The sociocultural space of a small town as a resource for developing the spiritual and moral culture of preservice teachers

The purpose of the study is to substantiate the sociocultural space of a small town as a resource for developing the spiritual and moral culture of preservice teachers. The study distinguishes between preservice teachers’ professional readiness for educational and character-building work and spiritual and moral culture as a characteristic of their value-based position. Based on the curricula, work programs for educational activities, annual educational work plans, and practicum programs of the Shuya branch of Ivanovo State University, the study shows that interaction between students and the sociocultural environment and social partners is already incorporated into training in degree programs 44.03.01 “Pedagogical Education”, 44.03.02 “Psychological and Pedagogical Education”, 44.03.03 “Special (Defectological) Education”, and 44.03.05 “Pedagogical Education (with Two Training Profiles)”. Museum and tutoring practicums, service-learning, volunteer work, and cultural and educational activities create organizational and practice-based conditions for acquiring professional and social experience and developing readiness to address educational and character-building tasks. However, these activities alone do not ensure the personal appropriation of spiritual and moral values. The scientific novelty lies in theoretically substantiating a mechanism for the pedagogical appropriation of a small town’s sociocultural space as a transition from preservice teachers’ existing interaction with the urban environment to a value-based and professional understanding of the experience gained. The study proposes the following algorithm for working with students’ experience: engaging preservice teachers in sociocultural practice; identifying its value content; personally reflecting on the experience gained; interpreting it professionally; and conducting reflection. The study shows that the pedagogical potential of a small town is determined not by the number of available social partners and events, but by the organization and interpretation of experience, through which professional action can become the foundation of preservice teachers’ spiritual and moral culture.