In memory of the outstanding figure of education, Lev Lyubimov (14.06.1936 — 03.04.2021).

Vera Maltseva, Candidate of Sciences in Economics, Associate Professor, Research Fellow, Center for Vocational Education and Skills Development, Institute of Education, National Research University Higher School of Economics. E-mail: vamaltseva@hse.ru (corresponding author)

Alexey Shabalin, Expert, Center for Vocational Education and Skills Development, Institute of Education, National Research University Higher School of Economics. E-mail: ashabalin@hse.ru

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

Since the mid‑2010s, Russia has been witnessing a redistribution of student flows between higher education and TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training), more and more school leavers applying to TVET institutions. Postsecondary educational choices are closely associated with socioeconomic status of the family, so changes in the patterns of educational transitions may indicate both changes in the education system and shifts in the national socioeconomic system. In available literature, the growing enrollment in TVET is mostly explained by “push” factors repulsing students out of secondary and higher education systems and by the so-called “bypass maneuver” of accessing college via TVET that is popular among Russian school leavers.
This article attempts to find out whether the demand for TVET is actually increasing, what may stand behind it apart from the factors within the education system, and whether there is a socioeconomic dimension to this change. Research results allow debunking the myth of the TVET sector growing by virtue of using TVET programs as a springboard to college. Demand for vocational educational trajectoriesis growing beyond the “bypass maneuver” — not only among middle school graduates, who are at the main fork in educational trajectories, but also among highschool leavers. Changes in the demand for TVET programs has exposed rigidity of the TVET system, which manifests itself in enrollment capacity being unable to satisfy the demand for particular specialization, excessive growth in tuition-based enrollment, and the “invisible” demand from high school leavers. The increasing popularity of the vocational track results from the mutually reinforcing factors in the education system, negative economic growth, and labor market situation. The most important trigger behind the growing demand for TVET is the shrinkage of household disposable income: coupled with reduced access to higher education, it “pushes” school leavers with low socioeconomic status out of the academic track.

Zulfiya Ibragimova, Candidate of Sciences in Economics, Associate Professor, Department of Innovative Economics, Institute of Economics, Finance and Business, Bashkir State University.

Address: 32 Zaki Validi Str., 450076 Ufa, Russian Federation. E-mail: badertdinova@mail.ru (corresponding author)

Marina Frants, Candidate of Sciences in Engineering, Associate Professor, Enterprise Economics Department, Institute of Economics and Management, Ufa State Aviation Technical University.

Address: 12 Karla Marksa Str., 450000 Ufa, Russian Federation. E-mail: tan-Marina@mail.ru

This study seeks to assess inequality of educational opportunity in Soviet and post-Soviet Russia and measure the impact of specific circumstances. Inequality of opportunity suggests that outcomes significant for everyone or nearly everyone, such as income level, educational attainment or health status, are determined by factors or variables that are beyond individuals’ responsibility (so-called circumstances) and by factors for which individuals are deemed responsible (so-called efforts). Inequalities arising from efforts are considered ethically acceptable, while those that are due to circumstances are considered offensive and therefore must be eliminated. 
The study uses data from two waves (2006 and 2011) of the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey administered by Higher School of Economics (RLMS-HSE). Research methodology is based on the ex-ante approach to equality of opportunity. Three levels of educational attainment are analyzed: secondary school, vocational school, and college. 
Inequality of opportunity was lower during the Soviet period than in post-Soviet Russia at all levels of educational attainment, being the lowest at the level of at least secondary school and the highest at the level of at least vocational school. Parental education is the most powerful circumstance in both Soviet and post-Soviet periods, while ethnicity makes no significant contribution to inequality of opportunity. The roles of gender and place of birth are quite important in both periods and vary greatly as a function of educational attainment.

Alexander Arkhangelsky*, Candidate of Sciences in Philology, Tenured Professor, National Research University Higher School of Economics; Professor, School of Media, National Research University Higher School of Economics; author of secondary school literature textbooks, writer. E-mail: arkhangelsky@hse.ru

Anna Novikova, Doctor of Sciences in Theory and History of Culture, Professor, School of Media, National Research University Higher School of Economics. E-mail: anovikova@hse.ru (corresponding author)

Address: Bld. 5, 2/8 Khitrovsky Lane, 109028 Moscow, Russian Federation.

