DESIGNING THE FUTURE IN EDUCATIONAL STRATEGIES OF RUSSIAN YOUTH

Представленная статья реализует попытку авторов осмыслить на основе деятельностно-активистского подхода конструирование будущего в образовательных стратегиях российской молодежи. На базе концептуального социально-эмпирического анализа авторы статьи приходят к выводу о том, что большинство молодых россиян разделяют позиции адаптивности, актуализма в качестве выбора образовательной стратегии. Это определяется факторами объективного и субъективного характера, где объективизация социальных условий выступает влияющей на субъективный выбор молодежи. Отмечая значимость социальной и территориальной дифференциации, авторы статьи обосновывают положение о конструировании будущего, о формировании образов жизни и набора жизненных целей российской молодежи как возможности ухода от ограниченности прагматического поворота в образовании. В качестве заключительного суждения определяется взаимосвязь между ориентацией на квалифицированную деятельность и конфигурацию ответов на изменения в образовательной системе. Делается вывод о том, что в отечественной социально-гуманитарной науке назрела необходимость осмысления образовательных стратегий российской молодежи как способности российской молодежи конструировать образ будущего с учетом нарастания влияния социальных инноваций. The presented paper implements the authors' attempt to understand, on the basis of an activist approach, the design of the future in the educational strategies of Russian youth. Based on a conceptual socio-empirical analysis, the authors of the publication conclude that most young Russians share the positions of adaptability, actualism as a choice of educational strategy. This is determined by factors of an objective and subjective nature, where the objectification of social conditions acts as an influence on the subjective choice of youth. Noting the importance of social and territorial differentiation, the authors of the paper substantiate the provision on the design of the future, on the formation of lifestyles and a set of life goals of Russian youth as an opportunity to escape the limited pragmatic turn in education. As a final judgment, the relationship between the orientation to skilled activities and the configuration of responses to changes in the educational system is determined. It is concluded that in domestic social science and humanities there is a need to understand the educational strategies of Russian youth as the ability of Russian youth to design the image of the future, taking into account the growing influence of social innovations.

Professional self-determination of school graduates: social and personal factors

Given the negative demographic trends and the aging of labor resources in most regions of Russia, it is important to curb educational migration away from them. The study of the mechanisms of professional self-determination of schoolchildren goes beyond pedagogical tasks in the field of public administration and regional economy. Psychological mechanisms of career choice and educational strategy building were widely studied during the twentieth century, but the question of the influence of social conditions in a particular region on the professional self-determination of young people remains poorly understood. Solving the problems of professional self-determination of schoolchildren requires the synthesis of personality-oriented and socially-oriented pedagogical approaches. The article examines the factors that determine the professional self-determination of school graduates and analyzes the conditions and patterns of schoolchildren’s professional self�determination, together with the potential of their influence on educational strategy by regional universities. The research hypothesis is that, when providing pedagogical support for professional self-determination of pupils, it is necessary to take into account both their personal characteristics and individual motives, as well as socio-economic factors that determine the choice of educational strategy. The research used comparative analysis, classification, generalization, an inter-disciplinary review of literature and socio-economic statistics, a sociological survey, and expert assessments. The main results are the description of models of professional self-determination of school graduate based on their awareness, values, self-efficacy assessment, and the justification of the principles of career guidance. A survey of school graduates in the Ulyanovsk region in 2018-2019 (n=2075) showed that a significant number of graduates lacked professional plans and knowledge about regional universities and universities in other cities. The study revealed the professional interests of school graduates and their plans for educational migration from the region. School graduates did not justify their choice of a career and educational strategies by their professional interests, but rather on their desired standard of living upon graduation. It established that the quality of education at the university is not a determining factor for potential applicants. As actors in the regional educational space, professional education organizations can have a greater impact on the processes of professional self-determination of high school students. The results indicate the importance of regional socio-economic conditions for professional self�determination of school graduates, their educational strategy and choice of university. The study confirmed that their professional self-determination follows the principles of the Social Cognitive Career Theory.

Higher apprenticeship as educational strategy after the pandemic

This article analyzes strengths and weaknesses of the higher apprenticeship programme carried out by the University of Bergamo within the bachelor’s degree in educational sciences since the academic year 2017/2018. Starting from the voices of apprentices and tutors, a qualitative research tries to find out whether higher apprenticeship may be a good teaching strategy to enhance the principle of alternation between theory and practice in tertiary education. L’apprendistato di terzo livello come strategia formativa per le società dopo il Covid. L’articolo esplora punti di forza e criticità dei percorsi di apprendistato di terzo livello avviati dall’Università di Bergamo a partire dall’a.a. 2017/2018 nell’ambito del corso di laurea triennale in Scienze dell’educazione. La ricerca qualitativa consente, grazie alle testimonianze di apprendisti e tutor, di descrivere situazioni ed episodi di apprendimento e di mettere in evidenza come l’apprendistato di terzo livello, almeno potenzialmente, possa costituire un’ottima strategia didattica per realizzare il principio dell’alternanza formativa negli studi terziari.

