On education dimension of Europeanization – theory and policy: case of Russia

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The Government of the Russian Federation

Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education

"National Research University"

Higher School of Economics

Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs

Bachelor's Programme `HSE and University of London Parallel Degree Programme in International Relations'

GRADUATION THESIS

On education dimension of Europeanization - theory and policy: case of Russia

Student of the group № 162

Sofiya I. Kuznetsova

Moscow, 2020

Abstract

Dissolution of the former Soviet Union led to the establishment of a new state namely Russia in which an implementation of a wave of new policies had started. Feeling the aftermaths of two World wars and a Cold War, the country opted for modernizing many of its sectors in which education, specifically higher education system, was of primary importance. Russia mimicked much of its new policy reforms from the European model because of the growing globalization, cultural integration among countries and the strengthening effects of Europeanization on the European Union. In doing so, Russia borrowed European tools of higher education system and for a thorough implementation of the policies, the decision of joining the Bologna Process was made. Other factors such as the involvement of international institutions, the country's joining of international platforms etc. have also helped Russia modernize and westernize its system of higher education. On the contrary, Russian inclination towards Asia was not as much as it was towards the European Union because much of the Central Asian countries look up to Russia for support and its unpleasant experience in South Asia also proved detrimental. Russia adopted many components of European higher education system like credit transfer system, split-degree programs, privatization of higher education institutions etc. in order to modernize its education system. In addition, programs initiated by European Union (EU) and Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) like Assessment of Learning Outcomes in Higher Education (AHELO) and Tuning programs respectively also had positive effects on the country's higher education institutions as they helped it in improving the quality of education, training and development for both students and instructors. This enabled Russia to attract students, resources and professionals from around the world and compete in the international globalized environment. The country benefitted from reforming its education system on European patterns by infrastructure development, preferential grants and financing of many educational projects in the country. The recent Russia - Ukraine crisis affected the economic aspects linked to the higher education system in terms of suspension of grants and loans. However, little effects were witnessed otherwise in areas like student mobility, scholarships etc. Although, Russia started developing its educational ties with Asia-Pacific countries after 2010, its needs to diversify its cooperation with other countries as well to decrease its reliance on EU.

Keywords: Europeanization, Russian Higher Education Institutes (HEIs), European Higher Education Area (EHEA), Bologna Process (BP), Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), International Institutions.

Introduction

Russian education system in the past has remained different from other education systems of the world. During the Soviet era, all education policies and structures were subjects of state regulation and education's focus was mainly on scientific subjects. External factors such as the two World wars and the Cold War also forces changes on the education systems across the global. For instance, during the Cold War period, the United States (U.S.) and former Soviet Union (S.U.) did not involve military activities but the battle was shifted to ideological grounds in which the role of education, development of literature and logical competitive narratives became crucial. Technological and scientific advancement related to nuclear weapons and space engineering were also major basis of competitiveness, forcing countries to emphasize on uplifting their educational standards in order to succeed in the ideological war.

Later on dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 led to the establishment of a new global order in which interconnectedness among countries started growing. The new world order stressed on a global education system and it set global standards for education so that countries shared a common sense of orientation: this specially addressed the question of the higher education systems keeping in view trends in globalization. Russian education system in this regard lagged behind from European countries because of the outdated academic curriculum devised during the Soviet era with little or no modifications done with time. It is important to note that Soviet education system particularly emphasized on scientific and technological education, as it would enhance industrialization and defense capability of the country to compete with its rivals of those times because of Cold War phenomenon. It was also based on the rapid industrialization of European countries and their increasing influence abroad.

The new world order also witnessed the establishment of a supra-natural entity in the form of European Union (EU), which brought together values, norms, policies etc. from the European Community (EC), or European countries in the form a shared structure. This connectedness among the European countries strengthened the European culture, norms and values as well as internationalized their model of governance due to the growing globalization. Hence, a wave of Europeanization has started and many countries that were joining the European Union aligned their domestic policies and legislations with that of the Union. In this regard, education sector also came into spotlight and the countries chose the standard education system throughout the European Union for the greater interest of European citizens. However, this policy initiative did not remain confined to Europe alone and many countries internationally started either replicating the policies or borrowing them to modify and modernize their education systems.

