Svetlana S. Polskaya

This article studies the issue of professional identity of faculty, which is considered to be one of the most essential types of identity of those who are currently working in higher education sphere. The topicality of this study shows itself in growing importance of professional life of a modern individual, with this undoubtedly referring to the faculty bearing their own responsibility for professional development, acting in the conditions of longer career paths as well as adjusting the directions of their professional trajectories. Being the leading kind of a mature person performance and representing his or her universal function, professional activity demonstrates sense-making nature, giving an opportunity of finding existence reasons particularly in professional activity and in matters related thereto. It is the professional performance which allows a person to express oneself and also structures time and formulates personalized meanings. Rapid transformations of contemporary society, labor market and educational environment changes bring professional identity of a university teacher to the fore as this kind of identity is capable of fully reflecting an individual’s personal values as well as aims and intentions. With that said, professional identity is subject to development throughout the whole life, being the process of continuing interpretation of the accumulated experience and knowledge. This research is aimed at demonstrating greater importance of the faculty professional identity compared to the other types of identities. With the help of the survey conducted with 127 objects-sample as well as using the quantitative method, we concluded that in the process of induced and spontaneous identification, the majority of the surveyed teachers opted for professional identity as the main type thereof. Theoretical value of the given research could find its expression in focusing more on faculty professional identity issues as well as its impact on teachers’ performance efficacy and overall well-being. In terms of practical importance, the conclusions made can be applied in the course of educating would-be teachers and postgraduates and also when devising advanced training courses for the experts in the given sphere.

The topicality of the issue of university faculty providing support for students choosing their professional pathways stems from the long-felt need for changes in universities’ and faculties’ performance, with such changes being implemented in the form of more substantial career guidance support. The latter is to be offered not only to those entering universities and then-graduates but also to those who are ‘in between’ these two categories. Our research was aimed to reveal how faculty itself feels about this role, in what way this support can be implemented and what kind of problems and barriers they can face in this process. With the use of pedagogical, psychological and acmeological approaches, possible algorithms of such interaction between a teacher and a student can be established. The expert survey we conducted showed that the majority of the surveyed demonstrated positive approach towards providing career guidance support as part of their performance, with the elements thereof being incorporated into the teaching process and demonstrating certain understanding in what forms such support should be granted, whereas in the course of in-depth interviews, a number of those taking part in the expert survey described potential problems and barriers in implementing such kind of tasks. The practical importance of our research can be reflected in the revealed opportunity of implementing such pedagogical model into university teachers’ performance, which will allow to make the qualitative shifts of bachelors’ training resulting in individuals then joining workforce being well aware of their professional goals and having made a conscious and informed choice of their career pathway.