Belarusian Universities Research Articles

Psychological Factors in Students’ Attitudes towards the Digital Educational Environment (Case of Russian and Belarusian Universities)

Introduction. The common educational space of Russia and Belarus is a condition for deepening integration processes underpinned by common historical roots, long experience of common development, goals and principles of cooperation. However, many aspects, including the prerequisites and factors of studentsʼ acceptance of digital technologies in higher education, are not sufficiently studied. The aim of the article is to present the results of research into the psychological factors of digital educational environment acceptance by students of Russian and Belarusian universities. Materials and Methods. The study involved 1 582 students from universities in Russia and Belarus aged 21,3 ± 6,3 years. To identify personality traits, Big Five Inventory-2 was used. The resources of self-regulation were determined using Personal Self-Activation Inventory and Self-Regulation Style Questionnaire. To determine the attitude to learning in the digital educational environment, AUDEE Scale was used, and to determine the attitude to learning activities – Activity-Related Experiences Assessment Technique. Results. The most important factors of digital educational environment acceptance for both samplings (Russia and Belarus) are not personality traits but activity-related experiences: the experience of pleasure in the absence of experiences of effort and void leads to acceptance of the digital educational environment. Modeling of significant conditions for achieving goals, evaluation of results and programming of actions, and insistency for the Belarusian sampling were also noted as important elements of digital educational environment acceptance. Therefore, the main factors are not the personality traits of the student, but the experiences that s/he experiences during the learning activity and some structural components of self-regulation. Similarity in models’ quality and structure for two different countries supports the reliability of the results and serves a basis for practical recommendations for digital educational environment development and preparing students for work in it. Discussion and Conclusions. The conclusions made by the authors contribute to the problem of studentsʼ attitude to the university’s digital educational environment. The materials of the article can be useful for university administration and teaching staff to improve both the university’s digital educational environment and the methods of teaching using digital educational environment.

The Introduction of Soft Skills in the Study of Disciplines of the Second Stage of Higher Education at the Sukhoi State Technical University of Gomel

Professional skills, as opposed to interpersonal skills, are types of skills that students learn in university. These skills are easy to quantify. The proficiency in these skills is easy to verify. Soft skills cannot be measured and tested as simply as professional skills. The authors highlight the most in-demand soft skills among employers. The article presents the results of several surveys of employers about the important requirements for jobseekers required for employment. Similar surveys were conducted among employers and employees of IT companies in the Republic of Belarus. It is concluded that soft skills are very important both for getting a first job and building a successful career. However, in the universities of the Republic of Belarus, teaching soft skills is poorly represented. The article shows how the process of teaching students of the second stage of higher education was modernized. Only the IT specialties of five Belarusian universities have undergone modernization. This work was carried out with the support of the international project MaCICT. At the same time, the experience of teaching similar disciplines in the universities of the European Union was used. To assess the effectiveness of students' acquisition of soft skills at the university, a system for assessing the results of the modernization of the learning process was developed. Questionnaires for teachers, students and employees of IT companies have been developed. A survey of all stakeholders in the results of the international project MaCICT was carried out. The paper provides information on the dissemination of the main approaches for organizing the teaching of IT specialties for teachers of another specialties of the Sukhoi State Technical University of Gomel, as well as for teaching IT disciplines of another universities in the Gomel region.

Методическая подготовка учителей-дефектологов в Беларуси: состояние и стратегии развития

The widespread dissemination of humanitarian ideas, integration and inclusive processes create new challenges for the professional education of special education teachers. The focus is on methodological training, the ability to work with different children, organizational and methodological heterogeneity. A new social order is the methodological competence of a specialist who does not have just knowledge and skills, but experience in effectively solving the pedagogical problems of students with special education needs. The aim of the article is to identify the state of the methodological competence of Belarusian future special education teachers (graduates of higher educational institutions), to see the features of the existing methodological training, to determine the main strategies for increasing its effectiveness at the national level. The leading method is self-assessment of students’ state of methodological competence. The study involved 578 students from four Belarusian universities. The article describes the structure and content of future teachers’ methodological competence (4th year students) in the context of the ability to implement the educational process in the new conditions of variable educational practice. The research materials allow us to see the problem areas of the existing practice of methodological training in Belarusian universities and to assess the possible directions of its modernization.

