Publications
Researchers see self-regulated learning (SRL) as a fundamental skill for succeeding in massive open online courses (MOOCs). However, there is no sufficient evidence of adequate functioning of SRL dimensions such as environment structuring, goal setting, time management, help-seeking, task strategies, and self-evaluation in the MOOC environment. This study fills the gap in understanding the structure of SRL skills utilising the Online Self-Regulated Learning Questionnaire (OSLQ). The construct-related validity of the OSLQ is evaluated based on self-reported survey responses of 913 Russian MOOC learners with confirmatory factor analysis and criterion-related validity is checked with independent samples t-tests comparison. The results show that the original six-factor hierarchical model does not fit the data adequately. The evidence implies that the dimension ‘help-seeking’ is not effective in the MOOC environment. Therefore, a redefined five-factor hierarchical model of the OSLQ is suggested.
This chapter examines the characteristics of high- and low-performing schools in disadvantaged areas of rural Russia. It first provides a historical context of the persistent spatial inequalities that differentially shape opportunities for rural youth, with a specific focus on the differences in academic outcomes and opportunities for rural and urban graduates. The last section of the chapter describes a qualitative study conducted in rural schools in two very different regions of the Russian Federation: the Tomsk Oblast region and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). A wide range of factors, including school characteristics, family, environment, as well as individual knowledge and experiences, shape school experiences. The chapter identifies effective and ineffective practices used by schools and educational leaders within disadvantaged rural communities but notes that, in the context of rural depopulation and economic decline, “effective” education that enables young people to take advantage of largely urban opportunities may simply hasten the decline and abandonment of rural villages.
Different parental strategies in education are bound to produce various effects: not all of these strategies are equally productive in their application. At the same time, the impact of parental involvement in general education on their children's extracurricular activities has not been thoroughly studied. This article attempts to fill this gap by analyzing the relationship between strategies of parental involvement in education and adolescents' participation in extracurricular activities. The data source for this study were parents whose children attend general education institutions (N = 3,887; Mage of children = 12.4, SD = 3.1; 55.6% female). A latent class analysis identified three categories of parental participation in education: “Intrusive”, “Supervisory”, and “Detached”. Each category showed different patterns of involvement from primary to high school, distinguished by the type of extracurricular participation encouraged by parents. In primary school, children of “Intrusive” parents attended the highest number of extracurricular activities. In secondary school, they attended fewer activities compared to the children of “Supervisory” parents. Children of “Supervisory” parents often chose to participate in activities on their own, and continued to attend the selected activity, or change activity on their own initiative. The children of “Detached” parents were less involved in extracurricular activities in primary school. In some cases, they chose their own extracurricular activities as they grew older. The study demonstrates that parental involvement is related to adolescents’ participation in extracurricular activities. Parents’ strategies should be considered instrumental as they produce a variety of different outcomes, depending upon the adolescents’ age and type of activities. The identified strategies may serve as a basis for recommendations for development of parental competencies, consultations, and family education.
Based on the survey data of employees and employers of small and medium-sized companies, the factors that influence the choice of educational programs by employees, including among various professional groups, were analyzed.
It was found that the picture of existing skills deficits differs significantly in the light of employers' and employees' opinions: employers note that employees do not develop the necessary professional skills for the enterprise, and employees pay more attention to overcoming the skills deficit necessary for their individual career growth. Employees pay attention to external attributes (convenient schedule, participation of famous teachers and the cost of the program), and employers pay more attention to the content of the educational program itself (its industry recognition, distance learning opportunities, brand of the organization and information about employment of students). Orientation of employers on the content characteristics of the educational program priority is due to the accumulation of specific human capital that meets the needs of a particular company.
The results of the study also showed the priority of informal forms of learning used to eliminate the skills deficit by respondents with higher and secondary vocational education. These learning formats are regarded by employees as the most effective and allow them to compensate for the lack of non-formal learning. It was found that the vast majority of employees prefer to learn at work from more experienced colleagues while receiving certificate for education issued by the University, considered by them as the highest ranking. As follows from the results of the study, the development of specific human capital of an employee may be more motivated when employers take into account their own interests, which are usually associated with the accumulation of general human capital.
