Professional self-determination. Professional self-determination. Professional self-determination of personality

Professional self-determination is a form of personal choice that reflects the process of searching for and acquiring a profession. Self-determination is realized in the process of analyzing personal capabilities and abilities in relation to professional requirements. Currently, the understanding of professional self-determination takes into account the problems of the relationship with the life self-determination of the individual, and also includes the influence of influence on the social environment and its active position. In a market economy, the problem of freedom to choose a profession and ensuring the competitiveness of an employee is acute.

Professional self-determination of students

Self-determination of students is the process of formation by an individual of a personal attitude towards professional activity and the method of its implementation through the coordination of socio-professional and personal needs.

Professional self-determination of students is part of life self-determination, since it is part of the social group for choosing a profession and lifestyle.

There are different approaches to professional self-determination: sociological - when society sets tasks for the individual, socio-psychological - step-by-step decision-making by the individual, as well as coordination of the needs of society and personal preferences, differential psychological - the formation of an individual way of life.

The interrelated stages of students’ professional self-determination are symbolically identified:

— preschool stage, including the formation of initial labor skills;

- primary school, which includes awareness of the role of work in the life of an individual through participation in various types of activities: educational, play, work.

Awareness of one's abilities and interests related to professional choice occurs in grades 5-7, and the formation of professional self-awareness occurs in grades 8-9.

In the professional self-determination of students, a significant role is assigned to the family and the state-social structure (vocational and general educational institutions; institutions of further education, employment services).

Psychological and pedagogical support for students’ self-determination is aimed at realizing a conscious choice of profession.

Students are determined to choose a profession in the process of learning basic sciences, as well as during vocational training.

So, the professional self-determination of students includes the process of formation by an individual of a personal attitude towards the work sphere, as well as the method of his self-realization through the coordination of professional and intrapersonal needs.

Professional self-determination of high school students

Determining high school students with a future profession is one of the forms of personal self-determination and is characterized by the process of acquisition, as well as the search for a profession, analysis of personal capabilities and abilities in comparison with the requirements of the profession.

At the age of fifteen, it is very difficult for a high school student to choose a profession. Often, professional intentions are vague and diffuse, and professionally oriented dreams, as well as romantic aspirations, are impossible to realize.

The unsatisfied coming future stimulates the development of awareness of the personal “I”. A high school student is “defined”: who he is, what his abilities are, what his life ideal is, what he wants to become. Self-analysis is a delayed psychological basis for professional self-determination for most vocational school students.

Those high school students who receive complete secondary general education feel more comfortable. At the time of graduation, high school students choose the most acceptable and realistic options from fantastic, imaginary professions. Children understand that success and well-being in life, first of all, depend on the right choice of profession.

By assessing their capabilities and abilities, the prestige of the profession, and the socio-economic situation, high school students self-determine in obtaining a vocational education.

Thus, for high school students, educational and professional self-determination acts as a conscious choice of paths to vocational education and training.

Professional self-determination of personality

Psychologists refer to professional and personal self-determination as the process of forming a person’s personal attitude towards the professional work sphere, as well as self-realization through the coordination of social, professional and intrapersonal needs.

Let's consider professional self-determination, including different stages of personality development.

In preschool childhood, children imitate adults in play activities and reproduce their actions. Role-playing games, some of which are professionally oriented, become widespread in preschool age. While playing, children assume the roles of sellers, doctors, builders, educators, cooks, and vehicle drivers.

Initial labor actions are of great importance in professional self-determination - performing simple actions to care for plants, clothes, and cleaning premises. These actions help children develop interest in the work of adults. Professional role-playing games, performing elementary types of work, observing the work of adults contribute to the self-determination of preschool children. At primary school age, children willingly imitate the actions of adults and, based on this, they are oriented toward the professions of relatives, parents, teachers, and close friends. An important feature of schoolchildren is the motivation of achievements in educational activities. A child’s awareness of his or her capabilities, as well as abilities based on existing experience in gaming, educational, and work activities, forms an idea of ​​​​the future profession.

The end of primary school age is marked by a significant increase in individual differences in the development of abilities between children, and this in turn affects a significant expansion of the range of professional preferences. Work and educational activities influence the development of children’s imagination, both creative and recreative. Thanks to this ability, ideas about various types of work are enriched, and the ability to see oneself in a certain profession develops. Often, a child has professionally colored fantasies that have a huge impact on professional self-determination in the future.

Adolescence is marked by the laying of the foundations of a moral attitude towards various types of work; a teenager develops a system of personal values ​​that determine selectivity in relation to professions. Psychologists consider this period to be responsible for the formation of personality.

Teenage boys, imitating external forms of adult behavior, focus on romantic professions that have endurance, strong will, courage, courage, for example, astronaut, test pilot, race driver. Girls prefer the professions of “real women” - these are charming, popular, attractive top models, pop singers, and TV presenters.

Orientation towards romantic professions is directed under the influence of the media, which replicate examples of “real adults”. Such professional romantic orientation is facilitated by adolescents’ desire for self-affirmation and self-expression. A differentiated attitude towards various activities in clubs and academic subjects shapes children’s intentions and dreams. Dreams, examples of the desired future are touches of self-determination.

Professional self-determination of an individual in early adolescence is the most important task. Often, a teenager’s plans are very amorphous, vague, and represent the nature of a dream.

