The article addresses the problem of evaluating the results of specialists as they graduate from
their training. There are difficulties, not only with the decreasing number of students in training
courses, but also with inadequate methods for educational management. There is a growing need
for managers and subject lecturers to obtain information on the results of specialists’ training and
graduation. This article sets out a method for evaluating the results of the educational management
using the probability multiplication theorem for dependent events. The study shows that the results
of the educational process can – and should – be managed if the results of training and graduation
are periodically evaluated. At the same time, the evaluation results are of great value to the university
and improve the educational management. They show the scale of the specialists’ training and
graduation in relation to their training task and create a data base for subjects enabling appropriate
managerial decisions aimed at maximizing approaching the results of the specialists’ graduation to
their training task. It is of practical and scientific importance for the permanent staff of vocational
educational institutions when developing managerial decisions for qualified specialists’ training, as
well as for graduate students and researchers involved in the study of the effectiveness of educational
management.
Year : 2021
The Characteristics of the Educational Paradigm of the Near Future: Cultural Context
There are insufficient resources to continue with the existing educational paradigm. This article
analyses the natural dynamics of educational paradigms and sets out an educational model for the
near future. The research examined basic educational patterns and their current state of development,
and investigated the barriers to improving the quality of education and how they may be overcome.
It offers a criticism of existing educational paradigms and how they have changed over time, and
then constructs proposals for a number of features of a new educational paradigm. This leads to the
formulation of a new educational paradigm for the near future with a number of distinctive features.
At its centre are ideas of transformation ‘gates’ of education and their functional invariants. The
notions set out in the article are intended for developers of educational systems, environments, and
programs for rapidly maturing students and adults. This will enable us to overcome the deficiencies
in current approaches to education, and focus on advanced mastery of the future, in which the
current educational standards are extremely out of date.
The Modern Paradigm and Components for the Modernization of Higher Education
Global trends that require the use of information and communication, digital and innovative
technologies and approaches to learning require us in turn, to re-examine the current educational
paradigm. This article examines the modern paradigm and define the components for the
modernization of higher education. The study used a comparative analysis, methods of synthesis,
generalization and systematization of various scientific approaches, and a graphical method. It
considers models of higher education in foreign countries in the context of their adaptation in Russia
and examines characteristic features of traditional and modern higher education. Special attention
was paid to the role of higher education institutions in training specialists. These meet the current
requirements of the labor market, through their independence in strategy, courses, programs, as
well as the introduction of progressive forms of teaching methods and educational technologies.
The authors show that digitalization is deeply embedded into the administrative and managerial
environment of higher education. They identify problems and prospects for the introduction of
modern e-learning tools, individual educational trajectories, and distance learning technologies in
Russia. This provides the justification for updating the modern paradigm and reorienting it to the
components for the modernization of higher education (managerial, methodological, knowledge,
innovative, and institutional). The authors develop key foci and define strategic objectives for the
development of higher education which can inform educational practice in a modern university.
Psychological Mechanisms of Student Teachers’ Professional Reliability Training
Society demands higher education teachers with new professional skills. Satisfying this demand
requires socio-cultural and scientific research to discover ways to develop such qualities in student
teachers. This article was written as part of the author’s doctoral dissertation research: Student
teachers’ professional reliability formation. The purpose of this study was to identify the psychological
mechanisms of student teachers’ professional reliability training.
Methodology. The following research methods were used: psychological testing, expert evaluation and
pedagogical experiment. Additional methods included: Method of Identity Diagnostics (Schneider,
2007), Method of Reflexivity Diagnostics (Karpov, 2003), Diagnostic Map of Professional Reliability
of Student teachers (Osadchuk, 2007). The study carried out at Omsk State Pedagogical University
(Russia) involved 75 students and 4 teachers. The educational experiment was carried out in the
natural conditions that were familiar to students, and the natural course of the educational process
was not interrupted.
Novelty. The author developed and pilot-tested a range of new educational tools to actualize the
psychological mechanisms to train professional reliability of student teachers. These tools included
different types of unsupervised activities, motivation training, teaching methods, and pedagogical
support strategies.
Results. The article presents experimental data showing the correlation between indicators of
professional reliability, identity, and reflexivity of student teachers. It contains a diagnostic map of
professional reliability for student teachers developed by the author, which can serve as one of the
tools for monitoring the education quality in teacher training courses. The findings can be used in
educational program development, organizational and methodological documentation, as well as
educational and extra-curricular activities related to higher teaching education goals and syllabi.
