PRESTIGE OF THE TEACHING PROFESSION AND THE LEVEL OF INTELLIGENCE DEVELOPMENT AMONG STUDENTS PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITIES

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is an attempt to draw the attention of the scientific community to the problem of the prestige of the teaching profession against the background of the opinion that has developed in modern society about the low level of intelligence of applicants of pedagogical universities. This problem is relevant today for many European countries, including Poland, where the first stage of research was conducted. A wide range of studies conducted by scientists from Poland, Ukraine and Russia (a list of names is given in the text of the article) indicates the continuing interest of the scientific community in the problem of the prestige of the teaching profession. However, there are not enough publications linking the prestige of the profession and the intelligence of students studying in this direction in the scientific environment. Most publications on this topic do not have scientifically confirmed facts, but are based only on emotions and public perception of the problem. Therefore, we decided to conduct a number of studies in the universities of the three listed countries in order to confirm or decline the prevailing opinion about the low intellectual development of applicants of pedagogical universities. Our research (the first stage) was conducted on the basis of the Warsaw University of Natural Sciences among first-year students studying in the direction of "Pedagogy" using survey as a research method, in particular the Raven test. The article publishes only partial results of research conducted at this Polish higher educational institution, which, nevertheless, allow us to refute the thesis about the low level of intellectual development among students of pedagogical directions. These data are presented in comparison with the similar situation in Ukraine and Russia, which allows us to conclude that the prestige of the teaching profession as a pan-European trend is falling (in relation to the countries of the Eastern Europe). The research results also contradict the generally accepted opinion about the low level of intelligence among students of pedagogical educational institutions. Most of them have an average and high level (according to the Raven test), which, however, does not directly affect the prestige of the teaching profession. More than half of the respondents do not intend to work in their primary specialty, but consider pedagogical education prestigious for further career outside of school.