Andreeva Alla D.

Background. The analysis of research in the field of professional self-determination of youth, conducted at the Psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the 1920–2020s, reveals the dynamics of objectives and content of the scientific approaches to the problem in the context of historical and socio-economic development of our country. 

Objective. To identify the changes in the interpretation of the research subject and show the process of expanding the concept of professional self-determination from choosing a profession to becoming a professional during training and real work as well as the psychological readiness for professional self-determination. 

Methods. The study was conducted in line with the comparative historical approach which allowed for establishing changes in the phenomenology of socio-psychological processes in different historical epochs. 

Results. The article highlighted the priority directions of scientific research: from identifying the interests of youth and finding a profession that meets them to teaching labor skills and abilities as a way to increase labor motivation; from focusing on specific professional branches and specialties to finding an educational route in the field of prospective future work. The authors revealed the significant signs of the further transformation of the process of professional self-determination of school graduates under conditions of the post-industrial and digital economy. They are: the increase in the independence of young people when choosing their professional future, the destruction of the tradition of labor dynasties and the loss of value attitude to the chosen profession as a life’s work. 

Conclusion. The analysis made it possible to put forward the assumption that in the conditions of the digital economy, the very structure of the professional self-determination phenomenon is fundamentally changing, being aimed not so much at choosing and mastering a specific profession, but at finding a wide scope of application of one’s inclinations and abilities.

Background. The modern information space containing both reliable and quasi-scientific information has a significant impact on the formation of students’ scientific worldview.

Objective.To obtain an empirical support for the theoretical model of the formation of scientific worldview in the middle-adolescent students which was formulated in the framework of the cultural-historical conception.

Methods. A special questionnaire was developed containing 16 pairs of statements. Each pair presented both scientific and an everyday interpretation of a natural science phenomenon. The respondents had to choose the answer considered to be correct. When processing the data, the number of answers corresponding to the modern scientific concepts was taken into account.

Sample.The study involved 200 high school students and 196 junior college students aged 16–18 years, a total of 396 people (232 girls and 164 boys).

Results. The study has revealed that the worldview of middle-adolescent students is predominantly characterized by an average level of scientific concepts and presents an individual combination of scientific and everyday knowledge. It has been found out that boys demonstrate a significantly higher level of scientific views than girls. College students’ outlook tends to be more scientific than that of high school students, but the differences linked to the type of educational institution do not reach statistical significance.

Conclusion. The theoretical model of scientific worldview formation in the middle adolescence proposed by L.I. Bozhovich in the framework of cultural-historical approach is not confirmed. It is assumed that the key factor in the formation of an individual’s scientific worldview is not the scope of one’s knowledge but its personal meaning. The data obtained expand understanding of formation of the students’ worldview and provide new insights into the content and structure of modern individual’s out- look.