Developing the Potential of Visualization Technologies in Hybrid Tuition
Research problem. The problem of the pedagogical technologies effectiveness for students’ distance
learning has grown more acute in the extreme period of the world pandemic lockdowns. The analysis
of the training quality and students’ estimations showed a decrease in the significance of vocational
and oriented texts; weak association between educational material and the reality of the profession;
vagueness of visual representation of study objects; misunderstanding of the processes studied;
reluctance to read the texts of methodological materials; misunderstanding of presentation graphics;
rapid fatigue and reduced concentration of attention in monologue lectures. The research focuses on
the experience of using the developing potential of imaging technologies in hybrid training.
Research aim: To analyze the experience of implementing various modern technologies for
visualizing the content of vocational and oriented educational disciplines in hybrid university
tuition; to identify and experimentally test the positive effects of the influence of visualization
technologies in hybrid tuition.
Research methods: Theoretical methods – the analysis of the developing potential of pedagogical
technologies for visualizing objects and processes in domestic and foreign universities. Experimental
methods included: case visualization; Flickr-illustration of presentations; static and dynamic
animation; video and qualimetric analysis. Empirical methods included; statistical analysis of the
students’ questionnaire results; learning products and the results of academic achievements. The
study involved 103 students on 2-3 undergraduate courses.
Conclusions and recommendations. The research provides conclusions about the significant
developing potential of pedagogical technologies of visualization in the educational process of
the university. The analysis of the educational results demonstrated the demand for visualization
technologies. Most assessments of academic achievements and the students’ own predictions
were above average. Case visualization as a variant of visualization technology provides a realistic
presentation of real-life situations. Flickr-illustration of presentations is based on advanced Internet
skills. The cooperative presentations by several students ensured the development of teamwork in a
geographically distributed remote format. The animated images and dynamism of the objects revived
lectures; reduced the fatigue; and the monotony of teachers’ and students’ distance meetings. This
method contributed to the concentration of attention and the development of students’ professional
intuition. It provides the ability to repeat and watch video recordings of laboratory at a convenient
time for detailed monitoring of the process under study. Thus, visualization technologies in the
modern digital version improve the quality of professional education both in full-time and in a
distance format of training in the universities.
Application: In the development of training courses on MOODLE platforms as well as other digital
higher education educational environments.
Editorial: Contemporary Mission of Large Universities in Teacher Education
The role of teacher education in improving the quality of educational systems is
constantly increasing. Notably, this particular segment of education has been the focus
of educational policy in many countries in recent years (Tatto & Menter, 2020). Teacher
education today has a special responsibility, since its main task is to train a new generation
of teachers who are able to work in the face of modern challenges and respond quickly
and adequately to any external influences (Beauchamp et al., 2015). This requires not only
a radical transformation of technology and communication in the transfer of knowledge
in the learning process and the formation of a new understanding of a safe environment,
but also a serious renewal of the philosophy and theory of education. This will inevitably
entail the emergence of new or modernization of existing educational concepts, as well as
models and technologies for teacher training (Preston, 2017).
Teacher Education Research: Values-Based Planning in an Uncertain World
The global significance of teacher education has never been greater than it is today. In this world
where migration, inequality, climate change, political upheavals and strife continue to be manifest
in many locations around the world, governments and scholars alike are increasingly considering
what role education systems can play in achieving stability and managed, sustainable economic
development. With growing awareness that the quality of education is very closely related to the
quality of teachers and teaching, teacher education has moved into a key strategic location in
international debate and discussion. This proposition is as true and pertinent in the global south
and east as it is in the northern and western worlds. All of these concerns have been amplified by
the impact of the global viral pandemic. There are many moral challenges to be faced by teacher
educators, policymakers and researchers.
Systematic Reviews on In-Service Training Effectiveness. A Prior Comparative Analysis of the Used Terms
The professional development of teachers has a definite impact on the improvement of the entire
educationalsystem (OECD, 2018; Darling-Hammond, 2017). Forthisreason, the main international
organizations – OECD (2013 ), European Commission (2012 ) – ask countries to establish
feedback and accountability procedures for in-service training (ITT), for the ‘
process by
which teachers engage in further education or training to refresh or upgrade their professional
knowledge, skills and practices in the course of their employment’ (UNESCO, 2019). Researchers
state that here are numerous factors to be considered in carrying out this work: the type and quality
of training, school climate, students’ skills, knowledge domain, etc. (Lipowsky & Rzejak, 2015).
