Abstract:

The behavioral strategies of Russian students have been noticeably changing recently. These changes are taking place in the context of economic and social uncertainty caused by the systemic global and national crisis, the coronavirus pandemic. It is obvious that in many ways such strategies are focused on adaptation to social changes and on achieving social and educational success. The vector of changes in students' behavioral strategies requires special study. This will allow researchers to explain the processes that are already occurring and may occur in the future in higher education in Russia.

The purpose of the paper is to determine the nature of changes and features of behavioral strategies of Russian students in the conditions of uncertainty in the development of higher education. Research tasks are:
1) to give a general characteristics of the strategies of Russian students and changes in them;
2) to identify the main trends of these strategies in terms of socio-economic crisis in Russian society and the situation of uncertainty in higher education;
3) to consider the factors of transformation of the behavioral strategies of students in the context of educational success/failure.

The object of research is students of Russian universities. The subject of the research is trends in changes of students' behavioral strategies on the way to social and educational success. Empirical base and research methods: an expert interview of University teachers in Yekaterinburg (n=34, 2019-2020); a questionnaire survey of young people in the Sverdlovsk region (n=1042, 2020); a survey of University teachers in the Urals on the educational motivation of students and their readiness to study at the University (n=200, 2016-2018); focus groups of Yekaterinburg University students (n=3, 2019; n=3, 2020), analysis of statistical data on education, secondary analysis of research data previously conducted on the topic under study.

The novelty of the research: consideration the main forms and types of students' activities as a criterion for identifying behavioral strategies; characterizing the intra-community structure of students; structuring the community of students in the core, semi-periphery and periphery zones and identifying the features of their behavioral strategies in accordance with their place and role in the life of the University.

Main results of the study:
1. Characteristics of changes occurring in the structure of students as an educational community, and identification of behavioral strategies that are formed in students of the «core», «semi-periphery», «periphery».
2. Characteristics of the main students' behavioral strategies, their social and educational context, as well as trends of changes in these strategies under the influence of the systemic crisis of Russian society and the situation of uncertainty in higher education.
3. Characteristics of objective and subjective, external and internal, social, economic, pedagogical, socio-psychological, psychological factors that affect the main directions of changes in the students' behavioral strategies on the way to social and educational success.

Keywords:

Behavioral strategies, higher education, Russian students, educational strategy, directions of change, educational and social success/failure.