For Russia, the effects of Europeanization were far greater as compared to any other countries based on factors such as geographical proximity, historical relations with European countries. Many Eastern European countries became independent after the dissolution of former Soviet Union; majority of Russian population resides in the European part of the country and shares common values, norms and traditions with them. This entailed various components of Russia, which were influenced by Europeanization in which politics, economics, and governance (focusing on education) remained at the top, as they were interconnected. During the mid and late 1990s, education sector of the country was reformed by adopting practices of European Union. Ruling elite of the country particularly chose the higher education institutions to modernize so to keep them at par with the international standards. Europeanization and subsequent intensifying globalization depicted a visionary policy implementation by the EU, which attracted many countries to adopt similar approaches for strengthening their institutions and their respective development. Russia followed the European course because of its overarching compatibility with the European countries.

After reviewing literature, the major argument of this research is that, the Europeanization as a political theory did not remain confined to politics only rather it had many multiple effects that were economic, social and educational in nature. Russia became one of the countries, which witnessed the effects of Europeanization largely. Many of the Russian programs like social sciences, credit transfer, dual-degree programs etc. were influenced directly by Europeanization; Russian economic policies in late 1990s and early 2000s were specially adapted and adjusted to serve the European interests, as EU became its major trading partner.

With regard to this information it is a major question whether two competing perspectives (specifically western and Slavic) prevailed on the subject if Russia is considered to be a part of European civilization. The first school of thought was led by Westernizers who argued that Europeanization was imperative for Russia as it was the “engine of global development” both in scientific and intellectual spheres. They were of the view that European model was compatible and preferred course of action for Russia to compete in the continuously developing international atmosphere. On the contrary, Slavophiles stated that the country needed to pave its own path and did not adopt to European or Western course of action. They argued that European countries needed to learn from its rich historical background and powerful civilization of Russia (Yegorov, 2019).

Russia adopted the European model of higher education to compete with the globalized world. As discussed earlier, EU was seen as a visionary supra-natural political identity implementing effective policies based on the growth of different European countries especially France, the United Kingdom, etc. Russia, as a country, faced many problems in its outdated education system due to which many of its institutions grew weak and the country was unable to compete internationally. The launch of Bologna Process provided Russia with an opportunity to carry out structural reforms and policy adjustment in its education sector. Based on this, the study will look how Russia adopted the higher education dimension of EU and what were the consequences of these reforms on Russia.

It has also been noted that while many institutions governing Bologna Process and European Higher Education Area countries in terms of their education policy state that the Russian reforms have proved very beneficial for the country and have limited or no restrictions on its implementation at all. Although there are many scholars like Lukas Bischof, Iu.S. Ezrokh etc. present a counter argument for this particular point. According to their research and analysis of the topic, Russia faces many challenges and has to overcome many problems, which can be solved only by transformations of language, mobility, education and culture. In addition, many have linked the process to politically driven objectives as well making Russia's joining of the Bologna Process quite controversial.

The role of international institutions and organizations such as the World Bank and Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development is also relevant in terms of financing many educational projects in the country, which were linked directly or indirectly to reforming the educational sector of the country by inducing European standards and policies of education, sometimes completely and sometimes occasionally.

“Education dimension of Europeanization - Theory and Policy: Case of Russia” remains a topic of high importance as it needs to be studied in terms of policy input and development of further literature in this particular domain. Much of the studies done on this topic were during the early 2000s after which many developments occurred. The paper will incorporate the relatively newer landscape of Europeanization and its effects on Russian education system while towing the lines of the older literature available.

This research will analyze how the education dimension of Europeanization was translated on Russian policy reforms and the way it was adopted by Russian policy makers. It will also take into account the factors leading to the adoption of the European educational policies while measuring the effectiveness of these policies as well as how beneficial or detrimental they proved for the Russian Federation. It will help understand the short-comings and strengths of the aforementioned education system and the research will highlight recommendation on improving the existing policy(ies).

Hypothesis

Europeanization as a concept entailed credible effects on Russian higher education system, enabling subsequent integration of them. However, this process was slow and controversial, bringing about inner tensions and unresolved issues that resulted in economic and political costs for the Russian society.

Research Questions

1. What is Europeanization and what were the effects of its emergence on Russia?

2. How did Europeanization and Bologna Process (BP) led to the Russian joining of the process and subsequent implementation of reforms in its higher education system?

3. What steps has Russia taken to modernize and align its higher education system with the European standards? To what extent have international institutions influenced Russia to adopt the European educational standards and policies in its domestic framework?

