Marina P. Kulachenko

The article considers the concept of professional readiness for activity in the system of modern psychological and pedagogical knowledge as a complex, multidimensional, integrative concept. The relevance of the study is explained by the introduction of the professional standard "Specialist involved in the organization of the children's collective activities (counselor)" in December 2018 and amendments to the Law "On Education in the Russian Federation" (dated December 29, 2012 N 273-FL) that changed the idea of counselor activities from entertainment to educational, the content of professional training, the position and functions of the camp counselor in the pedagogical community of the children's camp. Changing the nature of professional activity entails changes in the understanding and content of the professional training of the camp counselor. The methodological basis of the study is provided by the tenets of philosophical and axiological approaches about a man as a subject, person and individual; about the nature and essence of human activity; about a man as the highest value. The purpose of the article is to consider the essence of professional readiness, to identify the level of readiness and the reasons for unpreparedness of student youth for camp counselor activities. The leading methods for the study of the problem are theoretical analysis and empirical data obtained by the questionnaire method. The theoretical and practical significance of the article lies in the fact that it presents different opinions about the essence of professional readiness in the psychological and pedagogical literature, shows the types of readiness (general, temporary, situational); defines the concept of "professional readiness" from the position of various approaches (functional, procedural, effective). The article gives author's understanding of the essence and structure of readiness for camp counselor activity as a set of components: motivational, physical and special (professional), emotional and volitional. The content of each of the components is revealed, attention is drawn to the shortcomings. The author comes to the conclusion that it is necessary to identify the weakest and insufficiently developed structural components of readiness in the process of training a children's camp counselor in order to purposefully influence them.