Educational transformations and the social subject: some aspects of positive dynamics

Introduction. Consideration of the prospects for positive transformations in modern Russian education, even at the level of problem formulation, remains relevant from the point of view of assessing possible further constructive transformations. It is important to analyze the possibilities of using traditional and innovative foreign and domestic experience in the face of new challenges. Problem statement. The article actualizes the problem of the correlation between the use of foreign cultural educational samples and domestic unique experience, taking into account the specifics of regional Siberian universities. A special place is occupied by the problems of practical application of the competence-oriented educational model, the use of IT technologies in the educational process, new trends in education, such as digital pedagogy, reverse learning, a variety of interactive and distance forms that constructively affect the subjectivity of the teaching community and students.Methodology of the study. The paper uses traditional methods of humanitarian research, in particular, systemic and structural-functional approaches, comparative and retrospective analysis, elements of sociological research (questionnaires, interviews, content analysis, etc.), as well as some methods of post-non-classical (synergetic) methodological approach. The published data of a sociological survey of teachers of humanities of four Novosibirsk and Altai universities and three educational institutions of additional education, as well as the results of interviewing teachers of higher education in the Siberian region, were used as an empirical basis for the study. Results. The article clarifies forecasts of further changes in the structure and trends in education, current problems of improving the competence-oriented educational model, taking into account foreign experience, based on the latest expert sources and official speeches of Russian educational methodologists and strategists. It is shown that in the form that it exists now, this model is opportunistic, overly formalized, methodologically vulnerable and therefore toxic to the modern qualitative educational process. In this sense, the necessary understanding has been reached at the level of the “regulator”, which is considering ways to reformat some of the Bologna Principles, for example, changing the structure of bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Attention is again focused on the problem of wages and other forms of material incentives for ordinary teachers of provincial universities, which, against the background of an increase in the academic load, as a rule, does not reach the average for the economy in the regions. At the level of the problem statement, the emerging difficulties of grant support for research work in educational organizations are considered. Conclusions. The article actualizes the problem of the correlation between the use of international and domestic unique experience, taking into account the specifics of regional Siberian universities. It is shown that in this direction, educational subjects have reached an understanding of the need for differentiated use of foreign cultural achievements and the active introduction of their own innovations, especially in the field of IT technologies and digital pedagogy. At the level of the problem statement, there is a tendency to tighten and formalize publication and other criteria for obtaining grants even by leading scientists and professors of higher education, not to mention dubious transformations in the system of the former RFH, RFBR and RSF. Obtaining grants is becoming a problem for provincial universities, and the corruption component and elements of scientific protectionism are also not excluded.