Organization of the Study

This study is divided into three sections (chapters); the details are mentioned below:

· Chapter 1: This chapter discusses the concept of Europeanization by taking into account definitions and scholarly debates from different authors. It discusses economic, political, social and educational components of Europeanization. Moreover, it also discusses the formation of European Community (EC) which strengthened Europeanization in policy and practice vis-а-vis the different countries that were involved. Furthermore, two types of Europeanization are also discussed which include “Top-Down Europeanization” and “Horizontal Europeanization”. These two types enable the study to analyze how Europeanization's effects were translated in domestic policies of European states and the way they spread internationally.

· Chapter 2: The second chapter studies how Europeanization had spillover effects on Russia due to its historical ties and socio-cultural harmony with the European values. It also takes into account how Europeanization led to the formation of Bologna Process (BP) for standardizing education throughout European Union (EU) and its adoption by the Russian Federation. To explain the internationalization or spread of policies under Bologna Process, this study highlights the example of Kazakhstan and other Eastern countries. This specific research was made in order to show that the policies were adopted by Russia not only on the basis of historical and cultural aspect but rather rely on the fact that other countries also imported and implemented many policies to modernize and reform their educational systems. It also highlights the factors leading to the modernization or reformation of former Soviet education system and afterwards discusses how it was transformed, especially in view of Russia's joining of Bologna Process. In doing so, it discusses Russian transformation from a closed education system to an open education system in which the focus were on the new disciplines and not on the traditional disciplines that were studying in the country during soviet times. It follows discussion about particular programs that were adopted by Russia and to what extent they were implemented; it particularly focuses on the programs such as European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), inclusion in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), implementation of European Credits Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS), European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance etc. Finally, it discusses other relevant and influential aspects on education of the country such as international institutions and economic sanctions on the country.

· Chapter 3: This chapter assesses how Europeanization has effected Russian educational system in practice by taking into account various factors of Russian adoption of European policies in higher education system. Some statistics and graphs that illustrate changes in student's thought are provided and give us clearer understanding of how young people are motivated to get a higher degree. It will also discuss whether Russia has solely relied on Europe for educational transformation or has it also remained inclined towards the Asian region. At the end, it will study if the ongoing pandemic, COVID-19, has affected the international cooperation in education sector particularly its implications on Russia, if there are any.

Research Design & Methods

The study will explore how the education system of Russia was reformed. It will take into account the different causes and their effects on the country. In doing so, components of the former education system of Russia will be analysed too with the primary focus on the contemporary education system. Hence, the study will have a comparative analysis of the two systems as well. The study will contain both empirical and theoretical data for doing a wide-ranging research. This will be based on both qualitative and quantitative forms of data.

For examining the subject thoroughly, it is relevant to be aware of the historical context of different aspects including political, economic and social dimensions because they had great influence on the reforms in education system of Russia. In addition, the educational reforms in Russia were based on Bologna Process on which providing a detailed analysis is crucially important. Therefore, the research of this study will examine old archive papers, research reports, peer-review research papers, books written on the topic, working papers published on the topic and other relevant material. Some useful information from graphs, statistical illustrations etc. might be taken into account. Dissertations and theses published in universities will also be consulted. For deeply analysing the topic, I will also study the original document of Bologna Process.

Quantitative data would be my prior focus because of the fact that the type of the research is being conducted in exploratory in nature. Majority of the data collection will be based on quantitative data so that theoretical perspectives and different connotations on the topic are discussed. This will enable me in critically analyzing the topic and then formulate better recommendations in this regard. Much of the data collection will be done through the open-source platform. The research will also take into account the criticism done on Russian policy while adopting the European model of higher education in order to reach a balanced conclusion.

Chapter 1. Theoretical Principles of Europeanization

This study revolves around the concept of Europeanization in theory and practice to explain how it has effected the education system through the European integration and its influence on the Russian education system. To understand and thoroughly examine the aforementioned topic, it is important to understand the concept of Europeanization first and then analyse its application on the education sector. It will discuss the development of Europeanization and its spread in various countries with effects in different fields like politics, governance, education, economics etc.

1.1 Definition and Concept

To start with, Europeanization is a very broad term usually mixed with European integration. Howell (2002) defines it as a concept of uploading EU's “shared beliefs, informal and formal rules” along with European identities and discourses vertically and afterwards horizontally in the form of policy transfer. Europeanization is taken as a meta-theory to examine if it has the effects of neo-functionalism. Olsen (2002) further explains this argument by stating that Europeanization involves interaction with non-European institutions and actors through which it assesses the position of Europe in international order. This involves examining the positive import and export balance with these actors and depicts the influence of European Union on international arena.

