Abstract:

The transformation of higher education in Russia is associated with the abrupt structural and qualitative changes, therefore, the factors of its effective development became one of the important research tasks. So, the social community of teachers of the “third” (retirement and pre-retirement) age seems to be the most important resource for the implementation of reforms in the field of higher education. The pension reform in Russia implements the quantitative growth of the teachers’ community of the “third age’. On the one hand, we consider understanding the potential of this professional community, its role in the university development. On the other hand, the changing university environment becomes a real challenge for the university teachers of the “third age”.

Research Methods:
The article is based on several research projects conducted by the Ural Federal University team in 2017-2019. Our findings were derived from the quantitative data collected in a mass survey of teachers of the Urals Federal District (UFD), based on the questionnaire method. The general population consisted of teachers in 51 UFD universities, and the quota sampling was implemented. The total sample size consisted of 810 university teachers, where the strata of the “third age” professorship comprised the 38.5% of the total sample size.

Research results:
It appeared, that teachers of the “third age” demonstrate a high level of adaptation to the changes in higher education. In general, they succeed in self-realization in different professional (pedagogical, scientific) activities. They show relatively high public and civic activity, while they compete with the younger teachers. The “third age” professorship fully implement their expert-advisory functions, they are highly oriented towards interaction with the authorities, business, and make influence on public opinion. At the same time, teachers of the “third age” feel themselves highly insecure in the university and in the professional sphere, as far as they are extremely skeptical towards the changes in the field of higher education. Also, they feel personal responsibility for the consequences of the institutional change in the higher education system.

General conclusions:
Reformers of the Russian higher education system does not take into account the specific needs and capabilities of the “third age professorship”. In this regard, we assist, that management approaches in universities should be modified by creating institutional conditions and technologies, that drive the human capital of the “third age professorship” community.

Keywords:

University, higher education, third age professorship, educational reforms, professional development.