The teacher of the future and the teacher’s future in a changing profession.

This article presents the results of a sociological study, the subject of which is the process of young teachers starting their professional activity in the context of changing conditions. The purpose of the research is to study how young teachers evaluate the teachers' profession and see their future in the context of ongoing changes. The results obtained during the study include: the impact assessment of the education on the process of entering the profession and the choice of secondary employment; identifying the characteristics of the social interaction of a young teacher with students and their parents, in the context of changes occurring in the profession; proposals for the development of a professional group of teachers; identifying gaps between the professional expectations of young teachers and actual professional activities. The method of this study is interviewing young teachers working in schools in the Moscow region. A total of 64 in-depth telephone interviews were conducted. The novelty of the research lies in the study of the complex social phenomenon of entry and retention of young teachers in schools in the context of the profession’s changes, as well as an acute shortage of teaching staff. Scope of application of the results: the results of the study can become an information base for updating educational programs of universities, creating mechanisms for solving problems of shortage of teaching staff at the regional level, developing the professional community and preserving the teaching profession. The main conclusion of the study is that preserving the teaching profession and teachers in the profession involves abandoning a narrow understanding of rationality based on an economic approach and focusing on the value of teaching work as such.