www.jsser.org 

Journal of Social Studies Education Research 

Sosyal Bilgiler Eğitimi Araştırmaları Dergisi 

 

2017:8 (2), I-IV 

 

EDITORIAL 

Transformation of Educational Policy, Theory and Practice in Post-Soviet Social Studies 

Education 

More than half a century has passed since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 2001 that 

led not only to deep geopolitical, economic and social changes but also stimulated 

transformations in the educational sector of most post-Soviet states. Having common 

background and historical roots national educational systems of most of these countries were 

modifying their past experience under the influence of modernization strategies and 

internationalization processes after signing Bologna Agreements in the first half of the XXI 

century. Thus, this Special Issue is an attempt to trace retrospectively the changes that took 

place on the post-Soviet territory using social studies education as an example with a focus on 

educational policy, theory and practice. It seems reasonable and worthy as it provides 

multifaceted comparative perspective of the development within this field during the periods 

of transition, stabilization and potential growth. Under social studies education we understand 

integrated and systemic teaching and learning experience in such disciplines as anthropology, 

archaeology, economics, history, geography, philosophy, psychology, pedagogy, religion and 

sociology. 

The eleven articles in this Special Issue focus on the topics within the following 

general strands: 

 transformation of post-Soviet social studies education curriculum under the influence 

of modernization and internationalization processes; 

 enhancing instruction in post-Soviet social studies education; 

 emergence of new assessment methods and techniques in post-Soviet social Sstudies 

education; 

 diversification of curriculum, instruction and assessment for various categories of 

learners in social studies education; 

 professional development of new age social studies researchers from post-Soviet 

states. 



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The issue opens with the article entitled “Improving student readiness to overcome IT-

related obstacles during pedagogical interaction in post-Soviet education” by Dmitry 

Luchaninov, Ruslan Bazhenov, Yuliya Shtepa, Natalia Nikolaeva, Andrey Tcytcarev & Marina 

Kuimova and aimed at identifying the concept of pedagogical interaction in the information and 

educational environment, showing how efficient pedagogical interaction may improve student 

readiness to overcome IT-related obstacles. The authors prove that integrating IT into 

educational process is useful and is vital for developing professional career in the future. 

The second contribution “Transformation of the system of bilingual education in the Republic 

of Tatarstan: crossover ethnolinguistic controversies” by Olga Maximova, Vladimir Belyaev & 

Olga Laukart-Gorbacheva concentrates attention on bilingual education and practical 

implementaion of its principles in polyethnic and polireligious regions of Russia taking the 

Republic of Tatarstan as an example. It is stated that implemented language policy as well as 

existing bilingual educational programs and their methodological support are of poor quality and 

need significant improvement in the nearest future. 

The next article “Knowledge management as an approach to learning and instructing sector 

university students in post-Soviet professional education” by Irina S. Volegzhanina, Svetlana V. 

Chusovlyanova, Vladimir A. Adolf, Ekaterina S. Bykadorova & Elena N. Belova reveals the nature of 

knowledge management approach compared to the knowledge-based one that dominated in the 

Soviet system of education. The authors prove that ontological core of the knowledge-based 

approach is promising and didactically important especially for sector university students 

majoring in social sciences. 

Ekaterina O. Akvazba, Lyudmila K. Gabysheva,  Pavel S. Medvedev, Natalya I. Skok                              

Tatyana E. Ukhabina being the authors of the fourth article “Transformation of approaches to 

organizing the students' university practical training in the area of social activity: a post-Soviet 

experience” present the challenges that Russian social studies education has faced during the last 

years especially in the professional training of social sphere specialists. Detailed plan for 

overcoming these disadvantages is offered including the authors’ practical training model for 

those involved in social work with regard to existing European experience. 



