MOTIVES FOR CHOOSING A PROFESSION BY FUTURE PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS

Introduction. The reform changes currently taking place in primary education require a review of the requirements for the professional training of teaching staff, who are responsible for preserving the psychosomatic health of primary school children, prioritizing national and patriotic education, and caring for the formation of a system of universal and national values and several personal qualities. Given the wide range of labor functions of primary school teachers in society, there is a need for systematic career guidance, which includes professional information, professional diagnosis, professional counseling, and professional adaptation. However, the career guidance work with potential applicants for the specialty 013 Primary Education that has been conducted recently has proven ineffective, which is further complicated by martial law. Since the professional selection of future primary school teachers is inefficient, studying motivation for teaching requires increased attention. Purpose. The article involves determining the motives for choosing a profession by future primary school teachers to stimulate their activity in professional training. Methods. We conducted a confirmatory experiment using the test «Motives for Choosing a Career.» It includes 4 blocks of statements that characterize professional choice according to the following designations: internal socially significant reasons; internal individually significant reasons; external positive reasons; external negative reasons. Results. The obtained empirical data confirm that among the spectrum of motives for choosing a profession by future primary school teachers, the following prevail internal socially significant motives (professional values, perception of the importance of the career, professional outlook); internal individually significant motives (professional vocation, professional intentions, professional internality, desire for self-realization, meaning-making in the profession); external positive motives (mastering ethical norms in the career, professional aspirations, interest in earning money, aspiration for professional growth, various types of professional development). Originality. The most common criteria include communication, compatibility of work with character and abilities, vocation, creative nature, the attractiveness of the profession, family traditions, and advice from friends. The least attractive criteria are the closeness of the university to the place of residence, coincidence, financial considerations, the desire to educate the younger generation, and interest in teaching. Conclusion. Since determining the motivations for choosing a profession by future primary school teachers does not cover all aspects of the outlined problem, the factors demotivating professional choice need further research, as well as the development of the latest forms and methods of career guidance work with potential applicants.