The fostering of motivation for innovative activity in future agriculture specialists as a pedagogical issue

The problem and the objective. The search for effective methods, technology, and approaches that could facilitate fostering a new generation of specialists who will be capable of retooling quickly in keeping with the needs of the labor market is a crucial objective set before the system of higher agricultural education. A possible way to succeed in this area is to cultivate motivation for innovative activity in future agriculture specialists as part of the educational process at colleges. The paper's purpose is to investigate the content of the concept of 'fostering motivation for innovative activity' through a comprehensive theoretical analysis of the characteristics of the professional preparation of agriculture specialists and of the key issues relating to motivation (E.P. Il'in, S.S. Zanyuk, P.M. Yakobson, N.V. Kostyuk, E.V. Karpova, etc.) and innovative activity (V.S. Belgorodskii, E.S. Bykova, O.S. Zolotukhina, E.N. Ishchenko, E.S. Polat, etc.), as well as to pilot-test a special methodology for diagnosing motivation for innovative activity in future agriculture specialists. Methodology. The authors have developed, as their research method for determining the dominant motives for innovative activity, a diagnostic assessment checklist for motivation for innovative activity comprised of 4 groups of motives. The findings of the authors' diagnosis of motivation for innovative activity indicate that professional motives and those of personal self-actualization are not the ones that prevail with future agriculture specialists. Most students tend to give priority to external stimuli and motives of external selffulfillment, which may be testimony to low levels of motivation for innovative activity. The paper's conclusion brings forth the suggestion to foster this motivation through the concurrent use in class of both well-known and entrenched ways and forms of arranging the learning process and cutting-edge (innovative) learning technology in keeping with students' age characteristics. © 2017. revistaESPACIOS.com.