The article considers new requirements presented by society to teachers’ professional education. Intensive search is carried out for adequate forms and methods to improve the effectiveness of education. In this regard, the practical value of simulation methods and technologies, aimed at revealing the creative potential of a future specialist, their individual and professional properties and the ability to function successfully in the new economic conditions, is increasing. Educational technologies as mechanisms for the joint activity of the teacher and students are aimed at the development of certain skills and abilities, as well as personal and professional development. The teacher should correctly apply educational technologies and methods to provide quality training for competent professionals. The variety of these methods is proposed to encourage intrinsic motivation, a lively interest of students in learning and self-development. The competencies of a qualified specialist and the criteria that he/she must meet have become the basis for creating a generalized concept of a professional. Along with the individual properties of the student, the foundation of the concept is knowledge and skills in the areas provided by the general and special components of the Federal State Educational Standards. In the framework of professional education, the main place in the educational process should be occupied by active educational technologies and methods, focused on intensifying the cognitive activities of students, supporting creative initiative and abilities and development of intellectual needs.

The issue of leadership has always raised interest among scientists and ordinary company staff. In connection with the global changes of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the demand for leadership as a personal ability to unite people in order to reach goals rose dramatically. It is especially true for the manufacturing management, whose main purpose is in a rational management for the sake of maximal revenue. We can state that in modern conditions, there is an urgent need of companies in the development of leadership qualities and leadership behavior. Depending on the company goals, the sphere of its activity and on the situation inside and outside the company, the activity at similar management positions will significantly vary. In some key points, the requirements to the manager’s knowledge, skills and personal qualities, as well as to managerial methods and tasks, will be different. Much depends on such situational factors as the level of the group development, its members’ expectations, and task specifics. Alongside this, the universal significance of such leadership qualities as independence, initiative, adaptivity and motivation rises. It seems relevant to study such a phenomenon of a manager’s “leadership qualities” as a complex social and psychological phenomenon which combines individual and group factors that ensure a successful achievement of joint goals. The modern society needs specialists who can not only prove their professional skills and competence, but also show positive personal characteristics facilitating the development of their professional and social activity.

The article considers the functioning of visual images in mass communication, which has become a didactic tool in the educational sphere. The purpose of the article is to study the influence of the visual realistic representation of the main and peripheral information in a popular science text on its perception. As the visual presentation of information is getting more widespread and intensive, the relevance of studying the properties of visual images, such as their density and complex interweaving, transnational character, instantaneity and non-reflexivity of their perception, immanent polysemy and ambivalence is becoming most significant. Instant offline/online switching forms a model of a new daily routine including a visual code influencing everyday life of a person. The material of the study was a popular science text, an experimental (question-answer method) method, a comparative method, and a statistical method being used. The article presents the results of an experimental study identifying the impact of visual images of an illustration on the assimilation and memorization of verbal information. The results suggest that in most cases the visual representation of information improves its perception and helps to get the gist of the verbal text. Figurative pictorial representation of information does not improve the perception and memorization of structural phenomena, for example, classification by various parameters. It was concluded that the use of creolized texts for didactic purposes reduces potential perceptual barriers leading to inadequate understanding and increases the motivation of learning.

The issue of a university teacher’s professional career is considered. The relevance of the study is determined by the fact that the chosen subject is actively developed by supporters of the personality activity theory, which underlies the design of the educational process in the substantive and methodological aspects. The notion of “career-forming education” (CFE) is interpreted as a nonsituational amount of knowledge, applied skills and cognitive scenarios aimed at achieving high results in the profession (recognition within the community, well-paid and socially significant positions) and receiving positive emotions from the work. We understand the system of career growth as a subsystem that is a part of professional education. When studying this system, the authors of the article used the concept of Russian professional education proposed. According to this concept, there are four main ideas: the humanization of education, its democratization and an emphasis on continuity and being ahead of the time. The novelty of the study and its theoretical and practical significance consists in defining three conditions favouring the university teacher’s career growth: the integration of pedagogical work into the system of life meanings and the value hierarchy of the person as their most important component; constant creative search with a critical attitude to one’s professional level; the teacher’s readiness to implement innovative activities. Conditions for the university teacher’s professional development are the following: integration of pedagogical work into the system of life meanings; constant creative search; readiness for the implementation of innovative activities.

The article considers linguistic aspects of polycode hypertext functioning in a polylingual context investigating its potential in changing the value orientation of a mass recipient. Hypertext is regarded as a means of communication uniting multilingual streams of conceptual sense, which is represented by means of verbal and non-verbal codes as well as perceptive images of multi-level modalities. Resistance to hidden manipulative influence is an acute problem nowadays. Hypertext as an asymmetric and polymodal phenomenon is seen from the point of view of its functioning in a communicative reality. The psycholinguistic experimental study using the method of semantic differential shows the main trends of creolized hypertext development and perception. Pragmatic potential of different parameters of visual components for manipulation of the public conscience is identified. Polycode text usage changes categorial realia of communication through information perception management resulting in modification of recipients’ value orientation.

Currently, emphasis is placed on the comprehensive support of pedagogical strategies aimed at creating innovative programs and educational environments. This requires a rethinking of stereotypes on the innovative activities of the modern teacher. The pedagogical studio is considered as a creative intraschool form of the teachers' professional association in the system of methodical work of general educational institutions, along with the pedagogical council, methodological associations, and the library methodological work. The modern development of the pedagogical education system reflects the changes of the advanced teacher training system in the pedagogical, psychological, educational and methodical aspects; the search and development of new content and forms of training organization are required. The main objectives of the pedagogical studio are: improving the school teacher's skills, developing the teacher's professional and creative activity, forming the professional and pedagogical orientation of the teacher's personality, increasing their interest in teaching, mobilizing the mental forces for creativity and activity, developing abilities and capabilities, personal-pedagogical views. The general pedagogical, psychological, methodical and educational components of the professional development of school teachers in the pedagogical studio have been revealed. Pedagogical studio as a form of the advanced teacher training in the system of school methodical work based on experimental work proved to be effective; it allows to advance the level of teaching and improve the teachers' methodological creativity.

The strategy of modern education is aimed to provide opportunities for all students to show their talents and creativity. It corresponds to modern humanistic trends in the development of the graduate school. It is a fundamental principle, which is based on personal orientation. It relies on the subject experience and needs of each student. The activity in the logic of the educational project, based on creative thinking, is characterized as conscious psychological processes (comparison, analysis, synthesis and their derivatives: analogy, combinatorics, opposition, etc.) and unconscious thinking. The educational project activity includes the following stages: searching for information, studying the information, and creating something new. The educational project is defined as a didactic means, joint educational and cognitive creative activity of students. It assumes a common goal, agreed methods of activities. The methods are aimed at achieving a common result for solving the problem that is significant for the project participants. The following components are recognized in it: motivation, innovative technologies, creativity. The mechanism for implementing the didactic model of the development of students' creative activity in the logic of the educational project includes: the creation and development of the educational environment; the algorithm for realizing the tasks of developing students' creative activity; pedagogical conditions for the development of students' creative activity. The most effective direction for the development of students' creative activity is the formation of a complex of psychological and pedagogical conditions. A student will be able to take a clearly expressed personal position in solving the problem situations and to approach them creatively.