A teenager most often imagines himself in various emotionally attractive roles and cannot make a psychologically sound choice of profession on his own. And at the beginning of adolescence, this problem arises for boys and girls who leave the basic secondary school. They make up a third of older teenagers who enter secondary and primary vocational education institutions, while others are forced to begin independent work.

Psychologists have found that often students receiving education in vocational schools, vocational schools, colleges and technical schools have not finally decided and their choice of educational institution was not psychologically justified.

The vast majority of young people aged 16 - 23 years old receive education or undergo vocational training in institutions or enterprises. Often, romantic aspirations and dreams are left in the past, but the desired future has already become the present, and many experience disappointment and dissatisfaction from the choice made. Some are making attempts to make adjustments to their professional start, and most boys and girls, during their training, gain confidence in the correctness of their choice.

At the age of 27, social and professional activity is noted. Already have a job and some experience. Professional growth and achievements become relevant. However, the vast majority begin to experience psychological discomfort, which is caused by lofty, unrealized plans, as well as work saturation.

Uncertainty of career prospects and lack of achievements actualize the reflection of personal existence, giving rise to self-esteem of the “I-concept” and introspection. This period is characterized by mental turmoil. The audit of professional life pushes us to define new significant goals. Some of these include professional development and advancement; changing jobs and initiating promotions; choosing a new profession or related specialty.

For many people, by the age of 30, the problem of professional self-determination again becomes relevant. There are two possible ways here: either to establish yourself further in your chosen profession and become a professional, or to change your place of work, as well as your profession.

The age period up to 60 years is considered the most productive. This period is marked by the realization of oneself as an individual, and is also characterized by the use of professional and psychological potential. It is during this period that life plans are realized and a person’s meaningful existence is justified. The profession provides a unique opportunity, using one’s abilities at work, to realize the need to be an individual, as well as to develop an individual style of activity.

After reaching retirement age, people leave the profession, but by the age of 60 a person does not have time to fully exhaust his potential. This period is marked by an alarming state, since stereotypes that have developed over decades, as well as a way of life, collapse overnight. Skills, knowledge, important qualities - everything becomes unclaimed. Such negative aspects accelerate social aging. Most pensioners experience psychological confusion, worrying about their uselessness and uselessness. The problem of self-determination arises again, however, in a socially useful, social life.

Psychology of professional self-determination

Domestic psychology connects the processes of professional self-determination with personal self-determination and lifestyle choice. By choosing this or that profession, a person plans his way of existence, while correlating his future professional personal status with life values.

The following researchers worked on this problem: M.R. Ginzburg, K.A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya, N.S. Pryazhnikov, E.I. Golovakhi, E.F. Zeer, E.A. Klimov.

The most comprehensive and consistent issues of professional self-determination of the subject were studied in the works of N.S. Pryazhnikova, E.A. Klimova, E.F. Zeera.

E.A. Klimov attributed professional self-determination to the quality of the mental manifestation of human development. Over the course of his life, an individual develops a certain attitude towards different areas of work, develops an idea of ​​his capabilities, professions, and identifies preferences.

According to E.A. Klimov, the most important component in self-determination is the formation of self-awareness.

The structure of professional identity includes:

— awareness of personal belonging to a specific professional community (“we are builders”);

— assessment of one’s place and personal compliance with standards in the profession (one of the best specialists, a beginner);

- the individual’s knowledge of his recognition in a social group (“I am considered a good specialist”);

- knowledge of strengths and weaknesses, individual and successful methods of action and ways of self-improvement;

- personal idea of ​​yourself, as well as work in the future.

E.A. Klimov notes two levels in professional self-determination:

- Gnostic (restructuring of self-awareness and consciousness);

— practical (changes in a person’s social status).

E.F. Zeer highlights the problem of individual self-determination in the context of applied psychology, where professional self-determination is noted:

- selectivity in the individual’s attitude to the world of professions;

— choice taking into account the individual qualities and characteristics of a person, as well as socio-economic conditions and requirements in the profession;

— constant self-determination of the subject throughout life;

— determination of external events (change of place of residence, graduation);

- a manifestation of the social maturity of the individual with a close connection with self-realization.

Problems in self-determination are solved differently at each stage of professional development. They are determined by interpersonal relationships in the team, socio-economic conditions, professional and age-related crises, but the leading role remains with the activity of the individual and his responsibility for personal development.

E.F. Zeer believes that self-determination is an important factor in an individual’s self-realization in a particular profession.

N. S. Pryazhnikov proposed his own model of self-determination, which includes the following components:

— awareness by the individual of the values ​​of socially useful work, as well as the need for professional training;

— orientation in the socio-economic situation, as well as forecasting the prestige of the chosen work;

— defining a professional dream goal;

— highlighting immediate professional goals as stages for achieving further goals;

— search for information about specialties and professions corresponding to educational institutions and places of employment;

— an idea of ​​the personal qualities necessary to implement the plans, as well as possible difficulties in achieving goals;

- availability of backup options in choosing a profession in case of failure with the main option of self-determination;

— practical implementation of personal perspective, adjustment of plans.

