“There Was No Choice”: Institutional Conditions and Cultural Narratives of Educational Choice in Single-Industry Towns
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14515/monitoring.2024.3.2537Keywords:
single-industry towns, educational choice, educational trajectories, school—university transition, university-industry cooperation, cultural narrativesAbstract
Within the framework of the cultural sociological approach, the article studies the cultural narratives that justify the educational choice of students studying in higher education programs in Russian single-industry towns, as well as the institutional conditions that lead to these choices. The research was carried out in a qualitative strategy based on the results of 70 semi-structured biographical and expert interviews with students and representatives of universities and enterprises of single-industry towns in the Sverdlovsk region. The field materials were interpreted using grounded theory and discourse analysis procedures.
The study allowed to identify eight key narratives, namely: the narrative of danger avoidance the narrative of being trapped and liberated; the narrative of destiny and duty to the city and industry; the narrative of free time; the narrative of irreversible randomness; the narrative of continuing the family legacy; the narrative of pride in engineering; and the narrative of reliability and care. The author describes the practices of interaction between universities and enterprises that determine the educational choice and include basic departments, organization of student internships, joint career guidance activities for schoolchildren, and special scholarships with the obligation to work them out afterwards.
Acknowledgements. The publication was prepared within the scientific project supported by the Russian Science Foundation No. 22-18-00687 «Research on the institutional design of the Russian education system transformation in the context of post-pandemic reality: ecosystem analysis and landscape mapping».
The author thanks Ekaterina Shibanova for the discussions about single-industry towns, Ekaterina Maslova for her help with research literature, Adele Ovakimyan for her help with interview guides, Gavriil Agarkov for his help with the field access, and Stanislav Avdeev, Elizaveta Aleksandrova, Anastasiya Andreeva, Ekaterina Abalmasova, Anastasiya Vshivkova, Mihail Gasinec, Aleksej Egorov, Margarita Kiryushina, Anastasiya Lahova, Elena Melnikova, Dmitrij Mihajlovskij, Anastasiya Pichugina, Anna Mariya Filippova, and Garik Chahoyan for conducting interviews used in the study.
References
Абрамов Р. Н. Советская инженерно-техническая интеллигенция 1960—80-х гг.: в поиске границ коллективного сознания // Вестник Института социологии. 2017. Т. 8. № 1. С. 114—130. https://doi.org/10.19181/vis.2017.20.1.441.
Abramov R. N. (2017) Soviet Engineering and Technical Intellectuals from the 1960’s to the 1980’s: Searching for the Boundaries of Collective Consciousness. Bulletin of the Institute of Sociology. Vol. 8. No. 1. P. 114—130. https://doi.org/10.19181/vis.2017.20.1.441. (In Russ.)
Богданов М. Б., Малик В. М. Как сочетаются социальное, территориальное и гендерное неравенства в образовательных траекториях молодежи России? // Мониторинг общественного мнения: экономические и социальные перемены. 2020. № 3. С. 391—421. https://doi.org/10.14515/monitoring.2020.3.1603.
Bogdanov M. B., Malik V. M. (2020) Social, Territorial and Gender Inequalities in Educational Trajectories of the Russian Youth. Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes. No. 3. P. 391—421. https://doi.org/10.14515/monitoring.2020.3.1603. (In Russ.)
Веселкова Н., Вандышев М., Прямикова Е. Профессиональное образование в моногородах: производство мобильности // Вопросы образования / Educational Studies Moscow. 2021. № 3. С. 8—32. https://doi.org/10.17323/1814-9545-2021-3-8-32.
Veselkova N., Vandyshev M., Pryamikova E. (2021) Technical and Vocational Education and Training in Monotowns: Production of Mobility. Voprosy obrazovaniya / Educational Studies Moscow. No. 3. P. 8—32. https://doi.org/10.17323/1814-9545-2021-3-8-32.
