Publications
Grit is widely considered a trait composed of perseverance of effort (PE) and consistency of long-term interests (CI) that is positively associated with educational and professional attainments. However, because of unclear relations between the two elements that compose grit, PE and CI, the theoretical model of the construct of grit is still questionable. On the one hand, we have extensive evidence that the overall score for grit can predict important life outcomes. On the other hand, predictive ability does not necessarily indicate that a measure reflects a unitary psychological trait. In the case of the Grit scale, a number of works have shown that treating grit as a whole or higher-order construct is psychometrically and psychologically unsound. In this work, we aimed to explore the relationship of PE and CI with long-term educational outcomes in desired educational trajectories while controlling for potentially confounding factors. We hypothesized that if PE and CI are facets of a unified grit construct, we would find consistent patterns in these facets for a range of educational outcomes. Our study was conducted on a large sample of students (N=3110) from a national longitudinal study of school and university graduates. These students were also participants in both the TIMSS-2011 and PISA-2012 studies. When the students were in 9th grade, we assessed their grit, academic achievement, and educational aspiration. The next year, we obtained information about the choices students made after completing compulsory education: staying in high school vs. obtaining vocational training. Two years later, we again assessed the students’ educational and life outcomes. We run two regression models. The first model was a model with PE and CI as predictors only. In the second model, SES, gender, cognitive ability scores and educational aspirations were added as covariates. To test the mediation hypotheses, we also run regression models for possible mediators (educational aspirations and achievement) as outcomes. The results showed that perseverance was a better predictor than interests, although the effects of perseverance on long-term educational outcomes were more often indirect. Consistency of interests did not predict educational trajectories or achievement. Accordingly, we failed to find any consistent patterns in perseverance and interests with long-term educational outcomes. These findings are discussed in terms of the nature of the grit construct and the validity of the Grit scale.
This paper analyses the link between the efficiency of regional higher education systems and the rates of regional economic development between 2012 and 2015 in Russia. The efficiency scores are calculated at the institutional level using Two-stage Semi-parametric data envelopment analysis. Then, the scores are aggregated at the regional level. We formulate an economic growth model that considers the efficiency of regional higher education systems as one of the explanatory variables. As an econometric method, we employ a robust GMM estimator. The findings highlight a positive, and statistically significant effect of higher education institutions efficiency on the regional economic growth. We also found negative spillover effects.
The consequences of demographic revolutions influence the number of potential university applicants and higher education accessibility in Russia. An analysis of current demographic trends, at a time when the number of universities is shrinking, shows a threat of decreasing access to higher education, coupled with high regional differentiation in the availability of education, likely to worsen as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and current economic crisis.
As an inevitable result of Russia’s higher education policies of the past two decades, new university leaders in and outside of Moscow and St. Petersburg have emerged, and vertical differentiation has increased. Inequality of educational potential has a strong regional dimension, exerting a considerable delayed impact on regional socioeconomic development. Differences in universities’ resources affected their ability to adapt their instructional, research, and administrative processes to change during the pandemic, thus broadening the education and research quality gap in higher education. Some regions may face an increased outflow of youth talent to leading universities or just any colleges based in Moscow and St. Petersburg, which will certainly weaken the socioeconomic growth prospects of Russia’s regions. The pandemic accelerated the debate over this problem and demonstrated readiness of universities for joint efforts. Groundwork was laid for deploying a policy to create a cooperative network of universities and their stakeholders so as to reduce institutional differentiation and promote exchange of experience and competence among universities. This paper investigates into the main characteristics of vertical differentiation in Russian higher education that had been in place when the pandemic broke out and determined whether universities succeeded or failed in switching to distance learning. Furthermore, lockdown measures and their economic impact on different types of universities are analyzed. Finally, we discuss possible avenues and specific considerations for expanding cross-institutional collaboration and engaging stakeholders in university development
This article is devoted to the phenomenon of fan fiction in its interaction with Russian classical literature. Traditionally, fan fiction is associated with products of mass culture – fantasy novels, TV-series, anime or comic books. The transformation of canonical literary texts by their creative fans is hardly a widespread practice. In Russia and the Russian-speaking world, where “great Russian literature” has sacred status and the classics are obligatory reading at secondary school, fan fiction based on classical texts is an especially exotic and shocking phenomenon. In this work I list the key characteristics of Russian-classics fan fiction, outline fan fiction writers’ most popular Russian classical texts – Eugene Onegin, War and Peace, Crime and Punishment, and Woe from Wit – and describe recurring narratives of fanfics: “crossovers”, “slash” stories, and alternative endings. I also reveal a unique subgenre of fan fiction specific to Russian classical literature, which puts the original work’s author and his characters together into the same literary space. Further, I problematize the reverence given to literary classics in the Russian-speaking world, the secondary school experience, and their influence on the creative processes of fan fiction. From a series of in-depth interviews with fan fiction writers, I identify the emotional modes of “guilt”, “responsibility” and “challenge” that are typical of the Russian-classics fan fiction experience.