Professional self-determination according to N.S. Pryazhnikov occurs at the following levels:

— self-determination in a specific labor function (the employee sees the meaning of activity in the high-quality performance of operations or individual labor functions, while the freedom of choice of actions by the individual is limited);

- self-determination in a specific work position (a work position is marked by a limited production environment, which includes certain rights, means of labor, and responsibilities), while the performance of diverse functions provides the opportunity for self-realization of the activities performed, and a change in work position has a negative impact on the quality of work, causing employee dissatisfaction;

— self-determination at the level of a certain specialty provides for a change of job positions, which allows expanding the opportunities for self-realization of the individual;

— self-determination in a specific profession;

— life self-determination is associated with the choice of lifestyle, which includes leisure and self-education;

- personal self-determination is determined by finding the image of the Self and its affirmation among the surrounding individuals (the individual rises above social roles, profession, becomes the master of his personal life, and the people around him classify him as both a good specialist and a respected, unique person);

— the self-determination of an individual in culture is marked by the individual’s focus on “continuing” himself in other people and is characterized by a significant contribution to the development of culture, which makes it possible to talk about the social immortality of the individual.

The problem of professional self-determination

The experience of career counseling shows that students who have not chosen a profession often seek help from a psychologist to determine the type of activity where they will be most capable. Behind this lies an unconscious desire to shift the solution to a life problem to another individual. Difficulties of this kind often arise due to the lack of adequate ideas among schoolchildren about professional suitability, the inability to assess their abilities and capabilities, and also relate them to the world of professions.

Many students cannot answer: “What activities would you like to engage in?”, “What abilities do you see in yourself?”; “What qualities are important for success in mastering a future profession?”

A low culture of knowledge, as well as ignorance of modern professions, complicates the choice of a life path for high school students.

The career guidance work of a psychologist should turn from diagnostic to formative, developmental, diagnostic and correctional. The stages of consulting work should be aimed at activating students to form a desire for a conscious, independent choice of profession, taking into account the knowledge gained about themselves.

Self-determination

11.1. The concept of professional self-determination

11.2. Psychological spaces of professional and personal self-determination

11.3. Types and levels of professional self-determination

The concept of professional self-determination

The concept of “self-determination” is fully correlated with such currently fashionable concepts as self-actualization, self-realization, self-realization, self-transcendence, self-awareness. Personal self-determination, personal self-determination– self-affirmation, self-realization and self-improvement of a person in society, in work and in the workforce.

Professional self-determination– searching and finding personal meaning in the chosen, mastered and already performed work activity, as well as – finding meaning in the very process of self-determination.

The process of professional self-determination- these are the actions of a young person for self-analysis, self-knowledge and self-assessment of his own abilities and value orientations, actions to understand the degree of compliance of his own characteristics with the requirements of the chosen profession and actions to self-develop his abilities and capabilities in the process of professional training and education in order to achieve a more complete compliance with himself regarding the chosen profession and profession regarding one’s own aspirations.

E.A. Klimov identifies two levels of professional self-determination:

1) gnostic– restructuring of consciousness and self-awareness;

2) practical– real changes in a person’s social status.

This process is determined by the manifestations of internal resources, forces, attitudes on the path of professional formation of the individual and its development. Professional self-determination of a person in the world of professions and on the professional path is a personal and personal aspect of the formation of a professional. The problem of personal self-determination should be considered in the context of not only adolescence or choice of profession, but also in a broader sense, in connection with issues of professional development of the individual.

Professional self-determination is a multidimensional and multi-stage process that can be viewed from different angles:

As a series of tasks that society sets for an individual and which he must solve;

As a process of step-by-step decision-making, through which a person forms a balance between his own preferences, interests, goals and requirements of work, the needs of society, etc.;

As a process of formation of a professional’s personality, his individual style and assessment of activities.


From these positions professional self-determination is interpreted as the “I-concept” of an individual, reflecting his understanding, experiences and intentions, objective actions in professional activity (V.A. Bodrov).

The target functions of professional self-determination listed above are essentially criteria for assessing professional suitability.

Professional self-determination presupposes the formation of a subject with high mobility, broad orientation in the world of professional work, without limiting the possibilities of personal development, that is, it reflects the unity of life (professional) and personal self-determination.

Thus, professional self-determination is not only the act of choosing a profession, but a dynamic procedure for the formation of a professional along the entire path of life.

According to N.S. Pryazhnikov, nowadays a shift of interest to the personal aspects of this problem is becoming more and more widespread. Professional and personal self-determination have a lot in common, and in their highest manifestations they almost merge. If we try to separate them, we can distinguish two fundamental differences between professional and personal self-determination:

Therefore, personal self-determination in prosperous eras, on the one hand, is still preferable, but, on the other hand, it is much more difficult than in difficult, “heroic” periods of social development, since in an era of relative prosperity, genuine personal self-determination often dooms a person to the present. loneliness, misunderstanding and even condemnation from others. That is why it is undesirable to call for or somehow “formalize” psychological help in personal self-determination. It is better to carry it out carefully against the background of more familiar and understandable work for most people. career guidance (professional self-determination).

career guidance– a broad, beyond the scope of just pedagogy and psychology, set of measures to assist in choosing a profession, which includes professional consultation.

PROFESSIONAL CONSULTATION– individually oriented assistance in professional self-determination.

CAREER(French carriere) – 1) successful advancement in any field of activity; 2) occupation, profession.

CAREER- the path to success, a prominent position in society, in the professional field, as well as the very achievement of such a position.

CAREER(according to J. Super ) – a certain sequence and combination of roles that a person performs during his life (child, student, vacationer, employee, citizen, spouse, owner of the house, parent).

