Аdjustment disorders in students who have suffered psychoemotional stress: systematic review of diagnostics, treatment and preventive care

Currently, the mental health problem of students, which often leads to the creation of unfavorable foundations for the development of non-psychotic mental disorders, is particularly relevant and socially significant. The purpose of this article was to conduct a systematic literature review of the current state of the problems of students` adjustment disorders, taking into account interventions aimed at preventing and correcting them, and analyzing the results. We searched the electronic databases Oxford, Google Scholar, PubMed, Medline and Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Cyberleninka, PsycInfo on prevalence, adverse effects, and interventions in students with adjustment disorders. Of the 25 studies published over the period from 2004 to 2020, 10 (40%) data on treatment and preventive measures are reported. The search revealed that interventions aimed at correcting and preventing adjustment disorders in students may improve various aspects of well-being, including psychological, pedagogical and medical ones. However, the evidence is limited by the relative inadequacy of long-term and reliable experimental studies. In view of this, it is advisable to further implement larger projects and conduct broader and longer-term research, which will contribute to a more reliable and in-depth study of the impact and effectiveness of such interventions. Based on a scientific search, the theoretical and methodological foundations of psychocorrection of students with adjustment disorders are substantiated, taking into account the specifics of the mental functioning of this category. While there are few works devoted to the study of developmental issues, clinical and psychopathological features, dynamics of non-psychotic mental disorders, taking into account gender and organizational factors in university students in the context of higher education reform, such issues require further study applying systemic approach in order to develop and implement in practice the early diagnosis as well as corrective and preventive measures.

The Phenomenon of University Americanization: A Critical Review by Max Weber

The paper discusses the phenomenon of Americanization of European universities in a historical perspective, referring to the critical comparison of higher education in Germany and the United States, conceived by Max Weber after the experience of his stay at American universities in 1904. In accordance with the subject and goal, the paper is divided into several thematic units that include the historical context of European university development, defining the research question, the historical and theoretical context (his trip to the International Congress of Arts and Sciences in St. Louis and defining two of Weber's key theoretical concepts (rationalization and bureaucratization) which are necessary for understanding his analysis of higher education), consideration of Weber's most important work on this topic (Wissenschaft als Beruf), and presentation of the conclusions of our analysis. The paper provides an overview of Weber's comparison of two university models: (a) the American model, which he sees as market-oriented, democratized and meritocratic, and (b) the German model, which he sees as critical, holistic and humanistic. Despite the prevailing opinion in modern Weberology that Weber was an apologist of the way in which American higher education works, in this paper we try to show that Weber in his deliberations offered a far more balanced view of the situation at universities in the two countries (United States and Germany), and that he managed to show different aspects, i.e. the advantages and disadvantages of these two, in many respects different, models of higher education and academic communities derived from them. Although the paper deals with a part of Max Weber's legacy and in that sense with a discussion that is part of the history of sociological ideas, the basic ideas that Weber argues in it have not lost their relevance in contemporary discussions on higher education reform in Europe.

Understanding the Impacts of Chinese Undergraduate Tourism Students’ Professional Identity on Learning Engagement

Under the background of higher education reform, undergraduate tourism students’ professional identity may play an important role in affecting students’ learning engagement and the sustainable development of tourism higher education. Data were collected from 551 Chinese undergraduate tourism students to investigate the potential relationships between professional identity and learning engagement. Based on the theory of social identity, professional identity is perceived as a progressive, dynamic process including professional cognition, professional appraisal, and professional emotion. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM), and the findings confirmed that professional identity was in positive correlation with employee engagement. Furthermore, the results showed that professional cognition has positive influences on professional appraisal, professional emotion, and learning engagement, and professional appraisal has positive influences on professional emotion and learning engagement. In addition, the mediating effects of professional appraisal and professional emotion between professional cognition and learning engagement were analyzed, respectively. This study contributes to the understanding of the impacts of tourism students’ professional identity on learning engagement. Both theoretical and practical implications are provided.

Harmonisation of higher education in Africa: 20 years after the Bologna Process

It has been 20 years since the Bologna Process has been realized, and the present paper examines efforts made to harmonise higher education in Africa. Similar to other continents, the higher education reform in Africa is inspired by the Bologna Process. This is clearly reflected in the African Union strategy for harmonisation of higher education and different reforms and harmonisation initiatives. The reforms in African higher education are directly and indirectly influenced by the European Union which is also the main financer and technical partner in the development and implementation of higher education harmonisation in Africa. There are different factors that affect the institutionalisation and sustainability of harmonisation initiatives in Africa. Some of the major factors include lack of strong and genuine cooperation among African HEIs, lack of nations’ political commitment to higher reforms, and lack of contextualisation in adopting reforms and strategies. Although the effort to harmonise African higher education is commendable, it is important to look for innovative strategies and reforms which are mainly based on the actual challenges that Africa is facing and the ultimate goal it envisions to achieve. Africa also needs to earnestly ‘conainise’ (continentalise, nationalise and institutionalise) reforms and harmonisation strategies adopted from elsewhere. Received: 18 October 2020Accepted: 9 September 2021

