Educational strategies of Russian youth: the construction of a typology

Abstract

The article examines the place of higher education in the system of youth education strategies. Its aim is to present the author’s understanding of strategies implemented by modern youth through the system of higher professional education and to find answers to topical questions such as: what motivates youth to enter a higher educational institution, a desire to acquire new knowledge or a desire to get a diploma? What is the main reason for pursuing higher education? Research is based on the theoretical analysis of the subject matter. Its conclusions are confirmed by survey results. The theoretical basis of the study includes a structural and functional sociological framework as well as the theory of educational and professional pathways by G. A. Cherednychenko which explains the implementation of young people’s life plans through the continuity of educational institutions and further job search. The empirical analysis is based on the information derived from the survey conducted by the laboratory of social studies of Petrozavodsk State University (PetrSU), namely the questionnaires filled out by Karelian high school students and students of PetrSU in 2012–2014. They were aimed at revealing students’ professional education aspirations. Consequently, the author could identify two lines of developing educational strategies: the orientation line (profession-oriented or education status-oriented) and implementation line (active or indifferent attitude) and make his own classification of educational strategies as well as describe their particular types implemented through choices while moving forward along the educational path: choice of educational level, of specialization, of educational institution, etc. Refs 22. Table 1.