Professional choice – This is a decision that affects only the student’s immediate life prospects, which can be made both with or without taking into account the long-term consequences of the decision, and in the latter case, the choice of profession as a fairly specific life plan will not be mediated by distant life goals.

J. Super believes that during his life (career) a person is forced to make many choices (the career itself is considered as “alternating choices”).

In many studies, the problem of self-determination is considered as a search for meaning (the holistic semantic aspect of the problem), and in this regard, self-determination is a personal new formation associated with the formation of an internal position, the construction of life plans, the choice of profession, and the determination of the meaning of one’s own existence. Personal self-determination reflects the need to form a semantic system in which ideas about oneself and the world are fused, it is oriented to the future and is associated with a person’s meaningful construction of his life field. Let's look at some options sense self-determination:

ü search for a profession and work that would provide the opportunity to receive earnings (social assessment of work) fairly, i.e. in accordance with the efforts expended (or in accordance with a person’s contribution to society);

ü increasing self-esteem and self-worth;

ü the desire for elitism, which in professional self-determination implies not only “prestige” and “high earnings”, but also a truly creative construction of one’s life, an orientation towards the highest human ideals and values. The only problem is how to figure out where the real values ​​are and where the imaginary ones are, where the elite is and where the pseudo-elite are.

Summarizing the analysis of the professional development of the individual, we highlight the main points of this process:

1. Professional self-determination is the selective attitude of an individual to the world of professions in general and to a specific chosen profession.

2. The core of professional self-determination is the conscious choice of a profession, taking into account one’s characteristics and capabilities, the requirements of professional activity and socio-economic conditions.

3. Professional self-determination is carried out throughout the entire professional life: the individual constantly reflects, rethinks his professional life and asserts himself in the profession.

4. The actualization of a person’s professional self-determination is initiated by various kinds of events, such as graduation from a secondary school, a vocational educational institution, advanced training, change of residence, certification, dismissal from work, etc.

5. Professional self-determination is an important characteristic of the socio-psychological maturity of an individual, his need for self-realization and self-actualization.

11.2. Psychological spaces of professional

and personal self-determination

For the theory and practice of professional self-determination, it is important to highlight those “spaces of choice” in which self-determining people often find themselves and which they themselves may not always be aware of “what” and “from what” they generally choose. Sometimes professional consulting assistance to a client may also consist of informing him in some way about the available “spaces” of self-determination, which creates the indicative basis for the actions of a self-determining person.

Before you call main landmarks self-determining person, let’s introduce the basic concepts that are in one way or another connected with planning a person’s life and professional prospects.

As already noted, professional self-determination is not only the choice of a specific profession, but often the choice of a whole life. Let us recall that abroad, the close concept of “career” presupposes a constant change of various life roles and the fulfillment of these roles (according to J. Super). Thus, often a person chooses not only this profession, but something more important (what this profession gives him for a more complete sense of his life).

Considering the problems of constructing human destiny, E. Berne singled out life scenarios and life strategies.

life scenarios- These are programs of progressive development, developed in early childhood under the influence of parents and determining the behavior of the individual in important aspects of his life. Scenarios cover a person's entire life in detail, and strategies are considered as general ideas about human life.

Basic scenario types(according to E. Bern):

ü “I never do”;

ü “I always do”;

ü “never done this before”;

ü “I won’t do it (I’ll do it later)”;

ü “I do it again and again”;

ü “I will do it until it is no longer possible to do it.”

Based on the identification of these scenarios, the following three were derived: type of people: winners

non-winners

Losers.

E. Berne gives examples of these types, linking them with certain “games” that often make up the lives of many people:

At the same time, E. Bern noted that “scenarios are possible because most people do not understand what they are doing,” while understanding means “getting out of the power of scenarios.” You can add to this that understanding means learning to build prospects for your professional and personal development yourself (!), and not being a toy in the hands of fate.

It is important for a career consultant to clarify for himself such concepts as style and lifestyle, since, as already noted, many people choose not so much a profession as a certain lifestyle and life stereotype.

Life style- this is a type of human behavior where the emphasis is on the subjective and dynamic side of an individual’s life.

Lifestyle– this is a comprehensive consideration of life activity (work, everyday life, social life), often associated with consideration of the quality of life of an individual, a social group, and society as a whole.

In social psychology, such important concepts for career counseling as social roles and social stereotypes.

Social role- this is a social function of an individual, his place in a certain community of people (the role of a leader, an outcast, etc.).

Social stereotype is a schematized idea of ​​a social object (a person, a social or professional group).

Interesting, although unconventional for the theory and practice of career counseling, are those highlighted by K.G. Jung archetypes.

archetype– collective unconscious (K.G. Jung distinguishes consciousness, personal unconscious and collective unconscious), certain mythological figures, images, the average experience of many generations, which “in the process of history is repeated where the creative imagination” of a given person is freely manifested.

Moreover, “every step towards higher consciousness,” meaning “the fulfillment of a task that he discovered in his world” and associated with “virtue” and “efficiency” in the best sense of the word, means moving a person away from the general unconscious of the crowd, but at the same time makes it is more “lonely”, misunderstood and often causes doubts and suspicions on the part of ordinary people. In other words, a “breakthrough of the unconscious” (in particular, the collective unconscious) can expand the possibilities of a person’s self-determination in the world, but it can also complicate his life.

