Models of individual academic work in the context of the life priorities of a modern student

Boldysheva Natal'ya Olegovna ORCID: 0000-0002-8948-2901 PhD in Economics Associate Professor; Department of Sociology; Federal State Educational Institution of Higher Education Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation 49/2 Leningradsky str., Moscow, 125167, Russia nboldysheva@mail.ru Other publications by this author     Malshakov Artem Andreevich Laboratory Assistant-Researcher, Educational and Scientific Sociological Laboratory Faculty of Social Sciences and Mass Communications Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation 125167, Russia, Moscow, Moscow, Leningradsky , 49/2 AAMalshakov@fa.ru

Kurilo Mikhail Alekseevich 4th year bachelor student in Economic Sociology, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia 125167, Russia, Moscow, Moscow, Leningradsky , 49/2 mr.mikhail.kurilo@gmail.com

The student's independent work includes the search and verification of information, various forms of cognitive activity, the development of analytical abilities, skills of organization and time planning, the development of creative and critical thinking, etc. In other words, independent work is a form of organization of the educational process that stimulates the independence, activity and curiosity of students. From a utilitarian point of view, this is an activity aimed at developing competencies that will allow students to integrate into the modern economy.

Specific requirements for independent work of students are defined in the Federal State Educational Standards of Higher Education in areas of training and specialties.

The relevance of research on the organization of independent educational work of students has been maintained for quite a long period of time. This is due, among other things, to the fact that the modern economy assumes the ability of an employee to adapt to new educational situations and the need for lifelong learning. Economic development has also predetermined the direction of development of the education system: there has been a transition from a teacher–centered model to a student–centered model.

Both psychological and pedagogical and sociological studies have contributed to the interdisciplinary discourse on self-study (self-training) of students. All participants of the educational process were in the sphere of interests of the researchers: both teachers and students.

The analysis of domestic and foreign scientific literature on the topic of independent academic work of a university student allowed us to draw conclusions about the similarity of the main research directions.

In the Russian scientific literature, there are widely presented studies of the role of a teacher in organizing independent academic work of a student, monitoring its implementation and evaluating student achievements, student motivation and its relationship with the development of professional competencies. In the studies that were aimed at studying the planning and organization of independent work of students (for example, Vlazneev A.I., Vyatkin L. G., Esipov B. P., etc.), for the most part, general didactic, methodological, organizational and activity, psychological, logical and other aspects of this form of activity are considered ^[1-3].

Given the vastness of scientific issues related to the independent academic work of students, and the inability to cover all areas of research, we will focus in some detail on the results obtained by the method of sociological research conducted among students and especially significant in the context of this study.

Within the framework of sociological research, students' ideas about independent work, the level of proficiency in self-training skills and motivation of students were studied ^[4].

The relationship between the time spent on independent academic work and student academic performance on the one hand, and awareness of the choice of university and motivation for independent work, on the other hand, has been established^[5].

The analysis of numerous studies of students' independent academic work led to the conclusion that it is important to consider the independent academic work of a modern student in a broader socio–economic and cultural context. Thus, in the study of the culture of modern Russian students, a typology of students' life styles in the field of educational activities is presented and, based on the criterion of independence in choosing a profession and university, types of students are identified: "professionals", "ritualists", "social activists", "conformists", which allowed the authors to conclude about the prevalence of adaptive behavior strategy and acceptance paternalistic attitude on the part of the administration and teachers ^[6]. This is extremely important for a deeper understanding of the models of independent work chosen by modern students.

It should be emphasized that in the studies devoted to the issues of independent study, the idea is clearly traced that the ability to regulate one's learning determines further success in professional development. As an example, we can cite a study by S. N. Kaznacheeva, in which independent work is considered as a factor in the formation of professional competencies ^[7]. In the work of Koldina M. And et al. The organization of independent academic work of a university student is analyzed as a complex and multidimensional process, which includes the formation of motivation and the professional position of a future specialist ^[8].

Let's turn to the experience and directions of foreign research of students' independent work. The term "self-regulated learning strategies" is used in foreign scientific literature, which can be translated as independent (self-regulated) learning strategies. The classical definition of this concept is the following: "independent learning strategies are one's own thoughts, feelings and actions that are planned by the student and constantly adapted to achieve personal goals" ^{[9, p. 14]}

In the research of independent learning strategies, much attention is paid to the skills and types of independent learning work of students, their quality and depth, as well as the relationship with academic performance.

