Introduction. The modern education system has undergone serious changes in recent years – the content of educational programmes is being revised; electronic, mixed, mobile learning is being actively introduced; the practical activities of future specialists are being strengthened. The use of computer networks, web applications, and interactive services makes education more accessible, stimulating the cognitive interests of students, increasing motivation for education. One of the most significant innovative trends in modern education is gamification, which is most often considered as a system that uses components of computer games in non-gaming situations.

Aim. The current research aims to analyse the conceptual foundations of gamification in education, to determine a system of tools that can present unique opportunities for gamification, features of its promising use for turning into an innovative experience in the development of higher professional education.

Methodology and research methods. The study of the problem of gamification involves the analysis of pedagogical and psychological literature of foreign and Russian authors; systematisation and generalisation of pedagogical concepts, practice-oriented materials, and facts.

The gamification methodology includes systematic, personality-oriented, activity-based approaches. An attempt is made to determine the components of the gamification system and their role in the organisation of modern education. The analysis of gamification resources makes it possible to identify approaches to increase motivation and involvement of students, and, in addition, to find out ways to include elements of game design (task definition, feedback, levels, creativity), computer games in the educational environment.

On the basis of a personality-oriented approach, the influence of gaming technologies on the development of student personality is considered. The activity approach makes it possible to identify the basics of the organisation and management of the activities of subjects of education, to establish the features of the use of educational technologies, practices and methodological techniques. The activity-based approach in the context of gamification determines an active, ever-increasing activity as a source of personal development of students.

Results. In the course of the research, the theoretical foundations of the use of gamification in modern higher education were formulated; tools for the prospective inclusion of gaming practices in the training system were identified; mechanisms of internal and external motivation of students, regulation of the behaviour of future specialists when using game elements were identified. Scientific novelty. The concept of gamification of education is part of the concept of the game and reflects the current trends in the development of education based on the strategy and tactics of gaming activities, structured in a special way taking into account the resources of game principles, mechanics, methods and techniques. Gamified learning can become a leader in the process of training specialists using innovative practices, stimulating motivation, regulating behaviour, implementing ideas of friendly competition and creative cooperation in various educational contexts.

Practical significance. In the context of determining the promising foundations for the development of modern higher education, the ideas of original technological support for personnel training are proposed. The implementation of practical measures to develop the involvement of students in the educational process, the regulation of motivation, behaviour and practical activities of students, emotional self-realisation, and the system of relationships will contribute to improving the quality of education in higher education. An important result of the study was the conclusion about the expedient combination of traditional and innovative options for conducting training sessions with students, the inclusion of a variety of gaming practices in the educational process.

Introduction. Today, the competition in educational market is increasing. A wide range of online courses with a simultaneous tendency decrease the interest of school­children in higher education. This aggravates the competition of universities for the attraction of talented applicants. One of the factors, allowing the university to get an advantage when a student chooses a place of study is a recognisable brand, which includes a certain set of asso­ciations and characteristics perceived by the students, defined as a brand personality.

Aim. The present research aims to identify the factors of the brand personality of Rus­sian universities and to develop a brand personality model as a tool for its evaluation.

Methodology and research methods. The research was conducted among students and their parents; 414 people took part at different research stages. A free association test was used to determine a set of characteristics describing the brand personality of Russian universities. Using the results, a list of 22 traits describing the university as a “person” was generated through comparative and content analysis. The development of the brand personality model of Russian universities was carried out on the basis of mathematical and statistical methods.

Results. The effectiveness of the developed model for assessing the brand personality of Russian universities, which can be used to attract applicants, has been proved using the meth­ods of mathematical statistics. The methodology for assessing brand individuality was adapted on the example of a pedagogical university. This methodology is a tool for assessing brand personality, which allows comparing, and classifying different universities and getting feedback on the university brand perception by potential applicants. The paper shows the difference of traits characterising Russian and foreign universities. The differences between these groups in the perception of brand personality have been highlighted based on the comparison of stu­dents’ and their parents’ brand perception. It is proved that the concept of brand personality can significantly supplement the official measured parameters of university brand success. It is shown that the developed model can be used for communication with applicants, it allows to see the differences of one university from another, translates the values of the university, forms its vision of the target audience.