Howell (2002) explains how Dyson and Goetz have indicated the use of Europeanization stating that it is used sometimes to denote the implementation of and European Union (EU) legislation and sometimes to refer policy transfer within the EU. In addition, it is employed to describe paradigm shifts in national policy and the use of instruments by EU at different levels. Ladrech (1994) defined it as “an incremental process reorienting the direction and shape of politics” so much so that the economic and political dynamics of nation become part of the European Community (EC). In this context, Olsen (2002) elaborates the application of Europeanization in a different way: not confining it just to the European frame rather considers it as a model for export of Europeanization. This is done through a process of diffusion by mutual adaptation aimed at finding a significant position in the changing political world order.

Buller & Gamble (2016) viewed the modern form of Europeanization by stating that it involves a situation where different approaches of European governance have led to the transformation of domestic politics. They note that although the initiatives vis-а-vis the governance are taken at state level yet they have a spillover effect at the EU level. Jordan (2002) considers Europeanization as a process-based approach (theory) having effects that are not only limited to the European Community. It entails “institutional context of political action and historical process.” The fifth point considered by Olsen while explaining the uses of Europeanization revolves around the aforementioned explanations. It considers Europeanization as a “political project” determining the degree of European influence outside the European continent not only on territorial space but also on domestic adaptation of external actors regarding the policy frameworks aligned to that of EU (Olsen, 2002).

According to Vale (2011) there are two different concepts related to Europeanization, which are further linked to how they have remained relevant in terms of transferring the European norms and policies to other countries. The first one is “Top-Down Europeanization” and the second one is named as “Horizontal Europeanization”. Top-down Europeanization is primarily associated with how different countries in the European Union work on their respective domestic policies to transform them in line with the European Union shared beliefs, norms and supra-natural structure. Much of the emphasis in this type is laid on harmonizing domestic policies with other states and to cater any challenges that might constrain the development of European Union as an entity. The latter one is more relevant for this study. Horizontal Europeanization highlights how different countries join the European Union framework both as a whole or adopt specific components of it. For example, in the early stages, the much wealthier and modernized Western European Countries because of their political power dominated economically weak and less industrialized Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECS). Despite knowing about political advantage of Western European countries, the Central and Eastern European Countries joined the process of Europeanization in order to transform their domestic policies and reform their institutions through which they would gain long-term benefits. This has been termed as “anticipatory adaption.”

1.2 Spill-Over Effects of Europeanization on Russia

After examining the conceptual perspectives on Europeanization, we can now connect it with far-reaching effects on other countries. Having geographical proximity with Europe and historical connections with it, Russia has been one of the countries having witnessed effects of Europeanization. Gromoglasova (2011) discusses how Europeanization beyond the EU has “governance spill-over” owing to its nature as a process. This spillover is not only led by political integration but is connected with different multiple factors like economy, policy making, education, institutional adjustments in coherence with EU norms. It is also discussed that such harmony is to be analyzed with EU membership and non-membership component.

However, some academics highlight one specific factor rather than agreeing with harmony of many factors. According to Tampayeva (2015) the second world war changed the reasons of educational transfer. The education dimension of Europeanization is connected to the various factors including: (i) the collapse of socialist bloc (U.S.S.R), (ii) upward trajectory of globalization and (iii) integration and reintegration of post-socialist countries with Europe. The wave of educational reforms through Europeanization did not directly reach Russia rather East European and Baltic states were the ones to integrate with EU first and to adopt the share values on the basis of natural cultural commonalities. To understand this phenomenon, it is imperative to study how and to what extent these effects were generated. The collapse of socialist system generated and afterwards accounted for the adoption of “educational borrowing” as a phenomenon. As discussed earlier, globalization and collapse of socialist system occurred parallel to each other making the globalization of education more and more possible. With its growing influence, the capitalist bloc - prevailing in the West and EU - started implementing its own values in which education sector remained in the spotlight. Literature development during the Cold War was heavily focused on what kind of educational policies and institutions can strengthened the position of the country. The newly independent countries intensified educational policy borrowing in theory and practice as they evaluated the development of the United States (U.S.) and EU majorly through industrialization.

