Education in the Context of Russian Educational and Youth Policy: Toward a Definition of Concepts

Abstract

In today’s Russia, working with youth is becoming one of the focuses of state policy, which is reflected in an increase of the range of projects and the building of infrastructure for their realization under the aegis of Rosmolodezh. Updating of the educational component of state youth and educational policy is taking place. Today, however, one observes a vague definition of the institutional and organizational framework, as well as of the conceptual and normative-­doctrinal foundation of education in the context of youth and educational policy. This is particularly apparent at the level of institutions of higher education. Today it is not quite clear for universities how educational work, which has its own methodological foundations and traditions of implementation, and youth policy as a new direction of their activities related to the implementation of the third mission of universities, should correlate. The conceptual framework of the analysis is based on the theory of political socialization. The analysis revealed the following. First, there is a lack of theoretical understanding of upbringing in political science discourse; besides, there has been a shift toward the study of education as a component of state youth policy to the detriment of the analysis of educational policy. As a result, we have to admit that there is a fragmented scientific understanding of the concept of upbringing and its practical implementation in Russian politics. Secondly, Russian normative and legal space features insufficient attention to educational relations, in which student youth is a participant, as well as conceptual and categorical diversity with a lack of clear semantic distinction. Consequently, it narrows the real work with young people down to purely educational activities as an integral part of the educational process. In other words, only what is regulated by law and the methodological recommendations of the Ministry of Higher Education and Science is being implemented. The reverse trend is more of an exception, with universities forming an ecosystem of youth policy that includes not only educational activities with students, but also work with other categories of young people — schoolchildren, graduate students, and young employees.