Introduction. The first part of this work is devoted to the examination of the scientific knowledge structure as a three-level scheme of its division (the field of phenomena of nature, laws of nature and the field of symmetry principles), wherein each next level provides the previous one with its structure. According to V. S. Lednev’s approach, scientific knowledge is a determinant of the general education content. Therefore, the general education content structure requires to be revised as well. Aim. The aim of the current study is the determination of a needed alteration of the general education structure corresponding to integrative trends, which have been registered in the process of formation of the scientific knowledge new structure.

Methodology and research methods. The methodology of the study is based on the ideology of F. Klein (the Erlangen programme) and the ideas of E. Wigner about the levels of division of the scientific knowledge field (the totality of these ideas allows using them as a tool for description of the scientific knowledge structure and, consequently, of the structure of the education content, the determinant whereof it is); on the personal-activity approach developed by V. S. Lednev for the analysis of the structure of the education content, and on the approaches to description of the behaviour of complex systems on the base of regular laws established by synergetics.

Results and scientific novelty. A new element, specifically “Structure of scientific knowledge (symmetry)” through line, is proposed for introducing into the general education content structure. Its function is the global integration of subject-based through lines of the general education. On this basis, it is possible to optimise the content of education that balances the process of differentiation within scientific knowledge. It allows solving one of the topical issues of the global educational crisis related to the constant growth of the scientific knowledge volume and fragmentation thereof. The present paper takes into consideration that certain features of sporadic formation of such a new element of the education content structure take place. Among them, one can mention the attempts to launch “Concepts of the Modern Natural Science” and “Scientific World View” courses, discussion of possibilities to use synergetics in pedagogy and active discussion of use of the ideas of symmetry within various disciplines – from humanitarian to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The perspectives of further development of formulated ideas about the scientific knowledge structure and the general education content structure in light of trends in STEM are also discussed.

Practical significance. The ideas about “Structure of scientific knowledge (symmetry)” through line will be utilised for task-oriented revision and re-distributing of the content of subject-based through lines of the general education with the aim of its optimisation, taking into account the highest level of the scientific knowledge integration, which was formed in the course of the evolution thereof.

Introduction. Volunteering in the modern world is one of the basic resources for solving society’s problems, an activity that helps students in different countries to build personal and professional competencies. The limited research that makes it possible to analyse the cross-cultural elements of student volunteering has led to a scientific interest in the problem of matching the cultural context and volunteer activities of students from universities in India, Russia and Croatia. The new research perspective covered the perception of volunteering, the behaviour of Generation Z, to which the students of the three countries under consideration belong, as well as the significance of the peculiarities of national culture for the volunteering activity of university youth.

The aim of this study is to assess the national cultural context and the level of its significance for the perception of volunteering, motivation and the experience of volunteering of students of management specialties at universities in India, Russia and Croatia.

Methodology and research methods. Comparative sociological research is implemented based on the theory of generations, Hofstede’s theory of cultural dimensions and the cultural factors of the macro level defined by him. The study involved students from regional universities in three countries: India, Russia and Croatia. The main method for collecting primary data was questionnaire survey. The questionnaire consisted of several blocks of questions, which allowed assessing the subjective perception of volunteering by students, their personal experience and motivation for volunteering, demographic characteristics of the respondents. The total sample was 943 people; the average age of the respondents was 21 years. Students participated anonymously on a voluntary basis, without any incentives. A one-way analysis of variance, the Leuven test, was used to analyse the data. The collected data was processed using the IBM SPSS Statistics 23.0 program.

Results and scientific novelty. The results of the study showed that, in general, Generation Z actually has certain specific characteristics regarding volunteering and volunteering, while these characteristics do not depend on the national culture of a particular state. On the basis of the respondents’ answers, the factors influencing students’ volunteering were identified. Thus, the results of the study proved that the motivation of students for volunteering in the present and in the future does not differ significantly in the compared countries. The study results also did not demonstrate differences in the importance of utilitarian and altruistic motives for volunteering students from different countries. It was found that university students in India are more motivated to volunteer due to utilitarian motives; they are more likely to volunteer in comparison with students from Russia and Croatia. The level of uncertainty avoidance by students, personal benefits from volunteering, and their perception of the value of volunteering in general were measured. The authors provide an overview of the development of volunteering in the three compared countries, defining the social and cultural context in them.

Practical significance. The conducted research in the context of popularisation of volunteering as a direction of practice-oriented education at universities in different countries enriches the field of knowledge about student volunteering and its cross-cultural elements.