For example, GertVanthournout identifies several stages of independent work. At the preparatory stage, the student divides the learning task into several smaller tasks, sets goals and chooses a strategy to achieve them. At the execution stage, students use different strategies, which range from superficial to deep, including meta-knowledge, critical thinking and developing their own ideas. Basically, a combination of several learning strategies is used at the individual level ^[10].

The subject of research has also been the gaps between students' knowledge of effective self-training strategies, in terms of achieving academic results, and the application of this knowledge in practice. Thus, Foerst N. M. and others point out that the reason for choosing a strategy that does not correspond to a given educational situation may be a lack of time for self-preparation, insignificant benefit from the efforts made, inability to apply an effective strategy, as well as difficulties associated with applying an effective strategy ^[11].

Another important area of research, as in Russian science, was the identification of types of students, in terms of the independent learning strategies they use.

The analysis of various self-training methods used by students and the motives that determine their efforts in studies allows us to identify the types (profiles) of students ^[12]. This allows for a better understanding of the complex range of processes that students use and to form a new understanding of the field. The disadvantages of this approach include a decrease in the complexity of phenomena and processes in their typologization, since a single complex construct replaces the influence of various factors and their relationships. Here are some examples of this kind of research. So HoiKwanNing and Kevindowning distinguish four types of students with different orientations towards a self-regulating learning strategy: competent self-regulating learners, cognitively oriented self-regulating learners, behaviorally oriented self-regulating learners and minimally self-regulating learners. Among the factors determining the choice of strategy, they include the quality of teaching, clear goals and standards, appropriate assessment and workload ^[13].

Combining self–training and motivation practices based on the results of correlation and regression analysis, Muwonge C. M. etal. There are low, medium and high levels of students. Research demonstrates the predominance of deep self-study practices. The main conclusion of the authors is the following: the highest level of self-training is demonstrated by students with the highest motivation ^[14]. Summing up some results of the analysis of domestic and foreign scientific literature devoted to the issues of independent work of students, it is important to emphasize that understanding the behavioral models of students makes it possible to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the educational process.

Research methodology. The empirical part of the study consists of two parts. The first part is based on the author's qualitative sociological research conducted by in-depth interview in March 2023 (N=10). Students of different courses and directions studying at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation were interviewed. The second part is a mass survey of students of the Financial University in the number of 100 respondents. The nature of the study is aerobatic, so there was no calculation of the sample population.

A comparison of the obtained results of qualitative and quantitative research strategies allows us to give a more accurate assessment of the distribution of the identified models of independent work.

The results of the study. Let's consider the general trends in the attitude of students to independent work, identified during the quantitative analysis of the study. The learning process involves constant assessment of students. For students, getting high grades is an indicator of the success of their studies. In addition to the banal satisfaction, the economic situation also depends on academic performance, since according to the criterion of academic performance, scholarships are awarded at universities, they allow you to transfer to a budgetary basis of study or apply for a discount. However, the answers to the question about the importance of getting high grades (Fig.1) show that the majority of respondents are not motivated to devote a lot of time and effort to achieving high academic results. Only a quarter of the respondents noted that it is important for them to study well.

Fig. 1. Distribution of answers to the question "Is it important for you to get high grades in your studies?"

In this regard, it is not surprising that 58% of respondents answered positively to the question of whether students devote time to independent work, while 28% found it difficult to answer, and 14% of respondents do not devote time to independent work. The students who responded positively were asked to share information about the amount of time spent on preparation. The average arithmetic employment of students with independent work was 10.4 hours per week, which is an average of 1.5 hours per day.

When asked about satisfaction with their own level of independent work (see Figure 2), students mostly answered positively (65%). At the same time, it is worth noting that among those satisfied with their level of independent training, only 10% answered clearly in the affirmative "Yes" and 55% answered "Rather yes".

Fig. 2. Distribution of answers to the question "Are you satisfied with the level of your self-training?"

To identify the respondent's priority system, the questionnaire included the question "Is studying a priority activity for you now?". The distribution of responses to it (see Figure 3) is as follows: 46% of students answered in the affirmative, while 39% answered in the negative. It is worth noting that the share of those who found it difficult to answer many questions exceeds 15%. This fact can be explained by the fact that some students currently do not fully understand their life priorities, which was confirmed during the qualitative stage of the study.

