Specific Features In Career Choices Of Cadet Class Pupils

Abstract

The paper presents the results of studying specific features in career choices of cadet class pupils. Career choice is a pivotal decision in individual’s life, as it largely determines their life and professional trajectory, social status, professional as well as life satisfaction. The problem of studying psychological and educational features of cadet training has become a subject of quite a few studies. In the study, a consideration is given to features of education and training in that type of educational institutions. The data obtained attests a higher level of psychological readiness to choosing a profession on behalf of the cadet class pupils in comparison with those of a comprehensive education class. A feature of cadets’ professional choice is its strong connection with the profile of their education According to research data, educational environment in cadet classes is more facilitating to formation of socially mature and career-oriented personality. Undoubtedly, this feature of cadet pupils is reflected in their career choice, as it was revealed in with this research.

Keywords: Career choicepsychological readinesscareer preferencesmotives for careercadet class

Introduction

Career choice is a pivotal decision in individual’s life, as it largely determines their life and professional trajectory, social status, professional as well as life satisfaction.

That is why correct career choice is very important for young people. However, currently, it is quite difficult due to a number of objective complications: economic instability in the country, difficulties with employment, spiritual crisis that results in erosion of the system of values and references that would be used in one’s selection of a profession. On the other hand, making a correct choice is hard due to subjective causes defined by psychological unpreparedness to career choice and personal immaturity of young people. As research shows, young people select their future vocation not by the content of the professional activities, but rather by its external appeal, high earnings, reputation and other second-tier factors. Market demand is largely disregarded, as are possibilities of future employment for currently high-profile jobs. It is very common that a young person does not intend to consider their personal features in their career choice, that is, they do not analyze their personal qualities, capabilities, knowledge and skills in comparison with the requirements of their desired vocation ( Cable, Lee, Gino, & Staats, 2015).

A recent feature in modernization of the current education system is creating cadet corps and cadet classes in comprehensive schools. Cadet classes are field-oriented classes in a comprehensive education institutions aiming at military profession. Establishment of cadet classes reflects the electivity principle in school organization and education and complies with the concept of subject oriented education ( Zvereva, 2015).

Besides implementing comprehensive education curriculum, the cadet classes employ additional subject-oriented syllabi: In-depth study of military technical and sports subjects, Military Basics. However, the main objective of education and training in the cadet classes is forming patriotism and civic consciousness as the essential spiritual-moral and social values. Thanks to the cadet training system, the young men develop the spirit of patriotism and civic consciousness, they acquire the moral values of honor, dignity, friendship and duty ( Kuznetsova & Abramova, 2014).

Education of cadet pupils is based upon spiritual and moral foundations, inducing a will and a need to serve one’s Fatherland, gives rise to interest in historical and military-patriotic traditions of the Russian military.

During the training, the cadets develop informed moral principles and creeds, moral senses (responsibility for one’s actions, personal dignity), a high level of general culture ( Oshevsky & Frolova, 2015).

Broadly speaking, the specificity of cadet education and training creates a peculiar value and motivation atmosphere, infused not only with common human moral norms, but also with patriotic traditions, symbols and rituals. These features of personal development form prerequisites to psychological preparedness to informed career choice among the cadet class pupils.

The main psychological and educational factors facilitating the formation of the psychological preparedness to informed career choice among the cadet class pupils are:

• vocational orientation of comprehensive and supplementary education;

• formation of psychological qualities and skills increasing adaptedness of cadets to new conditions of life;

• psychological and educational support and psychological follow-up of the education and training process ( Barbot, Besancon, & Lubart, 2016; Corazza, 2016; Harris & Reiter-Palmon, 2015).

The cadet classes are the first stage in orientation of pre-draft youth to their subsequent selection of military career and advancement of its status. Education and training in the cadet classes facilitate formation of more refined ideas about the range of military professions among the cadets, thus promoting selection of careers linked to security agencies in comparison with their peers in regular comprehensive education schools. Advantageous prerequisites for such a choice are not limited to moral and patriotic education, but also include subject-oriented knowledge, good physical training, development of moral and volitional qualities of the pupils. According to research, more than 75% of cadet class pupils join military academies ( Molero Jurado et al., 2016)

An essential advantage for young males of studying in a cadet class is presence of positive images of masculine behavior, which is of no small importance in the conditions of feminization of contemporary school education. The adolescents are in constant contact with an adult mentor (who is sometimes a former officer), who in real-life situations demonstrate examples of will, overcoming, self-discipline, faithfulness to one’s word, etc. In combination with intensive military and sports training it facilitates formation of masculine personal qualities in young males.

