The Educational Trajectories of Three Russian Generations: from Pre-school Preparation to Vocational Education

Abstract

The paper reviews the educational strategies of Russian generations. Three post-Soviet generation groups (“the reform generation”, “the Millennials” and “the digital generation”) are highlighted. They have several similar features forming the social norms of Russian society, but they also differ to allow a comparative analysis of implemented educational trajectories. The study covers the cycle starting from pre-school preparation to obtaining the first vocation education. It has been revealed that Russian generations demonstrate a steady trend towards maximizing the educational potential right from the pre-school stage. It is shown that representatives of the youngest generation and their parents go through the school stage with a high level of involvement in the creation of knowledge and skills, that may be practically applied when they pass on to the next level of education. However, social ties, which are significant for a successful transition, gradually lose their importance. The obtained data allow us to assume that there is a tendency for secondary vocational education to become a part of successful educational strategies. Addressing the intergenerational differences in professionalization indicates a “fresh approach” of the youngest generation to successful employment, which is associated with the sphere of state administration and enforcement structures to a considerably higher degree. The analysis is based on sociological survey data from 1600 representatives of highlighted generations, conducted by the Center of Economics of continuing education of RANEPA in 2019. The paper is prepared within the framework of the state task implementation of RANEPA.