Abstract:

Introduction. Modern higher education is facing new challenges. On the one hand, everyone understands that modern students cannot be taught in the same way as before, new approaches and different teaching methods must be applied to them. On the other hand, these new approaches and methods should consider not only the features of the new digital generation, but also be focused on allowing students to form the necessary competencies for their successful future. Universities should focus not only on the question "How to teach?", but also on where we want to go in general, what model of the future we expect to focus on. An important factor here is the motivation of students themselves, their attitude to learning. In recent years, an important trend has emerged in Russian higher education – giving students the opportunity to choose what subjects they want to study and how. At the same time, the emphasis is on the freedom and responsibility of students. It is assumed that students are aware of their learning, have the necessary level of responsibility and involvement. This trend corresponds to the target settings of the educational development in Russia. The purpose of this article is to assess the attitude of students to the process of their learning.
Data and method. The research was implemented through an online survey of 3rd-year students of universities in the Sverdlovsk region, implemented in 2020 at the peak of the coronavirus pandemic (N=2000, the sample is quota-based on the gender and learning profile). The restriction of the research object to 3-year students is due to their median position in the university. They have already passed the necessary adaptation and started to think about their professional future.
The results show that the majority of respondents (62%) are satisfied with the possibility of choosing an individual educational path in their university. About one in seven (14%) is dissatisfied with this possibility. The majority of students (64%) approach the learning process selectively. On the one hand, they try to report on their studies in a timely manner, avoiding debts. On the other hand, they are more focused on learning what they are interested in, what they consider more important and necessary for themselves. Moreover, for a third of the students (34%) this interest in obtaining higher education is generally not related to the profession being mastered. Almost a tenth of students (8%) can be conditionally called "fun-loving", they do not make much effort to study, the period of study at the university is perceived as a time of freedom, entertainment, riotous student life. But at the same time they try not to "fly" out of the university, performing some necessary minimum for this. The data were analyzed by gender, training profile, marital status and financial indicators (budget and contract forms of education).
Conclusions. There are some contradictions. On the one hand, the development of higher education goes in the direction of learning individualization and increasing students' responsibility for their education. On the other hand, students are not ready for such responsibility. Giving students the freedom to choose their own personal educational track should lead to a new motivation for students, when they will not receive a ready-made educational package (universities, disciplines, deadlines, etc.), but will have the opportunity to adjust it in different directions.

Keywords:

Education, individualization of education, educational trends, youth, students, Ural