Student’s Territorial Mobility (Example of Yekaterinburg

Abstract

Territorial mobility today is one of the key issues in the system of distribution and redistribution of human resources in a particular state. In search of their place in the new digital society, young people are striving to live urban society, in which mechanisms of communication are being developed, and interactions with various social groups have been intensified. Dialogueness of the urban environment, sociocultural heterogeneity and intellectual spiritual life attract the younger generation, setting the coordinates of its territorial mobility, which becomes a marker of the economic, socio-cultural and educational potential of a given territory. The research methodology combined both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The primary data was collected using questionnaires and in-depth interviews. Two hundred respondents—bachelor students were questioned on the basis of quota sampling. Depths interviews with 8 experts were conducted in order to identify key issues of students’ territorial mobility. The research was conducted in Yekaterinburg, in the Urals, in Russia. The study has revealed that 42% of the students plan to make territorial displacement after receiving a bachelor's degree. At the same time 10.0% of the respondents would like to travel outside of Russia. The students believe that territorial mobility is associated with meeting a wide range of needs that cannot be fully met in an urban environment of Yekaterinburg. In addition, in the motivational structure of the students’ territorial mobility, the leading positions are occupied by the students’ desire for independence, as well as for idealization/ iconization of the city image in which they plan to live. Our respondents note that St. Petersburg and Moscow are the most attractive cities for them. The constraining factor of students’ territorial mobility is the reproduction of social connections and relations in the current residence area. Students consider mobility as a type of risky behavior.