Fig. 3. Distribution of answers to the question "Is studying a priority activity for you now?"

Among the factors hindering effective self-training, students primarily noted a lack of motivation (see Figure 4.). Also, more than half of the students noted that the monotony of the learning process, laziness and procrastination, lack of free time also prevent them from building an effective self-training system. At the same time, it should be noted that all the mentioned obstacle factors were chosen by students approximately equally, which means a diverse impact on the independent work of students.

Fig. 4. Distribution of answers to the question:"What can hinder your effectiveness in self-training?"

Considering the dynamics of students' self-training, it can be noted that half of the students' hours devoted to independent work decreased during their studies (see Fig.5). In accordance with the results of the qualitative stage of the study, it can be said that adaptation to the peculiarities of the organization of the educational process at the university is taking place, the ability to rank tasks by importance appears, and there is also a change in life priorities. As a result, a quarter of respondents indicated that their number of hours of self-study had decreased, and another quarter noted that the number of hours of independent work had not changed.

Fig. 5. Distribution of answers to the question: "Has the number of hours allocated to independent work changed compared to the beginning of training?"

Let's focus in a little more detail on the results of a qualitative study, which allowed us to consider and present in more detail the models of independent work of a student, taking into account the system of life priorities of respondents.

According to the results of the study, four models of independent educational work of students were conditionally identified. The main criteria for identifying the models were the ability to organize independent educational work and the level of educational motivation, which were analyzed based on the respondents' answers about their academic performance, self-organization in studies and the desire to change the current approach to educational activities. The first two models are based on different types of motivation and high organization of students and are conventionally called "motivated in studies" and "motivated by non-academic activities". The third model reflects an insufficient level of motivation and a low level of self-organization, the conditional name is "poorly organized". The fourth model assumes a low level of motivation and an insufficient level of self-organization and is called "unmotivated".

As mentioned above, any typologization has a number of disadvantages, in particular, inattention to numerous deviations from the "ideal" model. However, the results of the conducted qualitative research allow us to show some differences between students, since the classification we propose is a simplified scheme for describing students' learning strategies based on the two above criteria.

Students who are motivated in their studies. They devote a proper amount of time to study, demonstrate a pronounced interest in it, or study is their main activity. This model is characterized by:

● Good/excellent studies;

● awareness of the importance of getting high grades in school;

● extremely rare cases of missing classes;

● high activity in the classroom;

● high time spent on independent work in all disciplines without exception;

● the priority of educational activities;

● satisfaction with your independent work.

● by consciously enrolling in your educational program;

● the idea of the connection between education and further career.

As an illustration, we will give examples of the interviewees' responses that were attributed to this behavior model.

A 3rd year student, the field of study "Advertising and public relations".

The student of this model is very diligent: this is manifested in excellent academic performance, attendance and high activity in the classroom: "I have excellent academic performance ... I am probably one of the most active students."

Considering the student's independent work, it can be noted that it is given a significant place in the structure of the personal time budget: "Yes, I devote time to independent work, because I try to prepare reports more carefully, I look for material, I try to make it more interesting ... for one subject 1.5–2 hours, for all subjects I think 20 hours a week."

Success in the student's curriculum is ensured, in addition to diligent independent preparation, also by involvement in the educational process and interest in the specialty: "... during the reports, I show more activity than just telling the report."

In addition to studying, the student has other activities in the field of interests, but studying is a priority in relation to all others: "This is my primary task, of course I put study first."

Another example of a student whose behavior can be attributed to the "motivated" model. He is characterized by awareness when choosing a specialty, as well as an understanding of his future professional/career prospects. A 1st year student, a political scientist notes: "Political science in recent years... has interested me a lot. In principle, I began to encounter politics more often in my life, to be interested in it." Accordingly, the performance of independent work in this context will be aimed at increasing knowledge and skills that will be possible to apply in practice in the future.

Students motivated by non-academic activities. Students who can be attributed to this model perform most tasks and are decent in their studies, but educational activities are clearly not a priority in their lives. They are distinguished by a high level of educational organization and a low level of motivation in their studies. In this case, the low level of motivation does not affect students' grades, but their attitude to the educational process. In the case of this model, the incentives to get higher education are factors such as moving to Moscow, the desire of parents, obtaining a diploma, and a lack of understanding of their current career prospects. Students assigned to this model are characterized by:

● Good academic performance;

● awareness of the low importance of high grades;

● Rare absences from training sessions;

● moderate activity in the classroom;

● a rational approach to independent work;

● Prioritize other areas besides study;

● The ability to effectively combine study and work.

