Relationship between self-perceptions and career orientations of future teachers

Self-image and career orientations determine the formation and development of the future teacher as part of career advancement and professional socialization. During university studies there is a formation and development of career orientations, as well as a change of self-perception in future teachers. By understanding the prospects for career advancement and comparing them with educational opportunities and abilities, the future teacher can successfully direct self-development at achieving career goals. The effectiveness of career planning of a teacher depends largely on his/her self-confidence and ideas about career orientations, his/her satisfaction with professional activity, the consistency of professional and personal development. Aim. The purpose of the article is to identify the relationship between self-image and career orientations of future teachers. Materials and methods. The study involved 162 students of the South Ural State Humanitarian and Pedagogical University aged from 17 to 24 years. The study was based on two methods: “Career Anchors” (E. Shane), which determine the career orientations of a person; life-orientation (D.A. Leontiev), allowing to assess the degree of conviction of the subject in the ability to control his/her own life. To determine the relationship between the two variables, the Pearson correlation coefficient was used with SPSS Statistics v. 22. Results: an empirical study conducted on a sample of future teachers (n = 162) showed that there were significant correlations between self-perception and career orientations. Dependencies between two career orientations (“service”, “challenge”) with self-image (“The master of life”, “I control my life”), characterized by the ability to influence the life of the teacher, were revealed. The dominant (“work stability”, “service” and “integration of lifestyles”) and weakly expressed (“residence stability”) career orientations of future teachers were determined. It is shown that future teachers expressed a desire to shape themselves as a specialist, to transfer their experience and knowledge to their students, to embody their universal human, spiritual and moral values and ideas in their work. Students were convinced that they would be able to make the right decisions and cope with any professional difficulties. Conclusion. The results allow us to conclude that there are significant correlations between self-perceptions and career orientations in future teachers. Self-image largely determines the goals and values of the future teacher in the field of educational activities. Self-perception determines the semantic side of career orientations, while the degree of understanding of the leading career orientations affects the personal and professional development of students during training, as well as their ideas about themselves. By receiving education, future teachers strive for self-development and self-realization in the framework of “horizontal career” and clearly demonstrate their willingness to serve people and society, which confirms the need to support and develop the autopsychological competence of future teachers.