The Normative Image of the Teacher as a Character Educator in the Modern Russian Education System

Abstract

ABSTRACT The study’s relevance is due to the need to achieve a fundamental theoretical understanding of the type of professional teacher training and preparation that is demanded by society, government, and the professional teacher community so that teachers can effectively act as character educators. Such an understanding will make it possible to institute supporting norms and regulations so that teachers can develop and practice the necessary professional skills and personal behaviors when performing as learning and character development facilitators. Before we can solve this problem, we need a clear description of the normative image of the teacher as a character educator. The article presents the progress and results of our study, which was designed to determine the essential characteristics of the contemporary normative image of the teacher as a character educator. The research methodology of the study combined personality, activity, value-based, systems, and synergetic approaches. Research methods included a contextual analysis of regulations, comparisons, systematizations, interpretations, and generalizations. The article presents the rationale and results of a contextual analysis of the two basic professional standards governing teachers and specialists in character education. Ten criteria provided the basis for comparison, subsequent systematization, and interpretation of the data, including the consideration and acceptance of the personal and unique individual traits of students; the factors that determine the formation of the value systems of students; the personal qualities of students; factors that stimulate the development of self-organizational and self-management skills as well as personal self-development; the formation of the character education system and space; conducting group work and team building as well as establishing relationships; the design and organization of the character education work and various types of activities, and so on. Our analysis enables us to conclude that, given the existing regulations that govern the domain of character education, the normative image of the teacher as a learning and development facilitator can so far only be described as rather ambiguous and inconsistent. In addition, current provisions that frame the professional dimension of character education in Russia have failed to establish an adequate room for agency as an important modifier of the teacher’s ability to take initiative and exercise more effective instructional strategies across the functional areas and particular activities of character education.