Study of satisfaction with professional choice among first-year students of different specialization in relation to their self-concept

Statement of the problem. The article presents an overview of theoretical and experimental studies of students’ satisfaction with their choice of profession and their self-concept. The purpose of the article is to identify satisfaction with professional choice in relation to self-concept among first-year students of the KSPU named after V.P. Astafyev, studying at the Faculty of Biology, Geography, and Chemistry (BGC) and specializing in Biology and Chemistry, Geography and Biology, as well as at the Institute of Physical Culture, Sports and Health named after I.S. Yarygin and specializing in Physical Culture, Physical Culture and Additional Education (sports training). Research methodology. The research methodology is based on the concept of E.P. Ilyin, which is interpreted as follows in this article: satisfaction with the choice of profession, not being a direct motivator of educational activity, supports its continuation. In the study, we also relied on the concept of R.S. Pantileev, according to which the components of the structure of personal self-conception through motives are connected with the real-life activity of a subject, in our case, with the motives for choosing a profession and academic activity at a university. The study involved 67 first-year students of the KSPU named after V.P. Astafyev, studying at the BGC Faculty (18 students specializing in Biology and Chemistry and 20 students specializing in Geography and Biology), as well as at the Institute of Physical Culture, Sports and Health named after I.S. Yarygin (13 students specializing in Physical Culture and 16 students specializing in Physical Culture and Additional Education (sports training). Testing and questionnaires were applied in the empirical study of satisfaction with professional choice among students of different specialization. The testing included the following methods: motives for choosing a profession (R.V. Ovcharova), methods of self-concept research (S.R. Pantileev) to study the motivational characteristics of professional choice and self-concept of students. The questionnaires were conducted to identify the level of students’ satisfaction with their professional choices. In this article, the results of students’ spring exam session were considered as an indicator of success of their academic activities by the end of the first year of study. The relationship between the components of self-concept and satisfaction with professional choice among students of different specialization was determined by using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. In addition, the Mann-Whitney U-test was used to identify differences between internal and external motives of students when choosing a profession. Research results. The article shows that the satisfaction of first-year students with their professional choice at the end of the first year of study correlates with their academic performance, and in most of the studied groups it also correlates with motivational factors of professional choice and with some components of self-concept. At the same time, analysis of the results showed that students’ self-concept manifests itself in the form of a generalized factor - a set of certain components of self-concept that determine some general attitude of students to themselves as individuals. So, for example, the first-year students specializing in Biology and Chemistry, as well as the first-year students specializing in Physical Culture and Additional Education (sports training) have a generalized factor of selfrespect dominating in the structure of their self-concept, manifested in the assessment by these students of their personality as competent and effective, self-confident and accepting the consequences of their choice. First-year students specializing in Physical Culture, whose generalized factor of auto-affection dominates in the structure of their self-concept, have an unchangeable sense of affection for themselves, regardless of failures in specific actions. And first-year students specializing in Geography and Biology are characterized by the dominance of a generalized factor of self-deprecation in the structure of their self-concept which serves as a protective mechanism that allows them to provide self-support, shifting the blame for their educational failures to some circumstances and other people. Conclusion. Considering students’ satisfaction with their choice of profession as a complex psychological phenomenon associated with motivational factors of professional choice and self-concept, we will be able to better understand the features of their behavior in the educational process.