Modern Class Teacher: New Priority Tasks and Requirements
Abstract
The role of the class teacher in the modern educational space is increasingly attracting the attention of both the state and society as a whole. The class teacher is required to comply not only with state standards, but also with the expectations of society and socio-cultural norms. An analysis of existing studies has revealed an acute shortage of activities devoted to studying the ideas of adolescents and their parents about what qualities an ideal class teacher should have. The purpose of our study is to analyze the ideas of students and their parents about what qualities an ideal class teacher should have. The Republic of Tatarstan (a region in Russia) became a research site in which 321 schoolchildren and 303 parents took part. The participants were asked to define the role of the class teacher in the class, his/her personality traits, characteristics (gender, age, hobbies, etc.). The survey results showed that students’ ideas about the ideal class teacher are practically no different from their parents’ opinions. It does not matter what gender, age, hobbies their teacher has, whether he/she plays sports, can sing or play musical instruments. Among the priority professional and personal qualities of a class teacher, respondents named “love for children”, “love for one’s work”, “patience”, “fairness”. In addition, the roles, professional skills, and abilities of an ideal class teacher were identified.