Резюме. In the current conditions of development of preschool education in Ukraine, focused on the world and European educational standards, the professional quality of heads of preschool education such as managerial creativity is of great importance, updating of which in management activity will make it possible to make effective, non-standard managerial decisions, ensure the work of preschool educational institutions in the regime of development, not functioning and condition the high quality of preschool education and successful development of every child of preschool age. However, in the practice of local preschool education, there is a shortage of managerial creativity among the heads of preschool education. Therefore, the study of peculiarities of the development of this quality among future heads is the aim of our research that will help to develop and use a system for the development of managerial creativity in the context of university education and independent student activity.

Ключови думи: heads of preschool education; managerial culture; managerial creativity; educational process; higher educational institution

Introduction

The quality of preschool education is determined by the peculiarities of the managerial activity of preschool heads, it depends on the level of development of their managerial creativity as one of the most important components of their managerial culture. However, in Ukraine, there is a discrepancy between the declared level of development of managerial creativity of heads of preschool education and the real level of manifestation of this quality in everyday management practice (the level of real manifestation of managerial creativity often lags the declared level).

The problem of forming a managerial culture among future preschool teachers (Horiunova, 2002) and future and current heads of preschool education (Ponomarenko, 2017) has been researched in some studies during recent decades. However, it remains unexplored: how future heads of preschool education understand the essence of the concept of “managerial creativity of heads of preschool education" as a component of their managerial culture; whether they have this professional quality; to what extent, in their opinion, they possess this quality; how effective they consider the educational process to develop managerial creativity of future heads of preschool education in a higher educational institution; what are their suggestions on the optimization of the educational process to develop managerial creativity of future heads of preschool education; the ability of future heads to manifest managerial creativity in solving diagnostic tasks from the practice of real managerial activity.

The aim of the article: to research the peculiarities of the development of managerial creativity as one of the most important components of the managerial culture of future heads of preschool education.

The оbjectives of the study:

– to identify whether future heads of preschool education understand the concept of “managerial creativity of heads of preschool education”;

– to study the opinion of future heads on the level of development of such inherent professional quality as managerial creativity;

– to find out how future leaders of preschool education evaluate the effectiveness of the educational process to develop their managerial creativity in the conditions of a higher educational institution;

– to study the suggestions of future heads of preschool education on improving the educational process to develop their managerial creativity in a higher educational institution;

– to determine the peculiarities of the development of managerial creativity of future heads of preschool education based on the implementation of diagnostic tasks from real management practice.

Methodology and theoretical part

Professional training for heads of preschool education is carried out in Ukraine at different stages of continuing teacher education (university, postgraduate, selfeducation). University pedagogical education is aimed at developing professional competence among future heads, an obligatory component of which is managerial competence, which is expressed in the willingness to manage the activity of a preschool educational institution and its educational process.

However, in the context of the orientation of training of heads of preschool education to European and world educational standards, there is an urgent need for the formation of a managerial culture of heads as a holistic, integrated and complex in its content professional quality, the basis of which is a managerial competence. Moreover, the most important characteristic of the managerial culture of the head, in contrast to his managerial competence, is managerial creativity. The formation of a managerial culture is impossible without the development and stimulation of managerial creativity as an integral psychological education of a person (Horiunova, 2002; Ponomarenko, 2017).

The problem of the formation of a managerial culture of specialists of various fields has been investigated in some studies: heads of school (Vasylchenko, 2006); teachers as future education managers (Huba, 2010); heads of general educational institutions (Koroliuk, 2005; Medved, 2007; Linde & Petrova, 2018; Nenkov et al., 2017); future teachers of preschool education (Horiunova, 2002; Badjanova, Ilisko, Petrova, 2018), heads of preschool education (Ponomarenko, 2017). However, the problem of the formation of managerial creativity of future heads of preschool education, as a component of their managerial culture, has not been the subject of special scientific research.

