Rethinking Approaches to the Level System of Higher Education in Russia in the Context of the Country’s Withdrawal from the Bologna Process

Withdrawal from the Bologna Process has initiated discussions of future development of the level system of higher education in the Russian Federation. The article systematizes the main directions of criticism of the “Bolognaization” of Russian higher education and presents the author’s approach to rethinking the level system, formulating proposals for its new outlook. It is indicated that in view of the dynamic nature of the professional sphere and the growth of professional mobility, the multi-level system of higher education tends to be more promising, and it is advisable to build its new contours ensuring its multi-format, structural flexibility, openness, internal and external integration.

Taking into account these principles, an updated interpretation of the main levels of higher education (Bachelor’s, Specialist’s, Master’s, Postgraduate) is proposed, a new vision of a multi-format Master’s program is presented. The author formulates proposals regarding flexibility of study periods at all levels and possible schemes for building individual educational trajectories in the system of inter-level mobility. Transition from the paradigm of the level system of higher education to the paradigm of the integrated education system is substantiated as a promising growth vector.

1. Voronin, G.P. (2021). [Bologna System of Education: Is the Country’s Future in Danger?] Standarty i kachestvo = Standards and Quality. No. 5, p. 1. Available at: https://www.elibrary.ru/download/elibrary_45661418_52167947.pdf (accessed 12.10.2022). (In Russ.).

2. Kalinina, E.V., Kalinina, A.S. (2022). Certain Legal Aspects of the Implementation of the Bologna Process in Modern Education: History, Modernity and Prospects. Sovremennyi Uchenyi = Modern Scientist. No. 3, pp. 333-338. Available at: https://www.elibrary.ru/download/elibrary_48569069_50937478.pdf (accessed 20.11.2022). (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

3. Rozhkova, K.V., Roshchin, S.Yu., Solntsev, S,A., Travkin, P.V. (2021). The Return to Master’s Degree in the Russian Labor Market. Voprosy Ekonomiki [Economic questions]. No. 8, pp. 69-92, doi: 10.32609/0042-8736-2021-8-69-92 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

4. Grigorevskiy, L.B., Ivashchenko, G.A., Freiberg, S.A. (2021). The Bologna Process in Russia: History, Contradictions and Prospects. Problemy sotsial’no-ekonomicheskogo razvitiya Sibiri = Issues of Social-Economic Development of Siberia. No. 1, pp. 97-103, doi: 10.18324/2224-1833-2021-1-97-103 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

5. Pursiainen, K., Medvedev, S.A., Belov, V.A., Entin, M.L., Gladkov, G.I., Kolesov, V.P., Tkachenko, S.L., Yakovlev, S.M., Cherkovets, M.V. (2005). Bolonskii protsess i ego znachenie dlya Rossii. Integratsiya vysshego obrazovaniya v Evrope [Bologna Process and Its Meaning for Russia. Integration of Higher Education in Europe]. Moscow: Russian-European Center for Economic Policy, 199 p. Available at: http://vovr.ru/upload/Recep_Bologna%20process.pdf (accessed 15.09.2022). (In Russ.).

6. Tkhagapsoev, Kh.G., Yakhutlov, M.M. (2022). Giving up to Gain: Towards the Benchmarks of the “Post-Bologna” Development of Higher Education in Russia. Vysshee obrazovanie v Rossii = Higher Education in Russia. Vol. 31, no. 10, pp. 44-55, doi: 10.31992/0869-3617-2022-31-10-44-55 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

7. Andronova, I.V., Lapteva, N.V. (2020). Bologna Process as a Factor of Higher Education System Reformation Policy in Modern Russia. Izvestiya Saratovskogo universiteta. Novaya seriya. Seriya “Sotsiologiya. Politologiya” = Izvestiya of Saratov University. New Series. Series Sociology. Politology. Vol. 20, no. 4, рр. 464-469, doi: 10.18500/1818-9601-2020-20-4-464-469 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

8. Fadeev, G.N., Karpov, G.M. (2013). Do Modern Russian Schools Provide Education or Training? Russian Journal of General Chemistry. Vol. 83, no. 6, pp. 1236-1241, (Original Russian Text: Rossiiskii Khimicheskii Zhurnal, 2011, vol. 55, no. 5-6, pp. 34-38.), doi: 10.1134/S107036321306042X (In Eng., abstract in Eng.).

