Measuring Teacher Students' Psychological Readiness for Professional Life

Andrey Samoderzhenkov, Master of Psychology, Analyst, Center for Psychometrics and Measurements in Education, National Research University Higher School of Economics. Address: 20 Myasnitskaya Str., 101000 Moscow, Russian Federation. E-mail: asamoderzhenkov@hse.ru (corresponding author)Elena Kardanova, Candidate of Sciences in Mathematical Physics, Director of the Center for Psychometrics and Measurements in Education, National Research University Higher School of Economics. Address: 20 Myasnitskaya Str., 101000 Moscow, Russian Federation. E-mail: ekardanova@hse.ruAkmaral Satova, Doctor of Sciences in Psychology, Professor, Head of the Department of General and Applied Psychology, Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University. Address: 050010, Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty, Dostyk аve., 13. E-mail: satova57@mail.ruEkaterina Orel, Candidate of Sciences in Psychology, Senior Research Fellow, Center for Psychometrics and Measurements in Education, National Research University Higher School of Economics. Address: 20 Myasnitskaya Str., 101000 Moscow, Russian Federation. E-mail: eorel@hse.ruAlena Kulikova, Candidate of Sciences in Education, Junior Research Fellow, Center for Psychometrics and Measurements in Education, National Research University Higher School of Economics. Address: 20 Myasnitskaya Str., 101000 Moscow, Russian Federation. E-mail: aponomareva@hse.ruGulmira Mombiyeva, Master of Psychology, Assistant Professor, Department of General and Applied Psychology, Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University. Address: 050010, Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty, Dostyk аve., 13. E-mail: gumi‑74@mail.ruGulnur Kazakhbaeva, Master of Psychology, Teacher, Department of General and Applied Psychology, Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University. Address: 050010, Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty, Dostyk аve., 13. E-mail: emovea_kz@mail.ruAinur Duisenbayeva, Master of Psychology, Assistant Professor, Department of General and Applied Psychology, Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University. Address: 050010, Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty, Dostyk аve., 13. E-mail: aikoke81@mail.ruIn this paper, psychological readiness of teacher students for professional life is understood as a set of personal characteristics such as personality traits, motivation, attitudes and values that contribute to successful teaching. This operational definition does not include teacher's subject knowledge or teaching skills. The study explores a number of unique evaluation methods to diagnose components of students' psychological readiness for teaching. The selected methods were localized for Russia and Kazakhstan and tested on national samples from both countries. Psychometric characteristics of these methods were analyzed using classical test theory and item response theory (IRT). A procedure was developed for calculating an integrated index reflecting student's psychological readiness for starting a teaching career.