The article presents theoretical and methodological approaches to using modern media technology in teaching humanities at school. Mediatization of a broad range of cultural practices has altered the mechanisms of cultural memory formation, so school students’ online communication skills should become the foundation of literary education to achieve a balance between tradition and modernization.
Transmedia educational strategies proposed in the article allow implementing the principles of humanistic education in teaching humanities subjects. Narration, in its turn — as a method associated with the Russian tradition of teaching literary arts — allows applying the findings of modern semiotic, narratological, and media studies to promote the development of pedagogical practices. In narrative-based learning, the literary text becomes the core of a transmedia project, in which the teacher and students act as directors using various media formats to construct their own narratives on the basis of the writer’s script. Transmedia adaptation of literary classics helps students reconceptualize characters’ ambitions and values, develop creative and critical thinking skills, and get a better understanding of historical and everyday contexts. Cross-platform engagement invokes multiple layers of meaning and artistry, immersing all project participants — students as well as teachers — into a common space of communication, aesthetic experience, and mutual learning, if necessary. 
Examples illustrating the strategy proposed include educational projects developed with our immediate participation, from our own literature textbook to multimedia projects, in particular the one based on Ivan Goncharov’s Oblomov for the Live Pages project and the one based on Leo Tolstoy’s works as part of the Digital Tolstoy initiative.

* A. Arkhangelsky (Александр Архангельский) включен Минюстом в реестр иностранных агентов.

Igor Shiyan, Candidate of Sciences in Psychology, Deputy Director of the Institute of System Projects, Head of the Laboratory for Child Development, Moscow City University. E-mail: ShiyanIB@mgpu.ru (сorresponding author)

Tatiana Le-van, Candidate of Sciences in Pedagogy, Associate Professor, Leading Researcher, Laboratory for Child Development, Institute of System Projects, Moscow City University. E-mail: LevanTN@mgpu.ru

Olga Shiyan, Candidate of Sciences in Pedagogy, Associate Professor, Leading Researcher, Laboratory for Child Development, Institute of System Projects, Moscow City University. E-mail: ShiyanOA@mgpu.ru

Address: 4 Vtoroy Selskokhozyaystvenny Pass, 129226 Moscow, Russian Federation. 

Sergey Zadadaev, Candidate of Science in Mathematical Physics, Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Mathematics, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.

Address: 49 Leningradsky Ave, 125993 Moscow, Russian Federation. E-mail: zadadaev@mail.ru

The article provides an overview of modern theories of preschool education quality from across the world. Quality assessment is discussed as a methodological problem: in terms of finding a balance between measurability of assessment criteria and their significance for preschoolers’ learning, and between the amount of resources invested and the quality of data obtained. Results of the first large-scale independent investigation of preschool education quality in Russia are analyzed. During a structured observation, specially trained experts analyzed the organization and functioning of preschool classrooms. The study made use of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale®, Revised (ECERS-R), which had been validated for use in Russia. The following parameters were assessed: space and furnishings, personal care routines, language-reasoning, activities (learning, free play, experiments, arts, etc.), interaction, program structure (schedule and distribution of time among activities; formats of activities), and provisions for parents and staff. Data collected over two years allows not only identifying the achievements and deficiencies of preschool institutions involved in the study (n=1,357) but also analyzing the changes in education quality across 367 preschool classrooms and making assumptions about the reasons for those changes. Research findings can be used to improve the strategy of preschool education system development, the quality of preschool education programs, and the system of professional training and development for preschool teachers.

Liubov Antosik, Candidate of Sciences in Economics, Senior Research Fellow, Laboratory for Labor Market Studies, University of Tyumen.

Address: 6 Volodarskogo Str., 625003 Tyumen, Russian Federation. E-mail: l.v.antosik@utmn.ru (corresponding author)

Natalya Ivashina, Candidate of Sciences in Economics, Associate Professor, Department of Business Informatics and Economic and Mathematical Methods, School of Economics and Management, Far Eastern Federal University.

Address: 8 Sukhanova Str., 690090 Vladivostok, Russian Federation. E-mail: ivashina_n@mail.ru

Data from Russia’s Portal for Monitoring Employment of University Graduates isused to analyze migration of youths between 2013 and 2015. Interregional mobility of human resources stems, in particular, from uneven distribution of universities across the country and socioeconomic disparities between regions. Migration of university graduates may deprive some regions of much of their skilled workers. The largest migration flows are observed between Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Moscow Oblast. Apart from federal cities, graduates are also attracted by industrial regions of the Russian North. 
This study makes use of a modified gravity model that includes various socioeconomic indicators of home and recipient regions in addition to the basic gravity model factors. Gravity modelling allows identifying a number of migration factors associated with the areas of origin and destination. Origin factors (the ones that push, or repel, graduates out of the region) include low wages and high rates of poverty and unemployment. Destination factors (the ones that pull, or attract, graduates into the region) are represented by high wages and high levels of cultural development and business innovation. Most often, university graduates migrate from south to north and from east to west. Federal subjects of Russia differ essentially by the demand for graduates in regional labor markets. Analysis reveals which regions of Russia attract or repel academic migrants. Territories with consistently diminishing populations of skilled workers are in urgent need for dedicated programs to attract young professionals from other regions, new high-performance jobs, and improvements in the quality of life.