Significance of creating cadet classes reflecting military career-related subject matter results not only from a necessity to increase the interest of the young people in military service and military career, but also by development of their strong civic stance, high moral qualities (duty, responsibility) with respect to their actions and behavior, which shall largely be within responsibility of the modern educational systems ( Strielkowski, Kiseleva, & Popova, 2018; Vinogradov et al., 2018).

Problem Statement

The problem of studying psychological and educational features of cadet training has become a subject of quite a few studies. At the same time, vocational counseling and career guidance as an aspect of cadet education are still understudied. Still, the features of education and training in cadet classes may facilitate formation of higher psychological readiness to making career choices, as well as influencing the choice of career in comparison with comprehensive class pupils.

Research Questions

The subject of this research is features of career choice made by cadet class pupils as determined by specifics of the educational process that combines military subject matter and education in patriotism, civic sense, moral values and ideals. The following components of the career choice are studied: Psychological readiness to choice, vocational plans and intentions, career choice motivation.

Purpose of the Study

The research objective was to conduct a comparative study of career choice made by pupils of cadet and comprehensive classes and to identify differences in both direction of career choice and psychological readiness to such choice.

Research Methods

The principal methods of our study are: testing and questionnaires. The questionnaires method was used to study the pupils’ personal career plans. A purposely-developed questionnaire included questions allowing identifying professional intentions of high school students, influence that various conditions have over their career selection, stability of the career selection, etc.

Psychological Readiness method was used in the research to study the level of pupils’ psychological readiness to career choice. The method defines the following components of the psychological readiness: autonomy, awareness, decision making, planning, emotional attitude towards the career choice situation.

Studies of motives for career choice was conducted with a questionnaire developed by Pavliutenkov ( 2000). The test identifies 9 groups of motives related to respondent’s career choice: social, moral, aesthetic, cognitive, motives related to the content of labor, material, prestige-related, utilitarian.

Findings

Studies of career plans revealed that all the pupils in cadet classes have already chosen their future vocation. The most commonly selected professions among the cadets are the professions related to military, security, engineering, personal protection and assistance, teaching. The pupils prefer the professions of military servant (35 %), rescue worker (20 %), lawyer (15 %), teacher (10 %), doctor (15%), manager (10 %). In addition, the majority of cadets (85 %) hold their career decision as finalized and are not going to reevaluate it.

Pupils of the comprehensive class are generally oriented towards getting professions in the person-person field (lawyer, manager, doctor, teacher, psychologist, journalist). However, most of them have not yet finalized their career choice.

When selecting a vocation, 40 % of cadet class pupils aligned themselves with their personal desires and interests, 30 % noted the role of abilities in career choice and 25 % stated influence from close social environment onto the selection of future vocation (55 %).

Among the qualities facilitating actualization of their career plans, the cadets primarily stated volitional qualities (discipline, perseverance, self-confidence, responsibility). Those are exactly the qualities that are being developed in the cadet class pupils by means of military and sports training.

Comprehensive class pupils identified such qualities as diligence, abilities, insistence, self-control.

Thus, the results witness to a connection between the career plans of the cadet class pupils and the subject matter of their education, as reflected in corresponding career preferences, stability and independent nature of their career choice.

Let us consider the results obtained by studying pupils’ psychological readiness to career choice with the Student’s criterion (Table 01 ).

The Awareness indicator is significantly higher for the cadet class pupils than for those of the comprehensive class. It implies that the cadet class pupils surpass their peers from the other group in their level of knowledge about the content of the selected profession and the requirements that it poses to a person. It is possible to link this result to the fact that during their field-specific education, in addition to intense training in certain subjects, the cadets also become acquainted with certain professions within the field. It is additionally facilitated by lessons that involve participation from military officers, instructors and commanding officers from military academies and military units. Additionally, cadets’ increased awareness is facilitated by various events related to defense and sports, exposure to activities of militarized structures (police, Ministry of Emergencies, etc.). Experience of military training in the cadet class helps young men in their faster and easier adaptation to military lifestyle.

As for comprehensive school, informing pupils about the professions within the framework of career counseling is often performed only nominally.

The cadet pupils significantly differ from their peers in the comprehensive class by higher degree of autonomy as a component of psychological readiness. Larger values of this component serve as an evidence that the cadets see their career choice as their own, and not as something imposed on them. E. A. Klimov stated that the career choice situation is very complex and requires a certain degree of independence and self-reliance from a young person. This independent personal decision is, inherently, its self-determination. From this notion, we may conclude that according to this component the cadet pupils show a higher psychological readiness to career choice.

