Formation of the Readiness of Future Educational Psychologists for the Organization of Psychodiagnostic Activities

Abstract

Introduction. This article discusses the issues of professional training of future educational psychologists for the organization of psychodiagnostic activities in the educational environment. The Aim of the Study. The formation of the readiness of the educational psychologist for professional activity is an urgent and significant psychological and pedagogical problem, which consists in finding answers to the following questions: how to achieve the correspondence of the content of the initial stages of professionalization of the educational psychologist to the characteristics and requirements of the forthcoming activity; what are the mechanisms and conditions for the formation of the future educational psychologist as a subject of professional activity; and what educational technologies will ensure the formation of the psychologist’s competencies necessary for independent professional activity. Methodology and Research Methods. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study is the ideas of the dialectical relationship of general, particular, and individual in the formation of professional activity: a personality-oriented approach to education and its modern modifications. Along with this, the material is given about the types, principles, goals and objectives, and patterns of modern psychodiagnostic work. The Results of the Study. The importance and necessity of forming a psychological and psychodiagnostic culture of future pedagogical psychologists in the purposeful organization of psychodiagnostic activity are discussed. Scientific Novelty. We have developed the structure of students’ professional readiness. Practical Significance. Considering the specificity of the subject of work of the psychologist of education, the problem of the quality of professional education of this specialist should be considered as one of the components of the problem of the quality of life of the developing personality of the child, which determines the relevance of the research topic.

1. Introduction

The problem of formation of readiness for professional activity has been and remains a key one for the psychological and pedagogical theory and practice of professional education. Its main goal in the “State program for the development of education of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2020-2025” is the achievement of a new modern quality of vocational education with an orientation to international standards, namely “the preparation of a qualified employee of the appropriate level and profile, competitive in the labor market, competent, responsible, fluent in his profession and oriented in related fields of activity, capable of effective work in his specialty at the level of world standards, and ready for constant professional growth.”

The basis of the reform of the existing system of higher professional education is the humanization of the educational process in universities, which implies the need for a holistic approach to the formation of the personality of the future teacher-psychologist—its value orientations, meanings, and ideals. The main task of personality-oriented psychology is considered to be to assist the future psychologist in determining his attitude towards himself, towards other people, towards the world around him, and towards his future professional activity [1, 2].

The main goal and the most important result of vocational education is the readiness of a specialist for activities that imply the need and ability to effectively perform the chosen activity formed during professional training. Despite the rich experience of the domestic system of vocational education, it needs to be modernized and updated, especially in terms of training specialists in relatively new industries (due to the lack or limited relevant experience) and in professions that impose special requirements on the individual (since the individual psychological characteristics of a person play a key role in mastering and performing this activity). The combination of these circumstances, characteristic of the profession of a psychologist, explains the acuteness of the problems of professional training of this specialist [3, 4].

The profession of an educational psychologist today is one of the most demanded. The basis of professional education for such personnel is systematic training in educational institutions of various types. The specialty and qualifications acquired in the course of training in a particular educational institution largely determine the potential boundaries of the inclusion of a teacher-psychologist in certain areas and types of activity.

In accordance with the qualification characteristics of the graduate, a specialist who has received the qualification of a teacher-psychologist must, in particular, carry out professional activities aimed at providing psychological support for the educational process, personal, and social development of students; promote socialization, the formation of a common culture of the individual, a conscious choice, and the subsequent development of professional educational programs; and contribute to the harmonization of the social sphere of the educational institution, to carry out measures to form the psychological culture of students, teachers, and parents [5, 6]. The changes taking place in modern society, associated, in particular, with the informatization of education, contribute to the initiation of new requirements for the qualification characteristics of educational psychologists.

The ultimate goal of professional and pedagogical training is the formation of such a professional quality as “readiness.” This term is interpreted as a state of the individual, as a property that contributes to the accumulation of everything necessary for activity. Depending on the degree of its formation, a person with a greater or lesser effect is included in labor activity and shows psychological readiness for work. We understand the readiness of a future teacher as a personality-activity neoplasm that appears as a result of the accumulation of professional and moral potentials, which are characterized by the formation of a system of knowledge about moral self-development in the profession and moral qualities and the development of pro-social value orientations and strategies of professional behavior [7, 8].