Exploration and Practice of New HSS Construction in the Public Affairs Administration Major of Medical Colleges: An example of Southwest Medical University

The new humanities and social sciences construction is an important part of the current higher education reform in China. It is an exploratory reform in the field of humanities and social sciences in the sense of adapting to the national strategic development and responding to the scientific and technological revolution. Taking the opportunity of the new humanities and social sciences construction, the major of public affairs administration in Southwest Medical University upgraded the concept, mode, content and means of personnel training, gave full play to the platform advantages of medical colleges, realized the deep integration of medicine and management, explored and constructed a new HSS construction program that integrates the three systems of “talent training, teacher workforce and quality culture”, which is expected to provide reference for the advancement of higher education reform.

METHODS OF DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNICATIVE AND LINGUISTIC COMPETENCIES IN THE FORMATION OF LINGUISTIC PERSONA OF A PHILOLOGIST

The state and development of modern civilization require native speakers to have a perfect command of the basics of linguistic units of various structural levels, as well as all the means of language and the features of their implementation in the process of communication. Based on the analysis of scientific literature, the tasks of the study were to find out the concept of «communicative competence», to outline its impact on the training of future teachers of language and literature, to determine the state of the problem under study. The methodological basis of the research is the theoretical foundations of higher education reform. In scientific research, various methods of pedagogical research are used: a meaningful analysis of scientific and theoretical concepts; the study of works on current problems of education; analysis, synthesis and generalization of psychological, pedagogical, linguistic and methodological literature; observations, generalization of advanced pedagogical experience to study the state of development of the problem of forming the communicative competence of philologists.

Do Students Prioritize Majors or Specific Colleges? Analyzing the Factors That Influence Preferences in China

China’s college entrance examination has always been regarded as a system that promotes social stability and sustainable development. Students with different characteristics may have dissimilar professional aspirations. Due to the increasing popularity of higher education in China, these characteristics may constitute new influences among students’ professional priorities and educational preferences, and it is interesting to explore how such characteristics, especially family backgrounds, affect these choices. Compared to previous investigations, this study conducted a more systematic and quantitative empirical examination of family background. Accordingly, we used data obtained through a survey on higher education reform conducted by the Graduate School of Education at Peking University. Results showed that family backgrounds significantly influenced student priorities when deciding whether majors or specific colleges were most important. When deliberating over the “unpopular majors” offered at higher-level colleges/universities and the “popular majors” offered at relatively lower-level colleges, students with comparatively advantageous family backgrounds were more likely to prioritize specific colleges; that is, they were more willing to choose higher-level colleges than “popular majors” at lower-level colleges. Conversely, students with relatively disadvantaged family backgrounds were more likely to prioritize majors; that is, they were more willing to forego higher-level colleges/universities in favor of “popular majors” at relatively lower-level colleges.

Coming to Grips with Bologna: Change and Student Empowerment in Transforming Classes into an Effective Learning Environment

With the advent of the Bologna Process to develop higher education in the European Union, university teachers and students have gone through a process of change. This change required an adjustment to the demands of higher education reform governed by European convergence. However, the resulting transformations in pedagogical practice have ostensibly affected not only teacher-student attitudes and relationships but also the academic culture. Within the new educational paradigm, the shift to a student-centered pedagogy has meant the empowering of individual students providing them with the opportunity to direct their own learning. However, the issue now is how to address and exercise student empowerment in the real-life class. This study is an investigation into the role of teachers to strike a balance between the forces pushing them to adapt to the new pedagogical framework and the need to improve student self-reliance and ownership of learning. It concludes by reaffirming the advantages of applying an empowerment-based approach, already recognized by current research, that enhances teacher and students relations in an effective learning environment.

FINANCING OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA ON THE BASIS OF STANDARD COST PER EQUIVALENT STUDENT

The author of this article deals with the long process of searching for funding higher education reform in Moldova. From the 90s of the century XX , when the Republic of Moldavia became independent, and until 2019, higher education in the Republic of Moldova has been funded by the "egalitarianism" socialist, without taking into account the difference between the curricula of higher education institutions. In 2010 he published the monograph "Methods of financing public education" that including it investigates the mechanism of financing of higher education, criticizing it and recommends the implementation of European practices and especially Romania, on the financing of higher education, taking into account the complexity of study programs. The central administration empowered with the function of managing higher education did not react to the researchers' recommendations.In 2019, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research (MECR) began studying the New Methodology on financing higher education in Moldova based on the standard cost per student equivalent to the support of the World Bank and Romanian experts. This New Methodology for financing higher education was approved in 2020 and entered into force starting with the 2020-2021 years of study. The new funding mechanism takes into account the complexity of study programs, which correspond to a certain significant adjustment coefficient. We believe that the new methodology of higher education financing favors deepening performance and competency-based learning.