Educational Inequality and Professional Motivation of a Future Teacher

The professional motivation and interest of the teacher in the students' educational results are the key resources that allow educational institutions to minimize the existing inequality of educational opportunities for members of different social groups. On this point, one of the important issues of professional training of future teachers is the formation of motivation for their professional activity regarded as a factor that ensures the equality of educational opportunities for students from different social groups. Based on the results of empirical studies of different years, the article analyzes the changes that occurred in the professional motivation of students after the Ussuriysk State Pedagogical Institute joined the Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) in 2011 as the School of Education. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted to collect primary empirical information. In the 2010 research, a stratified sample model was used; its size was 200 of first-year and graduate students enrolled in education studies. In 2019, the continuous survey method was used.The use of the same measuring instruments made it possible to conduct a comparative analysis of the professional motivation of students in different periods. The revealed positive changes in the dynamics of the indicators "motivation for professional activity" and "satisfaction with the profession of a teacher" were interpreted in the context of the influence of the family socioeconomic status on educational inequality. The data obtained during the comparative analysis of the two studies are the basis for the implementation of the model of research education for students enrolled in the field of "Education and Pedagogical Sciences" at the FEFU School of Education. A student who has mastered the required research processes is ready to use them in the educational process when working as a teacher. The inclusion of students in research will contribute to the intellectual development of students and increase the chances of a successful career in the knowledge economy for students from less socially privileged families