The criteria for assessing readiness can be as follows: cognitive-gnostic: a set of methodological, psychological, and technological knowledge, understanding the value attitude to professional and pedagogical activity, and awareness of the strategy of professional and moral growth; moral and personal: the desire for self-development of the “I-concept” of the individual, the formation of professional and moral qualities, the breadth of the system of pedagogical values, and the development of professional identity; and reflexive-activity: possession of technologies of moral development, involvement in socially significant project activities, and the presence of moral strategies for solving professional problems.

The proposed components of personality readiness and the mechanisms of its formation determine the processes of personal and professional development of the future teacher, among which the development of the “I-concept” of the personality and the “image of the profession” is especially important, leading to personal maturity and professional identity.

In summary, the focus should be on the following:(i)The education system in the era of the value break of society needs a “new teacher” who sees the meaning of his pedagogical vocation in the formation of a value-oriented consciousness of young generations, knows examples of moral deeds from the history of his country, knows how to develop an interest in socially significant activities, owns the technology of value-semantic development of the personality;(ii)Readiness allows us to focus on the moral self-development of the individual as a personality-activity neoformation of the future teacher, which requires a model of pedagogical support for its formation in the educational space of the pedagogical university;(iii)The formation of readiness is determined by the mechanisms of self-realization (internalization, identification, reflection, and exteriorization) developing its components (motivational-need, cognitive-gnostic, value-semantic, and reflexive-activity), which are subject to certain criteria (cognitive-gnostic, moral-personal, and reflexive-activity).

Thus, the formation of the readiness of future teachers in the process of studying at a university will remove the contradiction between the reluctance of young people receiving a pedagogical education to go to work in their specialty and the need of the education system for a teacher who is ready to self-realize in professional activity through the value-semantic development of himself and his students.

Despite the fact that the educational sphere today requires educational psychologists with a high level of readiness for professional and pedagogical activities, educational institutions are still guided by the academic training of educational psychologists. Possessing the necessary information, future educational psychologists find it difficult to use it in practice. This is due to the insufficient development of methodological issues in this branch of science. Many technological approaches in working with children and adolescents are borrowed from foreign experience without sufficient adaptation to Russian sociocultural conditions [9].

An analysis of the activities of educational psychologists shows that professional difficulties are associated with the technological aspects of practical work in the education system, starting with the general organization of work, ways and methods of interaction with the teaching staff, and ending with specific methods used in work with different age groups.

At the present stage, a search is underway for new approaches to the formation of readiness for professional and pedagogical activity of future pedagogical psychologists and an understanding of its role and functions in the changed conditions of public consciousness [10, 11].

Despite the significant expansion of research in this area, the contradiction between the demand of modern society for a highly trained specialist and the insufficient level of real readiness of university graduates for professional activity is increasingly evident. This fully applies to new areas of professional training and activities, in particular in the field of practical psychology of education. The social situation of the development of the domestic practical psychology of education is characterized, in our opinion, by a number of serious contradictions:(i)Between the obvious need of all participants in the educational process for psychological support and their distrust of the possibilities and necessity of practical psychology in education;(ii)Between understanding the uniqueness and specificity of the nature of the practical psychology of education as a new area of professional activity and the use of traditional ways of training such a specialist without considering the originality of this profession;(iii)Between the number of graduates of pedagogical universities that is increasing from year to year and the unmet need of educational institutions for these specialists.

At the highest psychological forums, the still insufficiently high level of readiness of young psychologists for independent professional activities is constantly noted and the problem of improving the quality of their professional education is discussed. The dissatisfaction of all interested parties is noted: educational institutions as customers for training psychologists in this area; the subjects of vocational training themselves, its final level and content; universities as executors of the order for the professional training of educational psychologists [12].

Considering the specificity of the subject of work of the psychologist of education, the problem of the quality of professional education of this specialist should be considered as one of the components of the problem of the quality of life of the developing personality of the child, which determines the relevance of the research topic.

One of the main reasons for the insufficient readiness of practical psychologists for professional activity is considered to be the discrepancy between the traditional paradigm of the university training of these specialists and modern requirements. In the university practice, there is still no system of productive personal and professional development of the future psychologist, and reproductive methods of teaching him prevail, which provide the student with knowledge. This leads to insufficient practice-oriented preparation for independent professional activity. As a result, the formation of a psychologist of education, his formation as a subject of the chosen activity occurs after graduation from the university through “trial and error.” All this confirms the existence of a contradiction between the social order of society for psychologists who are able to solve complex professional problems in modern educational conditions and the insufficiently studied mechanisms of effective professionalization of the future psychologist [13].

