Образ человека будущего, Том 7
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Many of interviewees said that they decided to become teachers because of their own teaching experience at school or at the university. They had a pedagogic practice, taught some lessons, led other school activities, took care about their younger schoolmates and they liked it. Many students, however, came to the university just to study their favorite subject. Only after a pedagogic practice and getting more knowledge of their field, some of them for the first time understood that they would like to be teachers.
Disposition to teach and grow younger generation
A really often explanation of the choice of a teaching career is love to children. The majori-ty of students and teachers told that they had always enjoyed being with children and therefore they would love to teach and grow up the youth.
Disposition to work with children and interest in some subject for teaching were in many cases more important than every kind of suggestions of families or the other people"s positive or negative examples. Following what one likes to do or to be is a way to the right career de-cision and it appears to be the first trait of a calling.
2. Religion and spirituality as motivating factors of the career choice
5 of 10 student interviewees were believers of different kinds and depth of involvement in a religious life. 3 were Orthodox Christians, 1 was a believer of a new kind close to Protestantism and 1 was rather an intellectual believer without any church belonging. The first 3 students ac-knowledged the importance of religion for their disposition to help and care about people. Conse-quently, that led them to their profession. It is remarkable that the next person who was specially inclined to explain all her activities via God"s will did not have a direct aim to become a teacher. Her lifeway is not focused on some specific activity. The last of the 5, an "agnostic" believer as he named himself, does not see any link of religion and calling. Religion for him is a kind of a transpersonal philosophic belief, while calling is a rather individual necessity.
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The Experience of Calling: Educational Aspects and Cross-Cultural Comparisons by Yevhen Muliarchuk
The dominating way of thinking about religion and calling of our interviewees could be reconstructed like that: even when one believes in God, he or she thinks that the choice of a profession is rather a matter of personal feeling or reasoning. The higher power is literally "higher" than the level of individual preferences. Even if everything happens by God"s will, one cannot know that will to the end. Believers understand that higher religious guidance as an implicit process and they just hope for God"s help on their lifeway. To specify that, I am giving the words of one student: "If God brought me to the profession, He would help me to cope with all the difficulties of that work."
Spiritual motivation for the choice of profession is more common than religious one. Stu-dents can understand spirituality as an internal faith, personal convictions or moral values that motivate their actions more than material needs. However, not so many young people use the notion of spirituality to explain their motivation. There is a kind of skepticism towards worn moralist words and towards the variety of modern quasi-religious practices in Ukraine. Out of 5 students, who were religious believers, only 1 said that religion and spirituality is the same.
For the majority of students the choice of their profession was caused by personal feel-ings and understanding, or it was a result of the influence of their family, teachers and other circumstances. Ukrainian students would rather see their future from the starting point of the desire, responsibility and courage. Nevertheless, some of them would accept that their lifeway is not only in their own hands or just subordinated to the society, but there is a higher power of Providence beyond their considerations.
Anyway, all those who declare the feeling of calling think that it is not accidental, that it has a special meaning in their lives. Calling reveals the need of fulfilment and living a useful life.
3. The definitions and the structure of the phenomenon of calling
Actually, students and teachers could explain their motivation of career choice using var-ious terms and not necessarily "calling", but when asked they would readily interpret their experience as a calling. For some of students who had difficulties to formulate their own notion of calling was given the definition: "A career that is not motivated by monetary gain or is for the betterment of society or the good work of a higher power is considered a calling" [Colozzi & Colozzi, 2000]. One of the Ukrainian students, Paola, put it in the same words: "Calling is what one wants to do paying no regard to material benefits of it."
Many students inclined to interpret calling as a "congenial work." The doctrine of "conge-nial work" belongs to the famous Ukrainian peripatetic philosopher of 18th century Hryhory Skovoroda. "The only way to happiness is to follow your heart and do what is congenial to you", taught the philosopher. His motto was Socratic: "Know thyself" [Skovoroda, 1994]. As Skovoroda"s philosophy is familiar to Ukrainian students, the "congenial work" is a paradigm of the understanding of calling for many of them.
Nevertheless, we tried to go further and get more specific definitions, which allowed us to see the diversity of the experiences. The obtained definitions could be classified by their intentions: 1) self-actualization, 2) socialization, 3) transcendence. Actually, it was possible and even inevitable to combine two or three of those intentions, but one of them would prevail for every person.
Self-actualization means calling for self-fulfillment. It can be shown in the words of the in-terviewees. Student Helen defines: "Calling is what one is interested in and what one succeeds in, because one has got ability to it." There can be also a self-manifestation aspect, namely to
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The Experience of Calling: Educational Aspects and Cross-Cultural Comparisons by Yevhen Muliarchuk
do what is congenial for a person. Another student, Mary, says: "Calling is when one wasn"t taught specially to do something, but it comes out good and easy for him or her." One reveals an intuitive competence in something, can do it naturally. It is a kind of being a true yourself. It could also appear like student Andrew states: "Calling is when one understands about some work or activity that one just wants doing it and at the same time cannot do anything else." It is rather emotional statement, although there has to be a moment of conscious decision to go for what one wants instead what gives one more benefits that are external. Moreover, it is not about a realization of all gifts, because one may have many of them, but just a single calling. Another interviewee, Faina, would add that calling holds one not in a sense of obsession, but as something fascinating. It is when one does not want to divert of something, can do it hourly.