Development of Music Teacher's Reflective Activity: Theoretical Aspect

Introduction Today we can see the striking contradiction: on the one hand, there is a demand for specialists, who are ready to start their professional activity without a long period of adaptation, and who could act in swiftly changing conditions of educational environment; on the other hand, the level of organisation of the professional competence in the field of reflective activity is not high enough. Aim of the Study To identify and analyze emerging trends and conceptions in development of teacher's reflective activity, as well as to outline the approaches in the pedagogical and psychological sciences about the problem of reflection in the teacher's creative activity. Materials and Methods The following research methods have been used: the analyses and comparison of pedagogical and psychological conceptions. Results In the study process the following directions of reflective processes in the music teacher's practice were distinguished: in the attempt of understanding and purposeful regulation of thoughts, feelings and deeds of the student; in the process of projecting the student's practice; in the process of reflective analysis and self-regulation; in the process of stimulating the student's own reflective activity. Conclusions The activization of reflective position in creative pedagogical activity is connected with the teacher's personality, with his/her orientations towards self-development. The music teachers' involvement into the analysis of contradictions, giving them the opportunity to identify and choose the meaning of these or those pedagogical actions, approaches, conceptions are the starting points of the development music teachers' reflective and methodological culture, which expresses both their personality position and the reflective and creative side of their professional development.