Abstract:

The paper presents the findings of a research study designed to reveal the determinants of academic staff's professional self-fulfilment, as well as the main directions, forms and stages in psychological support.

To obtain results we employed regression analysis on the basis of the following methodical tools: "Questionnaire of professional self-realization", method "Diagnosis of communicative competence in the field of business communication", method "Motivation of professional activity", Personal Orientation Inventory (POI), self-actualization test (SAT), test "Ability to express their thoughts"; questionnaire "Non-verbal expressiveness of the teacher", as well as expert assessment of the formation of teachers' professional competence.

The findings, based on regression analysis, have shown that communicative factors are the best predictors of rate of academic staff's professional self-fulfilment. This is explained by the specific aspects of teachers’ of higher education work, which may be characterized as a form of scientific and pedagogical communication. Moreover, the statistical analysis of experimental data and the qualitative interpretation of the regression analysis have demonstrated the exceptional significance of such professional self-fulfilment indicators as ‘creativity in professional communication’ (general, internal, and external).

In addition, the research has determined the following leading factors of teachers’ of higher education professional self-fulfilment: internal professional motivation and external positive motivation; key criteria of communicative competence (motivational, cognitive, and instrumental) in professional communication; professional competencies, including creative, informational, self-educational and pedagogical ones; non-verbal expressivity indicators; value orientations; creativity; sociability; the ability to deliver thoughts effectively.

The regression analysis assisted in identifying the basic directions and problems related to the psychological support of academic staff’s professional self-fulfilment. The teachers' of higher education professional self-fulfilment can be ensured by:
1) deepening the content of their professional work and achieving job satisfaction;
2) constantly developing internal and external professional motivation;
3) developing cultural, social, and personal value orientations and strengthening positive attitudes towards the chosen area of teaching;
4) creative and creative-communication skills as a constant manifestation of a creative mind;
5) intense development of professional competence and its structural components, including informational, creative, pedagogical, and self-educational competencies;
6) improving communicative competence as a key component of the professional one and the high school teacher’s integral ability to communicate. In its turn, the improvement in communicative competence implies focusing on:
а) the motivational criterion
b) communicative competence;
c) non-verbal (pedagogical) expressivity of teachers’ communication:
7) development of sociability.

The regression analysis has assisted in identifying the basic directions and problems related to the psychological support of academic staff's professional self-fulfilment. Our findings are useful for developing processional trainings and further observing the technologies promoting academic staff's creative self-expression in their professional field.

Keywords:

Professional self-fulfilment, professional and communicative competencies, communication skills, teachers of higher education.