For further consideration of the “spaces” of self-determination, we can highlight more specific options for choices, where certain social and professional stereotypes, life scenarios, etc. are, as it were, concretized. Typologies of professional and personal self-determination can be considered in the light of the signs by which professions are classified (remember the signs of classification of professions from Lecture 6).

Today, the typology of J. Holland (J. Holland), based on comparison of personality types And types of professional environment:

1) realistic type (technology, male professions) – R;

2) intellectual type – I;

3) social – C;

4) conventional (sign systems that require structure) – K;

5) entrepreneurial - P;

6) artistic – A.

It is assumed that a certain personal type must correspond to its own type of professional environment, which ensures more complete realization of the employee in his work. The table shows approximate correlations between personality types and types of professional environment

The essence of professional self-determination. The relationship between the concepts of “personal” and “professional” self-determination

Professional self-determination is a person’s definition of himself in relation to the criteria of professionalism developed in society (and accepted by a given person). One person considers the criterion of professionalism to be simply belonging to a profession or receiving a special education, and accordingly evaluates himself from these positions; another person believes that the criterion of professionalism is an individual creative contribution to his profession, enriching his personality with the means of the profession; accordingly, he is different from this higher the planks self-defines and further self-realizes. Unlike career guidance and career counseling, it is more related to “self-guidance.”

Main characteristics of personal self-determination. Two fundamental differences between the concepts of personal and professional self-determination

They are as follows: the need for personal self-determination is the need for the formation of a semantic system in which ideas about oneself and the world are merged; self-determination is future-oriented. The relationship between the concepts of “personal” and “professional self-determination”. D. Super's concept of professional development is a theory that affirms the unity of professional and life self-determination. D. Super believed that professional development, in essence, consists of the development and implementation of the self-concept. At the same time, the interaction of self-concept and reality occurs when playing and performing professional roles, for example, in fantasy, in a conversation with a career consultant, or in real life. Vocational choice involves a compromise between a synthesis of personal and social factors, self-concept and reality, newly acquired reactions and existing response patterns;

Differences between professional and life self-determination: firstly, professional self-determination is a more specific concept, it is easier to formalize it (get a diploma, etc.); personal self-determination is a more complex concept, it is impossible to formalize it; secondly, self-determination depends on external, most often favorable conditions; personal self-determination depends on the person himself.

The process of professional self-determination includes: the development of self-awareness, the formation of a system of value orientations, modeling one’s future, and the construction of standards in the form of an ideal image of a professional. The formation of a self-concept, including the image of a “professional self,” depends on the degree of consistency between the ideal and real “self-image” and the ideal and real image of the profession.

The personal meaning of a professional ideal is determined by a person’s social position. Its main components are: meaning-forming motives, value orientations, semantic attitudes.

Values ​​provide a connection between the cognitive and emotional components of professional self-awareness through internal motivation. Sense-forming motives in professional self-determination are the motive of self-conformity, the motive of self-esteem, the motives of achievement, success or avoidance of failure.

When talking about professional self-determination, the concepts of “career” and “professional choice” are also used.

Career - successful advancement in one or another area (social, official, scientific, professional) activity. It is advisable to distinguish between: 1) a broad understanding of career as professional advancement, professional growth, as stages of a person’s ascent to professionalism, etc.; 2) a narrower understanding of career as job advancement. A professional choice is a decision that affects the immediate life prospects.

Tasks of professional self-determination. 1) educational, 2) diagnostic, 3) moral and emotional support for the client, 4) assistance in choosing.

Views on professional self-determination A. Maslow, P.G. Shchedrovitsky, E.A. Klimov, V. Frankl, E.R. Saitbaeva, N.S. Pryazhnikov

The concept of “self-determination” is fully correlated with such concepts as “self-actualization”, “self-realization”, “self-realization”, “self-transcendence”... At the same time, many thinkers associate these concepts with work activity. For example, A. Maslow believes that self-actualization manifests itself “through passion for meaningful work”; AND ABOUT. Cohn says that self-realization manifests itself through work, work and communication; P.G. Shchedrovitsky notes that “the meaning of self-determination is in a person’s ability to build himself, his individual history, in the ability to constantly rethink his own essence”; Analyzing professional self-determination in detail, E.A. Klimov understands it “...as an important manifestation of mental development, the formation of oneself as a full-fledged participant in the community of “doers” of something useful, a community of professionals.” He distinguishes two levels of professional self-determination: 1) gnostic (restructuring of consciousness and self-awareness); 2) practical (real changes in a person’s social status).

Self-determination presupposes not only “self-realization”, but also the expansion of one’s original capabilities - “self-transcendence” (according to IN.Frankl ): “...the fullness of human life is determined through its transcendence, that is, the ability to “go beyond oneself, and most importantly, in a person’s ability to find new meanings in a specific matter and in his entire life...”. Thus, it is the meaning that determines the essence of self-determination, self-realization and self-transcendence.

Saitbaeva E.R. believes that in the general problem of self-determination of human behavior, important importance belongs to both the mechanism of transcendence and the mechanism of reflection. Moreover, reflection is characterized as going beyond the limits of a situation, activity, any immediately current process or state - in order to disidentify with them, in order to take the position of a “third-party” observer in relation to one’s thoughts and actions in this situation. It presupposes a focus on oneself, highlighting the discrepancy and opposition between “I” and “not-I”. Transcendence is also characterized as going beyond oneself, beyond the boundaries of existing existence, but with the goal of achieving unity, belonging, identity with the World as a whole, with another “I”. The condition for transcendence is the focus on the existing “outside”: on meaning, business or another person, regardless of the specific situation.

