Self-concept of students of additional training programs in the field of management

Abstract

The paper deals with the key psychological factors of professional realization and social success of people participating in executive training programs in the field of management in the adulthood. The modern concept of continuing education needs to investigate the psychological and economic problems of adult learning. This research is devoted to the study of the self-concept as an important and insufficiently studied mechanism for regulating human behavior. The choice of training in MBA programs is considered as a manifestation of an active strategy of human adaptation to dynamic social and economic conditions. The study centers on the personal-activity and competenced-based approaches. The purpose of the study is to analyze the features of selfesteem and its role in the professional adaptation of adult students of executive programs (Master of Business Administration). The study used well-known psychological questionnaires and methods of descriptive and multidimensional analysis of data processing. The study revealed that the self-concept of students of Master of Business Administration programs plays a significant role in the choice of training as a way of professional development of managers. The inclusion of the emotional-evaluative component of the self-concept in the personal potential of students was statistically confirmed. The results indicate possible intrapersonal conflicts of students in the process of learning management as a significant field of professional activity. The study identified such factors as “problematic introversion”, “problematic creativity”, “problematic adaptability” and “self-critical leadership” which show the importance of accuracy of self-assessment for the choice of the content of training and the direction of self-development. The results of the study are important for understanding of the personal mechanisms of professional and career selfrealization of adults in the context of continuing education as well as for assessment of the effectiveness of receiving executive education.