Experience of forming the future teachers’ psychological competence in the process of studying the general psychology course

Abstract

The article highlights the conditions for the formation of future teachers’ psychological competence during their professional training within the course “General Psychology”. It has been established that the primary obstacle faced by the teachers in developing psychological competency is the difficulty to acquire practical experience and personal changes in professional awareness. In order to solve the issue, it is proposed to apply an integrative approach in the training of future educators, which combines academic, technological, personal, and reflective components in working with educational material. Within the course “General Psychology”, the integrative approach was implemented by addressing the following tasks: 1) developing students' critical thinking skills and their ability to analyze facts from the perspective of various theoretical concepts; 2) forming practical skills in emotional self-regulation and creating a safe environment; 3) fostering the ability for self-exploration and self-analysis; 4) enhancing the capacity for personal and professional reflection. Accordingly, the primary goal of the work in lecture sessions was not the accumulation of theoretical information, but rather students' mastery of the skills of analyzing theoretical knowledge and the skills of reflection. The course's practical tasks also made a significant contribution to the development of students’ practical skills and abilities. The training led to favorable changes in the personal and professional spheres of first-year students: they became much more conscious of their own internal processes, which improved their capacity for both personal and professional reflection. Most students were able to understand the nature of the internal contradictions that hindered their successful academic activities. A separate positive change that should be taken into account is that most students now regard themselves as teachers.