Self-determination in a specific job function, self-determination in a specific job position, self-determination at the level of a specific specialty, self-determination in a specific profession, life self-determination, personal self-determination, personal self-determination in culture.

Levels of self-determination capabilities: 1) aggressive rejection of activity; 2) silent avoidance of activities; 3) implementation of stereotypical methods of activity; 4) the desire to improve elements of activity; 5) the desire to improve activities as a whole.

Professional self-determination at different stages of life development (according to N.S. Pryazhnikov).

7. Conflicts of professional self-determination. Professional self-determination inevitably gives rise to a clash of different goals, interests, positions, a discrepancy between the needs for self-fulfillment and real opportunities, contradictions between the “real self,” the “reflected self,” and the “possible self.” These contradictions lead to the emergence of intrapersonal conflicts, the overcoming of which, as a rule, requires psychological assistance from a professional psychologist.

8. Methods for enhancing professional self-determination: 1) Career guidance games and exercises; 2) card-based career consulting techniques and games; 3) activating and value-semantic professional consultation questionnaires; 4) blank games.

Kuznetsova I.V.

Center for career guidance and psychological support "Resource",

Yaroslavl

Professional self-determination is a continuous process that accompanies a person’s entire professional life. It does not end with a one-time choice of profession. A person constantly rethinks his professional life and refines his professional choice: changing work, type and field of activity, determining specialization, planning activities, changing the way activities are performed, etc. It is impossible to define yourself professionally once for the rest of your life. Professional self-determination is updated when solving various social and professional problems. Flexibility, constant clarification and adjustment of professional values, capabilities, positions, plans and prospects are the most important factors in the effectiveness of self-determination, especially in conditions of constant changes in the personality itself and significant socio-economic changes.

A key characteristic of professional self-determination is overcoming uncertainty at the personal and motivational level by defining and redefining one’s own professional position. Professional self-determination is one of the mechanisms of personal professionalization, closely related to the formation of a subject of professional development. It performs a number of functions in the course of professional choice, formation and development of a person: career guidance, design, identification, organizational, control, regulatory, adaptation, compensatory.

Professional self-determination of an individual can be considered as a process, as a state and as a result. From the process side, we can talk about certain stages, conditions and factors influencing the unfolding of the process of professional self-determination. From the side of the result, professional self-determination is characterized by new formations in various spheres of personality: motivational, cognitive, behavioral, emotional, etc.: expanding ideas about oneself and the world (including professional), acquiring experience in making elections, experience in professional tests, forming the image of “I” , forming an image of the desired future, etc. The effectiveness of the process of professional self-determination can be assessed by the success of solving the problems of professional self-determination and the formation of the new formations necessary for their implementation, which form the basis of the ability to professional self-determination. As a state, professional self-determination reflects, as it were, a cross-section with continuously can be characterized by more or less high emotional intensity, awareness, broad or narrow (focus).

Professional self-determination is an activity process that includes solving problems of professional self-determination. Its course is carried out in accordance with systemic-genetic and systemic-functional principles: the same problem of self-determination appears differently at different ages and in the implementation of different functions.

Key tasks of professional self-determination are solved on the basis of self-knowledge, comprehension (reflexive analysis) of real choices, social and professional tests and other mental and practical actions, design and redesign of one’s own professional future and professional path. An important role in the process of self-determination, along with rational ones (awareness, analysis, comparison, etc.), is played by non-rational components: feelings, experiences, habits, intuition.

Among the significant tasks of professional self-determination of high school students, which will be discussed in more detail in this publication, are tasks related to making decisions about choosing a profession, developing ways and means of acquiring it, considering professional prospects, etc.

Professional self-determination occurs in a certain situation, which is a set of subjective and objective factors of choice: socio-economic prospects, characteristics of the modern labor market and professions, the requirements they impose on the employee, possible ways to acquire professions, etc., individual characteristics of each person, subjective attitude to the situation of choice, established connections, traditions, etc.

Generalizing the results of a number of researchers, as well as understanding the practice of our own work, allowed us to develop a normative model of the process of professional self-determination of school graduates. It includes the formation of an image of “I” based on self-knowledge and self-development; formation of a generalized idea of ​​the labor market and the situation of choice based on analysis and synthesis, formation of an image of the most attractive, “ideal” sphere of future professional activity based on comparison and coordination of the image of “I” and a generalized idea of ​​the labor market and the situation of choice; development of alternative choices based on concretizing the image of an attractive field of professional activity; decision-making (preference for one of the options) based on weighing, limited acceptance, crowding out and other mechanisms; development of a program, ways and means of implementing the chosen option.

The actual process of professional self-determination is not always carried out in accordance with the normative model. It can be characterized by different breadth (more or less number of components); inconsistency (consistency of internal and external factors); degree of structure, mono-directionality (there is integration of one or a number of intentions); sustainability (preservation of value orientations regarding various types of activities), validity (degree of completeness of taking into account external and internal factors). Emerging contradictions, difficulties and mistakes relate to various stages and components of professional self-determination.