9. Sulakshin, S.S., Pintaeva, M.Yu., Malchinov, A.S. (2009). Problemy formirovaniya kadrovogo resursa v Rossii [Challenges of Building Human Resource in Russia]. Moskva: Nauch. ekspert, 130 p. ISBN: 978-5-91290-062-4 (In Russ.).

10. Maslennikov, A.V., Starikova, I.V. (2019). [Implementation of Bologna Process in EU and Russia: Problems and Possible Solutions]. In: Vserossiiskaya nauchno-metodicheskaya konferentsiya “Innovatsionnye tekhnologii v obrazovatel’noi deyatel’nosti” [Innovative Technologies in Educational Activities: All-Russian Scientific and Methodological Conference, February 5, 2019]. Nizhny Novgorod: Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University n. a. R.E. Alekseeva, pp. 47-52. Available at: https://www.elibrary.ru/download/elibrary_36966377_96935861.pdf (accessed 25.12.2022). (In Russ.).

11. Konstantinova, L.V. (2013). [Problems of Developing MA Courses in View of Reformation within Higher Education]. Vysshee obrazovanie v Rossii = Higher Education in Russia. No. 7, pp. 30-36. Available at: https://vovr.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/3602 (accessed 28.12.2022). (In Russ.).

12. Ezrokh, Yu.S. (2016). [Bologna System of Higher Education in Russia: Myths and Reality]. EKO [The all-Russian ECO Journal]. Vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 172-185. Available at: https://ecotrends.ru/index.php/eco/article/view/1451 (accessed 06.01.2023). (In Russ.).

13. Garmonova, A.V., Opfer, E.A., Shcheglova, D.V. (2022). Master Education and Academic Career Track in Russia. Vysshee obrazovanie v Rossii = Higher Education in Russia. Vol. 31, no. 11, pp. 47-62, doi: 10.31992/0869-3617-2022-31-11-47-62 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

14. Emelyanova, I.N., Teplyakova, O.A. Teplyakov, D.O. (2020). Mobility of Russian University Students as a Phenomenon and a Management Problem. Universitetskoe upravlenie: praktika i analiz [University Management: Practice and Analysis]. Vol. 24, no. 2, рр. 131-144, doi: 10.15826/umpa.2020.02.019 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

15. Zabotkina, V.I. (2018). Rationales for Internationalisation: a Case of Russian State University for the Humanities. Vestnik Voronezhskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: “Problemy vysshego obrazovaniya” = Proceedings of Voronezh State University. Series: Problems of higher education. No. 3, pp. 74-79. Available at: https://www.elibrary.ru/download/elibrary_35604209_32105538.pdf (accessed 18.11.2022). (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

16. Igoshev, B.M. (2014). Essential and Logical Analysis of Mobility as an Interscientific Notion. Pedagogicheskoe obrazovanie v Rossii = Pedagogical Education in Russia. No. 1, pp. 105-111. Available at: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/42051434.pdf (accessed 15.10.2022). (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

17. Konstantinova, L.V., Gagiev, N.N., Shtykhno, D.A. (2022). De-Institutionalization of Education in the Context of a Global Professional Shift. Otkrytoe obrazovanie [Open education]. Vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 66-74, doi: 10.21686/1818-4243-2022-4-66-74 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).

18. Dolgosheva, A. (2022). [New Format of Education. How Will Russia Withdraw from Bologna System?]. Sankt-Peterburgskie vedomosti [Newspaper “St. Petersburg Vedomosti”]. June 14. Available at: https://spbvedomosti.ru/news/country_and_world/obrazovanie-v-novom-formate-kak-rossiya-budet-vykhodit-iz-bolonskoy-sistemy/ (accessed 19.12.2022). (In Russ.).

19. Sorina, G.V., Gurov, F.N. (2022). Excluding Russia from the Bologna Process: What is behind This? Sibirskii filosofskii zhurnal [Siberian Journal of Philosophy]. Vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 57-67, doi: 10.25205/2541-7517-2022-20-2-57-67 (In Russ., abstract in Eng.).