Publications
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.
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
Relational reasoning is believed to be an essential construct for studying higher education learning. Relational reasoning is defined as an ability to discern meaningful patterns within any stream of information. Nonetheless, studies of relational reasoning are limited by the psychometric structure of the construct. For many instances, the composite nature of relational reasoning has been described as a bifactor structure. Bifactor models limit possibilities for studying the inner structure of composite constructs by demanding orthogonality of latent dimensions. Such assumption severely limits the interpretation of the results when it is applied to psychological constructs. However, over the last ten years, advances in the fields of Rasch measurement led to the development of the oblique bifactor models, which relax the constraints of the orthogonal bifactor models. We show that the oblique bifactor models exhibit model fit, which is superior compared to the orthogonal bifactor model. Then, we discuss their interpretation and demonstrate the advantages of these models for investigating the inner structure of the test of relational reasoning. The data is a nationally representative sample of Russian engineering students (N = 2036).
We comment on the article by Zagaria et al., which explicates the ““soft” nature of psychology: a minor consensus in its “core”” (Zagaria et al., p. 1), manifested by the discordant character of definitions of psychological “core-constructs”. Zagaria et al. build on the assumption that psychological science should reside in the status of a paradigm, meanwhile the real state of things they consider as pre-paradigmatic, imperfect and unhealthy, from which a transition to a paradigm is necessary.We cannot agree with this provision. We argue that not internal coherence and consistency, but the ability to reflect multifaceted reality, to answer its innovative manifestations in various dimensions and solve tasks that life poses to humanity with an adequate set of different tools not reducible to a single approach, is what makes the value of science. Psychology originally developed as poly paradigmatic science, because its subject has a most complex nature, holistic, yet incorporating many aspects different in their essence and, therefore, requiring different versions of the methodology. Considering epistemology of psychological science from the philosophical perspective implying special focus on the ontological issues, we argue that poly paradigmatic structure of psychology is a virtue, not weakness. Thanks to such a structure, modular, like a Swiss knife, our science may offer the most effective solutions for a variety of problems. Multiplicity of relative approaches is best fit for life and innovation, even though we have to sacrifice rigor and concordance of definitions in introductory textbooks.
Yoga and meditation have experienced a boom in Western appropriation in recent decades and consistently grow more culturally ubiquitous. Likewise, rates of vegetarianism are quickly rising. However, little scholarly work has been produced around these newer forms upon the cultural landscape. Even less adopts a sociological perspective. This paper seeks to remedy this fact. It aims to advance understandings as to the patterns of consumption regarding newer cultural forms, with yoga, meditation, and vegetarianism as case studies. Proceeding with the UK as the field of study, this paper presents an original national survey. It performs regression analyses with the survey data to accomplish an analysis of interaction with these cultural forms. From the results, this paper asserts that objectified cultural capital is still salient for social distinction of these forms. This paper also suggests criteria by which emerging forms of culture may establish more quickly as high status cultural objects.
Cultural sociology must catch up in taking seriously recent initiatives in the sociology of culture and cognition, represented by the works of Omar Lizardo, John Levi Martin, Stephen Vaisey, and others. However, aiming at progress in cultural analysis, these theories are partly driven by an epistemic logic alien to cultural theorizing, making the very concept of culture redundant. To identify this anti-cultural strain within the ongoing cognitive turn in sociology, I propose an ideal-typical model—‘the informational theory of communication,’ which reduces culture to information. Although many cognitive scientists and sociologists of culture and cognition are aware of the limitations and counter-productivity of this model, and it might not exist in a pure form, I argue that, first, it is still clearly traceable in many of their arguments, and, second, that it can be seen as a cultural logic underlying a substantial part of their arguments. I posit that replacing this logic of explanation with the Durkheimian model of sui generis synthesis, the concept of emergence, and the idea of ‘boundary conditions’ not only allows us to integrate the insights of cognitive science into sociology, but also opens a way for sociology to contribute to the cognitive sciences.
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.
Fertility, mortality and migration are constantly changing the population dynamics in Russia. Various historical events (economic crises, the collapse of the USSR, etc.) had a huge impact on the age and sex pyramid of the population. The consequences of the demographic crisis also influenced the number of potential university enrollments. An analysis of demographic trends in the Russian higher education (HE) system made it possible to identify several patterns.
The paper examines the relational essence of education, and suggests a place to look for novelty elsewhere, outside the realm of disruptive innovations.
