History of Russian higher education and students from the late 17th to the first quarter of the 21st century in modern school text-books on Russian history
Angelina M. Shtatskaya, Postgraduate Student, Assistant of the Department of Russian and World History
Pskov State University, Pskov, Russia, a.shtatskaya@pskgu.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7120-070X
Abstract
The article provides an overview of the main theoretical material on the history of Russian higher education, presented in the paragraphs of modern school textbooks on the history of Russia (series edited by A. V. Torkunov and V. R. Medinsky). The study was conducted using the structural-functional method, the method of narrative analysis and is divided into thematic and chronological blocks. We examined the representation of the topic of higher education and students in the substantive part of the textbooks, as well as the features of placing semantic accents when covering different historical eras. A conclusion is made about the historical dynamic character of the topic coverage in modern Russian school textbooks — the presentation of the role of higher education and students in different historical periods is determined by the socio-political conditions of the time: in the material on the history of Russia of the late 17th — 18th centuries, the emphasis is on the role of the first higher education institutions as centers of science, education and culture; in the material on the history of Russia of the 19th — early 20th centuries — it is laid on the socio-political activity of students. The chapters on Soviet history focus on the role of higher education in the country’s economic development, as well as its accessibility and massification; the sections on the country’s modern history mention certain reforms in the field of education (the transition to the Bologna system, the introduction of the Unified State Examination).
Key words
Higher education, students, educational policy, school textbooks, review of the contents of textbooks.
Acknowledgments: The research was conducted as part of a grant from Pskov State University for the project “Implementation of Applied Scientific and Methodological Research (Projects) by Young Scientists in Priority Areas of the University Development Program for 2025—2036” (Order No. 0905-001 dated September 5, 2025)
For citation:
Shtatskaya A. M. History of Russian higher education and students from the late 17th to the first quarter of the 21st century in modern school text-books on Russian history. Vestnik of Orenburg State Pedagogical University. Electronic Scientific Journal, 2025, no. 3 (55), pp. 333—349. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32516/2303-9922.2025.56.22.
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