  

 

 In the fifth article “Buddhist Religious Education in the Context of Modern Russian Policy of 

Multicultural Education: A Case of the Republic of Buryatia” by Oyuna Dorzhigushaeva, Bato 

Dondukov & Galina Dondukova, the place and role of Buddhist religious education in the 

ethnoculturally and ethnoconfessionally specific educational environment of the Republic of 

Buryatia is analyzed. The authors provide multilateral analysis of the studied phenomenon and 

reveal its preventive educational potential for problematic multicultural regions.  

The next article “Social informatics: natural tools for students' information training in 

the conditions of embodied and mental approaches being employed” authored by Daria 

Barkhatova, Elmira Nigmatulina & Tatyana Stepanova deals with a relatively new field of social 

studies education – social informatics.  The importance of quality IT training is prioritized and 

the opportunities for applying the natural tools in IT training within school courses from the 

standpoints of embodied and mental approaches are offered. 

In their article “Teacher to Student Epistemological Interaction in the Contemporary 

Paradigm of University Education” Irina Charikova & Victor Zhadanov state the necessity to 

reconceptualise the understanding of epistemological interaction and its essence as a result of 

epistemic content-related transformations between all the active parties of the educational 

process. It is obvious that cooperation and openness to new knowledge stimulate cognitive 

transformations of teachers and students as well as desire for innovation. 

Yuliya S. Nikolaeva & Nikolay I. Pak present in their article “Newest Web-Technologies 

for Studying and Diagnosing Individual Abilities of Learners” research outcomes on the 

possibilities to use newest web and mobile applications in the educational process as well as for 

self-diagnostics of the main human cognitive abilities such as memory, attention, reading, 

information processing etc. The authors report on practical outcomes of their study, i.e. the 

website http://self-test.ufoproger.ru developed for new diagnostics and studies in the sphere of 

human individual and integrated abilities. 

Article 9 “Traditional and alternative approaches to the method of situational analysis in 

Russia: evidence from the case study “Istanbul in the life and works of Martiros Saryan” by the 

international group of authors, Olga Fedotova, Pavel Ermakov, Vladimir Latun, Haykaz 

Hovhannisyan & Grant Avanesyan, demonstrates the potential of case study as a methodical tool 

for developing cognitive and problem-solving abilities of students, stimulating them for 

http://self-test.ufoproger.ru/


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individual research work. Content peculiarities of cases in Soviet and post-Soviet times are 

analyzed through a comparative lens.   

The next contribution “Formation of Students’ Professional Self-Actualization in Modern 

Educational Environment” by Nadezhda A. Dmitrienko, Marina A. Gorbina, Natalya F. 

Porozhnyak, Tatyana V. Trusova & Tatyana G. Konovalenko is devoted to the issue of 

professional self-actualisation in modern educational process. The authors discuss the advantages 

of the developed technology for raising students` consciousness allowing to reach high levels of 

self-actualization, fast personal and professional growth. 

The final article of the Special Issue “Internationalization Impact on PhD Training Policy in 

Russia: Insights from the Comparative Document Analysis” by Oksana Chigisheva, Elena 

Soltovets & Anna Bondarenko provides the findings from the comparative analysis of documents 

regulating training of PhD students (Education only) in Russia during the last two decades. 

Dramatical changes are fixed in educational policy due to the internationalization agenda. The 

authors conclude on the competitiveness of existing PhD training, its key role for global research 

career development and progress of the system of higher education in general. 

I would like to thank JSSER editor-in-chief, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bulent Tarman for endless 

support and useful recommendations when working on this Special Issue as well as all the 

authors for their interesting contributions and strong commitment. I do believe that this Special 

Issue will help to extend the vision of transformation experiences in educational policy, theory 

and practice of post-Soviet social studies education from inner perspective and stimulate future 

discussions at the international level. 

 

Guest Editor,  JSSER      Editor-in-Chief, JSSER 

Assoc. Prof. Dr.                                                                    Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bulent Tarman 

Oksana Chigisheva,       

Southern Federal University, Rostov-on-Don, Russia