Diversity of forms of socialization in science: Russian and world experience

Abstract

The article reveals the main characteristics of the modern process of professional socialization of novice scientists, as it proceeds in Russia in comparison with foreign countries. It is shown that the widespread view of socialization as associated with the period of postgraduate studies and the preparation and defence of a dissertation for a degree does not correspond to modern realities in which socialization can be both early (postgraduate) and late (postdoctoral). At the same time, while in the countries of the European Union, obtaining a degree retains the role of a necessary condition for obtaining a research position in the academic environment, in Russia the share of researchers without a degree is more than 70%, and the number of decisions of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia on issuing a diploma to those who defended their PhD theses steadily decreased in the period 2010–2018. During the designated period, the Russian training system went through a transformation associated with a change in the status of postgraduate studies, but instead of the desired approximation to the European system, this led to the emergence of a unique combination of features. It is shown that in European countries, the USA, China, Japan, etc., the role of the institute of socialization is gradually shifting from postgraduate studies to postdoctoral studies. In this configuration, postgraduate studies contribute to the development of professional independence, while postdoctoral studies provide a chance to realize this independence on a wider range of tasks than conducting and defending a dissertation research. At the same time, the state of the postdoctoral institute in a number of countries, for example, in Japan, demonstrates that under certain conditions it turns into a form of precarious employment, breaking the synonymy between socialization as obtaining recognition of the scientific community on the basis of professional achievements and obtaining a stable position in the social research hierarchy. The directions of minimizing the risk of failure of scientific socialization in Russian science are systematized, it is proved that they lead to an expansion of the diversity of socialization practices of a young scientist and thereby transform the transition situation itself. It acquires a prolonged and, due to this, less labor- and emotionally costly character.