In the context of the study of peculiarities of development of managerial creativity among future heads of preschool education, theories of developmental psychology are fundamental: humanistic, in which a person is considered as a unique formation aimed at the full self-realization of one's own "I" (Maslou, 1999; Yunh, 2012); behavioral, according to which the creative act of the personality is recognized as deterministic and externalized, and the personality structure is considered as a hierarchy of social skills and reflexes (Skinner, 1979; Thorndike, 1935; Watson, 1914); cognitive within the framework of which the person's ability to construct his own life and determine the line of his behavior is recognized (Kelli, 2000; Piaget, 1966; Baldwin, 1896).

The qualities of a creative person have been examined in some studies (Moliako, 2012; Ponomarev, 1976; Sysoieva, 2006). The main characteristics of a creative personality are defined (Gilbukh, 1991; Moliako, 2012): the ability to create something new, unique, progressive; the presence of systemic social and creative activity of a person based on the updating of creative abilities; the formation of motivational and creative activity. Its basic qualities are outlined: activity, concentrated attention, high vulnerability, developed perception, the ability to fantasize and invent, high intelligence, etc. (Ponomarev, 1976; Sysoieva, 2006).

Based on the concept of the structural organization of personality (Rubinshteyn, 1989; Gryshova et al., 2019; Jarmusevica et al., 2019), the characteristics of a creatively oriented personality are revealed (Semenov, 2006): the system of persistent motives for creative activity (creative orientation; creative experience, individual typological features (character, temperament, abilities) and as a result, the indicator and driving force of a creatively directed personality is a creative activity.

Based on the analysis of scientific literature, in particular, research results (Horiunova, 2002; Moliako, 2002; Rubinshteyn, 1989; Semenov, 2006; Sysoieva, 2006; Ponomarenko, 2017; Ponomarev, 1976), we have determined the significance and the essence of managerial creativity of heads of preschool education.

The achievement of a high level of preschool education is possible on the condition of effective and creative management of this process. The effectiveness of the managerial activity of heads of preschool education is largely determined by its creative nature and managerial creativity. We consider the managerial creativity of the heads of preschool education as the highest level of focused professional management activity, which is characterized by novelty and a socially significant orientation. Management creativity is determined by the search for optimal problem solving, making non-standard management decisions, the individuality (mentality, uniqueness) of the style of management activity, taking into account social requests and needs.

The actualization of managerial creativity conditions variability, alternativeness, sociality, scientificness, synergy, innovativeness of the educational process in a preschool educational institution and determines its activity in the development mode, rather than function.

An empirical study has been carried out to verify the results obtained in the course of a theoretical study. The study involved a group of master students in the field of preschool education (full-time education) from higher pedagogical educational institutions of Ukraine. The group consisted of 125 people representing various regions of Ukraine (central, eastern, western, northern).

Questionnaires and diagnostic tasks were used as research methods. The content of questionnaires and assignments was determined on the basis of the study and analysis of the theory and practice of the management activity of preschool educational institutions presented in the literature.

The survey was carried out for 30 minutes under conditions of anonymity. Before starting the survey, the respondents were told what they would do. We tried to arouse their interest and motivation for answering the questions of the questionnaire.

For this reason, the following text was used in the questionnaire: "Dear student! We ask you to take part in the study of the problem of the development of managerial creativity among future heads of preschool education. Your answers will contribute to the effective development of their managerial creativity as a сonstituting component of the managerial culture. Thank you for your cooperation!"

The content of the five questions of the questionnaire for master students was as follows: 1) “In your opinion, what is the essence of the concept of "managerial creativity of the heads of preschool education?”; 2) “Do you have such a professional quality as the "managerial creativity of heads of preschool education?”; 3) “What level of development of managerial creativity in the field of preschool education do you have: sufficient, not quite sufficient, insufficient? (underline the necessary one)”; 4) “How effective do you consider the educational process to develop managerial creativity of future heads of preschool education in a higher educational institution: effective, insufficiently effective, not effective (underline the necessary one)?”; 5) “What are your suggestions for improving the educational process to develop managerial creativity of future heads of preschool education in a higher educational institution?”.

