The Audit of the Axiological Component of an Undergraduate Teacher’s Personality as the Basis of Preparedness for the Formation of the Axiological Component of Schoolchildren’s Personality

Abstract

Modern Russian society in recent years has undergone a number of significant socio-economic and political changes that led to the creation of qualitatively new economic conditions and the formation of new social relations. Consequently, there appeared changes in people’s consciousness and behavior, changes in life priorities and values that could not but affect the system of education, teacher education in particular. It is necessary to know the undergraduate teachers’ attitude towards the reality and current events, their life goals and orientations, the disturbing problems and ways of resolving them. The audit of the axiological component of undergraduate teachers’ personalities was carried out in 2010 and 2016. Significance indexes for each value category of Elabuga and Kazan high school students were obtained with the help of factor analysis technique based on the criteria of adequacy, selectivity, stability, dynamism, domination. Having compared the findings of our research, we came to the conclusion that the major values of undergraduate teachers greatly changed. In our opinion, changes in the choice of values by the undergraduate teachers are associated with the economic and political changes in the country and in the world, and in the ongoing changes in education as well. The article discusses the results of the research of the axiological component of undergraduate teachers’ personalities as the basis of their preparedness for the formation of the axiological component of schoolchildren’s personalities.

Keywords: Values, social values, life values, formation of civic consciousness

1. Introduction

Modern Russian society in recent years has undergone a number of significant socio-economic and

political changes that led to the creation of qualitatively new economic conditions and the formation of itself. These radical transformations in

the society caused many serious problems: property and social inequality, increased rate of

unemployment and crime, devaluation of spiritual and moral values affecting all spheres of human

activity. Consequently, there appeared changes in people’s consciousness and behavior, changes in life

priorities and values that could not but affect the system of education, teacher education in particular

(Vershinina, 2003).

1.1Problem statement

The problem of younger generation adaptation to the new social reality is extremely urgent today;

therefore particular attention is to be paid to the studies of the changes in the minds of modern youth. It is

necessary to discover the undergraduate teachers’ attitude towards reality and current events, their life

goals and orientations, the disturbing problems and ways of tackling them.

2.Research methods

300 respondents, students of the Teachers Training Departments of Elabuga Institute of KFU were

involved in the study. Statistical packages SPSS, Statgraphics Plus for Windows and Microsoft Exsel

data analysis tools were used for statistical data processing.We carried out a comparative analysis of

the major values of the undergraduate teachers in 2010 and 2016. Interrogation of the future teachers

was based on methods proposed by Leontyev D.A. Significance indexes for each value category for

students were obtained with the help of factor analysis technique based on the criteria of adequacy,

selectivity, stability, dynamism, domination(Leontiev, 1992).

3. Findings

Set of value orientations of a person is not a system given once for all: changes of living conditions,

changes of the entire personality give way to new values, and sometimes one can state partial or

complete re-evaluation of them (Barron,1981). Value orientations of students as the most flexible part

of the Russian society seem to be the first to undergo changes caused by various processes in the

country. Interrogations conducted in the cities of Kazan and Elabuga in 2010 and 2016 define the

major life values of the undergraduate teachers.

Students were asked to range the offered values according to their significance using the grades

from 10 to 0 (see Table 1).

We can see that among the "top three" values of students in 2010 were: “independence”, “diligence”

and “honesty”.

Among the major values of future teachers in 2016 we can find “independence”, “mutual aid”, at a

lower rank – “diligence”, “sociability” and “honesty”.

Comparing the results obtained in 2010 and 2016, it can be concluded that such values as

"appearance", "manipulation," "fortune" fell sharply in the ranging scheme. In 2010 the value

"appearance" got the 7th grade (out of 10), in 2016 only the 3d one. The value "fortune" occupied the

7th grade in 2010 and in 2016 it got the 4th grade; the value "manipulation" in 2010 occupied the 6th, in

2016 it got the 5th grade.

In our opinion, changes in the choice of values by the undergraduate teachers are associated with the

economic and political changes in the country and in the world, the ongoing changes in education as

well.

We investigated the attitude of the students towards the major values of the society; the results are

presented in Table 2.

Having determined the value orientation of the future teachers in 2010, we can affirm that the low

index of the students got the value "Fatherland". We have found out the attitude of students to such

values as "patriotism", "honor", "duty". Approximately 40-50% of respondents believe that such

notions as "patriotism," "honor," "duty" are meaningless and became outdated. More than 35% of the

students declare of their readiness to leave Russia, and more than 70% respondents deny military

service.