2. Literature Review

The theoretical and methodological basis of the study is the idea of the dialectical relationship of the general, the particular and the individual in the formation of professional activity: a personality-oriented approach to education considered in the works of many researchers. For example, the work of Bederkhanova et al. [14] “Humanistic Meanings of Education” is devoted to the contradictions and problems of organizing education in domestic schools and finding ways to ensure the humanistic orientation of education, which is proclaimed in the new Law on Education.

Bogoyavlenskaya [15] in her work “Working concept of giftedness” gives the main provisions of the working concept of giftedness. Also in her work, the author determines what the educational process should be like and what it should include. At the end of her work, she considers the concept of differentiation of training and its advantages in the training of specialists.

Asmolov and Guseltseva [16] in their study “Who and how to develop the methodology of psychology?” represent a kind of dialogue between the authors, where the conversation consists of two parts: “Questions to the teacher” and “Questions to the student,” in which Asmolov and Guseltseva act in turn in the roles of the interviewee and the interviewer. The article is devoted to the discussion about the problem of the future of psychology. Generalizations and judgments about the trends in the development of psychology in our era are presented. The main metaphors for the development of science are considered. The necessity of developing synthetic approaches that satisfy the existing, sometimes opposite, trends and various “turns” in the life of a person and society is indicated. The modern specificity of crises in psychology is considered—a multitude of crises in a multitude of psychologies. The need for a specific understanding of the design of psychologies as a support for spontaneous lines of development is presented. The authors adhere to the position of the cultural-activity approach.

The activity approach was developed in the works of Vershlovsky [17]; for example, “Leaders in Adult Education and Education” tells about the creative legacy of leaders in adult education and to this day determines the development of the methodology and theory of lifelong education. In the work of Petrovsky [18], “Theoretical psychology,” he considers the mental (figurative) nature and, at the same time, “effectiveness” have a productive representation that forms its object. The idea overcomes the opposition of the subjective and the objective (it is quite reasonable to believe that ideas create the world). These inextricably linked characteristics of the idea are “mental imagery” (as comprehension of external and internal reality) and “effectiveness” (as intentionality and productivity)—and determine the role of ideas in the life of a person [19].

One of the theoretical foundations for building a student-centered learning model is the legacy of Rubinstein [20], which combines the methodological (philosophical) principles of the relationship between learning and development, the disclosure of psychological patterns of the formation of individuality, the analysis of epistemological and psychological grounds for designing, and organizing complex educational processes that, on the one hand, ensure the socialization of the individual through learning, and, on the other hand, contribute to its formation as an individual in the dynamics of age development.

For many years, the theoretical legacy of Rubinshtein [21] was not actively used for the development of psychology, as it was considered too abstract and academic. This was the work of only a few students and followers involved in educational psychology. His works are little known to teachers and practitioners of education. They are not included in the conceptual framework for the construction of training programs and innovative projects for the development of educational institutions of various types [22].

Ideas of Rubinshtein, which, in our opinion, are fundamentally important for the design of modern education, are revealed in the problem of the relationship between learning and the mental development of a person as a subject of cognition, activity, and self-development. In the context of this problem, the position of Rubinstein [20] is that “external causes act through internal conditions. Thus, the antithesis between external conditioning and internal development or self-development (self-movement) is removed. It is their internal interconnection that forms the basis for the explanation of all phenomena, including mental ones” [20].

3. Materials and Methods

The relevance of the study is due to the problem of improving the quality of professional training of future pedagogical psychologists, the formation of their creative potential, the readiness to make responsible decisions in their professional field, and the ability for continuous professional self-development. The leading place in the structure of the professional qualities of a given specialist is given to the ability to quickly navigate in the dynamic conditions of pedagogical practice, in other words, to professional orientation [23].

The professional orientation of educational psychologists is expressed, first of all, in the ability to perceive the qualitative diversity of pedagogical reality, to establish in this diversity the essential properties that are important for making balanced psychological and pedagogical decisions. The formation of students’ readiness for professional orientation involves the embodiment of the orientation itself in the educational process: in a certain content of various disciplines, various forms of educational, and extracurricular work, through special pedagogical technologies. This kind of content, forms, and didactic tools are of particular interest for the professional training of students, since their readiness to professionally carry out professional activities, as well as their subjective existence in the process of interacting with other people, largely depends on the quality of the organization of the educational process [24].

