The future teachers’ emotional culture development as a professional growth resource

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Introduction

The teachers’ professional activity in modern conditions of uncertainty and risk is carried out in the context of continuous changes concerning various aspects both in professional and personal life. The structural changes in modern Russian society and education, the teachers’ responsibility for the training and education effectiveness increase the professional quality requirements. An important requirement for the modern teachers’ personality is the ability to adapt to the current challenges and to rapid changes. The structural changes in modern Russian society and in education determine the level of reassessment and improvement of the teachers’ personal and professional qualities. The specifics of the teachers’ professional activity, the modern challenges, the higher education regulatory framework requirements set the task to develop the emotional culture as a necessary component of the future teachers’ professional culture. Hence, it is important to select the content and forms to form the future teachers’ emotional culture at the university.

To solve the problem how to develop the future teachers’ emotional culture as a resource for professional growth, it is necessary to solve the following theoretical issues: to specify the concept of «teachers’ emotional culture»; to highlight the structural components of the teacher’s emotional culture and substantiate their content; to develop a structural-content model to develop the future teachers’ emotional culture at the university.

The relevance of the study is determined by the need to fill in the gaps in scientific knowledge to develop the future teachers’ emotional culture as a resource for professional growth.

Purpose

This study aims to substantiate the structural-content model how to develop the future teachers’ emotional culture as a resource for professional growth.

Literature

Having analyzed the scientific sources, we have concluded that there are significant prerequisites in science for studying the development of the future teachers’ emotional culture as a resource for their professional growth. We have also found that the study of the person’s emotional culture is based on serious theoretical and empirical studies laid down by the representatives of philosophy, history, linguistics, anthropology, cultural studies, sociology, axiology, pedagogy, psychology and other sciences. The research of emotional culture in foreign studies is based on a cross-cultural approach [1].

We have considered such fundamental concepts as «the teacher’s emotional culture» and «the teacher’s professional growth».

L.M. Strakhova considers the concepts of «emotional culture» and «culture of emotional behaviour» as synonymous in her research. At the same time, the specialist notes that the teacher’s emotional culture in professional activities is aimed at humanizing pedagogical interaction with the students [2].

N.A. Rachkovskaya considers the teacher’s emotional culture as a unity of the emotional sphere, the cognitive complex and the effective-practical component. This unity is manifested in the ability to self-regulate and the ability to influence the emotional background of the pedagogical process [3].

Revealing the essential characteristics of the teacher’s emotional culture, D.K. Bartosh focuses on the following ones: the teacher’s ability to understand and evaluate their own emotional manifestations; the ability to manage their emotions and behavioural reactions; the empathy development; the ability to interact with the subjects of the pedagogical process on the principles of respect [4].

L.Yu. Koltyreva claims that the emotional culture of a teacher includes the knowledge about the emotional components of the teaching profession; the emotional orientation; the emotion management skills; the opportunities to develop their emotional experience [5].

O.M. Kuleba states the teacher’s emotional culture is a complex structural formation. The emotional culture components formation correlates with the pedagogical activity functions [6].

L.I. Glazunova, T.R. Arzumanova, T.I. Ivanova present the teacher’s emotional culture as a way to assimilate, develop and transfer the emotional experience in the process of professional activity and communication [7].

M.Yu. Sautenkova considers the teacher’s emotional culture as a part of individual’s general culture, which ensures self-realization effectively in various emotional situations of professional activity [8].

E.A. Chelnokova and A.E. Teryokhina have taken a different position, considering the teacher’s emotional culture as the teacher’s emotional competence. The authors consider the strengthening of the participants’ moral health in the educational space to be the main function of the emotional competence [9].

G.A. Yastrebova reveals the content of the teacher’s emotional culture through the concept of «emotional experience». Emotional experience is considered as the teacher’s ability to manage emotional states. Emotional experience is considered as emotional openness and emotional empathy [10].

A.V. Solovieva, A.V. Pershina, I.V. Samarokova have defined such qualities as emotional activity, emotional expressiveness and emotional stress resistance as teacher’s basic personal qualities that characterize the teacher’s emotional culture [11; 12].

Foreign researchers characterize the emotional aspects of professional activity as «emotional intelligence», considering it as a holistic dynamic personal formation. Foreign scientists also consider it necessary to manage the emotional state while engaging in professional activities [13; 14].

Thus, there are different approaches to interpret the concept of the teacher’s emotional culture in pedagogical science today. These approaches do not contradict each other, but deepen the understanding of the emotional culture phenomenon. In the study, we have adhered to the position that the emotional culture integrates the knowledge about the emotional components of the educational process, emotional value experience, emotional education, emotional support and emotional reflection [15].

Studying the problem how to develop the future teacher’s emotional culture, we drew attention to the fact that the emotional culture development is closely related to the professional growth. E.V. Pereslavtseva considers the teacher’s professional growth as a qualitative transformation of professionally important personal properties and abilities, professional knowledge and skills within the framework of professional activities. The teacher’s professional growth is accompanied by the qualitative, quantitative, content and structural changes in the teacher’s key competencies [16].