Diagnostic tasks were also done for 30 minutes under conditions of anonymity. Before the start of doing the assignments, the respondents were explained what they would do. We tried to arouse their interest in the offered activity and motivate them to do it. The instructions were as follows: “You have to complete interesting, but not simple tasks. This work will require to manifest your creativity, uniqueness, individuality, originality, actualization of theoretical and practical experience in the field of educational process management in a preschool educational institution. Solving tasks, try to come up with something new and unusual that no one else can think of except you. Your work time is limited, so try to use it effectively. Work fast, but without too much haste”.

The contents of the diagnostic tasks.

Diagnostic task 1. “To offer as many different forms of motivation for employees of preschool educational institutions as possible to stimulate the effectiveness of their professional activity”.

Instruction. Try to determine as many of your motivation options as no one else can offer.

Diagnostic task 2. “To offer your author's wording of the principles of activity of the teaching staff of a preschool educational institution, which determines the effective implementation of its educational process”.

Instruction. Try to complete the task creatively, to offer principles that would be difficult or impossible for anyone else to offer. Let them be pedagogically appropriate, original, copyrighted, determining the effectiveness of the educational process of a preschool educational institution.

Results

The respondents' answers to the first question of the questionnaire “In your opinion, what is the essence of the concept of "managerial creativity of heads of preschool education?” were generalized into three groups: corresponding to the scientific definition of the content of the concept; not quite corresponding to the scientific definition of the content of the concept; not corresponding to the scientific definition of the content of the concept.

The corresponding scientific definition of the content of the concept includes answers in which the main qualitative characteristics of managerial creativity are called: “novelty” (non-standard) and “socially significant direction of activity”.

Answers that include one of its main characteristics, “novelty,” are referred to not quite corresponding to the scientific definition of the content of the concept.

Answers that are not defined by any of the basic qualitative characteristics of managerial work – “novelty” (non-standard) or “socially significant direction of activity”, as well as tautological answers with unreasonable repetition of the same words of similar meaning (for example, managerial creativity is a manifestation of creativity in management) are referred to not corresponding to the scientific definition of the content of the concept.

The quantitative ratio of respondents' answers to the first question of the questionnaire is presented in table 1.

All respondents answered the first question of the questionnaire. No answers have been identified corresponding to the scientific definition of the content of the concept.

The examples of answers that do not quite correspond to the scientific definition of the concept: a non-standard approach to solving managerial problems, the ability to improvise; ability to make managerial decisions outside the box; creative, non-standard, interesting solution to problems, situations; unexpected, alternative solutions to problems; making decisions that go beyond accepted standards, etc.

These answers define only one of the main qualitative characteristics of creativity: novelty (non-standard). Its other important characteristic of the “socially significant direction of activity” is not included in the answers.

The examples of answers that do not correspond to the scientific definition of the content of the concept: the ability not to be afraid of changes; be open to communication; focus on the development of preschool educational institution; carry out professional duties with enthusiasm; realize self-improvement constantly; look for new forms and methods of work; manage the team implementing all managerial functions; perform professional effective managerial activity; be able to learn new things and put them into practice; to be a leader, etc.

The examples of tautological answers: a creative approach to solving everyday problems; you need to understand what creativity is, you need to develop it, independently implement it based on your existing creative abilities; the leader must be a creative manager, etc.

To the second question of the questionnaire “Do you have such a professional quality as“ managerial creativity in the field of preschool education? ”All respondents answered in the affirmative: “Yes, I do”.

The quantitative ratio of respondents' answers to the third question of the questionnaire “What level of development of managerial creativity in the field of preschool education do you have: sufficient, not quite sufficient, insufficient? (underline the necessary one) ” is presented in table 2.

The quantitative ratio of the answers of the respondents to the fourth question of the questionnaire “How effective do you consider the educational process to develop managerial creativity of future heads of preschool education in a higher educational institution (effective, insufficiently effective, not effective)?” is presented in table 3.