The Indian academic system is in a period of rapid transition, evidenced by the increasing number of higher education institutions, students and academics. However, very few studies have explored academics’ research productivity and the various factors influencing it. Even those few studies have largely ignored the influences of indigenous factors and academic dishonesty on research productivity. Using a mixed-method approach, this research explores how the changing academic environment influences academics’ research productivity in South Indian engineering institutions established after 1990. Important demographic factors influencing research productivity have been identified. The results show that indigenous factors play a major role in motivating the academics to conduct research, whereas corruption / academic dishonesty, thought to be prevalent at all levels in the higher educational system, tend to reduce their research motivation. The research shows the complex interconnections between the changing academic environment, indigenous factors and academic dishonesty, and their influence on academics’ research. The results of this work can be used for informing future higher education policy-making in terms of increasing research productivity and decreasing a range of academic dishonesty in the context of a rapidly changing academic system.

Ekaterina Lanina, Graduate of Master’s Programme “Measurements in Psychology and Education” National Research University Higher School of Economics. E-mail: laninaekaterinav@gmail.com

Alexandra Bochaver, Candidate of Sciences in Psychology, Research Fellow, Center for Modern Childhood Studies, Institute of Education, National Research University Higher School of Economics. E-mail: abochaver@hse.ru (corresponding author)

Inna Antipkina, Research Fellow, Centre for Psychometrics and Measurement in Education, Institute of Education, National Research University Higher School of Economics. E-mail: iantipkina@hse.ru

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

The article presents a tool for assessing the parental regulation of children’s behavior at the start of the school. The questionnaire assesses the implementation by parents of two typical control functions (direct control of the child’s behavior and communicative mediation between the child and the environment), as well as a poorly studied construct — parental control over digital devices (“gadgets”) that the child uses. It was demonstrated that the severity of parental control is sensitive to the characteristics of parents (higher education, age, number of children in the family) and the characteristics of the child (cognitive achievements at the start of the school).

Margarita Kiryushina, Intern Researcher, Center for Institutional Studies, National Research University Higher School of Economics. E-mail: mkiryushina@hse.ru

Viktor Rudakov, Candidate of Sciences in Economics, Senior Research Fellow, Deputy Head, International Laboratory for Institutional Analysis of Economic Reforms, Center for Institutional Studies, National Research University Higher School of Economics; Assistant Professor, Faculty of Economic Sciences HSE. E-mail: vrudakov@hse.ru (corresponding author)

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

Data from the Federal Statistical Sample Survey of Employment of Vocational Education and Higher Education Graduates is used to measure the gender wage gap and analyze the factors explaining gender inequality. The Mincer equation with Heckman sample selection bias correction as well as the Blinder–Oaxaca and Neumark decomposition methods are applied to measure gender differences in earnings. Findings show that women are paid 18–20% lower than men, the educational and socio-demographic characteristics as well as labor market factors being controlled for. The gender wage gap is largely dependent on education attainment, reaching 25% among graduates from skilled-worker vocational programs, 20% among mid-level professionals, and 18% among college graduates. Decomposition of the gender wage gap allows assuming an essential proportion of unexplained differences that may arise from discrimination and unobservable factors.

Denis Federiakin, Intern Researcher, Center for Psychometrics and Measurement in Education, Institute of Education, National Research University Higher School of Economics. E-mail: dafederiakin@hse.ru (corresponding author)

Galina Larina, Candidate of Sciences in Education, Research Fellow, Center for Psychometrics and Measurement in Education, Institute of Education, National Research University Higher School of Economics. E-mail: glarina@hse.ru

Elena Kardanova, Candidate of Sciences in Mathematical Physics, Associate Professor, Tenured Professor, Director of the Center for Psychometrics and Measurement in Education, Institute of Education, National Research University Higher School of Economics. E-mail: ekardanova@hse.ru

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

Measuring mathematical literacy is not easy as this construct is multicomponent and tasks often involve a lot of reading. As a rule, intended users of measurement results want information about the overall level of respondents’ mathematical literacy as well as its specific components. According to educational and psychological testing standards, reporting overall scores together with subscores simultaneously requires additional psychometric evaluation to provide evidence for validity of all scores reported. A study performed shows that PROGRESS-ML, a test measuring basic mathematical literacy in elementary school pupils, can be used as a one-dimensional measure, allowing overall test scores to be reported. Meanwhile, reading skills do not contribute significantly to the likelihood of item response, and subscores can be reported as complementary to the total score.