Organizational and managerial support for professional self-determination - career guidance - significantly depends on how the essence of this process is understood. If we put the activity of the individual at the forefront, when Rthe solution must be found by the chooser himself, then the teacher(or another person involved in supporting the process of professional self-determination)cannot and should not give ready-made recommendations. Just as you cannot breathe and live for another person, you cannot make fateful decisions for him. Even the most infantile young person can do this himself, relying on the help of a wise and understanding adult, since there are no absolutely right or wrong decisions, there are decisions that are acceptable and unacceptable from the point of view of a particular person in a certain situation. A specialist providing assistance to a graduate can create conditions, intensify the search process, accompany during professional self-determination, helping to determine the “price” and methods of mastering the profession, possible success and satisfaction from work in each specific case.

Thus, the creation of conditions for professional self-determination of high school students should, first of all, ensure the launch and implementation of the individual’s activities for professional self-determination, the formation of means of building his professional career.

The process of a child choosing a future profession is called professional self-determination. It is realized when a person begins to analyze his own personal qualities and preferences. Already acquired skills and capabilities are taken into account. Potential professions are assessed according to various criteria. Professional self-determination is closely related to a person’s self-determination as an individual and his position in life.

Professional self-determination - a child’s choice of his future profession

Main Factors

In psychology, professional self-determination is characterized as a person’s selective attitude towards choosing a specific profession and career goal. The basis is a conscious decision in favor of a certain type of activity, taking into account one’s own characteristics, capabilities, and preferences.

There are 2 types of factors – external and internal. External motivational factors include those described below.

  1. Other people's recommendations. This is advice from relatives, parents, high school students, and adult friends.
  2. Examples from the environment. When choosing, a person takes into account the experience of other people. Imitation of authoritative figures is possible. The prestige of the profession plays an important role.
  3. Stereotypical thinking. These are statements and norms usually imposed by society. They show a person how to behave correctly and by what criteria to choose a profession. Due to the presence of stereotypes, in the future a person may be disappointed in his decision, since reality may not correspond to the imposed image.

The main internal factor is personal assessment of the labor process. A person considers whether the activity in question will offer career opportunities or other prospects. Analyzes the attractiveness, prestige, and labor intensity of the work process. Study information about what type of activity the chosen specialty involves: varied or routine.

The second internal reason is working conditions. The need for frequent business travel and the location of potential work buildings are considered. Special attention is paid to possible work schedules. For some individuals, it is especially important to know whether they will be in an office from 9 am to 6 pm or whether they will have a free or flexible schedule.

The last internal factor is the analysis of the possibility of participation in social activities. It is important for a person to understand whether he will have to work constantly or whether it will be easy to combine rest and work. He considers how quickly he can achieve material well-being and financial independence.

Types of self-determination

According to various guidelines, there are 3 types of self-determination: professional, life, personal. Initially, they exist as separate components of human life. Over time, their connections strengthen. This occurs due to the individual’s immersion in the specialty. And then a person’s personal growth begins to directly depend on professional self-determination. Each type has certain features.

Professional area

Professional self-determination is characterized by formalization. The specialty is determined by a diploma of higher education, qualifications and work experience - letters of recommendation or entries in the work book. Another characteristic is the necessary conditions for comfortable work.

Life path

Life self-determination has its own signs.

  1. Globality. Perception and search for the lifestyle that is characteristic of a certain sociocultural group. This is financial situation, social status, prestige, authority, etc.
  2. Dependence on stereotypes. Certain beliefs about the social culture in which the individual lives are imposed. Because of this, he often cannot realize his full potential.
  3. Dependence on various factors. They have an economic, social, environmental nature and determine the standard of living of a person.

Personal development

Personal self-determination is informal. It is confirmed by certificates of completion of various courses. A person grows personally only when he is in a difficult situation. In stressful moments, the best qualities appear, sometimes hidden potential. This has a beneficial effect on the formation of personality.

In addition to this typology, there are many others. The most correct and relevant is N. Smirnov’s classification of professional self-determination.

  1. Slave position. Usually this is a person without ambitions who is not interested in career growth and salary increases. It is important for him to satisfy his minimal needs. Usually such people live poorly and literally survive.
  2. Consumer position. Such a person is only interested in her personal gain in whatever she does. It can only be stimulated financially. He usually refuses public works, community work days, and programs to help those in need. To every proposal from partners or colleagues he answers: “What will I get for this?”
  3. Employee position. A person does not even think about working independently, and not for someone else. Afraid to take risks, loves stability and comfort. But he is an excellent worker.
  4. The position of a servant of the idea. Such a person works for an idea, and not for material reward. Constantly looking for opportunities to help others and become useful to society.
  5. The position of an original person. In this case, the priority for the individual is personal growth rather than career. Strives for self-development, tries to become the best version of himself. He doesn’t imitate anyone, he always behaves naturally, without pretending.

E. Fromm identifies another type of self-determination and calls it market. This person knows how to sell himself more profitably and actively uses his skills.

Regardless of the type of person, you need to remember that the basic psychology of professional self-determination is freedom of choice.

You should not put pressure on a person to change his position. He made this choice consciously, so he can change it on his own if necessary.

Types of self-determination

Stages of formation

Professional self-determination of an individual is a process that lasts a lifetime. A person chooses a profession and begins to work in his specialty. But sometimes it gets boring or you stop liking it for certain reasons. Then the person decides to change his profession. There are even retirees who want to change something. Therefore, self-determination is a process that is unlimited in time.