The traditional governance structures and mechanisms of higher education systems in both Eastern and Western Europe have had increasingly transformed into embedded transnational environment because of the New Public Management. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, reforms were being implemented in almost all the Western European countries directed at “transforming” their higher education institutions into “complete organisations.” This also resulted in a shift from state-controlled model of higher education to a “state supervising” model where the state serves the needs of the education system indirectly and not much involvement of the statecraft is necessary. In addition, standards of education and performance measures were also uplifted and focused more on the outputs of these processes (Bischof, 2018, pp. 77-78). Shortly, these policies were also adopted on the global level mainly by international organizations such as Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Bank (WB) etc. so much so that a new “global model” was said to regulate “international discourse on higher education governance.” These organizations intensified the implementation of the new model by providing reform packages to the newly independent countries (post-socialist) including the Russian Federation (Bischof, 2018).

It was in 1999, when Vladimir Putin declared Kaliningrad as a source of cooperation between Russia and EU and already in 2003 effects of the Bologna process were felt by Russian Federation. Gдnzle et al. (2008) argued that education dimension in the EU had always been neglected. However, with the initiation of Bologna Process, not only EU but also associated countries were also able to create educational policies so to make benefit out of Europeanization and intensifying globalization. In this regard, Russia in mid and late 1990s was able to develop cooperation with EU for reforming its education system on the patterns of EU.

In the post-Soviet era, European influence started expanding towards east as European Union launched a number of EU-funded educational programs which had two components embedded in them: (i) they were designed in way that the participating countries would join EU through them and (ii) they were closely linked to Bologna process so to equalize the higher education standards throughout the globe. Russia supported and joined the Bologna Process in 2003; four years after 29 European countries signed the declaration proved that Europeanization's educational sphere had started gaining momentum. The effects were more visible when even countries like Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan (being non-signatory and non-eligible for joining the Process) adopted reforms in line with the Bologna process. Russia even stated reforms internally prior to formally becoming part of the Bologna Process, which showed how much the area of the European influence was expanding (Bischof, 2018). It can also be related to the fact that Russia and Europe share long history and due to cultural integration and people-to-people connectedness, Europeanization was somewhat already accepted as a developed function.

1.3 Higher Education and Bologna Process in International Educational Settings

The Bologna Process is a mutually agreed mechanism among 48 European countries to promote inter-governmental cooperation in the field of higher education and coherence in the education structure of these countries (BONJEAN, 2018b). The Bologna Process was launched in 1998 - 1999 to establish specific goals for reforming the outdated education system of the participating countries including:

i. Adoption of three-cycle degree structure (bachelor's, master's and doctorate);

ii. Adoption of shared instruments like European Credits Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS), European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) etc.;

iii. Ensured mutual recognition of qualifications and learning periods abroad;

iv. Implemented and strengthened quality assurance regime for both learning and teaching (BONJEAN, 2018b).

It also established the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) in 2010 for facilitating students and the staff. The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) works on shared values such as freedom of expression, institutional autonomy, independent student unions, academic freedom, and free movement for both students and staff. European Higher Education Area (EHEA) serves as a process for continuously reforming the higher education systems of countries in European area focusing on developing adaptability in their institutions and associated stakeholders because of which they become more compatible and operate on standard quality assurance mechanisms. “For all these countries, the main goal is to increase staff and students' mobility and to facilitate employability” (European Higher Education Area and Bologna Process, n.d.). The official website of European Community highlights the importance of Bologna Process by stating that it holds an important space in soft diplomacy with many neighbouring and extra-regional countries like Western Balkans, Turkey, Russia and others (BONJEAN, 2018b).

To understand it in a better way, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan models of educational borrowing is a good example to be quoted here. According to Steiner-Khamsi & Waldow (2012), Kyrgyzstan's case of importing reforms can be interpreting under the lens of economics of policy borrowing where securing external funding from donors only for a specific time until the funding is available. However, Silova (2008) contradicts with this argument stating that international aid in Kazakhstan (which transformed to finance education and health sector in 1999) proved to be beneficial for the country as it accounted for considerable reduction “in the number of loans from international donors.” This also enable the country to decrease its reliance on international financial institutions.

Luchinskaya & Ovchynnikova (2011) discuss how Bologna Process enabled policy transfer and implementation while minimizing “the differences between policy and practice” which was the primary theme of European Conference on Research in Education 2009. Their view of Russian progress in implementing the reforms listed in the Bologna Process is somewhat different from others: in a comparative analysis between Ukraine and Russia. According to them, until 2009 the Bologna Scorecards and National Reports showed slow Russian progress compared to Ukraine, which signed the Bologna Declaration two years after Russia.