Many works in Russian psychology are devoted to the analysis of the professional activity of a teacher-psychologist: within the framework of the psychological theory of activity, the formation of tasks, functions, main areas of activity, and the influence of the activity of a teacher-psychologist on the humanization of relations are analyzed in the teaching staff. In the psychological theory of personality, an emphasis is placed on the personal component of the professional success of educational psychologists, the realization of the creative potential of the individual, and actions in a situation of uncertainty [25].

Nevertheless, the mechanisms of mastering the professional activity of a psychologist remain insufficiently studied in comparison, for example with the profession of a teacher or engineer. As a result, until now there is no integral scientifically grounded system of modern organization and content of professional education of the future psychologist of education, ensuring his readiness for successful independent professional activity.

Thus, the formation of the readiness of the educational psychologist for professional activity is an urgent and significant psychological and pedagogical problem, which consists in finding answers to the following questions: how to achieve the correspondence of the content of the initial stages of professionalization of the educational psychologist to the characteristics and requirements of the forthcoming activity; what are the mechanisms and conditions for the formation of the future educational psychologist as a subject of professional activity; and what educational technologies will ensure the formation of the psychologist’s competencies necessary for independent professional activity.

4. Results

The main feature of readiness for the professional activity are integrative character, manifesting the orderliness of internal structures, the consistency of the main components of the professional's personality, stability and continuity of functioning, professional readiness that indicate psychological unity, and the integrity of the professional's personality; all of them will contribute to productive activities. Thus, the concept of professional readiness is considered as a category of the theory of activity (state) and is understood, on the one hand, as a result of the training process, and, on the other, as an attitude towards something [26].

So, we consider readiness for activity as an integral manifestation of personality and by readiness for activity we understand a special personal state, which presupposes that the subject has an image of the structure of action and a constant focus of consciousness on its implementation. Personal professionalism is achieved largely in the process and as a result of the development of abilities and their enrichment. Here we are mainly talking about the so-called complex and private abilities as personality traits that determine the success of mastering a certain activity and improving in it. The development of personal professionalism is associated with the intensive development of complex and private abilities to the level of giftedness.

Among the complex and private abilities, a special role 9 belongs to the intellectual, which, as it were, has a systemic property, since the basis of any development is primarily intellectual development. The development of abilities can be accomplished without any serious restrictions. The professionalism of a person also depends on the level of development of the professionally important qualities of the subject of labor, that is, those qualities of the person that affect the performance of the activity.

There are personality-specific characteristics necessary both for the successful professional activity of a person as a whole (general intellectuality, creative mindset, observance of moral and legal norms of behavior, clear speech, analytical thinking, developed intuition, and observation) and for a specific direction of its activities. So, a researcher needs some professionally important qualities such as emotional coldness, restraint, rationalism, and a wider range of significant qualities for the practitioner: readiness to establish contacts, quick orientation in a situation, the ability to inspire confidence, the ability to listen and hear, understand the inner world of people, observation, empathy, emotional stability. An important factor and, at the same time, the result of the development of readiness are the so-called professionally important qualities (PIQ) of the individual, which represent the individual psychological basis of his professional readiness [27].

Professionally important qualities are the properties of the subject of activity, which are necessary and sufficient for its implementation at a normatively given level and which significantly and positively correlate with at least one (or several) of its main performance parameters. Professionally important qualities, among other invariant elements of professional readiness, ensure the success (productivity, quality, efficiency, etc.) of its implementation. They are multifunctional, and at the same time, each profession has its own ensemble of these qualities. At the same time, the connection between the PIQ and 10 productivity of activity is mediated by a subjective attitude to activity. Sometimes in the system of professionally important qualities, a special group of the so-called personal-business or personal-professional qualities is distinguished. These include mainly the following:(i)Organization(ii)Initiative(iii)Responsibility(iv)Discipline(v)Attentiveness

Psychological readiness is a state characterized by the mobilization of the resources of the subject of labor to perform specific activities.

Considering that the study of readiness for professional psychological activity is at the initial stage, in order to carry out its structural and functional analysis, let us turn to the theoretical and experimental ideas accumulated in modern science about the structure of readiness for professional activity in general, and pedagogical and psychological in particular. An analysis of the existing beliefs allows us to identify four fundamentally different approaches to understanding the structure of readiness.

