Evaluation of future technology teachers’ readiness for anticipatory vocational training of schoolchildren

Abstract

Introduction. Professional self-identification of schoolchildren on the 5th-9th years of training should be attributed mainly to the result of technology teacher’s career guidance work. However, the due training of technology teachers themselves in this domain is not paid enough attention to in the theory and practice of higher educational establishments. The focus of the present publication is assessment of such readiness in students – future technology teachers – and development of recommendations for higher educational system on the basis of the obtained results. The purpose of this study is the evolution of future technology teachers’ readiness for anticipatory vocational training of schoolchildren. Materials and methods. The questioning involved 120 respondents, future technology teachers (3rd-5th year students trained under the programme of higher pedagogical education in the profile “Technology”) from 5 state universities of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan (Russian Federation). The original questionnaires were developed with the use of Google Forms tools. The statistical data processing method was Pearson’s chi-square test. The research was based on the application of theoretical methods: analysis (relative to the semantics of the concept “teacher’s readiness for advanced vocational training of a schoolchild”), synthesis (essential categorial characteristics of teacher’s readiness for anticipatory vocational training of schoolchildren), comparison (theory and practice in higher education system), specification (key provisions), modelling. Results. A total of 92% of the 3rd-5th year students are aware of the need for anticipatory vocational training of schoolchildren. At the same time, only 66% of the respondents (from 50% on the 3rd year to 75% on the 4th-5th year) consider themselves ready for such schooling. The analysis of the questioning results of students who answered in a different way made it possible to reveal the causes of educational deficiency. These reasons were interpreted as components of the work offered by us for the university system for integration into the programme of higher pedagogical education in the profile “Technology”. On the 4th-5th year students feel ready for advanced vocational training (p<0.01). Conclusion. Students’ – future technology teachers’ self-assessment of readiness for anticipatory vocational training of schoolchildren made it possible, on the one hand, to affirm the formation of such readiness as a pedagogical problem and, on the other hand, to identify the growing points for elimination of the identified educational deficiency in the higher education system.