Justifying the professional tasks of school director’s advisor for moral and values education and for interaction with children’s public associations

Abstract

Introduction. The introduction of the new position of school director’s advisor for moral and values education has created a need to clarify the content and objectives of such advisors’ work. The present study aims to substantiate the content of advisors’ work through analyzing their professional tasks, to facilitate the development of new professional functions by advisors, and to lay groundwork for designing professional development and degree programs in education that include the competencies required for this position.
Materials and Methods. The article reviews and analyzes Russian-language research on the organizational and methodological aspects of advisors’ work in moral and values education, as well as key regulatory documents governing this area. Empirical data were obtained through a questionnaire survey and focus group interviews with practicing advisors, which revealed a gap between the requirement for advisors to perform new professional functions and insufficient theoretical justification for the content of their work. The proposed framework for defining advisors’ professional tasks is grounded in V. A. Slastenin’s pedagogical ideas and in the competence-based approach to teacher education.
Results. Advisors on moral and values education occupy a strategically significant position in the educational process, which determines the conceptual idea of the content of their work and professional tasks. These tasks are oriented towards three dimensions: activity, the individual, and society. The article proposes a classification of advisors’ professional tasks, comprising three groups. Group I involves organizing the process of moral and values education and providing advisory and methodological support for teachers and students. Group II focuses on students as individuals, requiring moral and values education to take into account each learner’s personality and interests. Group III addresses the social dimension through ensuring interaction between participants in educational relations and external social institutions, particularly children’s public associations.
Conclusions. The analysis of the pedagogical work of school director’s advisors for moral and values education made it possible to: (1) identify the characteristics and content of this work and propose a classification of professional tasks; (2) summarize the key priorities of state education policy, which determine the professional functions of advisors, and substantiate the relationship between advisors’ pedagogical professional tasks and education development strategies; (3) establish a connection between the content of advisors’ pedagogical professional tasks and their job duties set out by the relevant professional standard; and (4) identify three general groups of pedagogical professional tasks.