The materials of this article can be interesting for specialists of adult education, heads of HR and departments of continuing education at universities, heads of small and medium enterprises to optimize the process of personnel training.
Introduction. The need for educational organizations to formulate a development strategy, adapt to the changing market conditions of educational services, modernize internal processes in order to increase their efficiency and ensure a competitive advantage in the market leads to a high demand for educational consulting services. In the context of changing scientific and technological paradigm, an unsustainable institutional environment (the reforms, the implementation of federal development programs), expert support is especially relevant. The managers of educational organizations do not always have sufficient competencies and experience to restructure policies qualitatively and timely or to make the right strategic and tactical decisions. The reaction from the supply of this type of service is the emergence of not only new consulting firms but also the expansion of the range of directions of their activities and methods of providing services.
The aim of the research is to identify new ways and mechanisms for the provision of consulting services in the field of education.
Materials and Methods. In this study authors used a method of cluster analysis of text data of foreign periodicals to identify new directions of educational consulting. An analysis of public sources which are the official websites of consulting organizations was carried out to review the practical examples.
Results. The main types of educational consulting services and the actors of their provision are considered and classified. The practical examples of international and domestic consulting organizations were analyzed and grouped according to the proposed typology. We identified and characterized new directions and approaches appearing in the market of educational consulting.
Conclusions. The directions and methods of providing consulting services analyzed in this article can serve as a guide for educational organizations for making tactical and strategic decisions. Also, this article may contribute to the emergence of new directions for consulting services in the domestic market.
Introduction. In market economy, the internal and external processes of educational organisations are becoming more complex. There is a need to identify managerial practices, which can be delegated to external consultants. The process of defining such practices is not completely studied. The application of expert support from leaders and management teams is often situational.
The aim of the present research is to identify the range of managerial problems of educational organisations, which cause the need to resort to external consulting support.
Methodology and research methods. The application of the method of cluster analysis of text data of periodicals allowed the authors to investigate a potential market for consulting services, to identify the modern management needs of educational organizations and the experience of their solution by external organisations. The analysis of open data of consulting organisations was carried out to identify real practices.
Results. The main management problems of educational organisations and the types of consulting services necessary for their solution are considered and classified. The main approaches to defining the framework of educational consulting are highlighted. The authors have developed the method for monitoring the prospective market for consulting services. It was determined that the growing demand for consulting services and the expansion of the range of these services are associated with the formation of a market environment in the education system and the desire of management of educational organisations to provide a competitive advantage. The cases of Russian and foreign consulting organisations were analysed and grouped in accordance with the proposed typology.
Scientific novelty. In academic literature, the study of this issue is mainly limited to defining the boundaries of educational consulting. The authors have made an attempt to identify typical situations, in which managers of educational organisations need to request the services of external experts.
Practical significance. The results of the current research can serve as a guideline for the management of educational organisations, when making managerial decisions. It will allow the managers to determine the cases, in which it is possible to turn to external consultants according to the supply conditions on the market, and to identify the issues, regarding which it is desirable to rely solely on internal resources.
As Russian universities switched to distance education in March 2020 to prevent COVID-19 from spreading, self-paying students started questioning the fairness of tuition fees during this period. They filed petitions, emphasizing that distance learning could not be equated to face-to-face instruction, that educational services were not delivered to the full extent, and that educational quality had decreased. On those grounds, students required cutting the tuition fees down to the size of those in part-time or extramural education. To understand whether universities can afford making this step, we undertake to measure the price that they have paid for the transition to distance learning.
For this purpose, we use data from a survey of faculty teaching and curriculum organization practices carried out at a federal university between March 23, 2020 and June 21, 2020, which involved 4,099 faculty members, as well as financial records of some departments within that university. Findings show that teaching workload reduced by 15% with distance learning during the pandemic, and student–faculty interactions decreased 1.7 times. However, the overall amount of faculty workload increased by 50%, first of all due to a 2.5-time rise in curriculum organization activities. Therefore, transition to distance education led to a significant increase in faculty workload, student contact hours remaining at the same level. Furthermore, the university invested heavily in the transition and support for the learning process during the pandemic, in particular by financing the establishment of a new department for digitalization of learning processes.
