Образ человека будущего, Том 7 (СИ)

The interview guide for teachers was not significantly different from the students" guide. I asked the students and teachers how did they come to their career choice, what they liked to do at schools and how it became clear for them what to do in their life. Then the theme was the understanding of calling, ethical and other problems on the way of its realization. In the end, we discussed the meaning of calling for pedagogic profession.

The results of the interviews and their interpretation can be divided by 5 main blocks:

1. Decision to come to pedagogic university and chose a teaching profession.

2. Religion and spirituality as motivating factors of the career choice.

3. The definitions and the structure of the phenomenon of calling.

4. Calling and morality.

5. Calling in the practice of teaching.

1. Decision to come to pedagogic university and chose a teaching profession

Teachers in families

Presence of teachers among family members is an important factor for positive attitude to pedagogic profession. In our target survey 44% of students answered that they were from teacher"s families. Accordingly, in the sample for the further interviews 5 of 10 students and 2 of 5 teachers appeared to have relatives in education. Some of them consciously followed the careers of their family members or tried to do what their mothers or fathers had not realized in their own lives. Actually, children or grandchildren from teachers" or professors" families were not often persuaded to go the way of their elder relatives. It was rather a matter of example or the atmosphere at home that influenced the younger generation. Even more, students appreci-ated that their families let them make their own choice.

90 Future Human Image. Volume 7, 2017

The Experience of Calling: Educational Aspects and Cross-Cultural Comparisons by Yevhen Muliarchuk

Good examples or good advice beyond a family

Students and teachers often said that they wanted to be like some of their own teachers or professors. A good example of a school teacher sometimes was more important than the influ-ence of the family in a career decision. Loved teacher was a source of inspiration to come to the university and study his or her favorite subject or just to become an educator. For the part of the students, favorite professors at the university were the source of strengthening of their own professional choice. Some interviewees also told that they got a piece of a career advice from a psychologist or a teacher in their school years. The acknowledgement of person"s gifts and abilities to do something specific received from other people was an important support often needed for making a career choice. Usually it was a kind of specification in the favorite field of activity of the person.

Desire to make a difference

It is rather not a typical motivation, but two students and one teacher said that seeing many wrong examples of the way of teaching at their schools they wanted to be opposite, to become teachers of some new kind. They wanted to change the system and routine of education and bring creativity, helpfulness, liberty to school life.

Previous pedagogic experience or an interest in a specific sphere of knowledge

Many of interviewees said that they decided to become teachers because of their own teaching experience at school or at the university. They had a pedagogic practice, taught some lessons, led other school activities, took care about their younger schoolmates and they liked it. Many students, however, came to the university just to study their favorite subject. Only after a pedagogic practice and getting more knowledge of their field, some of them for the first time understood that they would like to be teachers.

Disposition to teach and grow younger generation

A really often explanation of the choice of a teaching career is love to children. The majori-ty of students and teachers told that they had always enjoyed being with children and therefore they would love to teach and grow up the youth.

Disposition to work with children and interest in some subject for teaching were in many cases more important than every kind of suggestions of families or the other people"s positive or negative examples. Following what one likes to do or to be is a way to the right career de-cision and it appears to be the first trait of a calling.

2. Religion and spirituality as motivating factors of the career choice