CC BY
9DOI: 10.12731/2070-7568-2014-6-11 UDC 378:[37.011.31 : 37.041]
READINESS OF A FUTURE TEACHER FOR SELF-EDUCATION
Khatuntseva S.N.
Purpose. ne aim of this paper is to study the nature of teachers' readiness to self-education as a component of self-improvement.
Methodology. This paper examines the current state of scientific and theoretical study of the problem of the future teacher 's readiness for self-education.
Results. The analysis of scientific and theoretical foundation of the problem of teacher's readiness for self-education has been made. The essence of future teacher's readiness for self-education as a component of self-improvement has been studied. It has been determined that readiness is a compound, dynamic formation of future teacher's personality and it is the result of his training on the basis of theoretical knowledge about the nature, structure and content of self-education and practical skills and personal qualities. Motivational, cognitive, operational, active, personal, analytical and reflective components are the components of future teacher's readiness for self-education as a part of self-improvement.
Practical implications. Higher еducation, lifelong learning.
Keywords: readiness; self-education; self-improvement; components of readiness; personality; future teacher.
Formulation of the problem
Education is a key factor for social and economic prosperity of the state. Increased attention to the quality of education and to the problem of professional training leads to the activation of educational researches because the implementation of innovative reforms, the prospect of the development of society and its social institutions largely depends on the teachers' activity.
Increment in functional and intelligent load in the teachers' professional activity places new demands on teachers' training. The rapid growth of modern science and the need for the daily work with the information, technology changeability and competition in the labor market, the development of the spiritual aspects of life and enrichment of the creative content of the teacher activity determine self-education as a necessary condition for professional self-improvement of a teacher. The profession of a teacher requires updating of knowledge through systematic reference to scientific sources, analysis and synthesis of the material, skills to orientate in the large amount of information, research activity, improvement of professional skills. Therefore, the progressive changes in the system of pedagogical education are related to the formation of future teachers' readiness to self-education as a component of self-improvement.
Analysis of recent researches and publications
Studying science resources regarding teacher's self-education leads to the conclusion that the problem is one of the most controversial and unresolved. In the works of educators and psychologists a lot of attention is paid to the issues that relate to the formation of background of professional skills of a teacher in the process of training, vocational and educational direction of his training [8]. Problems of improving professional training in universities and, in particular, the future teachers training, have been investigated in the works of S. Archangelskyi, M. Dyachenko, L. Kandybovych, D. Zynovyev, T. Ilyina, I. Kobylyatskyi, R. Nyzamov, V. Rozov and others.
In the context of teacher's self-education have been studied the following issues: personal self-determination (L. Bozhovich, O. Gazman, E. Klimov, N. Krylov, V. Shendryk), professional self-determination (M. Gubanova, C. Safina, G. Solodova, O. Prekina), interconnection and interdependence of personal and professional self-determination (O. Borisova), self-education as a condition of teacher's personal and professional development (O. Beznysko, E. Bondarevskaya), the content of professional teacher's self-education (I. Glinska, M. Za-borschikova, V. Lukanenkova, V. Slastonin, O. Polonskaya), the value of self-education in the system of continuous teacher's education (N. Kosenko), as a component of improving teacher's professional readiness (S. Lebedeva, N. Salnikova).
The analysis of scientific sources indicates that the problem of future teacher's readiness to self-education remains urgent. Despite the large number of studies devoted to the problem of self-education,
the essence of teachers' readiness to self-education as a component of self-improvement is still uncertain.
Thus, the aim of this paper is to study the nature of teachers' readiness to self-education as a component of self-improvement.
The main objectives are:
1) to analyze the scientific and theoretical foundation of the problem of teachers' readiness to self-education;
2) to describe the nature of future teachers' readiness to self-education as a component of self-improvement.
Core material and research results
In modern society, taking into account the globalization of information space, the rapid growth of educational technologies, professional training must be directed for formation of future teacher's readiness to regular self-education. We define self-education of a teacher as a specific targeted activity aimed at meeting the individual cognitive needs in order to gain systematic professional knowledge and self-improvement. The quality of training depends on the level of teachers' readiness to self-improvement and self-education in particular. Therefore, there is need to study the concepts of «readiness», «readiness to self-education». In the study of readiness of a future teacher researchers also distinguish several components. So Z. Lev-chuk insists on the presence of four groups of components: theoretical and methodological training, which is reflected in the restructuring of technology development and education of the individual; effective and practical (skills); social component, psychological level of
personality development (capacity for empathy, readiness of cognitive sphere to be creative) [2, p. 214]. We are impressed with the idea of A. Lynenko who defining the components of readiness for teaching activity emphasizes the need for knowledge about the structure of the individual, his age and individual characteristics and changes, the purpose and methods of educational influence in the process of its formation and development, pedagogical skills for the organization and the educational impact on identity formation, emotional and interested attitude of the future teacher to the subject (student), object (pedagogical process) and means of activity (training and education), the desire to communicate with children, share his own experience and knowledge according to the content and ways to achieve socially important goals [3].