Scientific novelty. The scientific novelty of the study is in the fact that the difference in the applicants' and parents' perceptions of the characteristics of Russian universities in comparison with foreign universities is confirmed. The brand personality model of Russian universities has 20 characteristics united in 4 factors: serious, kind, young, and bright. The developed model allowed the authors to compare and classify universities.

Practical significance. The developed model of the brand personality of Russian univer­sities and the adapted methodology of its assessment can be used by universities to obtain feedback, to compare the characteristics of the brand by its developers and features of its perception by the target audience, as well as to compare themselves with competitors. This, in turn, will make it possible to develop marketing strategy for attracting talented applicants.

Introduction. The authors of the article investigate the formation of pre-service foreign language teachers’ professional identity in the conditions of higher professional education. Its relevance is confirmed by the increased requirements of the society for the personality of a specialist, by the urge for elaborating the internal confidence in his/her professionalism, the ability to build effective professional interactions, and to realise the need for self-expression in his/her profession, all of which are an indicator of high-quality professional training. Aim. The current research aims to provide the scientific justification for the effectiveness of the developed pedagogical technology of constructing the professional identity of students – pre-service foreign language teachers.

Methodology and research methods. This study was grounded on the provisions of competency-based, personality-oriented, system-activity, axiological, anthropological approaches; the principles of nature conformity, humanisation, integrity, professional reasonability, activity, and independence; conceptual theoretical provisions of personality and its development in the process of education and professional training, theoretical and practical framework of using modern educational technologies, recent research on professional and pedagogical training of pre-service foreign language teachers and on using innovation technologies in the pedagogical process of vocational training. The study was conducted through the use of the following methods: theoretical analysis of literary sources, generalisation of existing scientific provisions, derivation and systematisation of new knowledge, questionnaire method, observation, experiment, and statistical analysis of the obtained data.

Results and scientific novelty. Empirically, the authors have determined and formulated the pedagogical conditions for constructing the professional identity of pre-service foreign language teachers. There has been developed and tested the pedagogical technology that proved its effectiveness in ensuring the formation of students’ professional identity till the status of achievement, the development of three components of professional identity (cognitive, emotional, and behavioural), and the correspondent professional and personal qualities and skills.

Practical significance. The materials of the study may form the basis for further advances in scientific investigations and bring advantages in psychological coaching during professional evolution of students and experienced foreign language teachers, who need to resolve difficulties associated with professional identity. The developed course on constructing the professional identity of pre-service foreign language teachers can be put into university educational process as part of training methods courses, student teaching placement, tutorial sessions, extracurricular activities on pedagogical excellence, qualification upgrade courses for experienced teachers and educators, methodical seminars, workshops, round tables, as well as into the process of handling the crisis conditions and professional burnout. This course can be included into the university curriculum as a special discipline to prepare teachers both of foreign language and of other school subjects.

Introduction. For more than two decades, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has been organising a number of comparative studies of the quality of education in different countries. One of them is the study of mathematics and science education TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study), which is conducted jointly with the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievements (IEA). The last, seventh, cycle of the study was conducted in 2019. TIMSS statistics is regularly posted in the public domain on the IEA website so that specialists can independently conduct research in any aspect of their interest. One of the areas of analysis in this case is traditionally the search for the causes of certain test results, which are determined by the peculiarities of the organisation of the educational process and the context of learning in different countries. At the same time, a study of professional literature showed that among the factors of the social and school context, the analysis of which is provided by the research tools, only an extremely limited range of them turned out to be statistically directly related to TIMSS scores. Specialists systematically encounter inexplicable absence or low correlation values of TIMSS test scores and context indicators. The authors think that the main reason for such difficulties is inattention to the peculiarities of the indicators used in the calculation of measures of statistical relationships. Aim. The present research aims to identify a statistical relationship between test results and indicators of the context of schoolchildren’s learning, as well as the influence of the TIMSS information collection and processing system on the productivity of analysing the research results.