Каспэ И. В союзе с утопией: смысловые рубежи позднесоветской культуры. М.: НЛО. 2018.
Kaspe I. (2018) In Alliance with Utopia. The Semantic Frontiers of Late Soviet Culture. Moscow: New Literary Observer. (In Russ.)
Кукулин И. Периодика для ИТР: Советские научно-популярные журналы и моделирование интересов позднесоветской научно-технической интеллигенции // Новое литературное обозрение. 2017. № 3. С. 61—85.
Kukulin I. (2017) Periodicals for Engineers: Soviet Popular Science Journals and the Shaping of the Late-Soviet Scientific and Technical Intelligentsia’s Interests. New Literary Observer. No. 3. P. 61—85. (In Russ.)
Куракин Д. Трагедия неравенства: расчеловечивая «тотального человека» // Социологическое обозрение. 2020. Т. 19. № 3. С. 167—231. https://doi.org/10.17323/1728-192x-2020-3-167-231.
Kurakin D. (2020) Tragedy of Inequality: Dehumanizing “L’Homme Total”. Russian Sociological Review. Vol. 19. No. 3. P. 167—231. https://doi.org/10.17323/1728-192x-2020-3-167-231. (In Russ.)
Куракин Д., Кусимова Т. Нарративная структура «эскейпа»: прогрессивный нарратив и культурные структуры восходящей мобильности в селективном российском университете // Laboratorium: журнал социальных исследований. 2024. C. 102-140. https://doi.org/10.25285/2078-1938-2023-15-3-102-140.
Kurakin D., Kusimova T. (2024) Narrative Structures of “Escape”: Progressive Narrative and Cultural Structures of Upward Mobility at an Elite Russian University. Laboratorium: Russian Review of Social Research. P. 102-140. https://doi.org/10.25285/2078-1938-2023-15-3-102-140. (In Russ.)
Малиновский С.С., Шибанова Е.Ю., Маслова Е.А. В чем разница между «самыми лучшими» и «достаточно престижными» университетами? Карьерные ожидания студентов ведущих и неселективных вузов // Вопросы образования / Educational Studies Moscow. 2024. (в печати).
Malinovskiy S., Shibanova E., Maslova E. (2024) What is the Difference between a “Top” and a “Rather Prestigious” University? Career Expectations of Students of Leading and Non-Selective Universities. Educational Studies Moscow. (Forthcoming). (In Russ.)
Маслова А. Н. Моногорода в России: проблемы и решения // Контуры глобальных трансформаций: политика, экономика, право. 2011. Т. 4. № 5. С. 16—28.
Maslova A. N. (2011) Monocities in Russia: Problems and Solutions. Outlines of Global Transformations: Politics, Economics, Law. Vol. 4. No. 5. P. 16—28. (In Russ.)
Маслова Е. М. Уехать или остаться? Образовательная миграция выпускников селективных школ (на примере школы г. Хабаровска). Магистерская диссертация, на правах рукописи. М.: Высшая школа экономики, Институт образования, 2023.
Maslova E.M. (2023) To Leave or to Stay? Educational Migration of Graduates of Selective Schools (a Study Case of a School in Khabarovsk). Master's Thesis. Moscow: HSE University, Institute of Education. (In Russ.)
Романенко К. Р., Шибанова Е. Ю., Абалмасова Е. С., Егоров А. А. Высшее образование в моногородах: организационные форматы, практики, вызовы // Университетское управление: практика и анализ. 2018. T. 22. № 4. С. 110—125. https://doi.org/10.15826/umpa.2018.04.044.
Romanenko K.R., Shibanova E.Y., Abalmasova E.S. Egorov A.A. (2018) Higher Education in Single-Industry Towns: Models, Practices, Challenges. University Management: Practice and Analysis. Vol. 22. No. 4. P. 110—125. https://doi.org/10.15826/umpa.2018.04.044. (In Russ.)
