Features of professional orientation of children in rural small school

In the context of a rural educational system, determining a future profession is a difficult task. Both parents and students lack knowledge about the specifics of sought-after professions in the modern labor market, as well as the location of certain educational institutions. The relevance of the topic lies in the need to develop effective methods of vocational guidance for children in small schools, where resources are limited and the peculiarities of the social environment require adapted approaches to the formation of professional interests and skills. Rural small-scale schools differ from urban schools not only in the number of students, but also in the specifics of the educational process. Here, teachers are often forced to perform several functions at the same time: to be not only teachers, but also educational psychologists, social workers, and even career consultants. At the same time, opportunities for systematic career guidance are often limited. In such circumstances, it is especially important to organize a professional guidance system that would help children reach their potential and find their place in life. The professional orientation of children is one of the most important tasks of modern education. However, in conditions of rural small schools, this task becomes especially difficult. In this article, the authors examined the features of the professional orientation of children on the basis of the V. F. Afanasyev-Aldansky Cheriktey Secondary School in Cheriktey village of Ust-Aldansky District, Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), and will try to find optimal ways to successfully solve it. In the course of the experimental study, diagnostic techniques modified by G.V. Rezapkina were used: the “Type of Thinking” questionnaire and the “Profile” technique (a modification of the “Map of Interests” by A. Golomstock). The study was conducted on a sample of 12 students in grades 8–9 and 10 parents without taking into account gender characteristics. These methods made it possible to identify the dominant types of thinking of schoolchildren and identify their professional interests in various fields of activity. The diagnostics revealed the predominance of creative thinking among schoolchildren with the least expression of abstract-symbolic thinking. Objective-effective, verbal-logical, and visual-imaginative types of thinking are moderately developed. The analysis of professional interests showed the dominance of sports and military orientation, literature and art, entrepreneurship and home economics with minimal interest in natural sciences and technical disciplines. The survey of parents revealed their lack of awareness of the school’s career guidance programs, an average level of satisfaction (50%) with this job, the need to attract qualified specialists from various fields, and the need to introduce modern information technologies into career guidance activities. With limited resources and a small number of students, educational institutions face challenges in shaping children’s professional interests and skills. In conclusion, recommendations are made on optimizing career guidance measures aimed at improving the effectiveness of working with children and preparing them for future professional life.

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