Extracurricular educational activities for prospective teachers’ professional identity development

Abstract

The influence of extracurricular educational activities at the university on prospective teachers professional identity development has been grounded on the basis of literature on psychology and education analysis, as the influence reflects the professional identity related to axiological definition of life in profession and a semantic system uniting determination of oneself and ones profession. The authors define professional identity, teachers professional identity, a complex of methods evaluating students professional identity development dynamics, and clarify the scientific concept of extracurricular educational activities at the teacher training university. In this work it is understood as an interaction of teachers and students outside the learning process aimed at students personality formation as a subject of prospective professional teachers work, professional identity, self-perfection, self-education and self-development. Extracurricular educational activities at the teacher training university are regarded by the authors as a part of prospective teachers education and professional training. The empirical studies of the professional identity carried out by the authors reflect the role and place of extracurricular educational activities at the teacher training university, as well as their forms and methods for the development of the researched object. Forms, methods and ways of extracurricular educational activities at the teacher training university promoting prospective teachers professional identity development were identified and verified experimentally. The recent study makes it possible to assume that the prospective teachers professional identity results from extracurricular educational activities at the university.