After a brief presentation of howthe mostrecentsystematic reviews on the topic have been conducted
(Filges et al, 2019; Egert et al, 2018; Kalinowski et al., 2019), this article presents the results of a study
on the terms and constructs in use in the context of the researches into in-service teacher/continuing
professional training, impact/effect, and programs/instructions. The data and information collected
offer a comparative analysis (Esser & Hanitzsch, 2012), based on systematic reviews (Polanin et al.,
2019) and a meta-analysis, useful for setting up further meta-analytical investigations on the topic
especially in terms of the disambiguation of terms and the narrowing of the field.
The training of in-service teachers in many countries has been made compulsory and structural
and is conceived as an opportunity for growth and professional development for the entire school
community, and a strategic and functional logic forimproving the quality of the schoolsystem (Perla,
2019).
However, ministries of education do not yet have a univocal model and shared procedures
capable of describing and analysing the impact that the training provided has in the terms set out
in the European Commission (2020): output – results achieved immediately, i.e. increase in skillsfocus subject to training; outcome – wider benefits for involved teachers – improvement of teaching
practices of teachers involved in training; outreach – effects on the institutional and social context of
the school where and of the territory within which the teachers involved in the training.
Speaking and Learning Russian in Different International Contexts
The recent global spread of the Russian language is not solely due to ideological, but also to
economic and practical reasons. As a lingua franca, it can be found in different regions of the world.
Teaching Russian under new contexts demands alternative strategies and new thinking. Russian is
still widespread in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and is the first language for some of its citizens. Russia
remains attractive for migrants, and many travel to Russia annually as labour migrants. Although the
quality of Russian-language teaching in these countries has deteriorated, as some observers remark,
the language is still used in the public sphere, in particular in the mass media, on the streets and in
advertising. Multilingualism is a way of life for the vast majority of the population in Tajikistan and
Uzbekistan. This article looks at the current state of the eternal problem of tension in the East-South
contiguity in some Asian countries neighbouring Russia with the focus on the use of Russian as a soft
power and as an instrument for building and maintaining relationships.
Investigation of Stressors Teachers Face in Schools
Teachers have to face many different stressful situations in schools. In this context serious attention
has been paid, and much research has been carried out, to investigate the issue of potential stressors
occurring in school or class environment. Although pre-service teacher training does not usually
include training related to the development of the teachers` competence to solve stressful situations
in lessons, as soon as teachers start their teaching career, they are automatically considered to be
equipped with this competence. In the research, presented in this paper, the main goal was to identify
the most frequent stressors that primary and secondary school teachers face in their everyday
teaching. Two methods were used to collect necessary research data: a semi-structured interview
with teachers, and observation of teachers during the lessons they taught. Based on the interview
data analyses the following nine stressors were identified as the most frequent and most serious (in
order): difficult students, mismatch between students’ performance requirements and their abilities,
disruptive behavior of students, inadequate student attention, social and emotional factors of the
environment in which students live, use of mobile phones during lessons, overwork and fatigue of
teachers, insufficient school equipment and lack of teaching aids, conflicts among students. The aim
of the observation was to confirm in practice, the types of the stressors identified from the interview
data. Analysis of the records from observations, confirmed some of the previously (in interviews)
identified stressors and also identified some further stressors.
Experiential Education: A Pedagogical Alternative for Difficult Cases?
The purpose of this action research project is to study the possibilities of the concept of experiential
Education (in German: Erlebnispädagogik) for compensatory support in schoolwork. The article
describes the experiences at a German secondary school. The main aim was to use the idea of
experiential education to develop the social abilities of pupils who showed deviant behaviour at
school and in relationships with others. First a short theoretical reflection about the concept
of experiential education and its possible educational potential is given. This is followed by
a description of the action research project and a discussion of the preliminary results.
Schools
have been struggling with a variety of problems in their teaching and educational mission. In the
search for suitable concepts to counter the increasingly frequent learning and behavioural problems,
experiential education has gained in importance. This concept places the experience at the centre of
learning. The experience-action-oriented provision of learning situations is an interventive attempt
at compensatory support for pupils with behavioural, social and/or communication problems.
