Psychological potential of self-determination in the study of an agent of teaching activities

Introduction. Humanistic transformations make relevant the person-oriented nature of education by focusing research interest on the motivational characteristics of teachers’ self-regulation. The idea of self-determination addressed to the agential origin of a teacher is becoming the leading one under the new conditions of education when it comes to heuristic ideas about teaching activities. Aim. This paper represents a psychological analysis of the essence and content of motivation for the self-determination of a teacher as an agent of self-realization. Materials and methods. The paper involves modern approaches to self-determination, including self-determination theory by E. Deci and R. Ryan and the theory of personal potential by D. Leontiev. These theories describe a person as a proactive, self-determined and free agent of life. The methods of problem-oriented and comparative analysis are used along with theoretically applied synthesis and conceptual generalization. Results. The conceptual model of teacher self-determination is provided as a multidimensional functional profile of a teacher. The sum of the structural elements of self-determination shape the psychological features of teachers’ motivation and values in modern education, which is characterized by ever-increasing complexity, ambiguity and uncertainty. The social importance of basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness) is emphasized, as well as the importance of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for personal and professional development of a teacher. Conclusion. The authors make conclusion about the creative and transforming nature of self-determination, which provides professional and existential self-realization of a teacher through self-affirmation.