Educators and psychologists focus on the fact that training in higher education will be more effective if the knowledge, skills of future professionals will be for them individually significant. This will strengthen the students' holistic scientific outlook and creative initiative that become the qualities of their personality and impact on their careers [5, c. 74].
Thus, analysis of scientific sources shows that the formation of future teachers' readiness to self-education involves individual work, including the identification of their individual characteristics, finding and solving their personal problems, constant interaction of teachers and students oriented not only to enrich theoretical knowledge, but also to expand opportunities for students to solve personal or professional problems. It is important that the knowledge, skills of future professionals are meaningful to them, subjective, can change future teachers
themselves, resolving their internal conflicts, expanding worldviews. It is necessary to instill in students the ability to self-exploration as a condition of future teachers' self-development towards their self-improvement. Thus in order to achieve good results during training the teacher should guide and to some extent control the student's activity of self-education. The essential point towards professional self-improvement is to expand student's personal qualities: comprehension of the world, learning and improving his potential, the capacity for self-organization, self-actualization, harmonization of «self-concept».
Analyzing the researches of scientists, we identified the following components of future teacher's readiness to self-education: motivational, cognitive, operational-activity component, personal, analytical and reflective component.
Self-education is based on the motivation to work. They understand the motivation as the totality of the driving forces that motivate a person to perform certain actions, to implement requests to meet the conscious or unconscious needs. There are different kinds of motives: goals, aspirations, interests, attitudes, beliefs and needs [10; 11]. We consider that the need for self-education is implemented in the professional activity through the motives, which form the basis of motivation. New Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language gives the following definition: «need is a necessity for someone, something that demands satisfaction, indispensability» [4, p. 844]. The need for self-education is caused by objective factors (social-economic conditions) and subjective (teacher orientation, desire for self-improvement). Needs are the main drivers of human behavior that define and govern its activity. Therefore, we believe that the need for professional self-education is
the internal determinant of future teacher's self-education and makes his professional focus. The need for self-education can also be a criterion and measure of readiness for self-education.
Orientation of a future teacher is an important element of the motivational component of readiness to self-education. As V. Slastonin rightly observes, orientation of a future teacher is an integrated feature that ensures, on the one hand, the personality of the individual, but on the other - the communication with the outside world. Thus, future teacher's professional orientation determines the success of self-education and represents the integration of the individual components and it is its dynamic property that reflects the dominant principles of the attitude toward teaching profession. From the above it follows that the state of need for self-education describes pedagogical orientation of a future teacher. This need is mediated by complicated processes of motivation and is manifested in the form of self-education (motive of self-educational behavior). A. Chernykh consideres professional teaching orientation as the quality of personality that characterizes strong interest in the profession in the unity of the general theoretical and cognitive activity and it is expressed in a desire and willingness to responsibly carry out their teaching duties. According to scientists, professional and pedagogical orientation grows out of interest in the profession and cognitive interest in the speciality (Sh. Amonashvili, A. Chernykh). B. Slastonin believes that professional and pedagogical orientation of the individual of a teacher is a crucial feature of his professional qualification. The scientist focuses on the fact that inclination which serves as the need for pedagogical activity, driving force for the development of teaching skills is a prerequisite for achieving pedagogical skillfulness.
Scientists believe that the activity should be studied on the basis of personal subject involvement in it. Motivational support for the activity serves both as a prerequisite and criteria of professional self-determination and self-improvement. S. Vershlovskyy says that orientation to pedagogical activity is an indicator of the overall attitude of the individual.
The process of students' self-education has in its base the need to expand and upgrade professional knowledge, which is revealed as a motive and implemented in the interests, aspirations, beliefs, values and so on. Any difficulties, gaps in professional activity, an imbalance between available and required knowledge elicit the need to eliminate them, to remove by meeting the needs of self-education. Ways, methods, mechanisms, terms to meet those needs are defined by educational background, professional values of a teacher and depend on the individual personality and experience.
The conversion of need for self-education from motive to aim is the content of the process of purposeful self-educational activity. The principal motive of self-education is cognitive interest, based on the need to define own values, the presence of the interest in expansion and upgrading of professional knowledge, understanding of various aspects of professional duties, comprehension of own experience. We define the future teacher's orientation to self-education as an integrated feature of the individual which is a set of interrelated motives (beliefs, aspirations, values, intentions, instructions, habits) that stimulate the systematic gaining and updating of professional knowledge and direct professional and educational activity to constant self-improvement of a teacher.
