The article was prepared on the basis of an international comparative study – a sociological survey of students from regional universities from 37 cities in the Sverdlovsk region of the Russian Federation and 20 settlements of the Shirak region in the Republic of Armenia (targeted sample, No. = 715). The authors explore the potential for social participation of students from countries with a common political background of post-socialism and cardinal differences in the cultural and historical heritage of urban spaces.The purpose of this article is to determine the potential for social participation of students of regional universities in Russia and Armenia and the subjective factors that determine their activity in the development of cities. The article analyzes the experience of volunteering, as well as the willingness of students to different types of constructive social participation in urban development. To identify factors that activate the social participation of students, a discriminant analysis has been used. Discriminant models were constructed dividing groups of students from different countries with a high and low degree of readiness for social participation, as well as into groups with and without volunteering experience. The authors argue that Russia and Armenia are characterized by an identical structure of student involvement in volunteer activities, but the level of students' readiness for social participation in urban development in the countries under consideration is different. For Armenian students, not only the willingness for social participation is higher, but also the practices themselves are more associated with active socio-cultural activities in the urban space. Two factors that determine the experience of real participation in the socio-cultural development of cities are characteristic of both Russian and Armenian students. The real experience of volunteering is more likely to be acquired by those students who are motivated to receive information about the culture and history of their ...
Introduction. In many countries around the world, the increase in life expectancy leads to significant social transformations. Institutional structures, social protection policies and legislation on the life and employment of older citizens are being changed today. In Russian higher education, more than a third of professional community belongs to the group of teachers of the third (pre-retirement and retirement) age. The modernisation of this area and the raising of the retirement age will make it possible to study the peculiarities of this group of faculty members as a reserve of the vocational training system.The aim of the present article is to characterise the adaptive potential of social community of teachers of the third age in the context of the transformation of higher education.Methodology and research methods. The methodological framework of the article is based on the set of general scientific approaches: communal, comparative, institutional, resource. The first method provides an opportunity to consider teachers of the third age as a social community with their own specific features. The comparative approach is used to see specific features in dynamics (on the materials of official statistics) and to compare them with similar characteristics of teachers of other age groups. The institutional and resource approaches are aimed at identifying adaptive abilities of teachers of the third age against the background of current restructuring processes in higher education. The article is based on the materials of research projects conducted in 2017–2019 and on a mass survey of teachers. The general population consisted of 51 universities of the Ural Federal District. The volume of the sample of teachers is 810 people.Results and scientific novelty. The study showed that teachers of the third age are characterised by a high level of adaptation to changes in higher education. They successfully fulfill themselves in scientific and pedagogical activities. They are characterised by relatively high publication and grant activities, realisation of new educational forms and high motivation and readiness to improve their com petencies and qualifications. At the same time, teachers of the third age estimate their social security in the professional sphere as extremely low. This community is characterised by a high level of criticality in relation to the implemented institutional changes in the field of higher education, which is based on a socially mature responsibility formed within their professional activities for the consequences of decisions taken.Practical significance. The research undertaken demonstrates the stereotype inadequacy concerning non-adaptability of third-age university teachers to technological, content and organisational innovations. Moreover, teachers of the third age are a significant factor in the sustainable development of universities. Therefore, it is necessary to develop management models and create institutional conditions for maximum use of human capital of third-age teachers, whose peculiarities, needs and opportunities in the system of Russian higher education are inadequately taken into account today. ; Введение. Увеличение во многих странах мира продолжительности жизни населения влечет за собой существенные социальные трансформации. Изменяются институциональные структуры, политика соцзащиты, законодательство в отношении жизнедеятельности и трудовой занятости пожилых граждан. В российском высшем образовании к группе преподавателей третьего (предпенсионного и пенсионного) возраста принадлежит более трети профессионального сообщества. Модернизация этой сферы и повышение возрастной планки выхода на пенсию актуализируют изучение особенностей указанной группы профессорско-преподавательского состава (ППС) как резерва системы профессиональной подготовки. Цель публикации – охарактеризовать адаптационный потенциал преподавателей «серебряного возраста» в условиях преобразований высшей школы.