Vitaly Kurennoy – Candidate of Sciences in Philosophy, Professor, Head of the School of Cultural Studies, Faculty of Humanities, National Research University Higher Schoolof Economics.

Address: Bld. 1, 21/4 Staraya Basmannaya Str., 105066 Moscow, Russian Federation. E-mail: vkurennoj@hse.ru

This article lays out systematically the principles of modern liberal philosophy of education by explicating the foundations of the Humboldtian (European) model of liberal education. Conceived over two centuries ago, those foundations have never been presented fully and coherently in Russian literature on pedagogy and philosophy of education. Ten principles of the model are identified in terms of modern liberal education theory: (1) lifelong learning, (2) academic freedom, (3) importance of practice and experience, (4) critical thinking and civil competency, (5) competency development instead of knowledge accumulation, (6) priority of general education over specialized education, (7) the concept of learning to learn, (8) self-directed learning effort, (9) political neutrality, and (10) interaction and Socratic dialogue. The second part of this article (release upcoming) sheds light on the key sources and socio-historical contexts that have shaped attitudes towards the liberal education theory since conception until the present day.

Evgeniy Terentev – Candidate of Sciences in Sociology, Senior Researcher, Center of Sociology of Higher Education, Institute of Education, National Research University Higher School of Economics.

Address: 20 Myasnitskaya Str., 101000 Moscow, Russian Federation. E-mail: eterentev@hse.ru

Nikolay Rybakov – Graduate Student, Department of University Management and Innovation in Education. E-mail: rybakov-nv@phd.unn.ru

Boris Bednyi – Doctor of Sciences in Mathematical Physics, Professor, Director of the Institute of Doctoral Studies. E-mail: bib@unn.ru

National Research Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod.

Address: 23 Gagarina Ave, 603950 Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation.

Data obtained in interviews with doctoral students and their academic supervisors as well as in doctoral student surveys conducted across six Russian universities is used to explore the motives for embarking on and pursuing a PhD, and evaluate their incidence. Drawing from Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory, three basic types of motivation are identified — intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation — and described in the context of doctoral education. Even though academic labor has been losing its prestige in Russia, intrinsic motivation associated with interest for research, science and education remains the most popular motive for embarking on doctoral study. At the same time, a significant percentage of doctoral students are driven by external non-academic motives, such as specific social benefits or desire to use PhD as an asset in a non-academic career.

Galina Larina – PhD in Education, Research Fellow, Centre for Psychometrics and Measurementin Education. E-mail: larina.gala@gmail.com

Anastasia Kapuza – Research Fellow, International Laboratory for Evaluation of Practices and Innovationsin Education. E-mail: akapuza@hse.ru

National Research University Higher School of Economics.

Address: 20 Myasnitskaya Str., 101000 Moscow, Russian Federation.

The present-day knowledge society expects school education to ensure the development of higher-order thinking skills, such as novel problem solving. Experimental evidence shows that such skills can be developed in students by using classroom activities enhancing higher-order cognitive processes more often. However, the impact of such activities on knowledge acquisition in specific disciplines, mathematics in particular, remains unclear. Data obtained in the longitudinal study Trajectories in Education and Careers conducted on a TIMSS-PISA sample is used to evaluate the presence of teaching practices that promote higher- and lower-order thinking in the classroom and the correlations between those strategies, on the one hand, and teacher characteristics and mathematics achievement at the end of 9th grade, on the other hand. Teaching practices of both types were found to be related positively to student achievement in mathematics. Yet, higher-order thinking teaching practices have a stronger positive effect on mathematics achievement gains between 8th and 9th grades, whereas the effects of practices implying lower-order thinking lose their significance or become negative a year later. It is also shown that the use of a specific type of teaching practices is not related to teacher credentialsor qualifications.

Mikhail Sokolov – Candidate of Sciences in Sociology, Professor. E-mail: msokolov@eu.spb.ru

Katerina Guba – Candidate of Sciences in Sociology, Director of the Center for Institutional Analysisof Science & Education. E-mail: kguba@eu.spb.ru

Angelika Tsivinskaya – junior researcher at the Center for Institutional Analysis of Science & Education. E-mail: atsivinskaya@eu.spb.ru

European University at St. Petersburg.

Address: 6/1a Gagarinskaya Str., 191187 St. Petersburg, Russian Federation.