The global order, based on international governance and multilateral trade mechanisms in the aftermath of the Second World War, is changing rapidly and creating waves of uncertainty. This is especially true in higher education, a field increasingly built on international cooperation and the free movement of students, academics, knowledge, and ideas. Meanwhile, China has announced its plans for a "New Silk Road" (NSR) and is developing its higher education and research systems at speed. In this book an international and interdisciplinary group of scholars from Europe, China, the USA, Russia, and Australia investigate how academic mobility and cooperation is taking shape along the New Silk Road and what difference it will make, if any, in the global higher education landscape. Opening chapters present the global context for the NSR, the development of Chinese universities along international models, and the history and outcomes of EU-China cooperation. The flows and patterns in academic cooperation along the NSR as they shape and have been shaped by China's universities are then explored in more detail. The conditions for Sino-foreign cooperation are discussed next, with an analysis of regulatory frameworks for cooperation, recognition, data, and privacy. Comparative work follows on the cultural traditions and academic values, similarities, and differences between Sinic and Anglo-American political and educational cultures, and their implications for the governance and mission of higher education, the role of critical scholarship, and the state and standing of the humanities in China. The book concludes with a focus on the "Idea of a University"; the values underpinning its mission, shape, and purpose, reflecting on the implications of China's rapid higher education development for the geo-politics of higher education itself.
Fertility, mortality and migration are constantly changing the population dynamics in Russia. Various historical events (economic crises, the collapse of the USSR, etc.) had a huge impact on the age and sex pyramid of the population. The consequences of the demographic crisis also influenced the number of potential university enrollments. An analysis of demographic trends in the Russian higher education (HE) system made it possible to identify several patterns.
It is well established that family socio-economic status (SES) is strongly related to academic performance. Nonetheless, there is a group of children with high levels of academic achievement who come from disadvantaged family backgrounds. These children possess what is called ‘academic resilience’. In our study, we want to see whether the two largest international comparative studies are consistent in terms of identifying resilient students and whether the factors of academic resilience are common for the two studies. We use data from a Russian longitudinal study Trajectories in Education and Careers (TrEC), in which students' achievement was measured with both the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS, 8th grade) and, a year later, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Our study focuses on the relationship between individual and school-related factors of resilience and whether these factors are specific to a particular educational outcome (TIMSS or PISA), or are of a more universal nature. We show that attitudes towards mathematics and test scores in general are positively related to the probability of becoming a resilient student. We also find that school related variables (such as average school SES and school type) are more significant for TIMSS than for PISA results. Our study shows that there are students who are both TIMSS and PISA resilient.
Given the ambitious national strategies for science, innovations and university development in Russia, the availability
for young highly qualifi ed specialists who can be competitive at the global job market, is vital. At the same time,
as of now, Russia, unlike many other countries, does not have a comprehensive set of initiatives addressing the brain
drain among Russian students that obtain their degrees abroad.
This article provides an analysis of motivations of Russian perspective graduate (master and doctoral) students who plan
to study abroad and emigrate after graduation, as well as the factors that may positively aff ect their decision to return to
Russia. In addition, the research provides an overview of international policies and practices to prevent the brain drain,
and the opportunities for developing such policies in our country.
Sociologists have argued that high-stakes tests open the door to high levels of educational inequality at transition points: in a high-stakes testing regime, parents and students are able to focus all energy and resources on test preparation, thus enhancing pre-existing inequalities in academic performance. But arguments about a special role for high-stakes tests are often prosecuted without explicit comparisons to other types of tests and assessments, usually because information on other tests is not available. In this article, we analyze a unique dataset on a contemporary cohort of Russian students, for whom we have PISA and TIMSS scores, low-stakes test scores, and high-stakes test scores. We compare the role each test plays in mediating socioeconomic background inequalities at the important transitions in the Russian educational system: the transition to upper secondary education and the transition to university. We find evidence in favor of a special role for the high-stakes test at the transition to university, but we also find evidence that gives cause to question the standard assumption that high-stakes tests should be a primary focus for those concerned about inequality of educational opportunity.