At preschool age (up to 6-7 years), the child does not yet have his own opinion as such. His behavior is influenced by those around him. Usually the baby only imitates the elders.

Opportunities and skills are developed through visiting creative clubs, sports sections and development clubs. Now there are children's centers where children play various role-playing games. Particularly popular is the “World of Professions”, where a child can try himself in the role of an employee in a certain field.

Professional self-determination occurs when a child is asked to carry out certain work actions: caring for a plant or animal, cleaning a room. This is aimed at developing children’s interest in the work of adults.

In preschool and childhood, children are guided by the professions of their relatives and friends. Another support is the child’s motivation to achieve high academic success. This is how he forms his first ideas about his future profession.

Young children have no opinion of their own

Teenage stage

In psychology, professional self-determination in adolescence is defined as one of the most important stages. The child is already more specifically aware of his capabilities and skills than in preschool age. Divides work activities into those he enjoys and those performed under pressure.

Other features of the formation of self-determination in adolescence:

  • a moral attitude towards different types of work is laid;
  • a certain opinion is formed about various types of professions under the influence of external and internal factors;
  • selectivity appears in specialties;
  • the image of the future profession is not clearly formed.

There is a certain gender division of professions into male and female. Boys focus on professions where endurance, strength, and courage are important. This is due to the desire to become financially independent. The reason is the image of a “real man” created by various media. With the help of hard physical work, guys try to assert themselves and express themselves.

Girls give preference to professions where not physical labor is valued, but the intellectual and creative components. Most teenagers between the ages of 10 and 15 want to become pop stars, manicurists, dancers, musicians, models, and TV presenters.

Youth stage

At the age of 16-23, young people are on the verge of choosing between educational and work activities. This is a turning point when high school students are forced to leave secondary education. This is when professional self-determination manifests itself.

A teenager needs to make a choice: start working or continue studying at a university or higher professional institution. Psychologists say that the second option is preferred by those who have not yet decided on their future profession.

Main characteristics of self-determination in adolescence:

  • romantic dreams of a profession disappear;
  • a person learns to realistically assess the situation and seriously thinks about choosing a future profession;
  • The choice of specialty occurs under the influence of adults.

After the decision is made, training in the specialty begins. Some teenagers at this stage feel disappointed and regret their choice. They may try to change the situation. For others, during training, confidence in the correctness of their choice only strengthens.

Growing up stage

This category includes people who have already completed their educational activities and started working. Already have experience and place of work. Social and professional activity is manifested. Self-determination occurs when a person begins to analyze his activities at work and thinks about career growth (especially if there is none).

By the age of 30, the problem of professional self-determination becomes especially relevant. It is characterized as follows:

  • the chosen profession does not bring pleasure;
  • work activity does not meet expectations;
  • the person experiences psychological discomfort;
  • a decline in productivity, emotional burnout, and depression are possible;
  • the individual thinks about changing jobs and finding himself.

This stage lasts until retirement (up to 60-70 years). Is the most productive. During this time, a person tries to realize himself as an individual, implement his plans, and achieve the most important goals in life.

Fatigue from the profession can appear after 30 years

Retirement period

Occurs after 60-70 years. Most people do not have time to fully realize their professional and psychological potential. There comes a period of despondency, degradation, and increased feelings of anxiety. If a person does not manage to achieve his goals, disappointment may appear, which will provoke depression.

The pensioner realizes that everything he has worked towards all his life has disappeared. Nobody needs his professional qualities and skills anymore. He begins to consider himself unnecessary, confused, useless.

A person again faces the problem of self-determination. But it concerns not professional activity, but life. Manifests itself in socially useful and social life.

Main problems

The first problem is difficulties in choosing a future profession. Occurs in high school students. The main manifestation is complete confusion. Teenagers undergo many special tests to determine the most suitable specialty, and can use the services of a school or other child psychologist.

Children are tormented by the following thoughts:

  • “Where can I be realized”;
  • “In what area may my skills be needed”;
  • “What happens if I make the wrong choice”;
  • “What types of activities bring me pleasure”;
  • “What abilities do I see, and what abilities do others point to,” etc.

A process of self-analysis takes place. Abrupt and rapid changes in the outside world complicate the choice. A current profession may become unnecessary in 5-7 years, when the child completes his studies. Therefore, he needs to take this factor into account as well.

The problem of self-determination in adults is disappointment in their work. This is due to the presence of certain stereotypes about the future profession, the provisions of which differ significantly from reality. Therefore, a person has several options for getting out of the situation:

  • change place of work;
  • change your specialty to another, but in a related field;
  • change your profession to a radically new one in a completely different field;
  • stay at your current job, but engage in retraining and personal growth.

Pensioners experience the end of their working lives especially hard. Some of them lose the meaning of life. But there are those who are glad to end their career and decide to start implementing their long-planned plans. Such retirees travel and try to learn new skills. With retirement, their life takes on a new meaning.

Conclusion

Professional self-determination of an individual is a process that is accompanied by the choice of profession and the search for oneself in different areas of life. Develops under the influence of external and internal factors.

There are life, professional and personal self-determinations. There are about 5 types of human positions in relation to work. Self-determination goes through a person’s entire life, including preschool, adolescence, youth, adulthood and retirement. Each of them has its own difficulties, the timely overcoming of which will make life interesting and colorful.



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