Annual Survey of Performance of Higher Education Institutions, conducted in Russia since 2012, was used to identify “inefficient” universities, subject to measures including closure or merging with other schools. As a result of these policies, the number of Russian universities has decreased more than 1.5 times since 2013. In this article, we analyze the consequences of implementing the appraisal system invented by the Russian Ministry. We argue that the use of the Survey reflects a conceptual confusion between effectiveness (the organization’s ability to achieve socially significant goals) and efficiency (the ability to achieve goals with minimal cost). The Ministry has made managerial decisions based on the Survey results (like merging a public university with an allegedly better performing HEI), which indicates understanding of the Survey as an assessment of efficiency. At the same time, statistical analysis of the performance indicators demonstrates that structural characteristics of universities (region and belonging to an institutionalized category, e. g. a pedagogical or an agrarian university) explain the significant part of the variance in the university’s performance. This led to discrimination against certain “unlucky” categories of universities. The methods used include logistic regression to estimate the odds of being labeled as an effective organization in 2014 and the Cox proportional hazards model to estimate the university’s chances of survival between 2013 and 2017.

Marina Kicherova – Candidate of Sciences in Sociology, Associate Professor, Department of General and Economic Sociology, Institute of Finance and Economics. E-mail: m.n.kicherova@utmn.ru

Evgeny Zyuban – Candidate of Sciences in Economics, Associate Professor, Department of Economic Security, Accounting, Analysis and Auditing, Institute of Finance and Economics. E-mail: e.v.zyuban@utmn.ru

Ekaterina Muslimova – Assitant Teacher, Department of Modern History and World Politics, Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities. E-mail: e.o.muslimova@utmn.ru

University of Tyumen.

Address: 6 Volodarskogo Str., 625003 Tyumen, Russian Federation.

This article explores how non-formal and informal learning evolved in the light of the global processes of digitization and technology modernization. A crosscountry analysis of participation in non-formal and informal learning activities is carried out, dwelling on the key models of recognition of such learning (based on the findings from Europe, Asia, the United States, and Australia). It is shown that social and legal aspects relative to the recognition of non-formal and informal learning differ dramatically across countries, affecting their economies, socioeconomic development, and pace of technological innovation. Recognition of non-formal and informal learning occurs at three levels. Internationally, competence standards and recognition mechanisms are designed. On a national scale, every country elaborates public documents regulating its specific mechanisms of validating and recognizing non-formal and informal learning. National differences in competence recognition practices manifest themselves where a number of countries offer accreditation of competences, and some recognize the skills acquired in volunteering, leisure and sociocultural activities. Finally, the local level reflects the interests of labor market stakeholders, such as corporations, employees and employers. The article also emphasizes the role of corporate universities in advocating the policy of competence recognition in non-formal and informal learning.

Ekaterina Asonova – Candidate of Sciences in Pedagogy, Head of the Laboratory of Sociocultural Educational Practices, Institute of System Projects. E-mail: asonovaea@mgpu.ru

Liubov Borusyak – Candidate of Sciences in Economics, Leading Researcher, Laboratory of Sociocultural Educational Practices, Institute of System Projects. E-mail: borusyaklf@mgpu.ru

Elena Romanicheva – Candidate of Sciences in Pedagogy, Associate Professor, Leading Researcher, Laboratory of Sociocultural Educational Practices, Institute of System Projects. E-mail: romanichevaes@mgpu.ru

Moscow City University.

Address: 4 Vtoroy Selskohoziajstvenny pr., 129226 Moscow, Russian Federation.

In order to determine the structure of literary education, i. e. the school literature demands of the key stakeholders in education as well as the institutions and resources used to satisfy those demands, we analyze the term “ literary education”, describing the long-established approach to interpreting the underlying concept, and use findings of qualitative sociological studies, such as focus groups and in-depth interviews with teachers, librarians, parents, college and high-school students. For all the interpretation differences, what the stakeholders have in common is the extremely low perceived role of school literature courses and libraries, along with searching for ways to satisfy the existing demands in other forms of acquiring literary knowledge and gaining reader experience.

Anna Mróz – PhD, Researcher. E-mail: anna.mroz@up.krakow.pl

Iwona Ocetkiewicz – PhD, Researcher. E-mail: iwona.ocetkiewicz@up.krakow.pl

Łukasz Tomczyk – PhD, PhDr, inż. Researcher. E-mail: lukasz.tomczyk@up.krakow.pl

Pedagogical University of Cracow.

Adress: Ingardena 4, 30–060 Cracow, Poland.

Katarzyna Walotek-Ściańska – PhD, Researcher, Akademia Ignatianum.

Adress: Mikołaja Kopernika 26, 31–501 Cracow, Poland. E-mail: katarzynaws@interia.pl

Dariusz Rott – PhD, Researcher, Sielsian University.