An inference is made that distance education imposed by the pandemic is not restricted to part-time or extramural studies. Decisions about cutting tuition fees for self-paying students should be made at the institutional level, with due regard for faculty workload and digitalization costs.
The article presents the methodology for assessing the use of innovative ICT- supported teaching and learning in school education. The methodology combines the survey's data collected from the educational process participants (descriptive tools) and the interpretation of education changes provided by the prescriptive models. The methodology has grown from an attempt to assess the use of innovative ICT-supported teaching/learning in schools during the pilot SELFIE (Self-reflection on Effective Learning by Fostering the use of Innovative Educational Technologies) project in the academic year 2017/18. The methodology is appropriate for a meaningful interpretation of the surveys' data on the innovative use of ICT in educational organizations.
The present paper discusses perspectives of Activity Theory (AT) in the context of contemporary globalizing world, describing which we refer to the notion “De-structuralized modernity” (Sorokin & Froumin, 2020). Radical changes in everyday life challenge social sciences and humanities. Approaches are in demand, which have the potential to comprehend the changing human étant and éntre. We argue that Activity Theory has the potential to face these challenges. Leontiev’s AT grounds on the idea of qualitatively new mental features arising to deal with novel environmental challenges, which is much in line with J.M. Baldwin reasoning on evolution. AT also offers a method to prognosis the upcoming neoplasms. In the same time, applying classics of AT to the current reality, “De-structuralized modernity”, entails the need for new theoretical elaborations of the latter, stemming from the radical transformation of the relations between individual and socio-cultural environments. A unique societal context emerges on the global level, which, on the one hand, requires individual to adapt constantly to changing socio-cultural reality, and, on the other hand, dramatically expands his/her potential for proactive actorhood transforming surrounding structures. We argue that the major and novel challenge for the individual is the task of maintaining the integrity and coherence of the a) Self-identity and b) system of links in and with the socio-cultural environment - in their dynamics and unity. The notion of “culture” has particular relevance and importance in this context because it allows grasping simultaneously two dimensions in their dynamic dialectical interrelations. First, the “internal” (“subjective”, “in the minds”) and “external” (“objective”, material and institutional environment) realities. Second, individual (“micro”) and societal (“macro”) scales of human activities. Discussing the ways to understand these dynamics, we dispute the popular “constitutive view” on personality and refer to the concept of the “ontological shift” (Mironenko & Sorokin, 2018). We also highlight how technological advancements change and “expand” human nature making it capable to deal with the outlined new tasks.
Educational systems are in serious need of personalized platforms, that could help to build students’ multidisciplinary skills. A recommendation system focused on multidisciplinary learning objects could be a solution to the issue. Moscow electronic school repository is analyzed and patterns of its users’ behaviors are described. Those patterns are observed based on the character and structure of actions available to the users, such as creating, copying, using, accessing, and viewing learning objects. The platform users constitute a network community, using similar objects and showing similar interests and thus building network relationships. These networks can be analyzed both at the macro and micro levels, thus visualizing a personal profile of a user in the system. Data analysis showed 7 clusters of users, most of who are not very active, while a moderate number of them exhibit so-called lurking behavior. They look through the learning resources, sometimes use them, but seldom create their own content. Our research found that a trend to create multidisciplinary objects is observed among active users, while lurkers are likely to create mostly monodisciplinary objects. The ratio of multidisciplinary objects can be increased by supporting delurking behaviors among users. Our findings can be useful both for educators and developers of platform learning solutions.
This paper builds a theory of deregulation and roll-out of on-road competition in the public transport sector. Focusing on the dimensions of competition, ownership and authorisation, we identify five distinct regulatory regimes: public monopoly, regulated monopoly, unregulated monopoly, outsourcing to private monopoly and competition in the market. Our generalised theoretical framework allows for the direct comparison in the social welfare terms of the monopolies' outcomes and the fragmented market structure after deregulation. We formulate a set of parameter restrictions that make competition in the market preferable to public monopoly and competition for the market in the form of outsourcing. We also show the theoretical possibility of a ‘revised’ regulatory cycle forming a sequential transition between these identified regulatory regimes. Our model predicts possible policy reversals and the bypassing of certain phases of the cycle, that can occur due to technological advances, changes in fiscal constraints and institutional capacity improvements