Professional self-determination of students: the motivational and value aspect

• Main Author: I.V. Sitnikova
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Penza State University Publishing House 2021-08-01
• Series: Известия высших учебных заведений. Поволжский регион: Общественные науки
• Subjects: students; youth; professional choice; educational strategies; motivation; values; choice of a university; higher education

Background. Youths’s realization of educational goals depends on their perceptions of success and the factors necessary to achieve it. Formation of educational strategies and setting professional goals begins with motivation to education, which is determined by the social environment, the impact of values, attitudes formed in young people. The purpose of the work is to identify the motives for obtaining higher education, the university and the direction of training, the factors influencing the professional choice of student youth. Materials and methods. The research method was a questionnaire survey of full-time students from different fields of study at leading universities in Nizhny Novgorod. The study involved 858 students from 1st to 5th year. Results. The analysis of the sociological research’s results of higher education motivation and the choice of a university and a study field is presented. The factors influencing the professional choice of young people, the formation and implementation of educational strategies, the formation of professional attitudes are identified. The similarities and differences in professional and value motivation of different types of higher education students are shown. Conclusions. The results of the study showed that the most popular motives for students to get higher education are the prospects of future employment, the expectation of high income and career growth, which confirms the views of sociologists about the pragmatism of modern Russian youth. The main motives for students of Nizhny Novgorod universities to choose a higher education institution are the availability of the direction of training that they are interested in, as well as the opportunity to study at the state-financed place. The choice of the study field is primarily connected with the intention of young people to get a specialty that causes interest and with the expectations of an interesting study. When choosing a university and a field of study, students of different types of universities are guided by motives that depend on their values and life plans.