Adress: Plac Sejmu Śląskiego 1, 40–032 Katowice, Poland. E-mail: darirott@poczta.fm

According to recommendations of the European Commission and Decade of Education for Sustainable Development assumptions, all teachers, at each education stage, should include in their curricula content supporting efforts towards sustainable development. Knowledge is the basis for acquiring and developing competences. Students’ knowledge may help to shape their competencies in creating sustainable development in social, economical and environmental area. The article presents the results of research on the inclusion of key issues for sustainable development in education programs. Research was conducted since March 2016 to November 2016; 337 teachers employed in the lower and upper secondary school participated in the study. As the analysis of the research showed, Polish teachers are not properly prepared to implement the key issues for sustainable development in their didactic process.

Yekaterina Kosova – Candidate of Sciences in Education, Associate Professor, Department of Applied Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science. E-mail: lynx99@inbox.ru

Milera Izetova – Master’s Student, Department of Applied Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science. E-mail: milera16@mail.ru

Taurida Academy of V.I. Vernadsky Crimean Federal university.

Address: 4 Academica Vernadskogo Ave, 295007 Simferopol, Russian Federation.

The paper studies issues of accessibility of massive open online courses (MOOCs) for persons with disabilities. By browsing the catalogues of five leading MOOC-platforms with Russian-language content, 56 MOOCs on undergraduate mathematical disciplines were found. As a result of expert analysis according to 70 criteria, MOOCs’ accessibility for people with disabilities was estimated. Any mistakes related to hyperlinks interpretation, audio playback quality, visualization in graphic browsers, adaptation to mobile devices, color contrast and keyboard controls were not revealed. At the same time, the analysis showed that 100% MOOCs offer no features for customizing a user interface, do not provide access to the content through a text browser; 98% of digital documents, 82% of math content and 91% of tests are incorrectly interpreted by screen readers; 64%, 66% and 52% of the courses, respectively, have no subtitles, shorthand transcripts and outlines to video lessons; no courses provide video interpretation using sign language; in all MOOCs the audio track is not enough for adequate perception of video lessons. The results indicate low accessibility of Russian-language mathematical MOOCs for people with disabilities, especially with severe visual impairments. The accessibility problems are related to technological limitations of the MOOC platforms and to developer errors. The results suggest the need for revising the MOOCs in accordance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG2.1); guaranteeing strict adherence to the guidelines by platforms’ administrators before posting new courses; training MOOCs’ authors and developers in creating accessible learning content; involving persons with disabilities in beta testing of MOOCs.

Arkady Margolis – Candidate of Sciences in Psychology, Associate Professor, Interim Rector. E-mail: margolisaa@mgppu.ru

Viktoria Ponomareva – Head of the Information Support and Computerization Department, Fundamental Library. E-mail: ponomarevavv@mgppu.ru

Marina Sorokova – Doctor of Sciences in Pedagogy, Candidate of Sciences in Physics and Mathematics, Professor, Department of Applied Mathematics, Faculty of Informational Technologies. E-mail:sorokovamg@mgppu.ru

Moscow State University of Psychology and Education. 

Address: 29 Sretenka Str., 127051 Moscow, Russian Federation.

The article investigates the predictors of citation rate in the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI) for Russian publications in psychology. Four groups of indicators are analyzed: formal attributes of a publication (12 indicators), parameters of publication visibility on eLibrary (3 indicators) and PsyJournals (2 indicators) that define accessibility of publication to potential readers, and author-based citation parameters (3). Special attention is paid to citation parameters as qualitative characteristics of the author’s method of elaborating the scientific text and construing dialogue (in the form of citations) with other researchers. Relationship between the indicators analyzed and the RSCI citation rate is proven statistically using the multivariate statistical methods of factor analysis and cluster analysis. For each of the four groups, the strongest predictors of citation rate are identified by multiple regression analysis, which are then compared by their predictive power. It is shown that visibility (accessibility) indicators are the best predictors of citation rate, followed by formal publication attributes and, finally, citation type parameters as having the lowest predictive power. The method of logistic regression allows to identify the ultimate predictors of citation rate and measure their accuracy in predicting whether a publication is low- or highly cited, which is 77.3% and 72.9% for the indicators of visibility on PsyJournals and eLibrary (respectively), 69.9% for formal attributes, and 60.9% for citation parameters. A publication that has few in-text citations is very likely to have a low RSCI citation rate, yet a high number of in-text citations does not guarantee a high citation impact. Recommendations are provided for authors to increase their citation rates. The sample is represented by 662 publications in six Russian psychology journals, each indexed in the RSCI, Web of Science, and Scopus.