Digitalisation of learning: a driving force for higher education modernisation or a humanitarian threat?

The article discusses the problems of modernisation of the system of higher education in the Republic of Belarus related to the implementation of digital forms and methods of education. The inextricable link between the digitalisation of education and the ongoing fourth industrial revolution is revealed. On the basis of empirical data from studies carried out at Belarusian State University, it is shown that Belarusian and foreign students have increased their level of knowledge, skills and competencies in the use of information and communication technologies during a year of study in a pandemic period. Students appreciate the transfer to distance methods of a significant proportion of classes. The author noted that effective digitalisation of education contributes to the growth of the competitiveness of educational institutions. It is concluded that the active use of digitalisation is consistent with the goals of modernisation of the higher education system and does not pose a significant threat to the self-development of students. The results obtained can be used in research of the digitalisation of higher education in Belarus and other EAEU countries, and in teaching the Belarusian and foreign students studying in Belarusian universities.

Formation of the Belarusian University as a National and State Project

Belarusian history is woven of a multitude of events and processes that defy unambiguous assessment. First of all, this refers to their political component: the Belarusian lands and population for more than a thousand years belonged to states that had nothing in common with the Belarusian ethnos in their names. However, it was this ethnic community that was a most important component of Ancient Rus, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Empire. It becomes clear that in the educational and scientific environment, as well as in the general intellectual sphere, the ancestors of Belarusians were somewhat outshadowed, which today motivates them to prove their priorities to their neighbors in the West and the East. It was only in the revolutionary upheavals of early 20th century that the Belarusian statehood began to form. And the most important factor in its approval was the first university – the Belarusian State University. The article is devoted to the consideration of its formation in the conditions of 1917–1921, the transformation of the original idea into a fully functioning educational and scientific organism. On the basis of archival material and little-known facts, an attempt is made to show that the university, as a state project, contributed to the strengthening of the Belarusian state, and its activities fully experienced all political and national demands and outlooks. In support of this, the article quotes examples of strict adherence of the BSU staff to all state guidelines, which primarily aimed at the continuous improvement of the educational process, at the training of professionals for the most important spheres of the national economy of the republic. The university strengthened its human potential, paying special attention to the development of fundamental and applied science (not only physics, mathematics, chemistry, and biology but also philosophy, history, and philology). In the 1920s, its scientists and students were in demand as disseminators of state plans among urban and rural population. A special place in the activities of the university was the policy of Belarusianization, which gave both an obvious positive effect and led to negative consequences. As a result, the author concludes that the two key words of the name of the university initially contained the ideas of its national, ethnic. and state affiliation and mission, which BSU strictly follows at the present time.

EDUCATIONAL AND METHODOLOGICAL SUPPORT FOR EFL TEACHING IN BELARUSIAN UNIVERSITIES

The article deals with the relevant problem of educational and methodological support for EFL teaching for students of language specialties in Belarusian universities. The article presents an overview of the methodological textbooks covering the content of the discipline “First Foreign Language” for the specialty 1-21 05 06 “Romance and Germanic philology”, prepared by the lecturers of the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics of Mogilev State A. Kuleshov University. The article describes the structural features of educational and methodological textbooks, their thematic and informative content. Various types of exercises (language exercises, conditional speech exercises, speech exercises) are reviewed. Examples of exercises used in different sections (such as Topical Vocabulary , Lead-in , Focus on Reading , Focus on Vocabulary , Focus on Idioms , Focus on Listening , Focus on Speaking , Focus on Writing , Project , etc.) are provided. The article draws conclusions about the importance of adapting EFL textbooks for students of language specialties in Belarusian universities in accordance with the communicative approach and programme documentation.

