Abstract

Presidential Decree No. 204 dated May 7, 2018 “On the National Goals and Strategic Objectives of the Development of the Russian Federation for the period until 2024” defines the development directions of the education system in the medium term. The Decree sets such goals as ensuring global competitiveness of Russian education, bringing Russia into top ten countries worldwide in terms of general education, and modernization of vocational education, including through the introduction of adaptive, practice-oriented and flexible educational curricula. The “Development of Education” state program of the Russian Federation for the years 2018-2025 puts forward the requirement to improve Russia’s position in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) in the fields of natural science, reading and mathematical literacy, increase the number of employed graduates of educational organizations trained in secondary vocational education programs. Approved by the Collegium of the Russian Ministry of Education in October 2020, the draft Strategy for Improvement of the Workforce Training and Applied Qualifications Development System in the Russian Federation for the period until 2030 includes the improvement of the general education quality by updating teaching methods and technologies as one of the top priorities in the development of secondary vocational education (SVE) institutions, taking into account the professional orientation of vocational education programs, inclusion of intensive training methods, applied modules and the use of distance learning and electronic education technologies, networked education programs and annual Russia-wide testing works. However, the quality of general secondary education in SVE and ways to improve it still remain an issue. The aim of the preprint is to present the analysis findings of the existing general education model at Russian secondary vocational education institutions compared to their foreign counterparts. The study is based on the methodology of system analysis and uses methods of comparative analysis, interviews and expert methods. The study produced findings of comparative analysis of various approaches to the organization of general education in the vocational education system in Russia and abroad. The relevance of the study is represented by a set of proposals for building a promising general education program for students in secondary vocational education institutions, based on the analysis findings. The results of the study can be applied in organizing general education training as part of the secondary vocational education programs at the federal and regional levels.