The Concept of Love as Reflected in the Views of Prospective Teachers

Abstract

The article focuses on the problem of how prospective teachers form the concept of love. The study is of relevance due to the role the teacher plays in forming the values and ideology of the younger generation. The introduction of the article specifies various definitions of the phenomenon of love in interdisciplinary research. The purpose of the article is to analyze the concept of love reflected in the views of prospec- tive teachers as well as the sources of its formation. Methods. The authors designed a questionnaire aimed at identifying the socio-psychological characteristics of the respondents, their understanding of love based on the classification of John Alan Lee; the questionnaire also contains the selection of associations to the word “love” based on the examples of love relationships presented in works of art; the questionnaire also seeks to identify the sources of information about love which the prospective teachers use. 47 first-year students majoring in teaching (44.03.01 – Pedagogical education) took part in the study. Results. The prospective teachers demonstrated their preference for a caring type of love with a tendency to altruism, they also showed ambiguity in relation to the “eros” type of love, which is due to the specifics of the sample under study. The most significant sources of information about love are family, friends and literary works. Conclusion. The research results suggest that the ideas of love demonstrated by the prospec- tive teachers correlate with the chosen field of the professional activity, which involves empathy, support, care for students, a high level of cultural, spiritual and moral development.