As discussed earlier, many of the East European and Baltic countries after the dissolution of Soviet Union were looking for a help from the different poles of power. Already having Russian influence politically, these countries opted to develop their respective educational and industrial sectors for becoming relevant in the international system. The focus on education took place because of the two particular points: (i) rise of the U.S. and EU through it and (ii) globalization, brain drain and decrease in intellectual manpower from under-developed and developing countries. This also affected the Russian thought process on the subject and although hesitant, it followed the suit.

In view of the earlier mentioned discussion about Horizontal Europeanization, it is important to consider the fact that with adoption of the European framework by Central and Eastern European Countries, effects were translated on Russia because of geographical proximity and the fact the majority of the country geographically falls in the European continent. It is also worth noting that Central and Eastern European Countries carried Europeanization out when the more influential Western European Countries used `top-down' Europeanization to upload their policies, which then was downloaded through the concept of Horizontal Europeanization. This was replicated in case of Russia as it saw the strengthening of educational institutions of CEECs. So, it is debated that these concepts of Europeanization interact to induce transformational effects at the domestic level.

1.4 Internationalization of Bologna Process: Snowballing from Eastern Europe

According to Ezrokh (2017) explanations of the question why Russia joined the Bologna Process, the most important conclusion is that he absolutely denied the myth that it inherited the Soviet System of higher education. However, in fact, Russian higher education system had to be reformed because of many laggings and loopholes in it. Bologna Process (BP) served as an instrument to strengthen the quality of Russia education through the reforms of BP in addition to cement the EU - Russia relationship. Russian joining of Bologna Process is also linked to the snowballed wave of its adoption by Eastern and Central European countries. Kazakhstan's example is a pertinent one to be mentioned here for understanding this phenomenon.

Kazakhstan's traditional educational framework has remained in close adherence with the socialist norms but the reforms in the country made considerable changes where the western educationalists were readily adopted in terms of policy and practice. The first argument for the widespread acceptance of educational reforms came on the basis of “cultural and historical shared characteristics” driven by the geographical factor. Whereas Silova & Niyozov (2020) give another point of view when the reforms are considered outlining that the reforms must be analyzed on the basis of structural changes being implemented in Caucasus' countries including Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia or in the Baltic countries. This is because in Kazakhstan the reforms started from unit level in essence of adopting European education models from schooling up to higher education. Necessary legislations were introduced to legally cohere the reforms into the constitution of the country. Hence, it is inappropriate to consider Kazakhstan's joining of Bologna process merely on geographical ground while negating high level of political entrepreneurship whereas for Caucasus countries, it might be the case (Tampayeva, 2015).

Furthermore, Silova & Niyozov and Tampayeva recognize that Kazakhstan's educational reformation was aimed at “creation of a new education space” at par with the European education standards, which reconstructed the whole education system of the country and recognized the sector as a national priority. This was done in order to develop whole country unanimously so to compete with the emerging world order.

Chapter 2. Russian Higher Education System: Adoption and Implementation of European Educational Policies

This chapter discusses how Russian education system adopted European educational policies and reformed its structures and policies as well. It includes discussion of transformation of Russian higher education institutions during 20^th and 21^st century. It studies in detail the impact of inclusion of Russian in European Higher Education Area (EHEA), joining of Bologna Process and similar programs and processes.

2.1 Incorporation of European Educational Policies

In his research, Bischof (2018) explains that the closing decade of the 20^th century proved to be a period of “decentralization, liberalization, and marketization” not only for the higher education but also for the whole state. Universities grew more autonomous in terms of their mechanisms: one of the major development of the time involved the appointment of rectors, which was done through elections by academic councils replacing the older procedure of being appointed by the state. Beliakov et al. (1998) highlighted how decentralization also brought many powers in hands of the Higher Education Institutes. For example, they were directly able to enroll students on tuition-fee basis (private education) and to introduce new courses in the programs. Additionally, the institutions were also given a fair financial autonomy along with powers to structure the institutions, employment of staff, defining basic pay scales and associated benefits for the staff etc. Moreover, the higher education institutes were also enable to open new branches and campuses.

In the Soviet Union, higher education was focused mainly on science and technology so to have a supplementing role for the industrialization and aiding military defense through production of engineers and scientists. In addition, it was mandatory for the students to study Marxist-Leninist political theory. In addition, after graduation, the students would be assigned to any job anywhere in the country for two to three years. This entailed a benefit of securing a job and a disadvantage of geographical inconvenience. In the Soviet era, around 70% of the population was illiterate and uneducated (figures of 1917) (Grant, 1979).

