Indicators Of Successful Self-Revelation In High-School Students

Abstract

The question of professional self-determination in senior high school is the matter of high-priority. The choice of the future direction of professional training is determined by many factors that can be basically divided into two groups: external (objective) and internal (subjective). External factors include, for example, the profession prestige in the modern society and opinion of referents on the upcoming choice. Internal factors include the interests, inclinations and abilities of the senior pupil himself. As a matter of fact, these factors interact continuously, the actualization of ideas about the subjective prerequisites for professional self-determination often occurs under the influence of objective factors. The present article considers the success of self-revelation as a level of correspondence of the training program of the chosen profession to a senior pupil’s ideas about his/her own abilities and intelligence type (according to G.Gardner). The results of the empirical study of high school students show that only half of them could be characterized as those who have successfully disclosed their abilities. Those students show the high self-esteem components such as: will, independence and sense of reality, consistency, high rates of activity and achievement motivation as well as high level of existential fulfillment. This is compared to the students whose ideas about their own abilities and type of intelligence do not coincide with the chosen direction of training, or who haven`t decided on the choice. Whether these indicators can be considered as predictors of the abilities for self-disclosure of a high-school student - the question remains open.

Keywords: Professional self-determinationself-discovery of abilitiesself-esteemmotivation of teachingexistential fulfillment

Introduction

Problem Statement

The description of the successful self-disclosure of abilities requires the understanding of the mechanisms of this process in the pedagogical and vocational purposes. The objective data on this issue vary dramatically, therefore, we set ourselves the goal of describing the accompanying psychological indicators related to the motivational sphere and self-assessment of students, which in the future can be considered as predictors of the self-disclosure of abilities by high school students.

Research Questions

• Are there any specific motivational and self-evaluation indicators of the successful self-revelation of high school students?

• Does the success of the self-disclosure of abilities in high school students match with existential fulfillment (experience of fullness of life)?

Purpose of the Study

The main goal of the study is to identify the psychological indicators of the abilities successful self-revelation by high school students.

Research Methods

The study was conducted by the means of the psychodiagnostic method in the senior classes of Vladivostok secondary schools.

Findings

Table 1 show the results of statistical data processing and indicated a significant differences between high school students demonstrating successful self-disclosure of their abilities compared to the control group.

The results show that there are components of self-evaluation and motivation of educational activity, which differ significantly in the two study groups.

In the group of high school students, characterized by successful self-disclosure of their abilities, the following components tend to have a high value: will, independence and sense of reality, harmoniousness as well as motivation for achievement, activity and existential fulfillment, whereas for those teenagers who have not decided on the future direction of training or whose choice does not correspond to his/her abilities, the same indicators tend to be average or below average.

Thus, students who successfully discover their abilities are characterized by highly developed volitional powers, self-control, manifested in particular in purposefulness. Those students are self-sufficient, independent from the opinions of others, which may determine their ability to independently choose the future direction of vocational training. They also have a clear sense of reality, which helps them to access themselves and the world around them critically; their self-esteem is balanced, which causes a positive image of yourself and the ability to cooperate with others (teachers, family). They have a high behavioral activity and motivation to achieve success; therefore, in educational activity they are capable of setting tasks independently and choosing the way to solve them. In general, they are capable of taking responsibility for their behavior. Predominantly high rates of existential fulfillment in this group of high school students allow us to say that these students are sensitive to their own needs and the requirements of the world around them, as well as they are able to find a balance between those needs and requirements which allows them to sense the fullness of life and its meaning.

High school students who have not decided what kind of higher education do they want to obtain, or those who demonstrate a discrepancy between abilities and professional choice are characterized by a low level of independence and strong-willed qualities, which probably manifests in their passivity with respect to professional choice. They have predominantly low rates of achievement motivation, therefore, they are anxious and indecisive, avoid taking responsibility in uncertain situations. They are also characterized by a low level of existential fulfillment, which manifests in low responsible involvement in the process of their own lives.

Conclusion

We made an attempt to search for psychological indicators related to the success of the abilities for self-revelation by high school students. We assumed that the student's self-esteem and motivation could play a decisive role in the objective assessment of his own abilities and the choice of the direction of vocational training. Comparing the indicators of self-esteem and motivation of the two groups of the high school students who differed in the success of their abilities for self-disclosure revealed significant differences in some of them. In particular, the students who successfully correlated their intellectual abilities, professional inclinations and the chosen direction of training demonstrated a high level of independence and activity, as well as a positive general image of themselves. They were more motivated to achieve success and were active in achieving educational and other goals. They were also characterized by the fullness of the experience of their own lives, the basis of which was a harmonious balance between their own needs and the requirements of the external environment.

The question of whether these psychological indicators can be considered as the predictors of the self-disclosure of abilities in schoolchildren remains open and requires other methods of analysis. In particular, it seems to us that it is necessary to take into account other objective factors contributing to the success of this process, for example, the contribution of reference adults (teachers and parents). These facts outline the field of further scientific research.

Acknowledgments

The study was carried out with the support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project # 17-06-00281 "Psychological and pedagogical predictors of educational effectiveness and mechanisms for self-revelation of the abilities of high school students".

References

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