CURRENT TRENDS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NATURAL EDUCATION IN PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITIES

The article is devoted to the study of modern trends of the development of natural education in pedagogical universities. It has been proved that a leading place in the system of integration of natural sciences is given to physics, which ultimately leads to an objective perception of reality by higher education students. The necessity of improvement of educational and professional programs of professional training of future teachers of natural specialties taking into account the revealed tendencies of development of natural education have been discussed in the article. Exemplary integral, general and professional competencies of teachers of natural specialties, which are consistent with the requirements of today’s educational field, have been given. Article’s purpose is to identify the current trends in the development of natural education in Ukraine in order to improve the training process of future teachers of natural sciences. Methodology. To achieve this goal, theoretical methods of scientific knowledge have been used to conduct logical-structural and structural-system analysis of the studied quality. A system-integrated approach has encouraged multi-level and multi-faceted study of the learning object. Generalization methods have been used to formulate conclusions. The scientific novelty is to identify the essential features of modern trends in the development of natural education in pedagogical universities, which determine the use of innovative learning technologies in the educational process; the integral, general and professional competences of future teachers-naturalists have been given. Conclusions. Outlined trends (integrative approach to the study of natural sciences; updating their content and bringing it in line with the requirements of educational practice and individual needs of future professionals; development and implementation of professional standards as a basis for modernization of state educational standards – educational programs; introduction of innovative approaches and technologies in the practice of vocational training, monitoring the quality of education taking into account the available learning outcomes and the level of acquired competencies) show that the main task of natural education is the systematic acquisition of relevant knowledge by students and gaining practical experience as an important component of professional competence. Their consideration encourages use of competency, student-centered, and practice-oriented approaches in the process of specialists training, which take into account the individual educational trajectory of higher education students and contribute to the effective formation of professional competencies in a multifunctional fast-changing educational information environment