РАЗВИТИЕ ГУМАНИТАРНОГО СОТРУДНИЧЕСТВА РЕСПУБЛИКИ БЕЛАРУСЬ И РОССИЙСКОЙ ФЕДЕРАЦИИ:ЗАДАЧИ, ВЫЗОВЫ, ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ В КОНЦЕ 20-Х ГОДОВ XXI В.

The article is devoted to the situation and prospects of humanitarian cooperation between the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation in the last few years. The author, Senior Lecturer of the Department of History of Post-Soviet Countries, Head of the Laboratory of the Diaspora and Migration History, Deputy Dean, Academic Secretary of the Faculty of History at Lomonosov Moscow State University, shows the evolution of forms and methods in the Russian and Belarusian cooperation in higher education and academic science using various programmes and joint projects of Lomonosov Moscow State University and its Belarusian partners, primarily the Belarusian State University, as an example. The article focuses on various programmes established through the collaboration of the Faculty of History of Lomonosov Moscow State University and its partners: the Faculty of History of the Belarusian State University, the Department of Humanities and Arts of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Belarus; it also specially focuses on implementing “The History of Belarusian Diaspora”, the first international joint educational Master Programme of Lomonosov Moscow State University and the Belarusian State University opened in the academic year 2019–2020. The author emphasises that, thanks to the mutual experience gained over the years, Russian and Belarusian universities, as well as their national academies of sciences are the driving force behind humanitarian cooperation under the Union State.

The Attitudes of Students towards Violence

Introduction. Violence in social relations is an important humanitarian problem that concerns not only the behavior of individuals, but also the entire system of interaction within society as a whole. Most of the research in this area has focused on marital and family relations, leaving aside such essential areas of social life as war, the severity of criminal penalties, and the legality of the death penalty. The topic of studying students' attitudes to violence is relevant, since representatives of this age group belong to the most active and initiative part of modern society. The significance of this study is determined by the possible negative consequences of violent attitudes in behavior and social relations. Aggression and empathy as personality traits influence the formation and implementation of violent attitudes in behavior. The purpose of the article is to study students' violent attitudes. Materials and Methods. The study rests on the “Questionnaire of violent attitudes” by I. A. Fourmanov and M. V. Apanovich, “Aggression Questionnaire” (AQ) by A. Bass and M. Perry, “Interpersonal Reactivity Index” (IRI) M. Davis. The survey involved 731 first-fourth-year students of various Belarusian universities. Processing of the results was carried out using T-test for comparison of two independent samples, correlation analysis by Pearson and multivariate covariance analysis (MANOVA). Results. It was found that women have statistically higher rates of attitudes towards the war and punishing offenders than men. Men in comparison with women had more pronounced indices of attitudes towards corporal punishment of children and spousal violence. Discovered a positive relationship between indicators of physical and verbal aggression, anger, hostility, and negative relationship of decentration (PT), compassion (FS), empathic concern (EC) and personal distress (PD) with different attitudes towards violence in men and women. Physical aggression and hostility, regardless of gender, are significant factors that affect the strength of almost all violent attitudes. Characteristics of empathy influence forced installation variable depending on gender. Discussion and Conclusion. The results of the study demonstrate the current state of violent attitudes of modern students, and allow to develop a system of educational and training resources that promote the formation of students’ peaceful, humanitarian and non-violent attitudes. This article will be useful to university teachers, scientists and psychologists.