The results of this work can be useful both for universities in the implementation of the “third mission” for the development of the local community, and for all those involved in the promotion of volunteer activities and recruitment volunteering both locally, nationally and internationally with the aim of more engaging Generation Z in the volunteer movement.

Introduction. In market economy, the internal and external processes of educational organisations are becoming more complex. There is a need to identify managerial practices, which can be delegated to external consultants. The process of defining such practices is not completely studied. The application of expert support from leaders and management teams is often situational.

The aim of the present research is to identify the range of managerial problems of educational organisations, which cause the need to resort to external consulting support.

Methodology and research methods. The application of the method of cluster analysis of text data of periodicals allowed the authors to investigate a potential market for consulting services, to identify the modern management needs of educational organizations and the experience of their solution by external organisations. The analysis of open data of consulting organisations was carried out to identify real practices.

Results. The main management problems of educational organisations and the types of consulting services necessary for their solution are considered and classified. The main approaches to defining the framework of educational consulting are highlighted. The authors have developed the method for monitoring the prospective market for consulting services. It was determined that the growing demand for consulting services and the expansion of the range of these services are associated with the formation of a market environment in the education system and the desire of management of educational organisations to provide a competitive advantage. The cases of Russian and foreign consulting organisations were analysed and grouped in accordance with the proposed typology.

Scientific novelty. In academic literature, the study of this issue is mainly limited to defining the boundaries of educational consulting. The authors have made an attempt to identify typical situations, in which managers of educational organisations need to request the services of external experts.

Practical significance. The results of the current research can serve as a guideline for the management of educational organisations, when making managerial decisions. It will allow the managers to determine the cases, in which it is possible to turn to external consultants according to the supply conditions on the market, and to identify the issues, regarding which it is desirable to rely solely on internal resources.

Introduction. The article deals with the problem of identifying the resources of teachers – form tutors, focused on working with gifted students. This problem is considered in the context of the methodological shift from the classical to the post-non-classical scientific paradigm, from the “deficit model” to the model of “success and resilience” (S. Maddi, Ph. Hiver). A review of modern research on the problems of professiogenesis of form tutors is carried out.

Aim. The aim of the present research was to empirically test the possibilities of a resource approach to the study of personal and existential-psychological aspects of the activities of teachers working with gifted children.

Methodology and research methods. The methodological framework of the research is based on the provisions of the subject-activity, existential-psychological approaches to the development of the personality, to its being formation. Based on the analysis of the literature, personality traits (professional consciousness, creativity, a picture of the world, ego-identity, resilience, and others) are identified. These personality characteristics can be considered as the resources for professional development of teachers – form tutors. The severity of various types of reflection and their ratio are determined on the basis of a differential reflexivity questionnaire by A. V. Karpov and V. V. Ponomareva. The profile of ego states was built using the transactional questionnaire of D. Jongeward (in V. K. Kalinenko’s and V. A. Petrovsky’s adaptation). The Existence Scale developed by A. Langle, K. Orgler (revised by S. V. Krivtsova, I. N. Majnina and A. Yu. Vasanov) was applied for the diagnosis of indicators of existential performance as a person’s quality of life associated with a feeling of fullness of life with a particular meaning, free choice and responsibility. The features of hardiness and a method for solving the existential dilemma were identified using the S. Muddy’s Hardiness Survey (modified by D. A. Leontiev, E. I. Rasskazova).

Results. The outcomes of an empirical study of the ratio of personal and existential resources of the professional activity of teachers working with gifted students are demonstrated. Significant differences were revealed in the manifestation of hardiness and reflexivity in relation to form tutors with different types of personality ego-structures. Factor analysis made it possible to identify two factors, which demonstrate the existential-psychological and personal resources of the activity of form tutors working with gifted students: “existential choice of a new professional experience” and “detachment from externally given rhythms and attitudes”.

Scientific novelty. The empirical capabilities of the existential-psychological, subject-activity and resource-based approaches to the study of the problems of the psychology of giftedness and the professiogenesis of teachers are tested.

Practical significance. The demonstrated results can be used as part of a programme for developing the resources of professional activity of teachers working with gifted students.

Introduction. Emotions have been proven to have significant impact on cognitive and motivational aspects of learning. Choosing appropriate activities to stimulate learners’ positive emotions can thus greatly promote learning.

Aim. The present research is aimed to find out which learning activities induce positive / negative emotions among upper secondary level learners of English as a foreign language and the secondary aim was to identify the emotions experienced.

