PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING AS A COMPONENT OF FUTURE TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE: THE POTENTIAL OF VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES

This article examines the role of psychological well-being in the structure of future teachers’ professional competence and opportunities for its development through volunteer activities. A review of foreign and domestic research revealing the relationship between psychological well-being and teachers’ professional effectiveness has been conducted. The concepts of «teacher’s psychological well-being», «professional competence», and «volunteering» have been analyzed. Psychological well-being is considered as a key component of teacher’s professional resilience, affecting the quality of educational process and professional longevity. Volunteer activity is presented as an effective tool for developing psychological well-being of future teachers, contributing to the formation of emotional stability, professional identity, and social competence. An empirical study was conducted among 1st-4th year students of pedagogical specialties (N=425) to determine the relationship between involvement in volunteer activities and indicators of psychological well-being. The results demonstrate a positive correlation between participation in volunteer activities and the level of psychological well-being of future teachers. The main barriers preventing the effective use of volunteering as a tool for developing psychological well-being have been identified: insufficient awareness of volunteer activity directions and lack of practical experience in interacting with various categories of beneficiaries. Based on the obtained results, the necessity of developing a system of psychological and pedagogical support for volunteer activities of pedagogical students has been substantiated.