Study of teachers’ readiness for tutoring support of pre-professional programs for students of psychological and pedagogical classes

Abstract

Introduction. Pre-professional pedagogical training of schoolchildren is a relevant issue of international educational policy, since it ensures students’ early professional self-determination based on the principle of individualization and stepwise inclusion in the profession. Obviously, it is necessary to develop a mechanism of support for high school students’ professional self-determination and to organize their psychological and pedagogical training with the use of tutoring and mentoring technologies when implementing individual preprofessional programs. The paper aims to present the results of the study of teachers’ readiness for tutoring support of pre-professional programs for students of psychological and pedagogical classes, as well as to reveal promising ideas and directions for professional training. Materials and methods. The study, aimed at assessing the level of teachers’ readiness for tutoring support of pre-professional programs for students of psychological and pedagogical classes, involved 74 teachers from educational organizations of higher and general education in Chelyabinsk (Russian Federation). The generalization and reflection of their own pedagogical experience made it possible to identify diagnostic tools for revealing the components of teachers’ readiness. Results. Using the developed diagnostic toolkit for determining the level of teachers' readiness for tutoring support of pre-professional programs, it was revealed that only 16.6% of teachers were ready for this activity. A low level of the cognitive-practical component of readiness was revealed in 56.7% of teachers, which is related to insufficient theoretical knowledge and practical skills of tutoring support. The motivation-value component was formed only in 18.9% of teachers who consistently showed interest in tutoring support and understood the importance of tutoring activity in the pre-professional training of schoolchildren. The analysis of the results of the reflexive component showed the basic level of teachers’ readiness (47.3%) and, as a consequence, sufficient skills of organizing reflexive activity in different situations of communication with students of profile classes in the process of mastering the future profession. Conclusion. The results of the empirical study show the relevance of the need to optimize the content and forms of retraining and advanced training of teachers implementing tutoring support for pre-professional programs and individual routes for students of psychological and pedagogical classes. It is required to shift the focus from formal organizational functions to targeted tutoring functions, assuming individualization and personalization of high school students’ professional self-determination.