Shortly, after the collapse of Soviet Union, the effects of European educational policies were felt in the Russian Federation. Russian Law on Education 1992 caused the contemporary reforms, which addressed issues pertaining to curriculum designs and the functioning of private higher education institutions. Data provided by Russian government showed a considerable rise in the enrollment of students after the new law on education was implemented. Within 18 years, from 1990 to 2008, the number of students enrolled in higher education institutions increased from 500,000 to 1,700,000. These laws coincided with internationalization of the Russian higher education institutes through various formats like international financing and as already mentioned academic exchanges through joining of Bologna Process. Another pertinent factor to highlight here is the domestic reforms that the country adopted dual system of payment for higher education institutes that included options such as “fee-charging and state-funded” institutes. Private and public universities were also regulated where the tuition fee of government universities was low as compared to that of private ones (Luchinskaya & Ovchynnikova, 2011).

Beliakov et al. (1998) connect the institutional and financial change in Russian higher education to the modern neo-institutional approach, which is further linked to economic analysis. Russian education reforms were driven by economic, political and social factors, which caused structural adjustments, improvements in content, alterations in “non-wage items” parallel to the financial tweaking. As mentioned earlier in Grant's view of Russian reforms, Beliakov et al. (1998) also highlight focus on former Soviet Union (and later on Russia) on scientific disciplines like engineering, mathematics, chemistry, etc. which was evolved in a way to maintain East-West strategic balance during the cold war. The reforms emphasized on developing disciplines of greater national importance such as nuclear physics, computer science, various types of mechanical engineering which aided the defence capacity.

In the Soviet era, the country maintained a closed education system, which was more or less isolated in nature. However, after getting in the European Higher Education Area, the country adopted an open education system, which was linked to the internationalization of its higher education programs as well. Russia as of 2018 is home to around 11 per cent of all mobile students, 14 per cent of the total incoming mobile students outside the European Higher Education Area. Similarly, the country also hosts significant amount of mobile students with respect to inter European Higher Education Area countries. This has become possible due to Russian participation in the process (Education & European Commission, 2018a).

There are debates on whether the Russian higher education system required reforms especially the ones connected to Bologna Process or was signing the Bologna Declaration a political act. Although, Bologna Process was joined by Russia during the modernization and democratization phases, Ezrokh (2017) argues that reforms for the contemporary Russian higher education system were imperative. Various (most of which are unproven) claims highlight that modern graduates form Russian universities demonstrate low level of knowledge with respect to the disciplines they studied. If the scope of this debate is increased, it is also highlighted that Russian higher education institutions (particularly universities) are not ranked highly internationally. However, Ezrokh maintains the view that this is not a serious issue to address rather the issue of quality of education needs to be solved immediately and would require a range of “painful solutions.”

As far as Europeanization vis-а-vis the higher education and Russian involvement in it is concerned, it is appropriate to know the key objectives of Bologna process as it served as the bridge between them. Enders & Westerheijden (2011) describe the primary objectives of the process: (i) to create a much competitive higher education system in the globalized world, (ii) to base the growth and innovation strategies of European Union on the educational advancements and (iii) effective education system would strengthen the institutes in long-term for growth of EU. These factors attracted the Russian policy makers as well addressed the short-comings in Russian education system because of which Europeanization had considerable effects on the country. In practice, Russia was seen as one of the leading countries to initiate reform in its higher education: starting from training of teaching staff for higher education. It was publicized in reports in 2017, around 39% of the Russian institutes were giving assistance or training on learning outcomes development to their staff as compared to the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) where only 13% of the institutes were found doing so (Education & European Commission, 2018b).

The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) introduced in 2004 by the EU also proved influential in this regard, as it focused on strengthening and expanding the relationship of EU with neighbouring countries. Schimmelfennig (2012) argues that with the different initiatives like Barcelona Process developed dedicated tracks of cooperation for various countries. ENP provided European countries with a framework to translate its policies to different countries, which was evidently seen in Russia. ENP bolstered the level of cooperation, guided the non-EU member to adopt coherent liberal values and norms for mutual benefits. As per the 2015 Bologna Process Implementation Report, Russian transformed over 200 institutions under the mechanisms provided by the process. Similarly, through the European Higher Education Area platform, the legal basis for academic freedom were also strengthened in essence of being part of the national legislation. In case of Russia, the concept of academic freedom is broadly taken as access to higher education and maintaining the `right to learn' (Education & European Commission, 2018b).

