DEVELOPMENT OF CRITICAL THINKING IN FUTURE BACHELORS DURING COURSEWORK WRITING

Introduction. The relevance of the article is due to the need to develop critical thinking among higher education students, in particular bachelors of preschool education, in order to effectively prepare them for future professional activities. After all, a modern educator must be able to defend his pedagogical approaches with arguments, accept constructive criticism, use innovative technologies in the educational process, and strive for professional growth. The purpose of the article is to provide a theoretical justification for the development of critical thinking among students of the first (bachelor's) level of higher education in the specialty A2 “Preschool Education” in the process of writing coursework in preschool pedagogy. Methods: analysis, synthesis, specification, generalization, comparison were used when processing scientific sources, considering scientists' approaches to the development of critical thinking; idealization was used when developing criteria for evaluating coursework. Results. The interpretation of the concept of “critical thinking of higher education students” by scientists was analyzed. The approaches of scientists to the development of critical thinking of applicants are considered (creation of a scientific and methodological laboratory “Innovations in preschool education”, the course “Fiction for preschool children”, study of mandatory components of the educational program “Preschool education”). A system of tasks for the development of critical thinking of future bachelors of preschool education when writing coursework on preschool pedagogy is proposed. Criteria for evaluating the coursework are presented. Originality. Analysis of scientific sources showed that scientists pay enough attention to the development of critical thinking of applicants during various forms of organizing the educational process in a higher education institution. However, the problem of developing critical thinking in future bachelors of preschool education during the organization of scientific and research work, including in the process of writing a qualification coursework, is not sufficiently developed. Conclusions. Thus, developed critical thinking helps future educators make informed decisions, taking into account the individual characteristics of children, and develop skills of independent analysis and reflection in preschoolers. We consider it appropriate to recommend using a system of tasks for the development of critical thinking and the proposed criteria for evaluating coursework in the educational process of applicants for the first (bachelor's) level of higher education in the specialty A2 “Preschool Education”. We consider the development of pedagogical conditions for the development of critical thinking of future bachelors of preschool education to be a prospect for further research.