The
initial findings from observations, interviews and action research related reflections on children’
s
behaviour show that children with behavioural problems which are, in many respects, learning
disabilities, can gain a different approach to themselves, to others and to the demands made in the
subject lessons through special movement and socially related activity offers. The teachers involved
report clear changes in children’
s behaviour and corresponding positive consequences for the
regular lessons.
Development of Social and Intercultural Competence in Students through Peer Assessment
This article presents the results from research into the development of social and intercultural
competence in student teachers through peer assessment. The purpose of the study is to identify and
describe the degree to which peer assessment can influence the development of competencies. Also,
to formulate recommendations for the integration of peer assessment in the education of students
towards the development of social and intercultural competence. The theoretical analysis is based on
a review of the scientific literature on social and intercultural competence and peer assessment, and
it is followed by a quantitative and qualitative analysis. Twenty-five students, training to be teachers
at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Faculty of pedagogy, participated in the study. Each of
them wrote an essay on intercultural competence and each of the students reviewed three of their
colleagues’ essays. The research confirms that providing feedback helps the development of social
and intercultural competence in two directions: students form skills for providing constructive
feedback and criticism; and they develop their abilities for accepting feedback, reflecting on their
strengths and weaknesses, which leads to striving for self-improvement. Another conclusion, based
on the analysis is, that by providing detailed instructions prior to peer assessment, by organizing
a subsequent discussion and reflection, students would improve their skills in providing feedback,
constructive criticism, considering the ideas of others with respect, understanding different
perspectives. Hence, the study confirms that peer assessment provides educational opportunities for
the development of social and intercultural competence.
Modern Educational Programs for the Training of Preschool Teachers: Experience in the Implementation and Assessment of Educational Results of Students
The article discusses strategies how to change training of preschool educators in Russia because
in many countries the importance and relevance of preschool education in the process of child
development is recognized. It describes the changes in the approach of training of preschool
educators. Authors highlight the specifics in design and implementation of preschool education
bachelor’s and master’s training programs. The upgrade of teachers’ training is aimed primarily
at training’s professionalization. The ways to change programs are the introduction of a modular
principle of programs design, increasing students’ practice classes, the process of assessing the
results of their learning. The methods for assessing the competencies of future teachers of preschool
educational organizations are presented. The most suitable method for the presented concept of
education is solving pedagogical problems (or cases). Some examples of descriptors and tasks
are given. The data of assessing the competencies of students are presented. There is an obvious
gap between the results of the formation of various competencies. Some programs offered by the
Institute of Childhood of Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia are presented in the article.
It is shown that the conceptual development of educational program’s competence-based model
plays now a crucial role.
Scientific and Methodological Support for Upbringing in School
The article presents the directions and the content of scientific and methodical support of the
upbringing process in school. The analysis involved the study of mass and advanced experience
of schools in the sphere of upbringing, examination, generalization, comparison, interpretation
and systematization. These methods were chosen to address the theoretical research objectives. The
directions of scientific and methodical support of the upbringing process in school required to study
the mass experience of schools were identified, as were the best practices in upbringing. There were
analyzed, summarized and systematized. Each aspect of this support was identified on the basis
of the analysis and theoretical generalization of the data obtained. The scientific and methodical
support of the upbringing process can be developed in several directions and at different levels. At
the state level, it is connected, inter alia, with software (an example is the ‘Approximate upbringing
program’); at the level of higher education, initially it can be associated with the definition of the
theoretical foundations for the preparation of future teachers for upbringing activities in the general
education system, with the development of updated content of textbooks and manuals on the theory
and methods of upbringing; while at the level of the advanced training system it is associated with
the development of its principles, new programs and the search for interactive forms of teachers’
training. The novelty of the research is in the determination of the main directions and content of the
scientific and methodical support of the upbringing process in school. The results make it possible
to form the scientific and methodical support of the upbringing process in school at different levels.
Based on the basic provisions of the scientific school of Academician of the Russian Academy of
Education L.I. Novikova Systematic approach to the upbringing and socialization of children and
youth the results enable professionals to carry out the necessary changes in the sphere of upbringing,
taking into account modern social challenges.