Philosophy as an Educational Project: Transcribing the Belarusian Experience

The articles considers philosophy as an educational project. The institutionalization of philosophy is connected with the process of formation and development of the classical university as well as with the transformation of its socio-cultural status. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the essential ambivalence of philosophy and its influence to the basic priorities of philosophical education. It is emphasized that the tasks of reforming and modernizing academic philosophical programs initiate the development of variable models and technologies for teaching philosophy in modern universities. It this regard, of particular interest is the Belarusian experience in reforming philosophical education in its two aspects: general philosophy course and special academic programs. The article analyzes the model of teaching philosophy at various stages and levels of higher education, which has been used at the Belarusian State University over the past 15 years. The author describes both the innovative nature of this model and its connection with the previous organization schemes and teaching priorities. Within the framework of this model, there are three levels of teaching philosophy and its various modifications. At the first level, which is focused on the preparation of bachelors, the basic course “Philosophy” is taught, which suggests an acquaintance with world classical philosophical tradition. At the second level, the course “Philosophy in the Modern World” is offered, which, taking into account the specfics of the academic preparation of graduate students, reproduces the basic ideas and concepts of modern philosophy. At the third level, in the course “Philosophy and Methodology of Science” (which solves the problem of ensuring the philosophical and methodological training of post-graduate students), the main attention is paid to the issues of logic, methodology, sociology of science and education. The article considers some stages, problems and contradictions of this reform process as well as its consequences in the context of recent events in the socioeconomic and political life of Belarus. The author argues that modern converging technologies of social and humanitarian education, which are based on formal and instrumental-pragmatic criteria, have significantly influenced the processes of reforming the system of teaching the humanities and social sciences in Belarusian universities.

Развитие инновационной инфраструктуры вуза при переходе к модели «Университет 3.0»

One of the most promising ways to develop higher education institutions is University 3.0 (or an entrepreneurial university). Such a model is being introduced in seven Belarusian universities as part of a pilot project. The key direction in the transition to the models «University 3.0» is the creation of innovative infrastructure facilities, including science and technology parks, technology transfer centers, industry laboratories, and business incubators. In the article, the author analyzes the subjects of innovation infrastructure - the structure of Belarusian universities, reveals the role of such subjective factors in the development of models «University 3.0». Based on the presented research, the author offers recommendations on the development of the university's innovative infrastructure.

Google Scholar and other systems for indexing scientometric indicators used by belarusian universities

Aim . To compare the effectiveness of evaluating the publication activity of organizations and authors by such indexing systems as Google Scholar, Scopus and RINTS, as well as to assess the reliability and credibility of these indexing systems in terms of measuring research performance. On the basis of this information, the reliability of the systems currently used to rank Belarusian universities, in particular the University of Grodno, was estimated. Methods . This article analyses and compares the effectiveness of various indexing systems, which is extremely relevant due to the widespread use of the Google Scholar, Scopus, and RINTS indexing systems in Belarus. Results . The general characteristics of the above-mentioned indexing systems and their significance in assessing the research performance of university staff are given. A comparative assessment of the indexing systems was carried out, including their specific features, advantages and disadvantages. The conducted analysis of the ideology and mechanism of indexing research data using Google Scholar proved the unreliability and inconsistency of this approach for evaluating research performance, as well as the fallacy of adopting this system for evaluating the publication activity of university staff. Conclusion . The analysis of the Russian Science Citation Index (RINTS) also revealed significant imperfections. However, the use of RINTS does provide a fairly objective comprehensive assessment of the publication activity of authors and organizations. In addition, RINTS enables an analysis of the structure of indicators, which is completely impossible using Google Scholar and Scopus.

SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF PROSPECTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ONLINE HIGHER EDUCATION IN MODERN BELARUS

In the article, based on the results of a sociological nationwide survey (September-November 2019), status and prospects of online higher education development in the Republic of Belarus are studied. It has been found out that despite respondents are generally positively assess the system of higher education, they are convinced that within its framework it is impossible to prepare good professionals in a number of areas. A positive attitude to the format of online higher education has been revealed, particularly on the basis of reputable Western universities. Categories of individuals potentially interested in online learning services are defined. It is emphasized that this form of learning fits only for highly motivated students. A set of motives is highlighted that encourage students to choose an online learning abroad. Both its advantages and disadvantages are indicated. A sociological study also fixes some risks for Belarus related to the fact that, having received Western diplomas, a significant part of their holders will seek to find a job in European countries. Assessment of employment prospects in Belarus and abroad for holders of “online” diplomas is given. Most Belarusians admit paid tuition for high-quality online education at Western universities and believe that payment should be adequate to the Belarusian standard of living.The set of disciplines which can be popular in online format were defined. It has been established that social modernization of Belarus is to a great extent interested in this group of specialists. It is proved that today Belarusian universities are not able to compete with online offers from Western universities, because they are not ready for this from statutory, financial, organizational, logistical and human resources point of view. The study has practical importance, as empirical analysis results can be used for decision-making process in the country. This kind of study was conducted in Belarus for the first time.