A 4th year student, the field of study "Political Science".

To begin with, the young man consciously chose his future profession and clearly sees the relationship between the profession and the education he receives.

To the question "Why did you choose this field of study?", the interviewee replied: "I was interested in political science, I decided that in the future I want to connect my life with this science, profession ...". He formulates plans for the near future as: "... finish the bachelor's program, get the whole range of knowledge, and then move along related directions with this basic political science education...". In the interview, the respondent emphasized the importance of the acquired knowledge, and not the fact of having a higher education diploma.

As for independent work, in the presence of high academic performance, the student estimates the time spent on independent work for about 4-5 hours a week, which, from his point of view, "... was quite enough to achieve the goals ...". However, this number of hours is noticeably lower than that of the first model.

The respondent said that in addition to studying, he plays sports, is a member of the Student Council of the Faculty, and works. Defining life priorities, the student noted: "Well, probably, work, family, friends and important study projects are prioritized," while emphasizing that during his studies he "tried not to violate established deadlines," i.e. in a number of situations, study came out on top. But at the same time, the importance of other spheres of life is emphasized.

The respondent also noted that he manages to successfully combine educational and work activities. However, if work interfered with his studies, he would choose "... to quit for the sake of studying, because after all, quite a lot of effort was invested and I don't want to waste time that has already been spent..."

Let's give another example within the framework of this model, which indicates the dynamics of behavior associated with the adoption of a profession and determining the possibilities of combining the profession and the sphere of interests of the respondent.

A student of sociology, 22 years old, notes: "academic performance is important if you want to develop further and go somehow in the profession ...".

As for attendance, the interviewee noted that her attendance is good, however, it depends on the projects in which she is engaged: "... if I had a choice between participating in a commercial project or going to study, I would not go for it..." this respondent had a choice of profession rather random: "when I was preparing for the Unified State Exam in social studies, I liked the sociology section more than others." As a result, the answer to the question "Do you like the learning process at the university?" is not surprising. The respondent answers: "How can I say, well, I didn't like it at all in my first year. The whole first year I lived with the idea of dropping out, transferring, etc., in the second year I gradually began to join in and it seemed to become more interesting, but perhaps this is not even due to the fact that the learning process has changed, but to the fact that narrower specialized disciplines have appeared...".

The student's area of interest includes cinema. It is important that she was able to connect the sphere of her interests and her profession: "... so I am interested in cinema, and I am interested in learning about cinema from the point of view of sociology, to study this sphere from a different angle."

Interest in the profession, understanding the need to gain knowledge determines the student's attitude to independent work: "... on some days I may not devote time to homework at all, on some days I may sit all evening and do ...".

Answers to questions about how a student spends her leisure time and how much attention she pays to independent work demonstrate an interest in professional development: "...in my free time, I try to devote myself to development in those areas that are interesting to me… Sometimes I go for a walk, chat with friends and work… If I was passionate about sociology, I wanted to become a sociologist, I would probably be a very responsible student... but considering that I'm not very interested in it, I've started spending quite a lot of time on all this in recent years, more than in my first year for sure."

Poorly organized students.This model includes students who do not know how to properly manage their own time, but express a desire to change their attitude to study or show situational involvement in the learning process. Such students are characterized by a low level of proper educational organization and an insufficient level of motivation, which is expressed in:

● poor (unstable) academic performance;

● low importance of grades in studies;

● frequent omissions;

● moderate activity, usually occurring situationally;

● minimization of independent educational work;

● the priority of other areas of activity;

● dissatisfaction with their level of self-training.

A 4th year student in the field of Advertising and public Relations.

First of all, attention is drawn to the fact that academic performance throughout the study grades ranged from satisfactory to excellent: "In the fourth year I had two A's, one four and one three. There has always been about this ratio...". The student notes that the key problem was gaining points during the certification, since she received maximum marks for the exams: "There are not so many fives, because I always scored almost the maximum for the exams, but there was a problem with the certification, I often missed classes." The attitude to the assessments has been built accordingly: "I've never had a situation where I wanted to get a higher grade."