Методология и методы. Методологическим каркасом социологического изыскания был комплекс общенаучных подходов: общностного, сравнительного, институционального, ресурсного. Первый позволил рассмотреть объект исследования как социальную общность, имеющую свои специфические черты. Сравнительный анализ дал возможность увидеть последние в динамике (по показателям официальной статистики) и сопоставить с аналогичными характеристиками других возрастных групп ППС. С опорой на институциональный и ресурсный подходы выявлялись адаптационные способности преподавате лей «третьего возраста» на фоне происходящих в высшем образовании реорганизационных процессов. В статье использованы материалы реализованных в 2017–2019 гг. научно-социологических проектов и проводившихся массовых анкетных опросов преподавателей. В генеральную совокупность мониторингов входил 51 вуз Уральского федерального округа (УрФО). Квотную выборку, сформированную на основе статистической информации о ППС региона, составили 810 человек. Результаты и научная новизна. Обработка результатов анкетирования показала высокий уровень адаптации к изменениям в высшей школе преподавателей «серебряного возраста». Они успешно реализуют себя в научно-педагогической деятельности: им свойственны достаточно высокая публикационная и грантовая активность, включенность в новые формы образования, устойчивая мотивация и готовность повышать свои компетенции и квалификацию. Однако представители ППС этой возрастной группы крайне низко оценивают свою социальную защищенность в профессиональной сфере. Данной части педагогического сообщества присуще критическое отношение к кардинальным переменам институционального типа в сфере высшего образования, базирующееся на зрелой, сложившейся благодаря профессиональному опыту социальной ответственности за последствия принимаемых решений. Практическая значимость. Предпринятое исследование продемонстрировало несостоятельность стереотипа о неадаптивости к технологическим инновациям, содержательным и организационным новшествам возрастных преподавателей вузов. Более того, подтвердилось, что эта категория сотрудников является важным фактором устойчивого функционирования и развития университетов. Поэтому необходимы разработка управленческих моделей и создание институциональных условий для максимального использования человеческого капитала преподавателей «серебряного возраста», чьи особенности, потребности и возможности в системе российского высшего образования в настоящее время мало учитываются. ; The present research was supported by the Government of the Russian Federation (Act № 211, Contract № 02.A03.21.0006) and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project № 19-011-00096 "Education as a Resource for the Preservation and Development of the Social Community of People of the Third Age". ; Работа выполнена при финансовой поддержке Правительства Российской Федерации (постановление № 211, контракт № 02.A03.21.0006) и Российского фонда фундаментальных исследований (проект № 19–011–00096 «Образование как ресурс сохранения и развития социальной общности третьего возраста»).
This paper is devoted to the problem of engaging youth in the formation of sustainable urban environment. A particular focus is on the role of universities as research and educational centres in this process. The problem was analyzed from two perspectives. On the one hand, an analysis was carried out to assess the activity of students as the actors contributing to the formation of urban environment, as well as the level of their involvement in constructive social practices and readiness for social and cultural participation in urban life. On the other hand, specifi c institutional and socio-cultural features of urban environment, which determine the social activity of youth, were investigated. Russia and Poland were selected as the objects of analysis, mainly because these countries share a common socio-cultural, ideological and historical heritage. The research methodology involved a secondary analysis of published data and a survey among Russian and Polish university students. The respondents were selected using the method of targeted sampling and included 465 and 248 respondents from Russia and Poland, respectively. As a result, a number of differences between the countries were identifi ed. In Poland, a shift towards non-formalised social practices and non-institutionalised forms of participation is evident. Russia, however, shows the opposite trend, which involves formalisation and bureaucratization of youth social participation through centralisation of programmes and projects, as well as unifi cation of approaches used to encourage youth activity. Polish youth demonstrates a higher social activity and a higher level of trust in NPOs, as well as orientation towards democratic values. For Russian students, a submissive position with respect to the city authorities as the main subject of urban development was found to be more typical. Although, in general, Russian and Polish students demonstrate similar patterns of participation in urban development, the former are more focused on its collective forms, while the latter are oriented at individualisation. The obtained results provide for a deeper understanding of the nature of youth participation in the socio-cultural development of cities. Our fi ndings can be used in practice for the development of university strategies aimed at promotion of student social engagement. ; Особенности социального участия студентов России и Польши в развитии городов.