As factors that stimulate the teacher’s professional growth, scientists note professional competence and professional success [17].

In the context of modern concepts of professionalism, scientists focus on the main indicators of professional growth: professional outlook, professional maturity, professional productivity and professional culture [18–20].

Modern researchers (T.A. Bezmaternykh, O.Yu. Tereshchenko) note that situations of constant change actualize the value-semantic and emotional aspects of modern teacher’s professional development. In this aspect, the future teacher’s professional training requires a new quality of professional competencies as a resource for professional growth [21].

Methodology

The experimental work on the structural-content model approbation how to develop the future teachers’ emotional culture has been carried out in the Institute of Education in Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University. The experimental work has been carried out in accordance with the study purpose and objectives.

At the first stage of the study, we have carried out a diagnosis how the axiological, cognitive, behavioural, reflexive, volitional components of the future teachers’ emotional culture have been formed. The diagnostics has been carried out according to the following criteria: the acceptance of the individual’s emotional self-expression value in pedagogical activity; the emotional-volitional structures development of future teachers; the knowledge availability about the emotional organization of the individual and the emotional components in educational process; the emotional orientation of professional behavioural actions during the professional functions implementation; striving for improvement based on the emotional experience reflection.

At the second stage of the study, the structural-content model on developing the future teachers’ emotional culture, which was gradually introduced into the educational process of the university, has been developed.

At the third stage, a control experiment has been conducted to determine the dynamics how the components of the future teachers’ emotional culture have been formed according to the above criteria.

A set of valid methods has been used as a psycho-diagnostic tool in the study:

• axiological component: Methodology «Professional and pedagogical motivation self-assessment» (adapted by N.P. Fetiskin). Value orientations method by M. Rokeach;
• volitional component: Methodology for assessing neuro-psychic stability in stress (V.Yu. Rybnikov). The mental state self-assessment: Well-being, Activity, Mood (WAM).
• cognitive component: The knowledge control test of the personal emotional organization and the emotional components in the educational process. Situational educational problems solution;
• behavioural component: Diagnosis of personality’s communicative and characterological features (L.I. Umansky, I.A. Frenkel, A.N. Lutoshkin, A.S. Chernyshov, etc.). M. Snyder’s methodology for studying social self-control.
• reflexive component: Questionnaire «Behaviour self-regulation style» (BSSM) by V.I. Morosanova.

Results

The diagnostics to determine the formation level of the future teachers’ components in the control and experimental groups is carried out at the first stage of the experimental work. The axiological component criterion is: the importance of the individual emotional self-expression in pedagogical activity. The volitional component criterion is: the development of the personality’s emotional-volitional sphere. The cognitive component criteria are: the availability of knowledge about the individual’s emotional sphere and the educational process emotional components. The behavioural component criterion is: the emotional orientation of professional behavioural actions in the course of the professional functions implementation. The reflective component criterion is: the desire to improve emotional experience based on reflection.

The data obtained during the experiment reflect the formation level of the future teachers’ components (table 1).

 

Table 1 – The formation level of the future teachers’ components at the ascertaining stage

Components	Control group			Experimental group
	Formal (low level)	Optimal (sufficient level)	Individual creative (high level)	Formal (low level)	Optimal (sufficient level)	Individual creative (high level)
Axiological	66	64	36	62	84	16
Volitional	22	88	56	38	104	20
Cognitive	44	88	34	48	94	20
Behavioral	78	56	32	54	94	14
Reflective	40	98	24	42	108	16

 

A structural-content model for developing the future teachers’ emotional culture is introduced at the study second stage.

The content of the model how to develop the future teachers’ emotional culture includes emotionally complex pedagogical situations that are aimed at developing the emotional sphere and interdisciplinary connections. These situations are developed within the framework of the following academic disciplines: «The participants’ psychological and pedagogical interaction in the educational process», «Workshop on organizing the interaction of the educational process subjects», «General pedagogy with a workshop» and «Psychology of management». The pedagogical practice content purposefully includes the activities to determine how the level of the future teachers’ emotional culture has developed (dilemmadecision, the analysis of the teachers’ emotional experience in an educational organization). Various students’ creative activities, students’ Olympics and volunteering are used in extracurricular activities.

The model implementing process consists of pedagogical means, teaching forms and methods (setting for positive interaction between the participants in the educational relationships, the effect of involvement in professional trials, dramatization of emotional states, reflection of emotional experience, creative and imitative exercises).

The final diagnostics to determine the level of formation the future teachers’ emotional culture in the control and experimental groups is carried out at the third stage of the experiment.

The data that reflect the level of formation the future teachers’ emotional culture after the structural-content model implementation are presented in table 2.