The world has changed significantly because of the active development of scientific and technological advances over the past decade. A new emerging “economic reality” is characterized by the modernization of economic systems, globalization, computerization, informatization, humanization, ecologization, formation of a new model of socio-economic development of human society, etc. These changes require a new approach to the solution of various political, economic and social problems. The present-day economic reality provides a variety of forms and models of economic activity. Each country or region has its unique experience in solving the above-mentioned problems. Nowadays, the Russian economy is in recession. This inevitably has influenced the economic potential of the regions, which has led to worsening of the living standards of the population. In this regard, a review of the model of the regional socio-economic development and redesign of the regional economic policy is must. The formation of the new economy should include new ideas about the sources and factors of the economic development, including the potential of international cooperation, strengthening connection between science and education, knowledge transfer and investment in human capital. This book summarizes the results of the Russian studies in regional economics and aims to solve the following tasks: • to determine institutional peculiarities of the Russian model of the regional development; • to consider the mechanisms of innovative development of the Russian regions; • to analyze the main trends of the regional policy that provides the complex, balanced development of the region; • to analyze structural changes in regional economies in the context of global challenges. This book includes materials of the International Scientific Conference “Economics in the Changing World” held on June 26–27, 2018, at the Institute of Management, Economics and Finance of Kazan Federal University (Kazan, Russia). This conference combines the contributions of leading specialists in the field of v management, territorial development and state, regional and municipal management. It also covers modern trends in the development of economic complexes and firms, economics of innovative processes, social policy, financial analysis, mathematical methods in economic research, etc. The presentations of the conference are grouped into three main categories, which form the basis of the parts of this book. The first part “Regional Economic Development” is devoted to the problems of transport development, agroindustrial complexes, investment policy and formation of methodological approaches to the effective work of small innovative enterprises of regional importance. The leading work “Institutions in the Context of the Regional Development of Russia” by scientists D. Vuković, N. Y. Vlasova and O. T. Ergunova is devoted to the role of the regional development institutions in the socio-economic regional development of the Russian Federation. The authors summarize the experience of managing the regional development institutions. They also conclude that it is necessary to increase the degree of influence on the development of the economic and social infrastructure of the regions of the Russian Federation. The work clarifies the nature and the content of the concept “regional institution of development,” as well as the main groups of the regional development institutions existing in Russia. The scientists develop trends toward increasing the efficiency of their functioning based on the survey. This survey is conducted for the heads of the development institutions the entities of the Russian Federation in terms of authority and degree of independence aimed to support investors and interact with them. The authors consider priorities in choosing current projects to develop the investment and social infrastructure, as well as the problems that hinder their efficient operation. The article “Infrastructure Projects and Transport Systems Financing in Russia” by L. R. Ikhsanova et al. is essential for this part. It is devoted to the problem of project financing of transport system development. Based on the analysis of Russian transport systems financing, the authors prove that during the economic development, the importance of budget financing is gradually decreasing. And nowadays, private and foreign investments and public-private partnership in financing of the infrastructure projects are becoming increasingly important. Using econometric tools, the authors evaluate the impact of the transport sector on the Russian GDP. Also, it is worth noting the work “The Influence of the Russian Economic Crisis on the Regional Peculiarities of Investment Activity” by M. N. Mironova, U. V. Mizerovskaya, E. V. Zhigalina and L. V. Shubtsova from the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia. The authors present a comprehensive analysis of the negative trends of investments in the economy of Russia and its regions, caused by the economic recession. The analysis of the investment structure shows a decline in the share of state property and an increase in the private property. This is associated with an increase in own funds and the growth of investments in mining operations and real estate. The authors compare the regional priorities of domestic and foreign investors and show the general level of investment activity in the regions and the prospects for the regional development of the Russian economy. vi Introduction The second part “Problems of Contemporary Regional Policy” is devoted to the government support for the regions, small enterprises and