Teachers' functional and role-based positions in educational practice
Introduction Modern teaching is characterized by multitasking and requires teachers to flexibly switch between a variety of professional functions. The existing models of role positions often do not reflect the complexity and situational variability of the teacher's work, and also do not take into account the specifics of teachers’ functional activities. The purpose of this study is to theoretically substantiate and empirically verify the model of functional role positions of a teacher, reflecting the discrete nature of their professional actions. Materials and methods. Based on the synthesis of structural components of pedagogical activity (N.V. Kuzmina) and managerial roles (T.Y. Bazarov), a model of seven functional role positions was developed: expert, educator, administrator, sociotechnologist, methodologist, mediator and ontologist. To diagnose the degree of mastery and discreteness of perception of these positions by teachers, the original research methodology "Functional role positions of teachers in the classroom" (Cronbach's α = 0.913) was developed and validated. 89 teachers of secondary schools participated in the study. The data was processed using descriptive statistics methods and the Wilcoxon criterion in the SPSS and EQS programs. Results. The results confirmed the hypothesis of discrete perception of functional role positions by teachers. A clear hierarchy in their mastery was revealed: there is an absolute dominance of the “Expert” position, while the “Ontologist” position turned out to be the least pronounced. The positions of “Educator”, “Administrator”, “Sociotechnician”, “Mediator” and “Methodologist” form a stable intermediate group. Statistically significant differences were found for most pairs of comparisons (p<0.05). At the same time, the absence of significant differences between the positions of “Educator” and “Administrator” indicates their possible interchangeability in practice. Conclusions. The study demonstrates that the concept of functional role positions is a relevant tool for analyzing the complexly organized activities of teachers. The data obtained emphasize the dominant role of the teacher's expert activity and identify areas for professional development, in particular, the need to strengthen evaluative and reflexive activity (“Ontology”). The developed questionnaire can be used to assess and develop teachers' professional competence.
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The author expresses her gratitude to K.E. Tsiolkovsky KSU, PhD, Professor, E.I. Gorbacheva.