Motives, goals of professional and educational activity depend on the teacher's orientation to self-education. Cognitive interest and orientation to self-education are indicators of motivational component of readiness to self-education. The motives of the individual are connected with his knowledge. The result of this connection is the set of beliefs that serves an important factor in the activity of the individual. Typically, the system of pedagogical knowledge is seen as a body of knowledge on the methodology of pedagogics, fundamentals of didactics, theory of education and schooling. For the formation of readiness to self-improvement, including self-education, it is necessary to consolidate knowledge from various educational courses and special cycles and make changes in the content of psychological and pedagogical disciplines in order to guide future teachers to systematic self-education activity. We believe that the basis for the formation of future teachers' readiness for self-education is the following knowledge:
1) theoretical knowledge: the theory of scientific knowledge, the patterns of formation of the individual as an active subject of activity and social and cultural life, as a source of identity;
2) knowledge of self-education: principles, content and forms of self-education activity, individual and group forms of learning, new methods to deepen and update knowledge, the system of knowledge about the nature of readiness for self-education, ways to implement them in the professional activity of a teacher.
Beliefs based on professional knowledge also belong to this component. We consider that professional beliefs are strong sound views on the system and organization of learning, confidence in the necessity
of self-education. During self-education professional beliefs allow the teacher to orient in a large variety of pedagogical phenomena and define his approach to the activity and the choice of means, methods that are pained by individually specific qualities of the person.
The cognitive component is implemented provided having the specific skills that are brought to operational-activity component of future teacher's readiness to educate himself.
Operational-activity component is filled with the following skills:
1) diagnostic and prognostic: the ability to identify gaps in knowledge, take into account the presence of individual characteristics and qualities, pedagogical perception, identify own opportunities, critically evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of own self-education and foresee its results;
2) intelligent: the ability to analyze the situation of the educational process and on this ground to choose the appropriate methods and techniques of self-education, to structurize new information;
3) research: the ability to adjust to new knowledge, critically evaluate and analyze the results of own activity, to plan both own and students' cognitive and practical activity, to model the process of self-education, to design and present personal works;
4) constructive: the ability to apply appropriate methods and techniques of self-education in accordance with the situation, to build relationships in the team, to make a detailed plan of self-education activity, to organize it rationally.
The personal component of readiness for self-education is represented by qualities of a personality.
The quality of a specialist is regarded as «a set of most significant, relatively strong his properties and characteristics, which determine the readiness to perform certain social and professional functions» [7]. Professional and pedagogical training is revealed through a certain professional model, a kind of which is a professiogram. Within the chosen problem the most valuable one is a professiogram of V. Gryno-va, who offered to include the following components: pedagogical, psychological, cultural, physiological and other kinds of knowledge necessary for every teacher; practical skills (informational, developmental, organizational, research, self- educational etc.); teaching abilities (didactic, organizational, structural, perceptual, expressive, communicative); moral and psychological, social and perceptual, individual and psychological peculiarities and qualities.
Creative potential of the teacher is increased in the process of self-education [9; 12]. V. Kemerov notes that the results of self-education activity are objectified, above all, in the fact of becoming an individual as a personality, but not in a new instrument or cultural invention [1, p. 160]. Different types and forms of activity demand the formation of the appropriate qualities of a doer. It is believed that the qualities (inclinations) are although genetically predetermined, however, certain specific qualities are socially formed according to the changing demands of teaching profession. In the context of this study we believe that among individual and psychological qualities it is necessary to pay attention to the following ones: flexibility, deliberate memory, critical mind, reorganization of individual experience. These personal
qualities are the basis of personal component of future teacher's readiness for self-education.
Let's consider the analytical and reflective component of future teachers' readiness for self-education. Reflection as a process of subject's self-discovery of internal mental acts and states plays an important role in the regulation and evaluation of teacher's behavior, allows to realize own capabilities and aims at understanding self-education of a specialist. This component is revealed in the ability to observe, analyze, monitor, estimate the teacher's self-education activity. I. Se-menov and S. Stepanov [6] rightly observe that the peculiarity of the forms of personal reflection is in the fact that creating new opportunities they improve productivity of intellectual reflection in its intensive, extensive and constructive forms. Constructive reflection allows to build own mental activity, intense reflection allows to direct it in the right direction by providing a correction of content progress and extensive reflection allows to control it. An indicator of such reflection self-organization is the productivity of thinking.
Conclusions
Thus, future teacher's readiness for self-education is a component of his self-improvement. This readiness is, on the one hand, a compound, dynamic formation of future teacher's personality, on the other hand, it is the result of his training on the basis of theoretical knowledge about the nature, structure and content of self-education and practical skills and personal qualities. Motivational, cognitive, operational, active, personal, analytical and reflective components are the components of future teacher's readiness for self-education as a
part of self-improvement. We suppose that one of the means of formation of readiness for self-education should be an educational and methodical complex which contains themes of discipline, supporting lecture notes, plans and issues of practical training seminars, guidelines and instructions on how to prepare for an independent and individual work, bibliography, ways of formalized and non- formalized current and total control.
We see the prospects for further research of this topic in the study of future teacher's readiness for self-upbringing.
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DATA ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Khatuntseva Svetlana Nikolaevna, PhD (Pedagogics), Assistant Professor
Berdyansk State Pedagogical University
4G, Schmidt St., Berdyansk, Zaporozhye Region, 71118, Ukraine
e-mail: arinaakim@rambler.ru