Directions for improving the quality of education in Belarusian universities (sociological analysis)

Abstract Educational institutions all over the world realize the importance of promoting international cooperation. In order to stay competitive in such fields like education, research, innovations it is no longer enough to count on only internal resources. Exchange of experience, knowledge sharing, benchmarking provide possibilities for universities to constantly remain updated on modern know-hows. New opportunities for improving the quality of higher education in Belarus are provided by different international programs and projects. Among them there is the project of the EU Program ERASMUS + CBHE “University Teaching and Learning Enhancement” / UniTeLE, which has been implemented since 2019. The project coordinator is Linnaeus University (Sweden). In the framework of the ERASMUS + UniTeLE project, a consortium of Belarusian universities has conducted a higher education quality research. The purpose of this research is to identify areas for improving the quality of higher education in Belarus. The research was carried out on the basis of a sociological survey of a representative sampling of teachers, staff and students of six Belarusian universities (more than 350 respondents from Minsk, Gomel, Brest, Gorki, Polotsk, Grodno were interviewed). Both SWOT analysis of higher education quality in Belarus and focus group of possible improvement were performed. The discussion was attended by work groups of 25 leaders, teachers and students from each of the Belarusian universities of the project consortium. The following fundamental research results should be noted. Among the strengths of Belarusian universities are: specialization in the regions, the system of additional adult education, and practical experience of teachers (2/3 of respondents). 58% of respondents are confident in the advantages of innovative educational technologies used by teachers, 47% indicated a low intensity of innovation implementation. Respondents noted the high level of Hard Skills competencies of the teaching staff and insufficiently of Soft Skills competencies for both teachers and students. The respondents identified outdated educational technologies and methods and the content of curricula as the fundamental weakness of Belarusian education. The following areas of quality improvement have been identified as the most important for Belarusian universities: - the development of Soft Skills competencies of both teachers and students to provide their close interaction; - the development of Soft Skills competencies among students to provide their close interaction with employers (the development of job search skills, entrepreneurial activity); - the introduction of active teaching and learning methods, the development of interactive educational technologies; - the inсlusion of students in the process of education quality internal assessment; - systematic assessment of teachers, including the process of applying for a job, teacher academic development planning (HR management). For the practical improvement in the suggested areas, it is advisable to create Life Long Learning Centres and Centres of Academic Development of teachers in Belarusian universities, as well as a student-oriented quality assessment system. To improve the quality and competitiveness of Belarusian education, it is also advisable to develop international cooperation and networking among universities. The positive experience of such projects as TEMPUS ECOTESY, ERASMUS + UniTeLE, ERASMUS + BELL and others, can contribute to such cooperation and interaction.

Intellectual Property Management: European Universities Experience

A comparative analysis of policies in the field of intellectual property (IP) of universities in leading European countries: Switzerland, the UK and the Netherlands. As a result of the comparison, the main components of these policies are identified as a single document: the purpose of the policy, the procedure for determining copyright holders, students' rights to IP, material incentives for using IP, and responsible structures. The policy of each university takes into account the features and traditions of its activities. It was revealed that each university has its own approach to material incentives for the creation and use of IP. The conditions are established under which the university does not claim to IP created by students. It is concluded that it is advisable to develop similar IP policies for Belarusian universities.