The first approach to the structure of readiness consists in a simple listing of its constituent properties:(i)A positive attitude towards activity, a tendency to engage in it, turning into enthusiasm, a number of characterological traits and stable intellectual feelings, the presence of mental functions necessary for the performance of activities, a certain fund of knowledge and skills, skills in the relevant field, and professional abilities [28](ii)Awareness of their belonging to a certain professional community(iii)Knowledge, opinion about the degree of their compliance with professional standards, about their place in the system of professional roles(iv)Knowledge of a person about the degree of his recognition in the professional field(v)Knowledge of your strengths and weaknesses, likely zones of success and failure; idea of oneself and one's work in the future [29](vi)Volitional qualities, the necessary direction of intellectual processes, specialized observation, the optimal level of sthenic emotions, flexible thinking, and the ability to self-regulation(vii)Professional identity, value orientations, professionally important personality traits and professional competence, and awareness of the prestige of the profession [30]

This approach allows us to consider readiness as a manifestation of individual and personal qualities corresponding to the nature of the forthcoming activity, but it causes difficulties in presenting readiness as an integral phenomenon.

The second approach to the structure of readiness is associated with its differentiation depending on the type and form of readiness. Platonov [31] in the structure of readiness, distinguishes psychological, professional, and moral readiness. Sanzhaeva [32] mentions the three-term structure of readiness for activity, traditionally including three of its types: moral, intellectual, and psychophysiological readiness.

The characteristic of the subjective side of labor, which is the second, after our study of the object subsystem that constitutes the psychological analysis of the professional activity of the educational psychologist and implies the description of his personal, motivational, cognitive, and operator-regulatory characteristics as the subject of this labor [33].

It is known that the personality traits of an employee have a significant impact on the process and results of professional activity. Back in the middle of the 20th century, the interest of Russian researchers in labor psychology shifted from the psychophysiological characteristics of an employee to his personality. As a result of such studies, the “golden rule” of labor psychology was formed, according to which professional activity will be effective if the individual personality characteristics of the subject correspond to the requirements of the profession as a system of functions.

The personal analysis of the psychologist is one of the most important and, perhaps, the most studied area of the professional study of this activity. The problem of the personality traits of a psychologist has been especially actively developed in the last two decades in such areas as: professionally important qualities of a psychologist, ensuring the success of his scientific and practical activities; personal determinants of the effectiveness of the activity of a practical psychologist in certain areas; and the formation and development of personality and professionally important qualities of a practical psychologist. The overwhelming majority of researchers recognize the presence of professionally important personality traits and qualities of a psychologist who determine the success of his work, but there is still no unified approach to identifying them [34].

The most represented direction in the study of the personality of a psychologist in relation to psychological activity is the study of his individual psychological characteristics or their complexes with the aim of a holistic characterological description of the subject of labor.

The profession of a psychologist, like all those related to the type of activity “Man-Man,” makes the greatest number of psychological requirements for the personality of a specialist. For representatives of this type, it is important to understand the inner world of a person, the ability to listen and hear, to have a wide outlook, coherent and clear speech, as well as a kind of mental orientation of the mind and an optimistic approach to another person. Grigorovich [35], among the personality traits necessary for a successful professional activity of the “Man-Man” type, identified the following: reflexivity, developed speech, interest in another person, desire for communication, sociability, benevolence, non-conflict, decentration, good self-regulation, emotional stability, adaptability, arbitrariness of behavior, the ability to have an emotional impact, empathy, responsiveness, endurance, composure, and punctuality [35].

The most extensive list of important and necessary for the successful work of a practical psychologist, compiled by Romanova [36] on the basis of expert assessments, includes: observation, sociability, restraint, good manners, attentiveness, courtesy, self-control, tact, sensitivity, altruism, politeness, humanity, morality, poise, philanthropy, delicacy, honesty, responsiveness, respect, courtesy, calmness, objectivity, intelligence, competence, education, enlightenment, qualification, erudition, insight, switchability, and versatility [36].

According to Derkach and Sayko [37] and his colleagues, the most significant psychological qualities of a psychologist are analytical and constructive mindset and independence of judgment, sensitivity and insight, emotional and volitional stability and patience, resistance to stress and the ability to adapt, empathy and reflection, and general psychophysical activity [37].

The solution to the problem of formation of readiness for professional activity is in the field of determining the determinants of its development. Rubinstein [20], who substantiated the principle of determinism, proceeded from the recognition of the double—external and internal—determination of mental phenomena, which can be fully attributed to the phenomenon of readiness. Its formation is based on an understanding of internal (mental) processes and external (social) factors in their dialectical relationship, ensuring the development of successive new formations of readiness. Thus, the substantiation of psychological mechanisms and conditions for the professional development of future educational psychologists, ensuring the formation of their readiness, corresponding to modern requirements and the realities of professional activity in education, acquires special relevance and significance.

