Ecological approach for the formation and development of prospective teachers' readiness for the professional activities at Latvian schools

Changes, development, interaction and sustainability are the keywords that characterize processes, which are taking place in our society, including education in Latvia. Nowadays, one of the main aims of education, including teachers' education is to facilitate the development of ecological thinking, the formation of ecological awareness. The authors of this article started the research, which aims at scientifically substantiating: 1) the ecological approach in prospective teachers' education; 2) the study, support and evaluation of the formation and development of students' readiness for the professional activities in the multilevel and multifunctional educational environment of schools. The aim of this article is as follows: 1) to substantiate the concept of readiness for the professional activities; 2) to substantiate the ecological approach in teachers' education and describe an ecological didactic model for students as prospective teachers' pedagogical practice at schools; 3) to acquaint with the results of research performed at the Institute of Education and Home Economics (Latvian University of Agriculture): results of the self-assessment of students' as prospective teachers' readiness for the professional activities during last three years (2004-2006).