Dear authors and readers of the journal! We deeply appreciate your interest in our work and hope that all materials of the journal’s spring issue will be of use and interest to you.
It is worth reminding that on February 11, 2019 a set of information materials on the national projects in 12 areas of strategic development identified in the Russian President's Decree No. 204 dated May 7, 2018 “On the National Development Goals and Strategic Objectives of the Russian Federation in the period until 2024” was published.
The key objectives of the national project “Education” were identified as the following: provision of global competitiveness of Russian education; the entry of Russia into to the list of 10 top leading countries by the quality of education; and education of a harmoniously developed and socially responsible personality on the basis of historical and national cultural traditions, moral and spiritual values of the nations of the Russian Federation.
The document includes 10 Federal projects: “ Contemporary School”, “ Success of Every Child”, “ Support of the families with children”, “Digital Learning Environment”, “A Teacher of the Future”, “ Young Professionals”, “ New Possibilities for Everyone”, “Community Commitment”, “Export of Education” , and “ Social Lifts for Everybody”. It is not hard to notice that the process of the national projects’ realization requires development of the whole system of continuing education. At the same time researchers in the area of education should pay special attention to the solution of some important problems.
One of the key problems to be considered is the development of digital educational environment. The digital educational environment is an open complex of informational systems meant to secure solution of different educational tasks. It is considered that the introduction of information technologies into the area of education is essential for its accessibility and effectiveness, for the training of students for their future life in the informational society.
Nevertheless, the above mentioned process, just as many others, possesses both potentials and risks. Thus, the need to study its effectiveness by exploring foreign experience becomes essential. It is also evident that a comprehensive assessment of the results produced by the digitalization of the learning environment is required. Another question that waits to be answered is how to preserve some characteristic features of the national educational system, among which is the ability to develop creative skills. According to some Russian researchers such skills should be enhanced and promoted by creative teachers. These problems are discussed in two articles of our spring issue.
The development of scientific research and the increase in the publication activity among researchers of academic institutions and educators of higher educational establishments is one of the set objectives highlighted for the teaching and scientific society. To meet the requirements of the Federal Educational Standards educators of all levels should involve their students into the research process resulting in publication of the obtained empirical data in scientific reports and articles. Realization of this task encounters severe difficulties due to the insufficient level of academic competency of both educators and students. Therefore, a system facilitative in the academic training of professors and students) needs to be elaborated. A set of articles dealing with the problem of academic writing teaching is presented in the issue of the journal, and we hope to continue our discussion in the nearest future.
Speaking of the perspectives of the general and professional education development we do not always in depth consider characteristic differences in generations of previous and cotemporary students, and they are remarkable. Therefore, it is worth discussing and studying the values and vital interests of the contemporary youth. One of the articles deals with the empirical research on life expectations of active adolescents.
The article on the problem of management in education is concerned with the assessment of a teacher’s performance in school. The author of the paper points to the fact that some criteria do not reflect contemporary reality. For example, the results of the Unified State Examination or school Olympic Games largely depend on the contribution of tutors and family members.
A dynamically developing labor market calls for new requirements to the quality of higher professional education. Consequently, the pedagogical process in professional educational establishments should become more flexible and oriented toward new appearing specialties based on innovative manufacturing technologies and program software. One of the articles of our spring issue deals with the problem of supplementary professional education – education which allows students to be more adaptive and react quicker to the changes in the labor market.
We hope that all materials presented in the spring issue of the journal will be interesting for our readers. We always welcome academic discussions on the problems of continuing education, development of innovative pedagogical theories and practice combined with the best traditions of the national and foreign lifelong education.
Editorial board
