Prosocial activity of future teachers

Abstract

Introduction. The leading trend in educational work with students of pedagogical specialties is training the graduates who are ready to carry out the projects focused on the benefit of another person and society as a whole. The aim of the study is to identify the dominant prosocial tendencies, individual propensity for altruistic behavior, types of prosocial behavior that reflect the tendency to provide assistance depending on the nature of the situation, as well as to identify the involvement of students – future teachers in prosocial activity.Materials and Methods. The study included the students of the specialty of Education and pedagogical Sciences (n=222 people). In the study of attitudes to prosocial behavior, an online survey was used. The methods used were the method of assessing the level of prosociality on the altruism scale (SRA), a modification of the portrait value questionnaire (PVQ) by Sh.Schwartz, the method "Measuring prosocial tendencies" (G. Carlo and B. A. Randall, 2002). The study also used the method of focus groups aimed at studying the opinions of prosocial actors-volunteers of the St. Petersburg State Institute of Psychology and Social Work, Ivanovo State University and the Mordovian State Pedagogical University named after M. E. Evseviev (n=28 people). The obtained empirical data were interpreted and processed using qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis, including the analysis of percentages, the Kruskal-Wallace test, the Friedman test, and the Pearson correlation analysis. The calculations were made on the basis of the statistical software package SPPS 22.Results. The dominant altruistic tendency of future teachers is to help a friend, the dominant valueis care, and the dominant type is emergency prosocial behavior, which acts as a kind of response to a situation in which help is required. The motives and barriers of prosocial activity of young people are summarized, and the possibilities of universities to support voluntary initiatives are evaluated.Discussion and Conclusions. The results of the research can be used in the development and implementation of programs aimed at the formation of prosocial activity of future teachers, as well as in the implementation of educational work with students.

Keywords

• prosocial activity
• future teachers
• values
• altruism
• volunteerism
• prosocial tendencies