Human calling in the contemporary world: responsibility and expected competencies of educators

Abstract

The research focuses on calling phenomenon in the context of the tasks of school reform, definition of the ways of development and motivation of educators. The study analyses social, cultural and humanity aspects of the idea of human calling in the contemporary world as well as the tasks of educators in forming of the system of appropriate competencies of students. The practical issues and international experience of taking into consideration of calling factor in education of teachers and the possibility of use of calling criterion for the assessment of professional suitability of teachers are examined. In particular, the experience of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) in the USA confirms the necessity of measuring not only the knowledge and psychological qualities of the potential teachers, but also of evaluation their ethical virtues. Therefore, if some teachers do experience a calling, it would fall under the “virtue ethics”.

Regarding to the personal nature of the phenomenon of calling and moral autonomy of the person, it is unreasonable and unmoral to implement a formal requirement of calling from the candidates for any job. Whereas in the system of the professional evaluation, in particular in education, the criteria of ethical virtues and attitudes to work has to be formulated as for the indirect manifestations of the experience of calling of a personality. Such indicators are: passion – abilities – their practical implementation – the aim of social benefit. The list of personal virtues corresponding to the experience of calling in education framed as following: open-mindedness, love to children, respect, sympathy, tolerance, objectiveness, honesty, fairness, insistency, responsibility.