Students' professional initiatives as a factor in future teachers' agency development

The article considers the phenomenon of students' professional initiatives as a necessary element of the formation and development of a future teacher in the modern practice of higher education. The authors analyzed the literature to clarify the concept of student initiatives and concretized the definition of "students' professional initiatives", creative, excessive, and subjective activity implemented in the form of ideas, projects, and " first experimental action", the result of which is the student's theoretical and practical readiness to perform the labor function. The reasons for the systematization of students' professional initiatives were highlighted. Materials from 34 websites of pedagogical universities, dissertation research in pedagogical sciences for the period 2003-2023, projects of the winners of the competition for innovations in education (National Research University Higher School of Economics) and the Ideas for a New School all-Russian competition for student educational initiatives (Tomsk State Pedagogical University) were used for the analysis. The authors calculated a citation index for the keywords "student initiative", "agency", and "subjectivity", and surveyed students to determine the types of student initiatives in daily educational practice. The authors identified the rationale for systematizing student professional initiatives: the level, purpose, and extent of initiation; the degree of state involvement; the scope of activities; the type of initiative (as defined by J. Murray); and the form of implementation. The mechanisms for supporting professional initiatives that have developed in the practice of Russian higher education institutions - competitions, projects, programs - are described. The results of the study confirm that students' professional initiative is implemented through activity, organization, and interaction, and its outcome may be a project, an educational product, or pedagogical and social practices. Examples include the implementation of intra-university, inter-university, and institutional competitions, various programs (accelerative, entrepreneurial), projects, student associations and communities. The results of the analysis of the materials of pedagogical universities' websites show that the "subjectification" of professional initiatives takes place within student associations in education, research, campus, and service. The authors found that students in the subject position can independently produce digital educational content and create various educational products. The study concludes that the phenomenon of students' professional initiatives needs further research to clarify the context of its use and classification, and to determine the influence of the university's scientific and educational space on the formation of students' professional initiatives.