How to Retain Quality under Expansion: Practices to Overcome Negative Consequences of Massification in Doctoral Education Original article

As Russian and international experience shows, the massification of doctoral education is not only a driver of socio-economic development, but also a significant challenge for national policy in the field of higher education and research. The increase in demand for doctoral studies can lead to an enormous decrease in the quality of training unless particular measures for quality assurance and support are implemented. There are dozens of such practices worldwide. In this article, we consider three of them: 1) diversification of doctoral programs; 2) collaboration with industry and business; and 3) improving the quality of supervision. These practices have not yet been implemented in Russian doctoral programs on a systemic level. However, we believe that they are the most relevant and potentially useful for the Russian context, as they can improve the efficiency of doctoral training in terms of the number and quality of defenses, as well as increase the level of graduates’ preparation for the labor market

Professional Doctorates: International Experience and Russian Context

The diversification of forms and types of doctoral programs is currently a global trend. Universities across the globe offer programs that differ in the modes of training, characteristics of the target audience, and possible labor markets after graduation. In Russia, doctoral education exists in a unified format, focusing primarily on the academic labor market. Recently, there have been discussions about the need to expand the range of programs and the types of academic degrees in Russia. In this article, we present the analysis of professional doctoral programs: in response to what challenges and needs they appeared, how they are implemented, in what forms they exist. In addition, we consider the Russian experience of implementing professional doctoral programs; analyze the existing opportunities and barriers for their development. Based on the analysis, we came to a conclusion about the relevance of the professional doctoral programs’ development in Russia, the expediency of simplifying the conditions for their implementation and legitimizing special requirements for the design of dissertations with an applied orientation

The Crisis of Postgraduate Studies in Russia: what Bears Problems and how to Overcome them

Статья посвящена анализу текущей ситуации в области подготовки научно-педагогических кадров, а также некоторых причин наблюдающихся в последнее годы низких показателей защищаемости аспирантов. Анализируется состояние и динамика системы аспирантской подготовки в постсоветское время, включая изменения, вступившие в силу в 2013 и 2014 г., связанные с присвоением аспирантуре образовательного статуса и с повышением требований к соискателям ученых степеней. Обсуждается вопрос о том, как эти изменения вписываются в общемировой контекст развития аспирантского образования, могут ли они рассматриваться в качестве объяснения снижения доли защит, наблюдающегося с 2014 г. В качестве эмпирической базы исследования выступает опрос 1866 аспирантов в 11 российских университетах, участвующих в проекте 5-100, а также полуструктурированные интервью с 20 аспирантами и 11 сотрудниками университетов, отвечающими за реализацию аспирантских программ. На основе эмпирического исследования выделяются следующие ключевые проблемы российской аспирантуры: (1) низкое качество набора в аспирантуру, (2) низкое качество научного руководства; (3) недостаточная финансовая поддержка аспирантов. Предлагаются меры, которые могут помочь в преодолении указанных проблем.The article attempts to analyse the current situation in training scientific and pedagogical personnel, as well as certain reasons for the low indicators of candidate-of-sciences theses defended in recent years. There are analyzed the state and dynamics of the system of postgraduate training in the post-Soviet period, including changes that came into force in 2013 and 2014 - those of assigning an educational status to postgraduate studies and of increasing requirements imposed on applicants of academic degrees. It is discussed how these changes fit the global context of postgraduate education development, whether they can be considered an explanation for the decrease of theses defences. The article proves that the negative trends observed today in the sphere of scientific and pedagogical personnel training are determined by the processes occurring in higher education and science in the post-Soviet period and by the problems arisen as a result of these processes. The empirical base of the research is a survey of 1,866 graduate students in 11 Russian universities participating in Project 5-100, as well as semi-structured interviews with 20 graduate students and 11 university staff responsible for the implementation of graduate programmes. The key problems of the Russian postgraduate studies identified on the basis of the empirical study are the following: (1) poor quality of enrollment; (2) poor quality of scientific advisory; (3) insufficient financial support of postgraduates. The article suggests possible steps to overcome these problems

Educational Inequality and COVID-19 Pandemic: Relationship between the Family Socio-Economic Status and Student Experience of Remote Learning

The urgent transition to remote learning in March 2020 revitalized the debate on the influence of new educational reality on inequality in education. A study was performed to measure the relationship between the diffficulties experienced by students during remote learning and their socio-economic status. Data from a nationwide survey of students administered in late March–early April 2020 by a team of researchers from a few Russian universities was used as empirical basis of this study. Results demonstrate significant differences in obstacles faced by students from families with different levels of income. Students from low-income families were the most likely to have technical and self‑regulation problems and to lack skills required for effective remote learning. Results indicate the importance of finding system-level solutions to ensure equal opportunities for students in remote learning, regardless of their socio-economic status

Doctoral Education: International Experience and Opportunities for Its Implementation in Russia

The article provides a comparative review of principles for the implementation of doctoral programs in education at leading world universities. The analysis is focused on the following aspects of doctoral education: organizational model (1), principles of doctoral candidates’ enrollment (2), educational program and workload (3), principles and mechanisms for tracking doctoral students’ progress (4), principles and procedures for completing educational programs and defending a thesis (5). The key differences of the Russian doctoral education are distinguished. The first difference is related to the rigidity of the recruitment rules and procedures: the universities in Russia pay no or little attention to the previous academic achievements of candidates. The second difference refers to the specifics of educational program, which, as a rule, is not aimed at the development of “soft skills”. Finally, Russian doctoral programs are based on the traditional model of doctoral supervision, when a supervisor is usually the only person who controls the doctoral student progress and helps him or her to work on thesis. Based on the experience of the world leading universities, the authors discuss some opportunities to develop doctoral programs in Russia