Road Safety Capacity Building in Belarus through the development of Road Safety Master Courses

The risk of traffic fatalities varies significantly across high, medium and low-income countries. Among the reasons for this in the latter ones, there is often a lack of road safety knowledge and political will. Road safety is a multidisciplinary topic and requires trained professionals able to identify and implement efficient measures in the areas of engineering, enforcement, education and emergency services, taking into consideration social and economic aspects as well. However, in some Eastern Europe Countries there are potential barriers to train adequately professionals, generally due to a lack of specialised training and training standardization. Such an example can be seen in Belarus where, although road safety is a key issue, it is not managed on an evidence-based approach and there seems to be insufficient funding for related research. An initiative towards increasing knowledge capacity is the Be-Safe project (EC Tempus), a joint effort between three EU Universities and four Belarusian Universities. The objective of this paper is to describe the methodology carried out in Be-Safe to develop and test for two years two 1st level Road Safety Master Courses (60 ECTS) in Belarus according to the Bologna process requirements. Initially, a User Needs Analysis was carried out to understand local conditions and needs in terms of teaching and research on road safety. The analysis highlighted a lack of research due to insufficient funding, linguistic barriers and inadequate international relationships. This isolation led to a need of updating contents and methods of courses for students as well as research topics. Then, expected learning outcomes and Masters’ curricula, one for the Technical Universities and one for the Economics Universities, were defined and developed respectively. Finally, Masters’ courses in four Belarusian Universities were tested. Quality results were ensured through a Quality Board and assessment tools to monitor the Masters’ process as a whole.

ПРИОРИТЕТЫ ИНТЕРНАЦИОНАЛИЗАЦИИ ВЫСШЕГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ РЕСПУБЛИКИ БЕЛАРУСЬ И ЭКСПОРТ БЕЛОРУССКОГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ

The research is aimed at identifying the peculiarities of higher education internationalization in the Republic of Belarus. The research objectives included the analysis of legislative and institutional sides of higher education internationalization and the evaluation of geographical priorities of higher education services export by Belarus. The research into higher education internationalization was initiated by Western researchers, including J. Knight, H. de Wit, P.G. Altbach, B. Leask, S. Robson, and others. However, the research into Belarusian higher education internationalization has started very recently and mostly covers the results of European projects in higher education conducted in Belarus. Therefore, the peculiarities and prospects of Belarusian higher education internationalization have not yet been considered sufficiently. Having analyzed the legislation in higher education, the authors concluded that the export of higher education became the priority of internationalization. Most policy documents set the aim of increasing the number of international students by improving the positions of Belarusian universities in international rankings and networking with foreign universities. Therefore, it may be concluded that Belarusian authorities interpret higher education internationalization from a very utilitarian point of view. Thus, it is not mainly aimed at improving the quality of higher education. Having considered the international students statistics the authors identified three geographical directions of Belarusian higher education export, namely Turkmenistan (the country providing almost half of international students in Belarus), China (the country of origin for most students receiving education abroad in the world), and Uzbekistan (the country that has significantly increased the number of students coming to Belarus recently). The geographical structure of Belarusian higher education export turned out to be very unbalanced because of the dominance of Turkmen students. However, Belarusian export of higher education to this country is now endangered by Turkmen educational policy hindering the outflow of school-leavers. Since Belarusian higher education has a very low ranking at Chinese labor market, the export of Belarusian higher education to China may grow but for a little only. Taking into account that the educational cooperation with Uzbekistan has activated recently, the export of Belarusian higher education to Uzbekistan is likely to increase within the following several years. Thus, the authors forecast the changes in geographical priorities of Belarusian higher education export. However, the advantages that made international students choose Belarus, namely stability and security, are endangered by the current political situation in the country. Therefore, the future of Belarusian export of higher education depends significantly on achieving fast political settlement.