Methodology and research methodology. The methodological basis of the work is a systematic approach, which is based on the consideration of the results of the international TIMSS study as a whole: i.e. a complex of interrelated elements (organisations, tools, assessment indicators, scoring systems). The work was carried out on the basis of applied research procedures (observation, description, comparison, measurement, etc.), within which general scientific (comparative analysis, systematisation, generalisation) and statistical research methods (statistical and correlation analysis, etc.) were also used. The source of information was the International Database of Electronic Testing TIMSS-2019, hosted in the IEA repository. The TIMSS datasets were analysed using the IEA International Database (IDB) parser plug-in for SPSS (version 4.0).

Results. For most indicators of the social and student context of learning, the authors found the absence or low value of statistical relationships with TIMSS scores. The number of books at home and parents’ education turned out to be statistically related to TIMSS scores concerning the indicators of social well-being and home learning conditions envisaged by the organisers. The indicators of learning conditions at school included the frequency of independent work in class; motivational factors included plans to continue education and self-evaluation of students’ math proficiency. Evidently, even these relationships turned out to be weak. It was revealed that the difficulties in detecting a correlation between TIMSS scores and learning conditions are caused by the very nature of the analysed variables: 1. the approximate nature of individual student assessments used in TIMSS; 2. low differentiation of students according to a number of indicators of the learning context; 3. insufficient reliability of information obtained from sociological surveys of schoolchildren.

Practical significance. The authors believe that in order to improve the quality of analytical work on relevant topics, it is necessary to pay close attention to the essence behind the variables used in statistical calculations. In turn, the TIMSS organisers need to continue improving the measurement procedures and research tools by introducing additional success criteria that reflect the individual and comparable results of students in the current TIMSS cycle, as well as indicators of the reliability of contextual information obtained by sociological means.

Introduction. The phenomenon of loneliness is multidimensional and ambigu­ous. Attitudes to loneliness are heterogeneous and mediated, among many factors, by cultural and ethnic features. Territorial proximity and historically conditioned relations and migrations of Ural-Siberian territories and Kazakhstan allow conducting intercultural and interethnic re­search. This research is devoted to the study of specifics of loneliness experience by first-year students – representatives of these nations. The problem of loneliness becomes especially ur­gent as a result of growth of anxious and depressive states, and sometimes suicidal and victim behaviour among first-year students.

Aim. The aim of the current research is to identify ethnic aspects of the subjective ex­perience of loneliness of first-year students studying in Russia and Kazakhstan. The research examines the specifics of experiencing loneliness by students of different ethnic backgrounds (Russians, Kazakhs), 197 students (119 males and 78 females).

Research design. The research design involved the determination of loneliness factors for the entire empirical sample (factor analysis) with subsequent calculation of the values of the received factors for each respondent. Then students were compared separately for boys and girls of Kazakh and Russian ethnicity.

Measurements. To conduct the research, the authors used a set of methods to study loneliness, Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale and a questionnaire to identify the level and na­ture of loneliness by G. R. Shagivaleeva.

Results. The authors found that the component composition of loneliness can be repre­sented by three factors: depressive experience of loneliness, positive experience of loneliness, experience of loneliness in interpersonal relationships. It was revealed that students of Kazakh ethnicity expressed a negative perception of loneliness (p = 0.007), actualising depressive ten­dencies. A positive experience of loneliness is more characteristic of girls than boys (p = 0.02). For girls of Kazakh ethnicity, separation from the parental family enhances the feeling of lone­liness (p < 0.05).

Scientific novelty. The presented research results confirm the multidimensional nature of the phenomenon of loneliness, which determines the ambiguity of attitudes towards it and gives special weight to the value attitude towards loneliness in culture. Differences in the expe­rience of loneliness by students, due to the specifics of ethnic attitudes, are revealed.

Theoretical significance of the study is determined by the identified regularities in the component composition of the experience of loneliness by students of two ethnic groups (Rus­sians and Kazakhs), its content and gender-role specificity.

