An integrative model of professional self-determination and career development in the natural science education cluster: a structural and functional analysis

This article presents a comprehensive analysis of a three-tier system of professional self-determination and development for students in the context of a natural science education cluster. Using a structural and functional approach, three interconnected models are examined in detail: the organizational and managerial model of the cluster, «Model of the Student Career Guidance Process Based on the Natural Science Education Cluster» the content-process trajectory of professional orientation, «Student Career Guidance Trajectory» and the dynamic model of an engineering and technical career, «Stages of an Engineering and Technical Career» Each model reveals the essence, specificity, and functional purpose of its components, substantiating the mechanisms and logical interrelationships between them, as well as the logic of transitions between them. The synthesis of the models allows for a comprehensive picture of the continuous process of developing a professionally oriented, competent specialist, from the school stage to the highest levels of professional mastery. Particular attention is paid to the integration of formal and informal education through the design of a system of extracurricular activities that ensures practice-oriented immersion in the professional environment. This article is intended for researchers in the field of pedagogy, theory, and methodology of vocational education, as well as for practitioners working on career guidance and the development of educational trajectories. Furthermore, the models were developed taking into account the extrapolation of the research object into the system of extracurricular activities.