Daria Bukhalenkova, Candidate of Sciences in Psychology, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology of Education and Pedagogics, Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University. Е-mail: d.bukhalenkova@inbox.ru (corresponding author)

Aleksandr Veraksa, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Education, Professor, Doctor of Sciences in Psychology, Head of the Department of Psychology of Education and Pedagogics, Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University. Е-mail: veraksa@yandex.ru

Margarita Gavrilova, Junior Research Fellow, Department of Psychology of Education and Pedagogics, Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University. Е-mail: gavrilovamrg@gmail.com

Address: Bld. 9, 11 Mokhovaya Str., 125009 Moscow, Russian Federation. 

Natalya Kartushina, PhD in Psychology, Research Fellow, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo.

Address: Forskningsveien 3A (map) 0373 Oslo, Norway. Е-mail: natalia.kartushina@psykologi.uio.no

Psychometric properties of the Russian-language version of the Early Parental Attitudes Questionnaire (EPAQ), an instrument for assessing intuitive theories of parenting, were tested on 1,928 parents of children aged 1–7. Assessment of the questionnaire’s reliability (internal consistency) using the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient showed that the scales were not homogeneous. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the data obtained in the Russian sample was only partially consistent with the original three-scale model obtained in American parents. The questionnaire’s factor structure, determined using the exploratory factor analysis, was interpreted from the perspective of the adults’ beliefs on parenting and child development that are widespread in Russia. Additional adaptation is needed to improve the reliability of the Russian-language version of the questionnaire and to allow its further use.

Ger Graus OBE, Global Director of Education, KidZania; Visiting Professor, Institute of Education, National Research University Higher School of Economics. E-mail: ger.graus@kidzania.com

Sergey Kosaretsky, Candidate of Sciences in Psychology, Director of the Center for Socio-Economic Development of Schools, Institute of Education, National Research University Higher School of Economics. E-mail: skosaretski@hse.ru (corresponding author)

Anzhelika Kudryavtseva, Master of Evidence-Based Educational Policy (Institute of Education, National Research University Higher School of Economics). E-mail: likatrofimova@gmail.com

Katerina Polivanova, Doctor of Sciences in Psychology, Professor, Academic Supervisor, Center for Modern Childhood Studies, Institute of Education, National Research University Higher School of Economics. E-mail: kpolivanova@hse.ru

Elizaveta Sivak, Director of the Center for Modern Childhood Studies, Institute of Education, National Research University Higher School of Economics. E-mail: esivak@hse.ru

Ivan Ivanov, Analyst, Center for Socio-Economic Development of Schools, Institute of Education, National Research University Higher School of Economics. E-mail: iyivanov@hse.ru

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

Edutainment centers, i. e. centers that both educate and entertain, have sprung up across the globe since the 1970s. At the end of the 20th century, a new type of such centers emerged: theme parks for children, KidZania being the first of its kind and the most global one. Through the example of KidZania, this study examines the characteristics of theme parks that have made them popular among children and their parents as well as the role of such parks in today’s urban learning ecosystems. The paper also explores how the relationship between entertainment and education and the one between the commercial and educational components of edutainment centers affect the current state and development prospects of the sector.

Tatiana Pashkova, Candidate of Sciences in History, Associate Professor, Department of Russian History from Ancient Times to Early 19th Century, Institute of History and Social Sciences, Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia.

Address: 48 Moyka River Emb, 191186 Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation. E-mail: tatianapashkova22@gmail.com

This article explores the practices of teaching history in men’s gymnasiums of the first half of the 19th century in Petersburg, analyzing the curricula, the content of textbooks, and examinations as well as theoretical developments and methodological techniques in the design of textbooks on world and Russian history. At the infancy stage of gymnasium education development, the focus was on teaching world history. Meanwhile, even schools in Petersburg had great difficulty in selecting the textbooks. Handbooks written by foreign authors and, later, Petersburg instructors, represented bulky volumes with no illustrative material or teaching methodology.