Proceedings of International Social Sciences and Business Research Conference
4 - 5 December 2014, Hotel Himalaya, Kathmandu, Nepal, ISBN: 978-1-922069-65-8
Further Education in Russia: Students Motivation and
Influence on Their Career Perspectives
Kseniya Tkacheva
The main aim of our report is to examine motivation of Russians to receive further
education. All our conclusions are based on the data analysis of the research
«Evrobarometr in Russia», conducted 2 times per year since November, 2012.
Sample size - 6000 people. This survey is carried in 10 Russian regions, in each
of them 600 people are questioned. Received data is valid and representative for
Russia generally and for each region as well.
The data analysis showed that there are two important factors influencing choice
to continue education. The first one is career investments. People who are
motivated by this factor have opinion that further education broaden their career
possibilities, increase probabilities of promotion and will be important for employer
in the future. The second factor is investments in personal development. It is
based on opinion that the main value of further education is expanding the
perspective and receiving new, non-utilitarian knowledge. Furthermore, while
those who perceive further education to make career investments are sure that
they will capitalise their knowledge, those who think about personal development
don’t expect any economic profits in the future from this experience.
Paradoxically people who have more stable job less often receive further
education to make career investments. They are sure that this knowledge is
mostly non-utilitarian. Their main purpose is self-development. On the other hand,
students and respondents under 25 years are those who are sure that further
education will have important impact on their career. With growth of time in
employment belief in utility of further education significantly decrease. Whose
expectations are more realistic? Does further education in Russia really influence
on career perspectives or this is wrong motivation? These and other questions will
be examined more explicitly in our report.
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Ms. Kseniya Tkacheva, Research Fellow, Centre for Sociological Research, The Russian Presidential
Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Russia, Mailing address and
Email address: ks.tkacheva@gmail.com