The quantitative ratio of respondents' answers to the fifth question of the questionnaire “What are your suggestions for improving the educational process to develop managerial creativity of future heads of preschool education in a higher educational institution?” is presented in table 4.

18 respondents did not answer the fifth question of the questionnaire.

The quantitative ratio of the decisions of the first diagnostic task “To offer as many different forms of motivation for employees of a preschool educational institution as possible to stimulate the effectiveness of their professional activity” is presented in table 5.

To determine the ratio of the number of forms of respondents' motivation of employees of preschool educational institutions to effective professional activity (sufficient, not quite sufficient, insufficient), we have compiled an approximate list of such forms in the amount of 24 motivations: 1) salary increase; 2) promotion; 3) additional leave; 4) additional days off; 5) using the accumulative point system to determine the winners of the contest “The Leader of the Year” or “The Teacher of the Year”; 6) free or partially paid various forms of professional development; 7) free or partially paid foreign professional internship; 8) providing the opportunity for various forms of presentation of one's own professional experience; 9) free or partially paid publications of their own professional experience; 10) free or partially paid courses on personal development; 11) free or partially paid foreign language courses; 12) free or partially paid various forms of recreation (travelling, visiting exhibitions, museums, etc.); 13) various forms of corporate leisure; 14) free or partially paid various forms of medical services (sanatorium treatment, dental treatment, etc.); 15) free or partially paid various forms of rehabilitation (swimming pool, fitness, etc.); 16) payment of expenses for transport services within the city; 17) partial payment for the purchase of products; 18) partial payment for the purchase of durable goods; 19) gifts; 20) awarding certificates of honor; 21) placing photographs on the board of honor; 22) announcement of gratitude; 23) a positive assessment; 24) providing the opportunity to wear the special name clothes of the leader at the workplace.

At the same time, we conditionally established the criteria for determining a sufficient, not quite sufficient, an insufficient number of motivations: insufficient number – from 1 to 8 motivations; not quite sufficient – from 9 to 16 motivations; sufficient – from 17 to 24 motivations.

The examples of respondents' answers: rewarding with the “Teacher of the week” badge, providing theater tickets, free participation in various forms of professional development, finding out the reasons for the non-fulfillment of the assignment in an individual conversation, dismissal, reprimand, changing the content of the assignment or canceling its completion, providing various forms of recreation, free foreign language courses, rewards, etc.

The quantitative ratio of the decisions of the second diagnostic task “To propose your author's wording of the principles of activity of the teaching staff of a preschool educational institution that determines the effective implementation of its educational process” is presented in table 6.

The examples of traditional formulations of managerial principles, the implementation of which optimizes the activity of the teaching staff of a preschool educational institution: humanity, competence, democracy, science, collegiality in decision-making, independence, a child as the highest value, patriotism, complexity, continuity, development, the unity of theory and practice, focus, optimality, efficiency, self-improvement, leadership, etc.

The examples of unconventional, creative formulation of managerial principles that are distinguished by author's uniqueness: the success of each participant in the educational process in general activity; reinforcement of the creative forces of each participant in the educational process with the ability to create and achieve success, a sense of joy in the process and the result of successful activity; experiments, research, discoveries - priority ways of interaction between an adult and a child; joyful learning, cognition as a motor mechanism of development, etc.

Development analysis and evaluation

All respondents answered the first question of the questionnaire. No answers have been identified corresponding to the scientific definition of the content of the concept. 93 respondents showed the understanding of the essence of the concept of “managerial creativity of preschool education leaders” that was not quite corresponding to the scientific definition. 32 respondents showed the understanding of the essence of this concept that did not meet the scientific definition.

To the second question of the questionnaire “Do you have such a professional quality as “managerial creativity in the field of preschool education?” All respondents answered in the affirmative: “Yes, I do”.

The results of the analysis of the answers to the third question of the questionnaire indicate that 24 respondents consider the level of development of their managerial creativity to be sufficient; 82 respondents - not quite sufficient; 19 respondents – not sufficient.