Differences in other components of the psychological readiness to career choice are insignificant between the pupils of both classes. Thus, one may say that both cadets and comprehensive class pupils have similarly developed abilities to career-related planning and decision-making, they are equally emotionally involved in the process of the vocation selection.

Thus, generalizing the obtained results, it may be stipulated that the cadet class pupils differ from the comprehensive class pupils by higher level of development of such components of the career choice readiness as autonomy and awareness.

Let us consider the results from comparative studies of motivation for the career choice among the cadet class pupils and the pupils of the comprehensive class with the Student’s test (Table 2 ).

There are statistically significant differences between the students of cadet and comprehensive classes in social, moral and creative motives for career choice.

The higher mean values among the cadet class pupils are noted for social and moral motives in comparison with the comprehensive class pupils. Consequently, one may state that the cadets have more aspirations to work for the benefit of society and to spiritually develop their personality in comparison to their peers from the comprehensive class. One may say that the cadets consider social benefits of their career choice as important. It may be explained by the fact that the main objective of education amd training in the cadet classes is to form patriotism and civic consciousness as the essential spiritual-moral and social values of a well-educated individual.

The system of spiritual and moral patriotic education and training of cadets facilitate formation of a their specific social-moral direction related to aspirations to work for the benefit of the society.

Cadet class pupils significantly differ from their peers in the comprehensive class by less degree of creative aspirations in connection with their future vocation. It may by explained by the fact that many cadets are oriented towards careers in militarized structures where creativity is not necessary. Additionally, some role is played by strict regimentation of educational process in the cadet classes that requires strict discipline and observance of military rituals.

At the level of statistic trends, one may say that cadet class pupils have more pronounced motives related to the content of labor than their peers from the comprehensive class. Educational environment of cadets facilitates formation of more precise ideas about certain professions (mainly those related to military). On the other hand, military subject matter additionally motivates cadets to obtaining extended, deeper knowledge by means of military-sports events and specialized elective courses.

Thus, one may say that showing their alignment with the content of labor in their career choice, the cadets demonstrate a conscious approach to solving the career selection problem.

Differences in other motives are insignificant between the pupils of both classes.

One may also note that pupils of both cadet and comprehensive class demonstrate high importance of material motives for career choice (they are among the three most important motives). It seems to reflect a domineering trend for material welfare characteristic of the modern youth.

So, specific features of career choice of cadet class pupils in comparison with their peers from the comprehensive education class are:

• higher prominence of social and moral motives;

• greater alignment to labor content and in-depth knowledge about selected career;

• reduced creative aspirations with respect to their future vocation.

Conclusion

The conducted study of features in career choices in cadet class allows us to state the following.

Stability finalized nature and close relation of career choice to the subject matter of their education are specific features of cadets’ career choices. The most commonly selected vocations among the cadets are the professions related to military, security, engineering, personal protection and assistance.

In comparison with their peers, cadet pupils are characterized with a higher degree of psychological readiness for career choice in such components as autonomy and awareness. It characterizes them as more self-reliant in career-related decision-making and more informed about the profession being selected.

Cadet class pupils differ from the comprehensive education class pupils by higher prominence of social and moral motives in their career choice. It witnesses to their aspiration to benefit people with their future vocation and to develop their own personality in spiritual and moral ways.

Additionally, they are more aligned to the labor content of the profession being selected in comparison with their peers from the comprehensive education class.

The comprehensive class pupils significantly differ from their peers in the cadet class by a higher degree of creative aspirations in connection with their future vocation.

All in all, one may conclude that the revealed features of career choice among the cadet class pupils allow stipulating their higher social-professional alignment and psychological readiness to the career choice in comparison with the comprehensive class pupils.

The research results allow for a conclusion that education and training in the cadet classes facilitate formation of more refined ideas about the range of military professions among the cadets, thus promoting selection of careers linked to security agencies in comparison with their peers in regular comprehensive education schools. Advantageous prerequisites to such a choice are not limited to moral and patriotic education, but also include subject-oriented knowledge, good physical training, development of moral and volitional qualities of the pupils. Specificity of cadet education and training creates a peculiar value and motivation atmosphere, infused not only with common human moral norms, but also with patriotic traditions, symbols and rituals. These features of personal development form prerequisites to psychological preparedness for informed career choice among the cadet class pupils.

According to research data, educational environment in cadet classes is more facilitating to formation of socially mature and career-oriented personality. Undoubtedly, this feature of cadet pupils is reflected in their career choice, as it was revealed in with this research.

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