Ткач О. А. Заводская династия: воспроизводство и трансформация “советского” феномена в контексте современной промышленной корпорации // Российский экономический интернет-журнал. 2007. № 3. С. 1—9.
Tkach O.A. (2007) Manufactorial Dynasty: Reproduction and Transformation of “Soviet” Phenomenon in the Context of a Modern Industrial Corporation. Russian Economics Online-Journal. No. 3. P. 1—9. (In Russ.)
Ткач О. А. Заводская династия как социально-культурный феномен: советский и постсоветский периоды: автореф. дисс. ...канд. социол. наук: 22.00.24. СПб.: Социологический институт РАН, 2008.
Tkach O. A. (2008) Manufactorial Dynasty as a Socio-Cultural Phenomenon: Soviet and Post-Soviet Periods. Extended Abstact of the Doctoral Dissertation in Sociology. Saint-Petersburg: Institute of Sociology, Russian Academy of Sciences. (In Russ.)
Ball S., Davies J., David M., Reay D. (2002) ‘Classification’ and ‘Judgement’: Social Class and the ‘Cognitive Structures’ of Choice of Higher Education. British Journal of Sociology of Education. Vol. 23. No. 1. P. 51—72. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425690120102854.
Binder W., Kurakin D. (2019) Biography and Form of Life. Toward a Cultural Analysis of Narrative Interviews. Sociológia (Sociology). Vol. 51. No. 6. P. 563—583. https://doi.org/10.31577/sociologia.2019.51.6.23.
Cian H., Dou R. (2024) Masculinized Discourses of STEM Interest, Performance, and Competence that Shape University STEM Students' Recognition of a “STEM Person”. Journal of Research in Science Teaching. Vol. 61. No. 5. P. 1062-1092. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21937.
Clark B. R., Trow M. (1966) The organizational context. In: Newcomband T. M., Wilson E. K. (eds.) College Peer Groups: Problems and Prospects for Research. Chicago, IL: Aldine Press. P. 17-70.
Gergen K. (2005) Narrative, Moral Identity, and Historical Consciousness: A Social Constructionist Account. In: J. Straub (ed.) Narration, Identity, and Historical Consciousness. New York, NY: Berghahn. P. 99—119.
Hayter R. (2017) Single Industry Resource Towns. In: Sheppard E., Barnes T. J. (eds.) A Companion to Economic Geography. P. 290—307. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405166430.ch18.
Lamont M. (2017) Prisms of Inequality: Moral Boundaries, Exclusion, and Academic Evaluation. Amsterdam: Praemium Erasmianum Foundation.
Lareau A. (2015) Cultural Knowledge and Social Inequality. American Sociological Review. Vol. 80. No. 1. P. 1—27. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122414565814.
Lareau A. (2018) Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life. In: Grusky D. B., Hill J. (eds.) Inequality in the 21st Century. Routledge. P. 444—451.
Lemke J. (1994) Textual Politics: Discourse and Social Dynamics. London: Taylor & Francis.
MacLure M. (2003) Discourse in Educational and Social Research. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Minina E., Yanbarisova D., Pavlenko E. (2020) Educational Choice of Russian High School Students in Grade Nine. International Studies in Sociology of Education. Vol. 29. No. 4. P. 326—343. https://doi.org/10.1080/09620214.2020.1728362.
Minina E., Pavlenko E. (2023) ‘Choosing the Lesser of Evils’: Cultural Narrative and Career Decision-Making in Post-Soviet Russia. Journal of Youth Studies. Vol. 26. No. 9. P. 1109—1129. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2022.2071123.
Scott W. R. (2008) Institutional Theory meets Organization Studies. In: Scott W. R. (ed.) Institutions and Organizations: Ideas and Interests. Sage. P. 19—46.
Strauss A. L., Corbin, J. (1990) Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Trow M. A. (1960) The Campus Viewed as a Culture: Research on College Students. Boulder: Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education. P. 106—123.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
