Social and cultural background of self-development of university teachers in the cultural and leisure activities

The article presents the problem of the opportunities of cultural and leisure activities and leisure space in the process of self-development of teachers of university. In order to analyze the terms “leisure” and “leisure activity” used in the modern achievements of pedagogical science on the conceptual aspects of the theory of free time. According to types of professional activities areas leading professional self-development of university teacher are designated: self-development in methodical activities; personal development in research activities; personal development in innovation. The qualities of the personality playing a main role in the course of professional self-development of the university teacher are revealed. The special attention is paid to the results of theoretical research, which are confirmed by ascertaining experiment conducted in South Ural State University and aimed at identifying the main areas of cultural and leisure activities of university teachers.