banks. The work “Food Stamps as a Method of the Parallel Government Support” by A. Nechaev, E. Ilina and M. Li is of particular interest. The scientists propose using food cards to support not only the population but also the regional agricultural commodity producers. It is proposed to limit the trade increment to 10% for essential products, which will allow developing the enterprises to find permanent market outlets. The low level of the trading margin will allow increasing the selling price for the manufacturer. This will contribute to the growth of the profitability of the main activity and indirectly stimulate the introduction of innovations. The authors believe that the proposed tool of support is promising in the context of the financial deficit since the funds allocated to the population stimulate agricultural production and increase the profitability of enterprises. The problem of investments and development of high-tech industries is one of the key subjects in this book. Thus, scientists O. I. Koloskova, I. V. Somina and M. Radosavljevic attempt to model the innovative activity of the Russian enterprises. They conclude that the most significant determinants of the innovation process in Russia are the market demand factor, investment-technological and business factors. The third part “Structural Changes in the Regional Economy” is devoted to the problems of particular sectors development in the regional economy. Efficiency assessment of the regional economy sectors is in the spotlight of I. A. Kabasheva, I. A. Rudaleva, A. V. Gorbatov and O. A. Krioshina in their work “The Effectiveness of the Regional Healthcare System: The Evidence from the Republic of Tatarstan (Russia).” The authors model the system of indicators for the assessment of the working efficiency of the health system in the Republic of Tatarstan. The authors assert that this model can be used for revising government programs and subprograms in health care. A number of works are dedicated to the development of the fuel and energy complex. E. A. Potapova, E. I. Bulatova, A. N. Kiryushkina and T. V. Polteva consider the development of the oil and gas industry through the prism of environmental safety. They note the existing paradoxical situation: The increase in the internal R&D expenses of the Russian oil and gas companies does not lead to the reduction in the pollutant emissions to the environment. Xiang Li, Aleksandr S. Bovkun, Galina M. Beregova, Aleksandr F. Schupletsov and Yullia A. Skorobogatova define approaches to building an effective system of project management in the field of renewable energy sources. They are convinced that the potential of renewable sources of energy in Russia is undervalued. But the use of modern management technologies will allow realizing power-efficient projects in this field. The work “Mathematical and Cartographic Modeling and Demographic Analysis of Rural Settlements” written by V. A. Rubtzov, N. K. Gabdrakhmanov, N. M. Biktimirov, M. R. Mustafin and R. R. Nurmieva (Institute of Management, Economics and Finance of Kazan Federal University) is also of relevance. The authors pay special attention to considering the issues of complex presentation of Introduction vii spatial and coordination information about the population. The modern methods and solutions used in the demographic analysis are discussed in this work. The scientists show that the geographic and cartographic components often become the main way of studying natural or socio-economic systems, including the population at the regional level. The efforts of the authors, reviewers, participants and organizers of the conference make it possible to discuss the issues devoted to the economic development of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. All the conference participants have made a great contribution to holding of the conference. The chairpersons of the program committee of the conference are N. G. Bagautdinova (Doctor of Economics, Professor, director of the Institute of Management, Economics and Finance of Kazan Federal University) and Yu. N. Moseikin (Doctor of Economics, Professor, head of the Department of National Economics of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia). The gratitude should also be expressed to the conference organizers from the higher educational institutions of Kazan Federal University and RUDN University.
This study seeks to explore the incentive factors that serve to instigate university engagement in the third-mission agenda based on evidence drawn from the Russian system of higher education. We pay special attention to how the split of natural and externally induced drivers of the third mission has changed from the Soviet era and up until the immediate modernity. Our analysis has shown that the balance of these two types of incentives never remained flat over the course of history as the Russian university system encountered and had to address different challenges and imperatives at various points in time. We have also found that, while federal initiatives have been adopted by the Russian state that have created a distinctive cohort of universities entrusted with comprehensively contributing to the socio-economic and innovative potential of their host localities as a top-priority task, the third-mission agenda is by no means reduced solely to this very group of institutions, as there are many other universities that are not directly expected to focus on the third mission, but which still favor pursuing proactive and fruitful collaborations with regional stakeholders as arguably representing one of the crucial factors in long-term university sustainability.