The adaptation of students during academic mobility processes: The case of Belarus

The article describes the experience of Belarus in the field of international academic mobility. The purpose of the article is to reveal the theoretical and methodological aspects of the internationalization of higher education and academic mobility and describe the current situation on the integration of Belarus into the international context, from a sociological and statistical perspective. In view of the significant number of Belarusian students in Polish and Eastern European universities, the topic is relevant in the context of the study of academic mobility in Eastern Europe. As part of the first task, the theoretical aspects of studying the internationalization of higher education in the country are described – with justification for the development of both the external and internal internationalization, as well as a description of various types of students’ adaptation when studying abroad (academic, linguistic, socio-cultural). As part of the second task, the results of the author’s sociological study are presented, which includes two main components. Firstly, the results of a survey devoted to the study of the views of Belarusian students regarding academic mobility (including cognitive, affective and behavioural aspects) are presented. Secondly, the results of a series of in-depth interviews among participants in the processes of academic mobility aimed at studying the practices of Belarusian students staying abroad for educational purposes are considered. The studies showed the need to increase the awareness of Belarusian students about the possibilities of academic mobility (the vast majority of students have incomplete or fragmented ideas about the possibilities of academic mobility), as well as the problem of the incomplete involvement of the Belarusian higher education system in the international context (the activity of students participating in exchange programs is not counted at Belarusian universities). In accordance with the results, recommendations are given for the further integration of the Belarusian higher education system into the international context.

The principles of the formation of personnel academic strategies in Belarus

The article presents the results of a scientific study of the current state of the motivational component of academic workers in the Republic of Belarus. The trends of academic behavior of the faculty of Belarusian universities are determined. The factors affecting the academic motivation of teachers are identified. The analysis and evaluation of academic strategies for the development of universities in the socio-economic conditions of Belarus is presented, the characteristics of the factors and principles affecting the formation of personnel strategies are given.

Vasil Pavlovich Tepin and his «History of the Belarusian State University»

The life, scientific and pedagogical activities of Vasil Pavlovich Tepin, one of the organizer of the Belarusian State University, are considered in this article. As a dean of the faculty of pre-university education and later – associate professor at the pedagogical faculty – he published number of scientific and methodical works, made a significant contribution not only to the formation of university education, but also in the development of the Belarusian high school. V. P. Tepin was one of the victims of Stalin repressions of 1930s. After the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he stayed in Minsk and worked in the School Department of local administration. During the German occupation, he wrote his last work, «History of the Belarusian State University», in which he outlined his assessment of the events that preceded the creation of the university, the history of the first years of the BSU activities, his attitude to a number of teachers and political leaders of Belarus during the interwar period. The memoirs of V. P. Tepin, taken in comparison with the memoirs of other BSU staff and students of those two decades, help to reconstruct in more details the little-studied pages of the history of the first Belarusian university.

Monitoring of Educational Institutions Information Resources in the Republic of Belarus as a Tool for Implementing Policies in the Field of Export of Educational Services

The article considers the issues of monitoring of the educational institutions official websites in the Republic of Belarus, beginning with the 2018 interms of its influence on the potential of services export in education. Special attention is paid to a state and development of information resources of higher education institutions. Regulatory legal acts and other documents forming a normative basis of monitoring are analyzed. The organization of monitoring processes of the education institutions websites is considered in the manual regime as well as using the utomated information system for auditing education institutions information resources in the Republic of Belarus, assessment of their state and relevance is also considered (AIS Monitoring). The criteria for evaluation of the websites included in monitoring are presented and their comparison at the manual and automated way of realization is carried out. The analysis of monitoring results of the education institutions official websites in 2018 including that realized within trial operation of AIS Monitoring is produced. The correlation between the growth in the number of foreign students in higher education institutions and indicators for monitoring of information resources is assessed. The results of a quantitative assessment of the dependence of the growth rate of the number of foreign students at Belarusian universities on the level of compliance with the requirements for the informational content of official sites in terms of the list and cost of services provided in the form of a regression model are presented. Recommendations for further development and improvement of monitoring processes of information resources are formed.