Transmedia Storytelling towards an Expanded Teaching of Reading in Distance Learning

This study is focused on looking into the acceptance level of the teachers relative to transmedia storytelling, views on the modification of reading tasks and activities through transmedia storytelling, and integration of transmedia storytelling in reading tasks and activities. This study focuses and limits only in describing the acceptance level of language teachers as to transmedia storytelling and on knowing the teachers’ thoughts on modification of reading tasks and activities. The study used descriptive research design wherein the data were analyzed through a modified questionnaire on the level of acceptance and thematic analysis wherein responses were analyzed using open-ended questionnaire for thoughts and views on transmedia storytelling modifications and integration. The results of the study show a positive acceptance of transmedia storytelling among teachers. Furthermore, it was emphasized that transmedia storytelling is a beneficial and educational strategy for teaching reading and integration should be done through adapting and designing various media platforms. This action research presented a new reading strategy for language teachers that can be used in distance learning aimed for a contextualized and expanded teaching and learning of reading through a matrix that include selected and applicable reading texts in Grades 7-10 with transmedia storytelling media platforms.

Digital footprint in predicting school graduates’ educational strategy

This research article aims at evaluating the results of the school graduates’ educational strategy transformation with the help of digital footprint data. The analysis of official and unofficial Internet communities of universities in the social network «VKontakte» shows that their active users are school graduates, who thus receive the necessary information about the university. The method presented can become a promising tool to forecast the demand for higher education. The study covers the period from 2019 to 2021, a total of 502 thousand user profiles having been identified, 246 thousand accounts included in the final sample. The results show that during the analyzed period the number of user subscriptions to university communities has decreased in all Russian regions. The orientation towards universities located in other regions has also changed: these were more popular before the pandemic, being subscribed to by the majority of students, whereas after the spread of COVID-19, most of the graduates began to choose universities located in their native region. A significant limitation of this method is that a number of profiles are closed, which logically does not allow to use them in further analysis. The results of the study show, however, high validity and wide opportunities for the use of the digital footprint method when predicting young people’s educational trajectory and planning the enrollment campaign, both on the scale of the university and the whole country.

Designing a personalized educational strategy of a teacher

In the conditions of constant social changes that transform the usual stereotypes of professional activity, the teacher finds himself in a situation of confusion and frustration. Experiencing a situation of uncertainty for a long time causes irritation, fatigue and a decrease in the life resource of the pedagogical community. The growing demands on the teacher, his permanent need to meet the changing world dictates new tasks for the professional development system, designed to provide the educational space with personnel, taking into account the requirements of the situation. In the Russian system of additional professional education, there is an active search for ways, models, and ways to train teachers. The paper analyzes the experience of testing a personalized educational strategy of teachers as a variant of a subject-oriented program of continuous professional and personal development in modern conditions. On the basis of the Tyumen Regional State Institute for the Development of Regional Education, work was carried out on designing a model of a personalized educational strategy of teachers. This model was the logical result of many years of work of the Institute to find the optimal way to satisfy practicing teachers in minimizing professional difficulties, in overcoming difficulties in pedagogical activity. The author of the article describes the relevance of the task facing the professional development system; the results of theoretical and methodological understanding of the stated problem are presented; the experience of designing a personalized educational strategy of teachers, including five stages, is presented in detail; the necessary mechanisms and resources used are fixed, data on the results of satisfaction with the tested model by teachers are provided; conclusions are drawn about the role of the professional development system at the present stage. In the discussion, the author refers to the experience of scientists from other regions, thereby emphasizing the importance of the problem for the entire territory of the Russian Federation.

A Massive Open Online Course to Educate Healthcare Professionals & Caregivers About Alzheimer’s Disease

Over 6 million Americans and 50 million persons worldwide are estimated to have Alzheimer’s disease (AD) as it remains the major cause of dementia in the older adult population. Both healthcare professionals and family caregivers struggle with the complexities of caring for individuals with this progressive neurological disease. To address the ongoing knowledge and care gap regarding Alzheimer’s disease among both healthcare professionals and family caregivers, a comprehensive massive open online course (MOOC) was developed and made available via the edX platform. MOOCs are open access and interactive courses offered via the web; they have emerged as a popular, self-paced mode of distance learning. Launched in 2020, the MOOC titled, Alzheimer’s Disease & Dementia Care, consists of five modules reviewing symptoms, diagnosis, medications, communication and care tips, as well as a module outlining special considerations when the person with AD is hospitalized. While this educational strategy targets healthcare professionals (such as nurses, physical therapists and related practitioners), it is also designed for lay caregivers or anyone who wants to learn more the disease. The course utilizes a variety of teaching modalities and is free. To date over 7000 persons have enrolled from over 140 countries. MOOCs remain an innovative and engaging educational strategy to reach a global audience. More importantly, they can serve as an another outlet to enhance both the competence and confidence of both healthcare professionals and family caregivers by sharing best practices in caring for those with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.