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DOI: 10.15507/1991-­9468.029.202502.243-­259

UDC 378.146(470.345)

Overcoming the Academic Failure of Students as a Priority of Educational Policy: The Case of Russia

Garold E. Zborovsky
Dr.Sci. (Philos.), Professor, Research Professor, Ural Federal University named after the First President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin (19 Mira St., Yekaterinburg 620002, Russian Federation), ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8153-0561, Scopus ID: 6505899907, SPIN-code: 9068-9732, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Polina A. Ambarova
Dr.Sci. (Sociol.), Associate Professor, Professor of the Chair of Sociology and Technologies of State and Municipal Administration, Ural Federal University named after the First President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin (19 Mira St., Yekaterinburg 620002, Russian Federation), ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3613-4003, Researcher ID: R-6839-2016, SPIN-code: 1351-6671, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Nina V. Shabrova
Dr.Sci. (Sociol.), Associate Professor, Professor of the Chair of Sociology and Technologies of State and Municipal Administration, Ural Federal University named after the First President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin (19 Mira St., Yekaterinburg 620002, Russian Federation), ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5694-1040, Researcher ID: C-1970-2017, SPIN-code: 9074-1730, urfu­This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract
Introduction. One of the priorities of the modern educational policy of Russia is to ensure the academic success of young students – schoolchildren and university students. However, the realization of this goal is in conflict with other objectives of educational policy and factors in the development of Russian higher education, including initiatives in the field of school education. Traditionally, academic failure is interpreted as an individual’s phenomenon related to the inefficiency of pedagogical approaches and technologies. However, in fact, the social scale and context of the problem make it necessary to consider it as an institutional phenomenon, the prerequisites of which are formed at the level of pre-university education. The purpose of the article is to interpret the problem of academic failure of students in the context of educational policy.
Materials and Methods. The theoretical basis for studying the relationship between educational policy and academic failure of young students is the theory of inequality in education and the concept of the policy of “choosing winners”. The empirical basis of the article is the results of a study carried out using the following methods: analysis of documents (scientific publications, regulatory documents, statistical and monitoring research data), semi-formalized expert interviews with representatives of educational organizations in Yekaterinburg and the Sverdlovsk Region (n = 30 people).
Results. Government initiatives aimed at reducing inequality in education are shown as an institutional context for overcoming academic failure of young students, covering pre-university education. The contradictions of such state initiatives in Russian education as the Unified State Examination, a project to support schools with low learning outcomes and/or schools operating in difficult social conditions, and the Academic Olympics movement are revealed. It is proved that the problems of implementing institutional initiatives in school education serve as prerequisites for the formation of academic failure of university students.
Discussion and Conclusion. The practical significance of the research results is seen in the justification of the directions for improving government initiatives and projects to support students to overcome their academic failure. Further analysis of the latent contradictions of the Russian education system in the context of the introduction of institutional measures to overcome the academic failure of schoolchildren and university students seems promising.

Keywords: national educational policy, overcoming academic failure, overcoming of inequality in education, “picking winners” policy, higher education, resilient schools, Unified State Examination, Russian Academic Olympics, students, schoolchildren, teachers

Funding: The research was supported by of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (Ural Federal University named after the First President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin Development Program within the Priority 2030 Program).

Conflict of interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

For citation: Zborovsky G.E., Ambarova P.A., Shabrova N.V. Overcoming the Academic Failure of Students as a Priority of Educational Policy: The Case of Russia. Integration of Education. 2025;29(2):243–259. https://doi.org/10.15507/1991-­9468.029.202502.243­-259

Author’s contribution:
G. E. Zborovsky – formulation or evolution of overarching research; conducting a research and investigation process; visualization; specifically critical review.
P. A. Ambarova – conducting a research and investigation process; writing the initial draft; visualization; specifically critical review.
N. V. Shabrova – conducting a research and investigation process; application of statistical techniques to analyze study; visualization; specifically critical review.

Availability of data and materials. The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the authors on reasonable request.

All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Submitted 28.08.2024;
revised 21.11.2024;
accepted 29.11.2024.

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