Three studies examine a novel pathway by which the perseverance component of the personality trait grit might predict college students’ behavioral persistence when solving challenging math problems. Specifically, we focus on the intervening role of what we refer to as math-specific self-perceptions of perseverance, which captures students’ perceived tendency and ability to persevere on challenging math problems. Across studies, we found that this math-specific construct was correlated with behavioral math persistence, whereas the domain-general perseverance component of grit was not. Despite there being no correlation between one’s general perceptions of perseverance and behavioral persistence on math problems, we consistently found significant indirect effects of general perceptions through math-specific perceptions of perseverance. That is, in all three studies, grittier students viewed themselves as more capable of persevering on challenging math problems, which ultimately predicted their behavioral persistence at a later time point.
In this study, we aimed to compare developmental changes in nonsymbolic and symbolic magnitude representations across the elementary school years. For this aim, we used a four-wave longitudinal study with a one-year interval in schoolchildren in grades 1–4 in Russia and Kyrgyzstan (N = 490, mean age was 7.65 years at grade 1). The results of mixed-effects growth models revealed that growth in the precision of symbolic representation was larger than in the nonsymbolic representation. Moreover, growth in nonsymbolic representation was fully explained by growth in fluid intelligence (FI), visuospatial working memory (VSWM) and processing speed (PS). The analysis demonstrated that growth in nonsymbolic magnitude representation was significant only for pupils with a high level of FI and PS, whereas growth in precision of symbolic representation did not significantly vary across pupils with different levels of FI or VSWM.
Drawing on the data provided by Russian panel study ‘Trajectories in Education and Careers’ (TrEC), we explore the different rationales pupils employ in deciding their education path in grade nine. Drawing on the relative risk aversion theory we show how young people’s decision-making logics are aimed at class maintenance and risk management. Using a qualitative methodology we show that the decision to continue into grade ten with the view to enter a university program is largely a ‘non-decision’ informed by class-appropriate ambition. While students from higher socio-economic backgrounds ‘automatically’ enrol in grade ten, students of lower socio-economic backgrounds tend to opt for vocational education in the hope of ‘fast-tracking’ to adulthood and the world of work. Drawing on the concept of a ‘cultural narrative’ we also demonstrate that what is considered ‘rational,’ ‘safe’, ‘risky,’ etc. is both class- and culture-specific.
This study examines territorial differences in Russian students' choice of educational trajectory after secondary school between 2000 – 2014, between regions in various socio-economic and cultural contexts. The Russian case might be interesting for the social and economic gap between Russian provinces, which is comparable to other countries differences: some regions, equal to Singapore or the Netherlands in GDP per capita, while others are similar to Honduras or Bolivia. These differences in economic development, among other things, are also associated with the gap in human capital, which is traditionally measured through the level of education of the population. In the Russian system of education, the actual choice of educational trajectory takes place at the end of secondary school, when children should choose between the academic track, which presumes admission to the high school and university after that, and the vocational track, which includes admission to vocational college. Since 2000th, the proportion of secondary school graduates, who chose the academic trajectory, has declined in most of the Russian regions, despite growing access to higher education, thanks to the raise in the number of universities between 2000-2008 with simultaneous demographic decline. With the dynamic time warping algorithm and time series cluster analysis, six different types of regional situations were identified, in the dynamics of the percentage of students who chose the academic track after secondary school. In general, in the most economically advantaged regions with a developed infrastructure of higher education, the popularity of the academic trajectory remains at the same high level. But also there were some decreases in 2009 and 2013, which could be a consequence of the world economic crises in those years. These crises became additional factors at the regional level, for the families in the more developed territories, to re-evaluate their children's chances for higher education and the associated costs. At the same time, the proportion of students on the academic track in more economically disadvantaged regions, with lower access to higher education, has gradually decreased since 2000. These students faced a “double penalty” because they had to plan their education strategy, taking into account higher competition for places in universities, or moving to other regions to enter educational institutions there, which was also associated with growing costs. In this situation, the vocational track becomes a more affordable alternative for students from regions with a lower level of economic and social development. As the result of the analysis, it is possible to determine short and long term prerequisites for further growth in the human capital gap between Russian regions and, consequently, the growing differences in economic development.
The pocket data book contains main indicators characterizing trends in the development of general, secondary vocational, higher education as well as vocational training and additional education in the Russian Federation. It also covers key education indicators for the OECD countries. The data book includes information of the Federal State Statistics Service, the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, the Federal Treasury, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), as well as results of own methodological and analytical studies of the HSE Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge.
This paper analyses the link between the efficiency of regional higher education systems and the rates of regional economic development between 2012 and 2015 in Russia. The efficiency scores are calculated at the institutional level using Two-stage Semi-parametric data envelopment analysis. Then, the scores are aggregated at the regional level. We formulate an economic growth model that considers the efficiency of regional higher education systems as one of the explanatory variables. As an econometric method, we employ a robust GMM estimator. The findings highlight a positive, and statistically significant effect of higher education institutions efficiency on the regional economic growth. We also found negative spillover effects.