Systematic Approach for Efficient Use of Research Methods in Educational Theory
The purpose of this study was to change the broad picture of research methods in the educational
theory, which is essential for development of modern pedagogy. The systematic approach to
education developed by the scientific school of L.I. Novikova, member of the Russian Academy
of Education, was analyzed. The authors explored the differentiated indicators such as integrity,
orderliness and evolvability, that shape the research of all social pedagogical systems. This article
emphasizes that in the modern-day world it is important to integrate different research methods
(theoretical and empirical, quantitative and qualitative) and combinations of research methods in
pedagogical and related sciences in order to make the best use of their complementarity, with regard
to the special nature of the subject. Emphasis should be given to qualitative research methods guided
by the intention to understand the personal meanings lying behind a child’s actions. The two most
useful qualitative methods are the method of participatory observation and the method of real-life
situations. The article discusses various methods of research of soft systems in the educational theory
aimed at the identification, proper study and multifaceted analysis of the problems that occur. It also
emphasizes the importance of a systematic approach in the theory of collective education where the
backbone of the system is the children’s community and the unity of children and adults.
Hygenic Assessment in the Theory and Practice of Upbringing
For the younger generation, socialization in the digital space poses increasing potential and real
risks. Simultaneously, the transformation of educational process with a forced increase of distance
learning formats, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the issue of interaction
between teachers and students in addressing upbringing tasks. This is confirmed by current
international and Russian studies. Discussion of the quality of the educational environment from
the point of view of its safety inevitably encourages the search for assessment tools. This article
provides a theoretical and methodological justification for effective assessment of upbringing
hygienic and its implementation in the current context, based on theoretical and empirical studies.
The study took an interdisciplinary approach, treating the safety of upbringing as a complex
multifactorial phenomenon based on the integration of natural science and socio-humanitarian
knowledge. It used a cross-cultural analysis of empirical data from Russian and foreign studies
in the development of formats, strategies, and features of hygienic assessment in education taking
into account its cultural variability. Network theory was used to assess the importance of the role
of relationships in determining teachers’ readiness resources to carry out a hygienic assessment of
upbringing safety activities in digital and network contexts. The core of the educational context of
safety is defined as the process of providing means and measures aimed at productive self-realization
of children in various life situations based on the assessment of real and potential threats arising in
the process of socialization. The principles of safety (socio-biological balance, well-being, integration,
cognition), the content and indicators of the hygienic assessment of this process (physiological,
social, personal, psychological) are highlighted. The article describes the development network
of the teacher’s readiness to assess upbringing safety based on non-hierarchical value-resource
interaction in upbringing activities, assessment of its safety and hygienic potential. The results
obtained will contribute to expansion and improvement of theoretical ideas about hygienic expertise
in pedagogical processes, disclosure, and clarification of the concept of ‘hygienic assessment in
upbringing’, enrich theoretical ideas and effective practices of upbringing in distance education
formats.
Using Social Networks for Social Upbringing
The article addresses the potential of using social networks in social education and for solving the
problems of youth socialization. There is an urgent social need for the harmonious development of
the child’s personality, including in the Internet environment. At the same time, there is insufficient
knowledge about the organization of education in social networks in science.
The article identifies the experience of successful interaction between teachers and students on the
Internet and ways of organizing event situations in social networks. The study was conducted in
February-October 2020 and analysed the content of open official accounts of educational organizations
in the social networks ‘VKontakte’, Instagram and documents of educational organizations. The
complex use of observation methods, quantitative data processing, expert assessments was aimed
at identifying forms of educational activity that are promising for implementation online in social
networks. The study showed that, despite the variety of topics and styles, the content of official
school accounts resembles a list of news about holidays and other public events. The accounts do
not contain materials that could cause vivid emotions and sensations in children, become a source
of experiences, value attitudes, experience of interacting with people. Consequently, schools do not
provide children with opportunities for self-knowledge, self-determination, self-realization, and do
not support their initiatives in social networks. The article recommends that schools expand the
practice of organizing networked educational events. For this, they need to create groups of different
ages for children and adults for joint planning, organizing, conducting, summing up creative deeds.
The maintenance of a thematic Instagram account of a school is offered as an example of a successful
subject-subject interaction between a teacher-educator and students in social networks.
