Abstract:

The process of globalization, integration and differentiation tells not only on the policy and economy of any country; it tells on people – their relationships, mutual understanding and dialogue in the broad sense of the word. It explains the interest to culture, values and national identity of different linguo-cultural and religious communities.

National identity is a cognitive and emotional process of identifying oneself with some nation, the sense of a nation as a whole represented by traditions, culture, language and politics.

Education can be regarded as systematic efforts built up by the society in order to deliver knowledge, values, attitude and skills among their group members and enhance individual’s potential. Through education, individuals can get self-esteem, assertiveness and confidence.

As national identity is socially constructed, education has a very important role in transmitting and fostering values that determine the behaviour and attitude specific to a certain nation.

Globalization has aggravated the problem of national and cultural identity. On the one hand, it contributes to the volume of information people get, broadens their mind. On the other hand, it can lead to cultural inequality.

How can we construct national identity in the so-called “global world” when economic, cultural, political, ecological events in one country become significant for people living in other countries?

Russian educational institutions couldn’t but react to such global processes. They took the strategy of adapting to new terms welcoming foreign students, making contacts with companies on conducting research and training staff, borrowing new trends and educational forms (lifelong learning, distance learning, international commercial activity and so on).

The problem Russia faces now is how to manage the integration of national education and international educational patterns to improve the quality and competitiveness of the national one, but at the same time to preserve historical values and national and cultural identity.

The peculiar features of Russian education that many educationalists believe must be preserved are the following:
- education has historically been considered as a 3-aspect process including teaching, personal development and upbringing;
- Russian education has been based on humanitarian principles, that were supposed to foster sense, conscience, citizenship and responsibility in any student;
- during the educational process students are exposed to the Russian literature and Russian culture. As Russia is a polycultural country the culture of the whole country represents the system of different cultures that exist together;
- Russian people have been taught to regard themselves as members of the society being in close relations with their relatives and peers as members of one community.

A lot of people say that the quality of education in Russia gets down. We must improve the system of education and create conditions for restoring national enthusiasm and forming national identity.

Keywords:

Globalization, national identity, Russian education.