Development of leadership competence of operational-level officers in the system of professional military education: pedagogical dimension of the problem

Abstract

The article provides a pedagogical analysis of the development of leadership competence among operational-level officers within the system of professional military education in Ukraine as a relevant scientific and applied problem driven by the transformation of the security environment, the experience of contemporary combat operations, and the need to ensure interoperability with the armed forces of NATO member states. It is substantiated that under martial law and with the growing role of joint headquarters, joint-service interaction, and operational planning, the leadership of an operational-level officer cannot be reduced to formal management or a set of individual traits; rather, it should be understood as an integrated competence manifested in the ability to influence collective activity, ensure unity of effort, sustain trust, make responsible decisions, and organize mission accomplishment under conditions of uncertainty. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study is the competence-based approach and contemporary doctrinal understandings of military leadership, which makes it possible to interpret leadership competence as a combination of knowledge, skills, ways of thinking, value-motivational orientations, self-regulation, and socio-communicative abilities required for effective performance in the staff and operational environment. It is emphasized that for operational-level officers, not only the command-and-administrative component is critical, but also the capacity to act in multi-actor structures, coordinate functional areas, conduct reasoned and influential communication, and uphold professional ethics and a culture of mutual trust. The article separately analyzes the normative and organizational capacities of the professional military education system as defined by the NDUU Regulation, in particular: interpreting professional military education as specialized military-oriented education; the multi-level logic of officer training; the target guidelines of the L-3 course (Joint Staff Officers Course) and its focus on developing competences required for fulfilling duties in operational-level military command and control bodies. It is proven that the pedagogical potential for developing leadership competence is embedded in the use of active learning formats (interactive lecture, Socratic seminar, training, syndicate work), the institution of mentoring, and a system of continuous assessment and feedback, which together create a managed educational environment for shaping leadership behavior and the officer’s professional agency. Key contradictions that intensify the pedagogical problem are identified: between the need of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for a new generation of operational-level leaders and insufficient methodological specification of mechanisms for developing leadership competence within PME; between declared training objectives and actual manifestations of leadership in staff activities; and between the demands of modern warfare and the inertia of certain educational practices. The conclusion is formulated that the development of leadership competence among operational-level officers should be ensured as a systemic outcome of professional military education through alignment of goals, content, active methods, mentoring, and assessment; promising directions for further research include the development of pedagogical technologies, as well as criteria and indicators for assessing leadership competence development among operational-level officers in the course of training on the L-3 course.