Practical significance. Empirical data contribute to the understanding of the ethnic characteristics of students’ experiences of loneliness and can serve as the basis for the devel­opment of university programmes that enhance psychological well-being.

Introduction. The process of modern youth’s cybersocialisation is caused by the digitalisation and the inclusion of information and communication technologies (ICT) in daily life. Network activity is a part of students’ socialisation. The interaction of student youth in the virtual space is conditioned by personality trust, which is revealed through the categories of trust in oneself, other users and the virtual world. The personality trust of students, as a belief in the reliability of other people and the world, regulates network activity and the life of society. Trends in the formation of personality trust in traditional and virtual space have similar prerequisites.

Aim. The aim of the study is to identify the features of personality trust of Russian and Indonesian students in terms of network activity.

Methodology and research methods. The study was conducted on the basis of the subject-personal approach. A set of methods was used: “Assessment of trust/distrust of a person in other people” (A. B. Kupreychenko) (the authors introduced an additional construct “virtual world”); “The study of trust/distrust of the individual in the world, other people, oneself”; “Questionnaire for the problematic use of social networks”; “Assessment of involvement in the use of ICT”.

Results and scientific novelty. For the first time, personality trust is considered in the context of network activity in the framework of a comparative study of Russian and Indonesian students. Indonesian students tend to display personality trust in communication by accepting participants in network activity, in choosing more authoritative sources of information and participants with a positive reputation. Students from Russia trust reliable and credible sources and network users, basing on empathy and a similar worldview. The personality trust of students in the virtual world and network users is more pronounced among Indonesians, and trust in oneself is equally important for both groups of students. The Russian student youth is characterised by a low level of trust in the information on the network, in comparison with the Indonesian youth. General trends in the problematic use of technology have been identified, such as cognitive absorption, emotion regulation, and Internet addictive behaviour. Both groups of students prefer online communication and strive for open and effective relationships in the virtual space with like-minded people, for mutual assistance and unity.

Practical significance. The results of studying the personality trust of Russian and Indonesian students in terms of network activity can be used to build open and productive relationships between young representatives of the countries, to organise psychological and pedagogical support for the socio-cultural adaptation of foreign students, to develop digital educational environment of an international university.

Introduction. Crisis distance learning was an emergency response of higher education systems to the COVID-19 pandemic, and its elements still remain active in world universities. Literature review demonstrates that improvement of quality of offered courses does not demonstrate a stable correlation with improvement of students’ feedback.

Aim. This study aims to explore the influence of background factors on students’ per­ception of this format of education and identify and analyse the factors that predetermine the polarisation of students’ satisfaction levels as extremely high or extremely low.

Methodology and research methods. The research frame combined qualitative and quan­titative methods and included a series of semi-structured interviews with volunteers from the student which then served as a basis for an in-depth questionnaire with the sample of 115 respondents in the general population sample of 558 students. The Likert scale and qualitative content-analysis were employed to assess the level of satisfaction with the period under study and to build the tree of concepts perceived as its advantages and disadvantages. To identify the major factors that influenced the student perception, the multiple-choice questions that ad­dressed the students’ background conditions were weighed in comparison with the satisfaction level response in the general sample with the application of one-way analysis of variance (the Kruskal-Wallis criterion).

Results. The results show that there is polarisation in the student body. While the majority adapted to crisis distance education, there are two distinct minorities who consider it successful or unbearable. The background factors that influence the student perception sig­nificantly are the year of their programme, their commute patterns, their living conditions, and their employment status.

Scientific novelty. Overall perception of crisis distance learning by bachelor students re­flects the struggles that the students face outside the classroom and distinct groups of students have their reactions determined by these factors to a degree where improvement of teaching methods cannot assist. The distribution of satisfaction levels in the sample proves that crisis distance learning highlights economic inequality.

Practical significance. Administering higher education in this pandemic and the follow­ing pandemics to come should include a complex of measures aimed at compensating the back­ground factors that predetermine students’ low satisfaction levels in crisis distance education.