Determinants of Profession Choice in Students’ Educational Strategies in the Context of the Reproduction of Human Capital

Abstract

Introduction. The relevance of the study is determined by the necessity to optimize the process of reproduction and building up the human capital of the Russian Federation, where the primary place belongs to education. The article discusses the educational strategies of Russian students in the current conditions of transition to the sixth technological mode, when the formation of a learning society and knowledge economy is of particular importance, which requires additional investment in human capital and educational capital in particular. The purpose of the study is to describe the educational strategies of Moscow students as dynamic systems of perspective orientation of an individual, as well as constructing their future life in accordance with a certain plan. Materials and Methods. The empirical basis of the article constitute the findings of the online sociological survey “Students of Russia: civic culture and life strategiesˮ, conducted in April‒May 2022 with an additional representation of the array in Moscow. Having carried out an exploratory factor analysis by the method of principal components and rotation by the Varimax method, the authors identify factors that allow interpreting various educational strategies for choosing a direction of study by students. Results. Comparing the social practices of students in Moscow with those in the regions, identifying the dominant factors in choosing a speciality/academic specialism, the authors identify speciality choice indices that are determined by different factors and lead to studentsʼ adherence to different types of educational strategies: “rationalˮ strategy, “inner circle of trustˮ strategy and “random choiceˮ. Discussion and Conclusion. The study conducted by the authors made it possible to formulate a number of significant conclusions that make a significant contribution to understanding the structure of the social capital of today's youth. The development of the educational capital of the younger generation is an important task in the process of ensuring the development of the entire Russian society as a whole.