5. Discussion

Based on the above, under the psychological mechanisms of the formation of the readiness of the educational psychologist for professional activity, we mean the natural relationship of a set of factors, conditions, and means that ensure the development of new formations of readiness at the preuniversity and university stages of professionalization. The psychological mechanisms of the formation of readiness indicate the nature of the relationship between external and internal determinants that ensure the emergence of new formations of readiness.

In the course of the theoretical analysis of the readiness for professional activity in the first chapter of the work, a conclusion was made about the heterochronous development of its components. We regard this kind of connection in the structure of readiness as the basic (general) psychological mechanism of its formation, the action of which characterizes the formation of the phenomenon of readiness as a whole. At the same time, the formation of successive new formations of readiness occurs under the influence of partial (private) psychological mechanisms corresponding to a specific development situation at the preuniversity and university stages, which need to be substantiated.

The strategy of activities for the formation of psychological readiness, according to the concept of Rubinstein [20], should be formed through the creation of “personality-affirming situations” that ensure the formation of the experience of subjectification—the development of one’s (personal) knowledge, opinion, style, and one’s own structure of activity [17]. Consequently, under the influence of the actions taken for self-education, an actual motive arises, a “response”—a positive state of the personality of the future teacher-psychologist. With the repetition and variation of such situations, this state of the personality is generalized and becomes general, typical for other spheres of its manifestation. A state of satisfaction arises, under which Vershlovsky [17] understands the relationship between the motivational-value sphere of the personality of the future specialist and the possibility of success in the implementation of the leading motives [20]. This state can be defined as self-satisfaction.

Self-approval and self-stimulation are the methods of development of a future specialist that maintains this state. With a successful resolution of the conflict situation, which was facilitated by the use of professional development techniques, this can be expressed as praise to oneself, as well as the search for other ways of self-encouragement, which make it possible to restore mental balance.

Thus, the structure of students’ professional readiness is represented by the following components:(i)Cognitive is the idea of students about the professionally important qualities of a teacher-psychologist(ii)Motivational is the content of the educational and professional orientation of the student(iii)Evaluative: the formation of adequate self-esteem and an adequate attitude to one’s professional and personal qualities(iv)Activity-based: the desire to work by profession (teacher-psychologist) and the same for activities for professional development

Having considered the structural components of students’ readiness for professional activity, we believe that all actions to change the personality of a future specialist should be aimed at his self-expression and self-development: this is a developed interest in another person, respect for his uniqueness; the teacher’s understanding of his right to originality and individuality, the desire for an individual style of work; the presence of a holistic “I-concept” and adequate self-esteem, capable of resisting biased external evaluation of the teacher’s work, ensuring his professional stability, motivation and the desire to master high standards of work and psychological and pedagogical skills; motivation and striving for creativity as a way of personality development, self-realization not only in subject and communicative, but also in personal creativity.

6. Conclusions

Today, when the modern stage of development of society is characterized by the deepest socioeconomic and political transformations, it requires the preparation of creatively thinking people. They should have: a nonstandard view of problems, the improvement of the person himself, his creative and constructive abilities, high intelligence, morality, and responsibility. All these qualities are an important condition for the survival of mankind in a crisis state of the social system.

The success of these transformations is largely determined by the humanization of the Russian school. In this, educational psychologists who work in the education system play an essential role. The effectiveness of the work of educational psychologists depends on the levels of their readiness for the implementation of professional and educational activities.

The study confirmed the importance of solving an urgent problem at the present stage of the development of higher pedagogical education—the formation of readiness for professional and pedagogical activities of future pedagogical psychologists.

In this work, we carried out a pedagogical study of the professional and pedagogical activity of a teacher-psychologist. We showed the peculiarity of the formation of such an important personal education in the educational process of a pedagogical university.

It examined the readiness for professional and pedagogical activity of future pedagogical psychologists by identifying the features and directions of the professional pedagogical activity of a pedagogical psychologist, comparing the specifics of “professional pedagogical activity” and “professional pedagogical activity of pedagogical psychologists” and in the system of concepts close to it “readiness,” “readiness for activity,” “readiness for professional and pedagogical activity.” The proposed model of training specialists for professional activities requires obtaining high-quality professional psychological education.

The obtained results are important for the development of specific mechanisms for increasing the competitiveness and employment of graduates interested in the profession through their thoughtful preparation in high school and the selection of the best students at the university.

Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.