 

Table 2 – Increasing the level of formation the future teachers’ emotional culture in the control and experimental groups

Emotional culture components	Control group			Experimental group
	Formal (low level)	Optimal (sufficient level)	Individual creative (high level)	Formal (low level)	Optimal (sufficient level)	Individual creative (high level)
Axiological	61,8	32	6,2	10,2	70,5	19,3
Volitional	43,2	40,7	16,1	0,8	67,9	31,3
Cognitive	24,6	55,5	19,9	10,2	64,1	25,7
Behavioral	27,1	61,7	11,2	10,2	51,2	38,6
Reflective	22,2	60,4	17,4	10,2	71,7	18,1

 

Discussions

The data obtained analysis allows us to conclude that the components indicators of the future teachers’ emotional culture have increased. The results obtained are confirmed by comparing the study data, qualitative and quantitative analysis of the results obtained their statistical processing using the χ² – Pearson criterion. To confirm the hypothesis of our study, we have conducted a statistical test for the reliability of the results in the control and experimental groups (before and after the experimental study).

Using statistical analysis, we can claim that the step-by-step and purposeful development of the future teachers’ emotional culture is efficient. The difference between the results in the control and experimental groups is statistically significant (fig. 1).

 

Figure 1 – The diagram of levels formation comparison the future teachers’ emotional culture

 

The study results show that the prevailing number of students in the experimental groups show positive changes in the development of all emotional culture components:

• in the axiological one: the significant priority in the emotional aspects of the socio-pedagogical process and activity has increased; the future teacher’s focus on creating favourable conditions in the educational process; the student’s orientation to professional activities, motivation and positive emotional attitude to the development of the profession;
• in the volitional one: the neuro-psychic stability and regulation in a stressful situation, the ability to empathy, individual’s positive psycho-emotional behaviour;
• in the cognitive one: the formed concepts about the emotional aspects of the pedagogical process, tools for regulating personal emotional state, age and gender specifics of the preschool and school children emotional lives, the emotions phenomenon, emotionally difficult situations of pedagogical activity and possible solutions;
• in the behavioural one: emotional orientation of professional behavioural actions, possession of mechanisms for managing the participants’ emotional state in the educational process, abilities for adequate perception and interpretation of emotional states, management of emotional states and manifestations, optimal use of positive emotions, influence on the emotional background of pedagogical interaction;
• in the reflexive one: an adequate analysis of the behavioural strategy, readiness for professional self-realization and self-development. According to the experimental work results, the effectiveness of the future teachers’ emotional culture development as a resource for professional growth is ensured by the introduction and implementation of a structural-content model that has an impact on the components formation.

Conclusion

The introduction of a structural-content model how to develop the emotional culture into the process of future teachers’ professional training has allowed us to formulate the following conclusions:

1. The professional standard requirements actualize the need to develop the teacher’s ability to organize the educational process on the basis of emotionally positive relationships between all participants in the educational process.
2. The future teachers’ emotional culture development includes the following stages: the formation of the emotional experience (theoretical training); the internal motives actualization in professional and pedagogical activity (professional tests) and the readiness formation for self-development of personal emotional and value experience.
3. An integral indicator of professional growth is the level how the emotional culture components have been formed as a part of the teacher’s general and professional culture.

Noting the study novelty, we consider the necessity of a teacher’s professional growth subjective characteristics to be taken into account. In our opinion, one of the characteristics is the teacher’s emotional culture as an integrative dynamic personal quality.

The introduced structural-content model how to develop the future teachers’ emotional culture is supposed to be used in the university when both designing the training programs for specialists in the field of education and in the system of teachers’ advanced training. In the future, it is advisable to conduct a research to study the university teachers’ psychological and methodological readiness to apply the technology for developing the future teachers’ emotional culture.

Acknowledgements

The work has been carried out with the Institute of Pedagogy administration assistance in Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, heads’ and teachers’ assistance in Kaliningrad educational organizations and the Kaliningrad Region, the Resource Centre «Pedagogical Education» in Chernyakhovsk (the Kaliningrad Region), Northern (Arctic) Federal University (Arkhangelsk).

About the authors

Elena Vyacheslavovna Potmenskaya

Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University

Author for correspondence.
Email: potmenskaya@mail.ru

doctor of pedagogical sciences, professor of Higher School of Education and Psychology

Russian Federation, Kaliningrad

Nina Vasilievna Tamarskaya

Moscow Pedagogical State University

Email: nv.tamarskaya@mpgu.su

doctor of pedagogical sciences, professor, head of Social Pedagogy and Psychology Department

Russian Federation, Moscow

Elena Iosifovna Mychko

Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University

Email: emychko@bk.ru

doctor of pedagogical sciences, professor of Higher School of Education and Psychology

Russian Federation, Kaliningrad

Svetlana Evgenievna Mazanova

Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University

Email: mazasnova@list.ru

candidate of pedagogical sciences, associate professor of Higher School of Linguistics

Russian Federation, Kaliningrad

References

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