Galina Cherednichenko – Doctor of Sciences in Sociology, Chief Researcher, Institute of Sociology, Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences.

Address: 24/35 Krzhizhanovskogo Str., 117218 Moscow, Russian Federation. E-mail: galcher2211@gmail.com

Data obtained in a 2016 survey of college and vocational school graduates produced in 2010–2015 is used to analyze the characteristics of entry-level jobs and labor market outcomes separately for graduates in higher education and vocational training (the latter featuring mid-level specialist programs and skilled-worker programs). Graduates who combined work and study tend to enjoy a competitive advantage in the labor market, the effect being the strongest for college graduates and the weakest for skilled workers. Most graduates found their first jobs rather quickly, mainly with the help of their immediate community, whereas institutions were found to play a very insignificant role in graduate employment. Supply and demand imbalance in the labor market results in about two thirds of college graduates and two fifths of vocational school graduates being mismatched to their jobs. Over one third of college graduates and over two fifths of mid-level specialists found themselves overeducated in their first jobs. Among the employed graduates of skilled-worker programs, 63% were employed as skilled workers, clerks, service and retail sale workers, i. e. their entry-level jobs were well-matched to their level of qualifications.
Employment is higher among vocational graduates of both types and significantly higher among college graduates than the national average. Graduates in higher education also demonstrate the lowest unemployment rate.

Viktor Filonenko – Doctor of Sciences in Sociology, Professor, Institute of Philosophy and Social and Political Studies, Director of the Center for Social and Political Studies, Southern Federal University.

Address: 116 Dneprovsky Ave, 344092 Rostov-on-Don, Russian Federation. E-mail: vfilonenko@sfedu.ru

Olga Mosienko – Candidate of Sciences in Sociology, Senior Lecturer, Department of Theoretical Sociology and Methodology of Regional Studies, Southern Federal University.

Address: 160 Pushkinskaya Str., 344006 Rostov-on-Don, Russian Federation. E-mail: mosienko.olga@mail.ru

Alexey Magranov – Candidate of Sciences in Sociology, Senior Researcher, Center for Social and Political Studies, Southern Federal University.

Address: 116 Dneprovsky Ave, 344092 Rostov-on-Don, Russian Federation. E-mail: alex_daredevil@mail.ru

This article explores college students’ perceptions of career choices using the data obtained in the cross-regional sociological monitoring study Contradictions and Paradoxes of Student Socialization in the Context of Transitivity of the Modern Russian Society (2016) and comparing its findings with those of similar studies conducted in 2006 and 2011. Perception of career as a means of personal development has been found to be the strongest career motivation for modern students, which improves their learning outcomes. However, students have little idea of the labor market situation and sector-specific demand, which results in job-education mismatch, oversupply in high-profile careers, shortages in other economic sectors, and graduate employment issues. Significant differences are revealed in perceived motivations for career choices between students and professors. Professional educators tend to underestimate the role of students’ interest in their prospective career and overestimate the role of external factors (parental influence, desire to obtain a diploma of higher education in no matter which field, etc.). Modern students, unlike their counterparts in the 1990s, seem to realize the correlation between their learning outcomes and their career success.

Natalya Pushkareva – Doctor of Sciences in History, Professor, Leading Researcher, Head of the Ethnogender Department. E-mail: pushkarev@mail.ru

Olga Sekenova – Graduate Student. E-mail: jkzkray@mail.ru

Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences.

Address: 32a Leninsky Ave, 119991 Moscow, Russian Federation.

The article describes the phenomenon of female “intrusion” into academia, particularly the social and legal status of the first female historians in Russia who became university lecturers. Analysis of the self-fulfillment strategies that Russian female historians pursued in the second half of the 19th — early 20th century allows to reconstruct the social mechanisms that they used in their zeal to achieve the status of highly-qualified scholars and lecturers at universities. Regulatory documents defining the status of faculty in the Russian Empire, as well as Bestuzhev Courses faculty meeting reports and unpublished memoirs are analyzed to reconstruct the sources and mechanisms of overcoming gender stereotypes, the long way that female historians had to go to be allowed to teach and study the science of teaching, the innovations that they brought to the Bestuzhev Courses teaching practices, the specific aspects of their approach to teaching, and the legal and social norms they had to change to secure themselves a faculty status equal to that of male academics. This article is the first publication analyzing the regulatory enforcement of placing the graduates from the Faculty of History and Philology of the Bestuzhev Courses into jobs. It also addresses for the first time the economic aspects of female teaching and the ways in which female lecturers interacted with course administrators and other faculty staff.