Centre for Vocational Education and Skills Development

Publications

• Book

  Sorokin P., Mironenko I. A.

  Human Agency and the Problem of Replicability in the Dynamic Neo-Structured World

  Social reality is undergoing rapid transformations, giving rise to new challenges for both social theory and practice. One of these much-discussed challenges is the so-called replicability crisis, a notion that describes the failure of the social sciences and humanities to verify established research findings with new empirical investigations. In the related debates, it is argued that this “crisis” can be interpreted as a sign of the growing disconnect between, on one side, traditional perspectives on human nature and social structures that still dominate academic mainstream and, on the other side, the reality of an emerging new phase of societal evolution—neo-structuration, which emphasizes individual agency as a driver of development—in contrast to the well-known “structuration” argument by Antony Giddens, whereby human agency is seen as ontologically fused with the social structure, procuring stability of the latter rather than its transformation. Bridging the gap requires an interdisciplinary paradigm shift. This shift would involve moving away from considering human beings as changeless or predictably evolving subjects whose intentions and actions are determined both internally and externally by structures that supposedly follow a linear trajectory of “progress,” assuming the reproduction of the basic principles and forms of social interaction. Instead, in the context of intensifying neo-structuration, individual agency emerges as both an expression of the core of human nature and a catalyst for societal change, including the pressing social issues within the techno-material environment, which have radically changed in the first decades of the 21st century, especially after the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. This presents a fundamentally new challenge for the social sciences and humanities: to develop methodological approaches and theoretical models capable of systematically analyzing the human capacity for creation and transformation—not just reproduction.

  Under conditions of neo-structuration, individual agency causes transformations of both social structures and the agentic subjects themselves, which makes the crisis of replicability inevitable. The crisis itself is evidence of changes in social reality and human nature as the objects of research, not only the mere sign of the imperfection of measurements. Thus, the replicability crisis relates not only to the epistemology of science but also to the ontology of its subject matter.

  Most important is to give an adequate theoretical and methodological account for the so-called strong agency, capable of a significant transformative impact on social environment. A special challenge refers to understanding the power of human agency in the context of technological advancement, including the opportunities related to artificial intelligence. Distinguishing between two types of such agency is necessary: on one hand, a conditionally “free” creative individual initiative, leveraging digital infrastructures as tools for forging new communities, transforming existing behavioral patterns, practices, and so on, and, on the other hand, a sphere of a “hybrid” strong agency, partially stimulated and augmented by targeted, customized systems of artificial intelligence’s recommendations, suggestions, navigation services, consultancy, and advice. Within these intersecting realms, the foremost theoretical and practical challenges emerge—particularly regarding the reconceptualization of human agency as a pivotal driver of institutional change under the condition of neo-structuration, which puts the problem of replicability in a principally new light.

  Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Society, 2026.

• Article

  Rozenfeld N., Maltseva V.

  Vocational Graduates between Low-Tier Stability and New Complex Careers: Trajectory Quality of Russian VET Graduates

  Vocational education and training (VET) graduates are often treated as a homogeneous group, despite following different routes through further education and work. This study examines twelve-year education–employment pathways among 423 Russian secondary VET graduates born between 1986 and 1998, using data from RLMS-HSE. It applies a Badness Index to assess trajectory quality over time, considering the duration, timing, and ordering of education, employment, and non-employment rather than relying only on immediate employment or earnings. The findings show substantial variation among VET graduates. Direct movement from VET to full-time higher education is associated with more favorable index-based trajectories, whereas combining VET with non-standard employment is associated with less favorable trajectories. These findings are descriptive rather than causal. The study demonstrates the value of longitudinal measures of VET outcomes and highlights the importance of higher-education pathways, employment conditions during study, and unequal access to opportunities.

  International Journal of Training Research. 2027.

• Book chapter

  Aleskerov F. T., Afanasyev A. A., Anchikov K. et al.

  Science, innovation, education, culture, tourism, and sports

  BRICS extends far beyond the realms of geopolitics and economics, encompassing a profound commitment to collaborative advancement in the sectors that most directly shape human potential and quality of life. Cooperation in science, innovation, education, culture, tourism, sport, and healthcare represents a strategic investment in social capital, serving as the essential element for sustainable development and people-centered progress. These domains are deeply interconnected; scientific breakthroughs fuel public health solutions, cultural exchanges foster the mutual understanding necessary for joint innovation, and educational mobility builds the human networks that underpin all other forms of cooperation. The group‘s multifaceted agenda in these areas is therefore not a peripheral concern, but a central pillar of its long-term vision to build a more inclusive and resilient future for its citizens.

  In bk.: BRICS Cooperation Progress According to the BTTC Indicator System 2025/2026. M.: BRICS Expert Council – Russia, 2026. Ch. 5. P. 352-467.

• Working paper

  Dudyrev F., Froumin I., Maltseva V. et al.

  WorldSkills Approaches to Comparable Skills Assessment in Vocational Education

  This report aims at discovering the capacity of  WorldSkills approaches in objective and comparable skills assessment in vocational education. Authors study the best practices of the four countries (Russia, Australia, United Kingdom, Netherlands) in embedding WorldSkills standards and procedures to national TVET systems. Prospects of  WorldSkills approaches to objective skills assessment in building internationally comparable skills assessment in TVET are discussed. This report was produced at the initiative of the Union “WorldSkills Russia” in partnership with representatives of the WorldSkills movement in Australia, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. This paper shall be of interest for researchers and experts in the field of technical and vocational skills assessment, managers and policy-makers in technical and vocational education (TVET).

  Современная аналитика образования. Институт образования НИУ ВШЭ, 2019