The previously mentioned aspect of attendance for the interviewee plays a key role in the educational process, since it directly affects the receipt of good scores during the assessment: "There were often disciplinary punishments for this (skipping classes). There are different reasons for each course: I was not assigned to a polyclinic, I was not always comfortable with my group, the teachers influenced me when you realize that you need to prepare rigidly for seminars there, but you do not want or cannot. I'd rather not come than be told off there." The inability of the interviewee to solve various kinds of problems affected her learning model, as attendance worsened for the above reasons. Further, problems with attendance did not disappear and throughout the study had an impact on the effectiveness of participation in the educational process.

Such an aspect as activity in the classroom depends on external circumstances. If the teacher was able to get interested and involved in the process, then the student had no problems with activity: "I am always quite active in seminars, because it is interesting for me to discuss something there." Since there is no emphasis on grades, the student's engagement factor depends on the degree of her interest in specific knowledge: "At least I want to learn something interesting or tell myself."

Let's give another example of a student whose self-training model can be classified as "poorly organized". It is shown by the distribution of one's own priorities and the inability to properly organize one's own time.

2nd year student, Philosophy major.

It is important to note that the student likes the chosen direction, despite some disadvantages: "I really like our direction, I like the teaching staff." He also notes that the cohesion of the group has a positive impact on the educational process and is one of the main advantages of studying.

By analogy with the previous student, the student has lower than average academic performance and not the best attendance. In this case, the key problem is associated with a lack of time to prepare for studies: "I don't spend a lot of time preparing for classes, because I simply didn't have enough time. I used to have a lot of training, I did it all the time either on the road on the way to training, or on the way to university." Given the fact that the learning process causes more positive emotions, in this case, the problems of organizing one's own time and the inability to pay enough attention to the learning process are revealed. To the question of whether there is satisfaction from the personal level of self-training, the interviewee answers as follows: "Well, no, of course not. Laziness gets in the way. Because if I want to get ready, it won't be too difficult for me."

Not motivated students. This model is characterized by poor academic performance, a weak level of self-organization, which is associated with a primary lack of interest in learning. Such students are the closest to expulsion, but they managed to adapt and adapt to the educational process without changing their own lifestyle and attitude to study. Students of this model are characterized by:

● poor academic performance;

● the attitude of ratings as unimportant in life;

● frequent skipping of training sessions;

● low activity in the classroom;

● practically no independent study work;

● lack of motivation to study.

Let's consider an example of the answers of an informant who was assigned to this behavior model.

A 3rd year student, the direction of training "Personnel Management".

The student's academic performance in this model can be described as average. At the same time, he associates the level of his academic performance with a loss of motivation: "the motivation as a whole is all gone. And I stopped basically preparing for exams, tests." But during his studies, he learned to find "workarounds": "However, it turned out to pass, and even now, when I'm not really studying at all, I often have fours, fives." The student realized that it is possible to study and at the same time put less effort into the educational process, and the saved time can be allocated to other activities chosen depending on life prospects: "now this semester is underway, and I still haven't done anything. This is due to some self-belief, plus relaxation: when all the sessions were held in such a way that I did not prepare at all, but passed, then I can not prepare and pass." Lack of motivation also applies to attendance, activity in training sessions and self-employment. To the question "Do you devote time to independent work?" the answer was received: "No. Not at all." At the same time, there is also no desire to change your attitude to independent work.

Among the motives that motivate students to study, the student highlighted a social attitude, an economic factor, a deferral from the army and the formal availability of a higher education diploma. There is no motive for acquiring new skills or knowledge.

In conclusion, it is important to note such a characteristic of models of independent educational work as dynamism. A student can change the learning model depending on their life strategies. Thus, motivated excellent students may become disillusioned with their chosen profession or educational process and determine for themselves another priority activity. Conversely, unmotivated or poorly organized students may become interested in the educational process during their studies and find motivation to devote more time to studying.

Summing up, we can say that the priorities and strategic goals of a student largely determine the choice of a particular model of independent academic work.

Students vary the amount of time they spend on independent work and attending classes, depending on how they currently set their life priorities. For those students who prioritize high academic performance, study comes to the fore and takes up the dominant part of their time budget. For those who prioritize work or leisure, the importance of academic performance and independent study decreases and, as a result, the time for its implementation is reduced.