Pedagogical personnel of education institutions for supplementary education of children as a socio-professional group: incentives and working conditions (according to results of a survey of heads and educators of institutions for supplementary education of children) 2013

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No. 6 (80), 2014 Author: Boris Koupriyanov, Sergey Kosaretskij, Tatiana Mertsalova    The survey performed adds substantially to and defines more exactly the conception of the educational personnel of institutions for supplementary education of children as a socio-professional group, including their incentives, working conditions, structure and salary level.

The survey performed adds substantially to and defines more exactly the conception of the educational personnel of institutions for supplementary education of children as a socio-professional group, including their incentives, working conditions, structure and salary level.

The important factors of working conditions of the pedagogical personnelat institutions for supplementary education of children are the educational load equal to 1 salary rate and over; prevalence of direct communication with children in their labour activity, substantially lesser time spent on preparing for studies as compared with schoolteachers; character of additional activities including an appreciable share of studies devoted to creative labour, production, and sports activities; participation in simple and cost-effective forms of improving the qualification of educators.

The incomes of the educational personnel of institutions for supplementary education of children are characterized as follows: an average monthly total income of all members of a family of educators working at institutions for supplementary education of children constituted 37516.7 Roubles in 2013; ²/₃ of the pedagogical personnel may be characterized as persons with an average level of material prosperity and level of income above the average; more well off seem to be educators at state and private education institutions for supplementary education of children, institutions within the jurisdiction of bodies for physical training and sports; incomes of educators on the staff at institutions for supplementary education of children are formed primarily from the salary at an institution for supplementary education of children while external earnings play a supporting role.

The average salary level of the pedagogical personnel at education institutions for supplementary education of children is 17549.9 Roubles. The differentiation of salaries earned by educators at institutions for supplementary education of children is related with the differences of the labour remuneration of the personnel holding different positions and depends also upon the length of work within the system of supplementary education, qualification categories, etc. (the salary level of young specialist being on average 13248 Roubles). Among institutions for supplementary education of children with different ownership and departmental jurisdiction the highest salaries were recorded at state institutions and at organizations under physical training and sports governing bodies. The salary structure includes the basic salary (on average 10618.7 Roubles) and a number of various payments which do not differ substantially.

The structure of incentivesof the pedagogical personnel working at institutions for supplementary education on the whole corresponds to that of other representatives of the pedagogical profession: the leading incentives are a creative character of work, an opportunity for self-realization, an organizational independence. An “acceptable salary” occupies a more significant place in the structure of motives for educators at institutions for supplementary education of children as compared with schoolteachers. The main demotivating factor is an excessive amount of documents. At private institutions an important place in the structure of incentives of educators is occupied by an acceptable salary and by business aspects. An image of the near future for this category of educators is more optimistic and is to a greater extent related with one’s own activity. At state organizations an important place in the labour incentives of educators is occupied by the aspects of social security, relations with colleagues and the management; their concerns are related with the loss of job due to staff reduction and closure of an institution. For educators of institutions under physical training and sports governing bodies the real career prospects and professional development are more appreciable than those of their colleagues from institutions with other jurisdiction; a positive outlook for the nearest 2 t0 3 years is more explicit for this category. The motivation of educators working at institutions under departments of culture is more oriented towards social preferences. As to the pedagogical personnel of institutions under the Ministry of Education and Science, their image of the future is to a greater extent related with the changes in the social situation of professional activity (moving to work in the secondary school, retiring, quitting the pedagogical activity).

The specific feature of the pedagogical personnel at institutions for supplementary education is their definite satisfaction with work and focus on continuing work at this institution at their current position.

Fig. Willingness of the pedagogical personnel to move from an education institution for supplementary education of children to another job or give up work completely

(responses of educators at institutions for supplementary education of children, 2013, %)

The survey has revealed some topical directions of improving the work of the pedagogical personnel which include the development and implementation of a system of measures for an organizational and educational provision of the career growth of the pedagogical personnel at education institutions for supplementary education of children, improvement of the social status of the pedagogical personnel, improvement of the system of educators’ remuneration at education institutions for supplementary education of children taking into consideration the “effective contract” (both in respect of the regulation of the volume of work paid for within the basic salary and the presentation of the outcomes of work).

Prepared by  Sergey Kosaretskij