Recently produced literature looks at the “creative usages of Europe” stating that Europeanization has acted as a driving factor for transforming the interaction strategies between EU and other countries. Countries like Russia have adopted liberalization for their utilities based on the influence of Europeanization especially in domains like public administration (education), governance and civil society (Saurugger & Radaelli, 2008). Russian integration of strategic planning to new technologies in their educational policies is one of the strategic approaches being implemented by countries who have adopted European Higher Education Area (EHEA) landscape. Moreover, in technical incorporations, Russia and Turkey have focused on providing and enabling digital setups for educational programs in which distant learning remains as one of the key factors. The countries have incorporated this in their respective national legislations as well. Furthermore, Russia along with countries like Romania, Switzerland, Portugal, Poland, Greece and Ukraine has made having a doctorate or a post-doctorate degree as a prerequisite condition to be appointed for professional positions. According to reports, around 92 % of the institutions in Russia have made proven teaching experience necessary to be hired as professors and 77 % of Russian institutions require regular teaching performance evaluation for the professors. (Education & European Commission, 2018b). These statistics depict the responding institutions.

To understand Russian educational reforms, the use of European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) can be examined. European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is an instrument of the European Higher Education Area used to induce transparency in courses and studies so to help the students have mobility among the countries using the system and further to recognize their respective academic qualifications and duration of study abroad. It facilitates the recognition of credits taken at a higher education institution in all affiliated countries with the option of transferring the credits as well. European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is one the major tool in Bologna Process as its makes national education systems comparable internationally (BONJEAN, 2018a). Russia, in this regard, became very active in adopting the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) for both first and second cycle education programs as highlighted in the Bologna Process Implementation Report of 2015 (Education & European Commission, 2018b).

With regard to the factor of educational mobility, Ezrokh (2017) differs from what the Bologna Process offers. Academic mobility in Europe is easier as compared to that in Russia both for students and academicians based on knowledge of languages. In European countries, at least three languages including English, German and French are commonly understood and to a fair extent spoken because of the geographical proximity of the European countries. Contrary to European students, Russian students only have a modest (or sometimes missing) knowledge of these languages. For Russian students, learning these languages is necessary for traveling to some of the European countries where the cost of living is not convenient for them too. Hence, much of the domestic students in Russia have very little opportunities to study at European universities which lessens the factor of academic mobility. Furthermore, understanding foreign instructor also requires a high-level of foreign language proficiency, which is also absent. Hence, for learning any of these foreign languages, Russian student would require funds, which the Bologna Process rarely provides.

Bischof (2018) argues that after Russia joined the Bologna Process in 2003, the country initiated a number of legislative reforms and regulations introducing a two-tier system of degrees. It also worked on quality assurance of the education system so that innovation and knowledge production are to be ensured. Russia also established a “Coordination Council on Quality Provision” in 2005 for elevating the standards of internal management's quality. Quality Assurance (QA) mechanisms have been strengthened since then and have been standardized for both public and private higher education institutes (HEIs) - awarding degrees and diplomas. The system related to the quality assurance mechanisms of HEIs is established through law on “Education in the Russian Federation” under which the country regulated the procedures in line with the European Standards and Guidelines of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA). They have been further refined to take account of licensing and accreditation as well. Licensing and Accreditation require training and certification of experts who are to act as “peer-review team members.” It also involves the mandatory formal indulgence of students and employers in the quality assurance mechanism of education (Overview of the Higher Education System - Russian Federation, 2017).

Quality assurance, starting from basic to more dedicated aspects, was focused as soon as organizational autonomy was given to the higher education institutes. It ensured a unified educational space in Russia where specific State Educational Standards (SES) was developed; and afterwards defined collective standards for structuring of programs. It also established a regime for licensing, attestation, and accreditation in order to regulate and certify that the higher educational standards of Russia were in line with European standards. Attestation was directed to verify that the performance of the graduates was at par with the standard educational standards. Licensing confirmed the availability of sufficient resources in possession of HEIs to comply with the international standards and conduct educational activities whereas Accreditation enabled an institute to award state diplomas that were recognized by the state and enable the HEIs to participate in getting funding from state. One of the interesting characteristic was the exemption of male students from compulsory military service (Chistokhvalov, 2006). This regime overhauled rather replaced the existing model of quality assurance systems that ever existed in Russia; it transited from state-control system to a regulation-based system (Motova & Pykkц, 2012). This resulted in increased European influence in the educational sector of Russia and based on its widespread acceptance, the system flourished and did well starting in late 1990s. It is also to be noted that the process laid down considerable changes in terms of unified attestation system of Russia and EU, transfer of students etc.