A Competence Model for Training Programs in Inclusive Education
The implementation of inclusion poses fundamentally new requirements for the professional
competencies of teachers, which in turn determines the need for an empirically based competence
model of a teacher of an inclusive educational organization. A complex of university programs for
teacher training specifying the inclusive competencies could be used as an appropriate empirical base
of the study. However, this research logic has not yet been implemented and the study was devised
to fill this gap. Its purpose was to build a structural and meaningful model of an inclusive teacher
based on an analysis of inclusive competencies presented in the teachers’ educational programs
of universities. Content analysis was used to study the texts of 59 basic educational programs.
Frequency and factor analysis of the matrix of representation of competency indicators in educational
programs was also carried out. It was found that the semantic core of the inclusive competencies
of the teacher reflects the need to take into account the special psychological and pedagogical status of children in terms of their personal position in learning, the originality of their development,
health status and their specific educational needs. The integral inclusive competences of the teacher
are the readiness to: organize an inclusive educational process as a whole; organize an individually
oriented educational route; individual / collaborative support; and organize psychological and
pedagogical support; substantive / instrumental knowledge related to working with students with
disabilities. The competence profiles of teachers, set by university educational programs, are not
fully consistent with both the existing theoretical models of the inclusive teacher competencies
and the conditions for the implementation of inclusive practice. The research results include ideas
about five-component structure of teacher’s inclusive competence. The practical significance is in
the identification of the essence of the contradictions in the content of the university training of
teachers for work in inclusive education, the elimination of which will contribute to improving the
quality staffing of the inclusive education system.
Project- and Research-Based Learning as a Technology for Developing Master Students’ Methodological Culture Development
In accordance with the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard of Higher
Education ++, the graduates of the master’s programme on “Teacher education” must be ready
to solve research problems in their professional field. This implies that the students develop an
appropriate methodological culture through their involvement in independent project and research
activities. However, the analysis of the current state of practice in training master students in the
field of education demonstrates that it is still dominated by teaching technologies that focus on
performing and reproduction activities of students, contributing to developing the habit of receiving
ready-to-use knowledge. As a result, the contradiction between the objective need for the formation
of a methodological culture among students on the one hand, and inadequate development in many
students in the field of “Teacher education”, on the other, is aggravated.
The research aim was to show and substantiate the didactic conditions for project- and researchbased
learning as a technology aimed at the efficient development of master students’ methodological
culture.
Research methods were theoretical (analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization and etc.),
empirical (educational experiment, testing in order to assess the level of research competence
formation), and mathematical methods of data processing.
Results: The process of master students’ methodological culture development is based on a search
for information and implementation of didactic activities and conditions that serve as a motivation
tool for students to be a part of research activities. The course on “Methodology and methods of
educational research” becomes a platform for methodological culture development among master
students on the “Teacher education” programme. The efficiency of students’ methodological
culture development is increased if: (a) the structure and content of their methodological culture
are designed on the basis of convergence of conventional and research-based approaches and
(b) the project-and research-based teaching technology is implemented through a short-term
(limited by the course duration) projects and a number of variable components (a combination of
individual and team forms of independent activities),“inverted” or “blended” learning techniques;
interdisciplinary, problematic and interactive training; reflection at the end of each class; exams in
the form of a project defense, etc.).
Impact: The results will be useful for development of educational and methodological support for
research-oriented teaching in the process of theoretical and practical training of future bachelors,
masters, graduate students, as well as in the system of additional and vocational education.
From Challenges to Opportunities: Reorganization of Teacher Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Post-Socialist Countries
Although the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over, there is no doubt that education researchers
will analyze the changes in teaching and learning over the years to come. There is no certainty that
new waves and variants of COVID-19 will not force humanity to radically change educational
technologies in the future. This will bring mankind closer to the predictions of science-fiction
authors and futurists, not taken seriously before. In this regard, it is important to scientifically
document and analyze various measures for transforming education in the current situation, thus,
creating the database for future generations. Analysis reveals that geographically adjacent countries
with numerous current or historical interrelations, show the uniqueness of their response to the
pandemic because of a number of current economic, social, cultural and geographical factors.
Quite promising in this regard are the post-socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe,
which in the second half of the 20th century had almost identical principles for developing national
education systems, but changed significantly under the influence of the reforms of the last thirty
years. Comparing the cases of five universities from Russia, Germany, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic
and the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic enable us, not only to identify common problems, but
also to describe the most effective measures for the reorganization of higher education during the
COVID-19 pandemic, dictated by the need to sustain the quality of teacher training.