From the results of the study, presented in Table 3 and 4, for the period from 2010 to 2016 there

have been changes in the assessment of values such as "personality", "beauty", "Fatherland". If the values "personality" and "Fatherland" improved their grades from 8th to 9th and from 7th to 9threspectively, the value "beauty" lowered from 8th to 5th.

In our view, these changes are natural due to the policy of the state in all spheres, including the field

of education. We have found out the attitude of students to the values of "patriotism", "honor", “duty".

About 60% of respondents in 2016 found the concepts "patriotism," "honor," "duty" to be important for

modern society, and stressed the necessity to develop them in the younger generation.

Significance indexes for each value category for students were obtained with the help of factor

analysis technique based on the criteria of adequacy, selectivity, stability, dynamism, domination.

Ranging values of both groups of students coincide.

Next task suggested to the students was to characterize the younger generation of present days using

the adjectives given in the list. Their answers are presented in Table 3.

The following definitions as “indifferent”, “lost”, “disappointed”, “tired” chosen by young people

while describing their own generation couldn’t but surprise. These qualities are more typical for older

people who have experienced either personal dramatic events or heartbroken situations, who haven’t

realized their dreams and aspirations living out their days in loneliness. But having been chosen by

young people in conn action with their own younger generation, couldn’t but struck any

researcher and so did us.

Comparing the results obtained in 2010 and 2016, it can be concluded that there have been changes

in the students’ definition of their generation, especially in such definitions as "indifferent" in 2010 -

67% and in 2016 - 60%; "lost" in 2010 - 39% and in 2016 - 10% of respondents, "disappointed" in

2010 - 24% and in 2016 - 13%; "tired" in 2010 - 30% and in 2016 - 7%; "strong" in 2010 - 60% and in

2016 - 75% of respondents; "alarmed" in 2010 - 19% and in 2016 - 10% of respondents; "patriotic" in

2010 - 30% and in 2016 - 60% of respondents.

Nowadays students are attracted with the ideas of humanism, human rights and freedoms. However,

the most of interrogated students perceive the values of humanism, either in abstract way, or only with

regard to oneself: Freedom is just for oneself, rights are also for oneself. Attitudes of such kind in

student environment caused the growth of selfishness, unfriendliness towards the course-mates

(Eysenck,1993).

4.Conclusions

Modern conditions of life and activity of people form a new type of personality among the students

which is not strongly expressed, but include vigorous, tenacious, shooting of the works. The activity of

such kind of persons leads to a shift of moral values of youth and in general of the whole society (The

Encyclopedia, 1989)].

Thus, young people were influenced by numerous social processes related, on the one hand, to the

development of personal qualities and, on the other, to the total social crisis. The social crisis

influenced the individual level of a growing personality. High school students as the most sensitive, the

flexible part of the society, perceived the sequences of social "crisis". This in its turn affected values,

civic consciousness and civic position, which are being formed precisely in this period of life of a

person (Amabile, 1993).

That is why the civic approach of a student, which took shape in the modern society, in the new

conditions of democratization, openness, diversity of opinions, the formation of the state legal system,

freedom of choice of an individual in the process of confrontation between different forces, requires

special attention and conditions of its formation (Bondarevskaya, 1995).

Universities have historically been the socio-cultural centers of the formation of civic

consciousness. Following the historical tradition, pedagogical universities train and educate teachers,

regardless of their specialty, to consider their career from the standpoint of universal values, global

socio-cultural processes (Rockeach,1979). Therefore, educational space of higher educational institutions

should be saturated with national priorities: patriotic ideas, high spiritual and moral values, the

importance of work and service for the benefit of the Fatherland.

It is well known that the transformations in Russian society have greatly influenced the processes of

socialization and formation of a whole generation of young people (Dokuchaev, 2009).

Taking into account the study findings, an elective course for students of Teacher Training

Departments, aimed at the formation of the axiological component of undergraduate teacher’s

personality as the basis of his/her preparedness for the formation of the axiological component of

schoolchildren’s personality has been developed.

Undergraduate teacher’s professional growth and formation of axiological orientations are believed

to be organized as a unified process of purposeful development of the citizen.

Acknowledgements

The work is performed according to the Russian Government Program of Competitive Growth of Kazan Federal University.

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