The system of postdoctoral fellowships in Russia is relatively new. The first postdoctoral programs started to appear only in 2013. Their development was accelerated by “5-100” Russian Academic Excellence Project initiated by Russian Ministry of Education and Science. Postdoctoral initiatives started to be implemented in over 10 Russian universities - project participants – as well as Lomonosov Moscow State University and Saint Petersburg State University. Most programs were designed to follow the western model of postdoctoral fellowships (postdocs). Originally, the aim of such programs was to attract scholars with high scientific potential and various research backgrounds to carry out their independent research as well as extend the pool of a university research projects. The universities generally expect external candidates with PhD degree (or its Russian equivalent, stepen’ kandidata nauk/Candidate of Sciences degree), publications in high-ranked international academic journals and international experience. These young researchers are 30 years old in average , with advanced knowledge of English. Conducting research is the primary task of postdocs. They can also be involved in joint research work with students, fellow scientists, as well as in giving open lectures and holding seminars. As a rule, call for applications is opened both for foreign and Russian researchers. However, Russian universities focus their efforts on attracting international colleagues to a greater extent . The positioning of postdoctoral programs in Russia is still under development and reflection. For instance, Russian universities sometimes compare it with the well-known system of Doctorantura, education program for Candidate of Sciences who are willing to get the degree of Doctor of Sciences. As, for example, National Research Tomsk State University claims that “The Institute of Postdoctoral Studies at TSU replaced Doctorantura, familiar to all of us ” , National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University calls its postdoctoral program “Postdoc of TPU as an analogue of Doctorantura” . The second aim of the Russian universities is to use the postdoctoral Programs as a tool of international recruiting. These are the cases of Ural Federal University, Novosibirsk State University, Far Eastern Federal University e.t.c. So, Russian universities currently regard postdoctoral programs as a development tool of their staff.
The system of postdoctoral fellowships in Russia is relatively new. The first postdoctoral programs started to appear only in 2013. Their development was accelerated by “5-100” Russian Academic Excellence Project initiated by Russian Ministry of Education and Science. Postdoctoral initiatives started to be implemented in over 10 Russian universities - project participants – as well as Lomonosov Moscow State University and Saint Petersburg State University. Most programs were designed to follow the western model of postdoctoral fellowships (postdocs). Originally, the aim of such programs was to attract scholars with high scientific potential and various research backgrounds to carry out their independent research as well as extend the pool of a university research projects. The universities generally expect external candidates with PhD degree (or its Russian equivalent, stepen’ kandidata nauk/Candidate of Sciences degree), publications in high-ranked international academic journals and international experience. These young researchers are 30 years old in average , with advanced knowledge of English. Conducting research is the primary task of postdocs. They can also be involved in joint research work with students, fellow scientists, as well as in giving open lectures and holding seminars. As a rule, call for applications is opened both for foreign and Russian researchers. However, Russian universities focus their efforts on attracting international colleagues to a greater extent . The positioning of postdoctoral programs in Russia is still under development and reflection. For instance, Russian universities sometimes compare it with the well-known system of Doctorantura, education program for Candidate of Sciences who are willing to get the degree of Doctor of Sciences. As, for example, National Research Tomsk State University claims that “The Institute of Postdoctoral Studies at TSU replaced Doctorantura, familiar to all of us ” , National Research Tomsk Polytechnic University calls its postdoctoral program “Postdoc of TPU as an analogue of Doctorantura” . The second aim of the Russian universities is to use the postdoctoral Programs as a tool of international recruiting. These are the cases of Ural Federal University, Novosibirsk State University, Far Eastern Federal University e.t.c. So, Russian universities currently regard postdoctoral programs as a development tool of their staff.
This research studies the short-term effects of the Russian Excellence Initiative Project 5–100 on participating universities. To trace the effect, we develop a quasi-experimental methodology. A control group of universities comparable to the Project 5–100 universities at the starting point of the program’s implementation was singled out using propensity score matching. Data envelopment analysis was conducted, and the Malmquist productivity index was calculated to trace how and why the efficiency of the “participants” and “nonparticipants” of the Project 5–100 has changed. We find statistically significant positive effects of the policy both on the productivity and on the efficiency of the participating universities.
University mergers are a common practice in higher education systems around the world. Merger-related aspects such as the transformation of organizational and administrative structures, the impact on the internal funding allocation mechanisms, or changes in academic strategies and profiles, are well researched. However, the role of students in university mergers and their understanding of these processes are hardly investigated. The aim of this study was to identify how students are affected by merger processes. Through the conceptual framework, integrating university organizational identity theory and studies of the human side of mergers and acquisitions, this article encompasses six institutional cases in Russian higher education. These cases were selected to illustrate different scenarios of university mergers and accordingly to analyze the variety of student experience in changing universities. The project’s data included the results of document analysis, analysis of the merged universities’ representation in the public space, interviews and focus-groups with university administrators and with students who studied during the process of university merger. It highlights such perceived effects of mergers as anxiety and perceived unfairness due to post-merger changes, activization of we-they opposition between the students of merged universities, loss or transformation of organizational identity, and clash of university cultures.
