Professional Deformations of Teachers at Regional Universities

The purpose of the research is to identify professional deformations of university teachers at the regional level. The paper examines the distinguishing features of the teaching profession at the present stage of higher education development; considers factors that form the basis for the emergence and intensification of teachers’ professional deformations at regional universities; sheds light on the most common manifestations of deformations and provides their brief characteristics. Scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that the authors have studied the issue of professional deformations among the teaching staff of a number of regional universities, have analysed the empirical material obtained and have found an inverse relationship between the severity of deformations and job satisfaction on a teacher’s part, between the progression of teachers’ deformations and the quality of the student body, as well as the correlation between the severity of “burnout” and a teacher’s subject field. As a result, factors contributing to the emergence of teachers’ deformations at the regional level have been identified, as well as their manifestations, the stages of development of professional “burnout” have been outlined and the main risk groups have been identified. It has been noted that the greatest risk of professional deviations is characteristic of teachers who do not hold academic degrees and ranks, as well as those aged 40 and over.