Образ человека будущего, Том 7 (СИ)

A born-to-the-calling philosophy can also have its place in both countries, because for some people it was clear from early years what they would like to do and to be. Some images or metaphors about calling are also corresponding in the language of Ukrainians and Amer-icans. Thus the metaphor of "doors opening and closing to guide a person into a particular role" [Bigham, 2008: 69] can be supported from our interviews by the image of open path to go. There is, however, a difference about the idea of a direct impact from outside on a called person. For the religious believers "implicit in vocation is the presence of a caller. In biblical narratives, the caller has a name Yahweh, God, Jesus. The caller"s voice is heard as something outside the person called" [VanOosting, 2002: 11]. Most of the students in the American re-search would agree with that. Even though they did not have, and had not expected to get, a direct vocal experience of calling, they do believe and say openly that God calls them, for example, to became teachers [Bigham, 2008]. Whereas in a secular educating institutions like we have seen in Ukraine it was true out of 10 only for 1 or 2 students. Nevertheless, the idea of God"s rather subtle providence was acceptable for the half of our interviewees. The Orthodox Christian people in Ukraine would say that in a rather humble way. For us, Ukrainians, the

98 Future Human Image. Volume 7, 2017

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

experience of calling is rather personal and internal. That is not what we would talk in public. For teachers and pedagogic students the only real external personification of calling is mainly an image of children"s faces, of pupils whom they teach.

Although the experience of calling is akin to responsibility and sacrifice, people in Ukraine do not feel it like a heavy burden. The possible in America and Western Europe opinion that calling is a necessity even when one does not like it would rather not be supported on the base of our research in Ukraine. For example, we can find in the "Theological Dictionary" by Karl Rahner and Herbert Vorgrimler that any career, "even one that is disliked, can be a vocation, since one may have a duty to do what one finds difficult" [Rahner & Vorgrimler, 1965: 483-484]. Contrariwise, calling is rather a personal happiness than a duty for Ukrainians. Hard work for calling can be acceptable, but still it fulfills and brings happiness. Ukrainian students generally insist that freedom is the essence of calling. Moreover, some of them feel easy to say that callings can change during the life, because they are personal.

What is also different is that Ukrainians are very cautious about affirmation that they are chosen for their callings. That could mean the difference of the religion and culture in Ukraine comparing to the USA. Ukrainian believers would accept that God brings them into definite field of activity, gives them some gifts and will give the abilities to overcome the difficulties, but to say that they are chosen ones is too strong statement for the majority of them. Only 1 student of 10 and 1 of 5 teachers told directly that they did not choose their way themselves because the choice was in God"s hands.

The experience of calling as a career-motivating factor in Ukraine is rather not religious. It is about self-realization, social service and helping people, about goodness. Ukrainian students and teachers do not use the word "spirituality" when talking about their calling for pedagogic profession. During our interviews, the Ukrainian Christian believers did not tell that they were going to be teachers directly because of the religion. Our survey also showed a very little evidence of impact of the religion on the choice of teaching profession. Only 3% of students admitted that they got a religious calling to teach. At the same time love for children, desire to give knowledge, to benefit the society as motives are really important and it is evident that teaching profession cannot be a calling without them. Teaching as a career definitely needs calling, even though it is not true for some teachers. That is undoubted thesis for Ukrainians and for Americans as well. Maybe in Ukraine we need it even more.

I think that the cross -cultural studies of calling need further development as for the sub-ject fields, methods and procedures and present a big scientific and practical interest. More-over, the cross-cultural competence is a vital need of a contemporary world [Aleksandrova, 2016: 21]. Thanking the American colleagues form Liberty University for their research and for the impetus of my study, I hope that presented article has also added some knowledge and experience in the field of education and for general understanding of the phenomenon of calling.

Conclusions