Methodology and research methods. Methodological triangulation applying qualitative research methods (questionnaire, interview and observation) was conducted among 62 learners and their 2 English teachers. A complementary quantitative instrument (scale) was used to detect the subjective emotional comfort of learners during English lessons.

Results. The findings revealed prevailing positive habitual comfort of learners and joy as their primary emotion incited mostly by communication activities. Negative emotions of fear and sadness were detected mainly during testing and evaluation.

Scientific novelty. The combination of four research methods in a combined research design studying the complex scale of emotions related to learning a foreign language has not been applied yet.

Introduction. The relevance of the study is determined both by the importance of the problem of digital transformation of education in general, and by the specific conditions, which arose during the crisis caused by COVID-19. The long-termconsequences of the emergency transition of Russian education to the distance format, taking into account the ongoing pandemic, have yet to be assessed, but the reaction ofthe participants in the educational process to the first period of the total distance learning should be analysed immediately as a basis for future management decisions.

Aim. The aim of the present research is a comprehensive analysis of the perception of the experience of an emergency transition to a distant education format by the main participants in the educational process.

Methodology and research methods. Online survey based on Google forms was employed as the main method. The respondents to the survey included participants in the educational process, mostly permanently residing in the Sverdlovsk region (99% of the respondents). The survey was conducted in September – October 2020. The survey participation was voluntary and completely anonymous. As a result of the survey conducted, more than 24,500 original responses were received and processed. The data obtained were compared with the results of secondary studies (primarily, with the monitoring studies of the Higher School of Economics).

Results. The research findings demonstrate a number of significant shortcomings in the strategy of digital transformation of education, such as the insufficient development of the digital communication infrastructure in the regions, the technological and competence-based digital inequality, the lack of well-developed methods of using digitaleducational tools, the lack of high-quality content, the lack of full-fledged integrated educational resources on the market. The shortcomings mentioned above apparently led to a decrease in the quality of education during the period of self-isolation and provoked a reaction of rejection of digital educational forms and an increase in technological pessimism among a significant part of the respondents. The results are presented in correlation with secondary studies, which confirms the reliability of the general conclusions.

Scientific novelty. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the attraction, systematisation and analytical generalisation of original material on the urgent problem of digital transformation of education, collected in one of the largest and technologically advanced regions of the Russian Federation.

Practical significance. The current article makes it possible to more accurately assess the situation in regional education and provides reference points both for conducting longitudinal research and for making current and strategic management decisions in Russian education at the regional and federal level.

Introduction. The increasing pace of knowledge renewal around the world and the unification of teacher requirements are changing the functioning and management of the higher education system. Transformational processes in the socio-economic sphere of Russia entail profound changes and increased requirements for the educational process at all its levels. The quality of education is largely determined by teachers, their level of training, the presence of the necessary personal characteristics and social and professional competencies.

The aim of the present article is to consider the approaches of Russian and foreign researchers to the classification of competencies of scientific and pedagogical workers, to determine the range of personal qualities and key socio-professional competencies of scientific and pedagogical workers in educational and research activities.

Methodology and research methods. Semi-structured expert interviews were conducted with 84 scientific and pedagogical workers of Tyumen State University, Tomsk State University, St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, St. Petersburg University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics. The choice of universities is determined by their participation in the Project 5-100 (Russian Academic Excellence Project) and high positions in Russian university ratings.

Results and scientific novelty. A comparative analysis of research approaches allowed the authors to identify an unstructured list of priority competencies (necessary for educational and pedagogical activities) of scientific and pedagogical workers of higher educational institutions. Since educational activities at the university are aimed at the formation of certain professional competencies and values among students, the priority personal qualities and socio-professional competencies in educational activities include the following: highly specialised skills and general erudition; methodological skills; continuing professional development; motivation for pedagogical work; communication skills; emotional intelligence and stress resistance; charisma, modernity in communication; justice; critical thinking and reflection. Pedagogical activity at universities is closely related to the participation of the lecturer in scientific research. The success of pedagogical activity is largely determined by the following aspects: professionalism and desire to update competencies; operability and self-control; teamwork skills; analytical skills and academic writing skills; inclusion in the world scientific agenda; adherence to scientific ethics. The research novelty lies in the compilation of the structured list of personal qualities and socio-professional competencies of a modern teacher in educational and research activities.

Practical significance. Using the presented range of significant competencies of scientific and pedagogical workers, HR managers in universities can implement specific management projects aimed at developing personal qualities and social and professional competencies of employees, make informed decisions in the selection and development ofpersonnel, and personnel changes. The research results can also be employed by scientific and pedagogical workers of universities when building their individual trajectories of professional and personal development.