The analysis of the answers to the fourth question of the questionnaire allows us to conclude that 43 respondents consider the educational process to develop managerial creativity of future heads of preschool education in a higher educational institution effective; 82 respondents – not effective enough; 31 respondents – not effective.

The analysis of the answers to the fifth question of the questionnaire allows us to conclude that the respondents suggested 401 answers (from two to four answers in each questionnaire) on how to improve the educational process to develop the managerial creativity of future heads of preschool education. 18 respondents did not answer the question. The largest number of respondents (118) indicates the need to improve the practical training of future heads. The need for more efficient use of innovative pedagogical technologies was noted by 67 respondents. 63 respondents identify the need for more effective use of interactive forms and teaching methods; 31 respondent – problem situations; 26 respondents – the exchange of professional experience between participants in the educational process; 24 respondents – training sessions; 19 respondents – creating conditions for manifestations of managerial creativity in educational and industrial practice; 17 respondents – pedagogically appropriate foreign experience; 13 respondents – examples of managerial creativity and their effectiveness; 9 respondents – role-playing games; 8 respondents – special development and implementation of the educational system in the unity of all its components; 6 – activation of students' independent work.

The results of the analysis of the decisions of the first diagnostic task indicate that respondents who offered a sufficient number of motivation forms for employees of a preschool educational institution to stimulate the effectiveness of their professional activities have not been identified. Not quite enough quantity of motivations was presented by 17 respondents; insufficient – by 108 respondents.

The analysis of the solutions to the second diagnostic task allows us to state that 23 respondents found creatively formulated principles for the activities of the teaching staff of a preschool educational institution. Traditional formulations of these principles in the task solutions were identified by 102 respondents.

Thus, all future heads of preschool education participating in the experiment believe that they have such a professional quality as “managerial creativity in the field of preschool education”. At the same time, the vast majority of respondents did not show scientific, complete, non-fragmented understanding of the essence of the concept of “managerial creativity of preschool education leaders”; they consider the level of development of their managerial creativity as not entirely sufficient or insufficient; they find the educational process to form this quality not effective enough or ineffective; they offer certain ways to improve it. The results of the analysis of the decisions of diagnostic tasks indicate the insufficient ability of future heads to manifest managerial creativity in real management practice.

The results of the study indicate the need for special development and implementation of a holistic system for the development of managerial creativity of heads of preschool education as a defining characteristic of their managerial culture in the context of university education and independent activity.

Conclusion

The study allowed us to investigate the peculiarities of the development of managerial creativity as one of the most important components of the managerial culture of future heads of preschool education. The results of the study indicate the insufficient level of development of this quality among future managers and the need for the development and implementation of a system for the development of managerial creativity in the context of university education and independent activity of students from different regions of Ukraine.

The analysis of the research results indicates the need for further study of the peculiarities of the development of managerial creativity of future heads of preschool education for further improvement of the educational process and optimization of their independent work to develop this professional quality.

NOTES

1. Jarmusevica, V., Ilisko, D., Badjanova, J., Jukss, V. & Petrova, M. Educating citizens for implementing the strategy of corporate social responsibility for sustainable regional development: the case study. Proceedings of EDULEARN19 Conference 1st – 3rd July 2019, Palma, Mallorca, Spain, ISBN 978-84-0912031-4, pp. 10449 – 10454.

2. Koroliuk, S. V. (2005). Rozvytok upravlinskoi kultury kerivnykiv zahalnoosvitnoho navchalnoho zakladu v protsesi pidvyshchennia kvalifikatsii – 237 s. (In Ukrainian).

3. Linde, I. & Petrova, М. The Challenges of Formalization and Modeling of Higher Education Institutions in the 21st Century. Cbu International Conference Proceedings. Innovations In Science And Education Book Series, Pages, 21. – 23.03.2018, pp.303 – 308, ISSN 1805-997X (Print), ISBN 978-80-270-5037-6 (Print edition). ISSN 1805-9961).

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