mastery consist of types, means and technologies of advanced training, self-education and continuous self-development of teachers. Three stages of the methods are distinguished, namely: orientation-value aimed at increasing the motivation for the development of pedagogical skills on the basis of forming the attitude to it as a personal value; designing-activity which provides for the design of continuous professional self-improvement of a teacher, taking into account his/her personal needs; and integrative-reflexive ones, i.e. the growth of creative activity and the desire to realize oneself in professional activity on a reflexive basis. Experimental verification has showed that the implementation of the suggested innovations significantly improves the process of professional self-improvement, increases the quality indicators and the dynamics of the development of science teachers’ pedagogical mastery.
