Current trends and principles of teachers professional development in the system of continuing teacher education

The article presents the results of the theoretical pilot study optimization of teachers professional development. The purpose of the article is to identify and characterize the current trends and principles of development of the mentioned phenomenon in the system of continuing teacher education. Among the identified trends are the following: cultural and humanistic orientation of teachers professional activity; active attitude of teachers to their professional activity as a condition of successful professional development; enhancing creative nature of teachers professional activity throughout professional development; increasing complex nature of teachers professional activity. It is shown that these trends find their methodological reflection in the corresponding principles. It is noted that the presented system of principles possesses some integrative features, the most important of them are harmony and holistic nature. The author comes to the conclusion about the significance of identifying the leading trends in development of school teachers professional activity and disclosing heuristic opportunities of the principles regulating this process for stimulation of search for psychological and pedagogical conditions which provide positive dynamics of teachers activity in the system of continuing teacher education.