RETRACTED ARTICLE: Current trends in the digital transformation of higher education institutions in Russia

Abstract

This research aimed to analyze the current trends in the digital transformation of educational institutions. The investigation lasted from November 2019 to May 2020 and was based on three higher educational institutions (HEIs) in the Russian Federation: Belgorod State University, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, and Kutafin Moscow State Law University. The number of respondents enrolled was 420 people. In an attempt to bring together views and experiences of different actors of the educational sector, three individual online surveys were conducted among administrative staff, teachers, and students of mentioned educational institutions. All respondents were provided with questionnaires aimed at identifying current trends in educational paradigm transformation and studying the extent to which digital strategies are applied in the process of HEIs' development. The detailed analysis of survey outcomes allowed indicating positive and negative trends in digitalization of educational processes from the perspective of university administrative staff, teachers, and students. Positive trends were: ensuring the availability of higher education through the implementation of full-fledged distance learning courses; enhancing the students' experience through the introduction of innovative teaching methods; providing open access to educational resources and research results; opportunity to participate in global "open science" initiatives; and reduction of higher education cost to ensure its accessibility and mass scale. The barriers to the digital transformation of the educational sphere were: lack of funds for the implementation of a comprehensive digital transformation strategy; resistance to changes on the part of the staff; and a low level of confidence in technological solutions used in teaching practice. As a result, the conducted investigation uncovered the essence of digital transformation in the institutional structures of the higher education sector. However, given that digitalization is a complex process affecting most spheres of socio-economic interaction, consideration of only positive and negative digital transformation trends is insufficient to thoroughly analyze global digital shifts and the formation of national vectors for digital society development.

Technology-mediated teaching and learning process: A conceptual study of educators’ response amidst the Covid-19 pandemic

“…oreover, another implication of the technological advancements to the teaching and learning processes, as described in this study, will be to look into more pertinent teaching methods or platforms (be it in-person or virtual), along with development of (digital) teaching-learning skills for the stakeholders, to fully benefit from the technology-mediated education and process innovations (Almaiah et al, 2020;Mikheev et al, 2021;Mohan et al, 2020;Mpungose, 2020a;Raffaghelli et al, 2020). This means, alongside provision of the various promising learning platforms and programs, that HEIs must also focus their attention towards the digital literacy levels or training for the stakeholders to flourish in the modern day digital-savvy generation (Mpungose, 2020b;UNESCO 2014), as well as, how to fill the voids that the rapid shift from face-to-face to online learning has left for the stakeholders (Armstrong-Mensah et al, 2020).…”

“…They note that students will suffer a learning loss, and that the effects will not affect students equally, and will influence both the cognitive and non-cognitive skills acquisition, including long-term consequences to short-term ones (Burke, 2020;Oyedotun, 2020). Interestingly, the study (Di Pietro et al, 2020) noted some elements that should be part of any successful strategies by the HEIs in integrating (online and offline) teaching-learning activities, to include; proper virtual learning environments (VLE), to guaranteeing access to internet and digital technologies for learning for the stakeholders, and teachers learning how to adapt their roles to situations in which they can effectively communicate with the students (e.g., to not lose motivation when shifting to the online learning platforms), through improved digital competences and pedagogical approaches (Mikheev et al, 2021;Raffaghelli et al, 2020) that are best suited for online learning and/or blended models such as the HyFlex + Tec model described in this study. To note, while Ma et al (2021) found that teachers' online teaching self-efficacy (TSE) in terms of technology-application for learning (Lin & Wang, 2021) increased during the Covid-19 lockdown.…”

Digital transformation of education in the Arctic: case of North-Eastern Federal University

“…When developing the program, we took into account the three basic directions of digitalization that most universities are implementing: the development of distance education, the improvement of information infrastructure, digitalization and optimization of business processes [1], [2], [7], [8]. A.V.…”

“…At the same time, the studies of digitalization processes in leading Russian universities show that the gap between the digital future and the existing digital competencies of the education system is a significant problem [1]. Modern researchers indicate the following major challenges of education digitalization: lack of experience in setting priorities, insufficient personnel with the necessary competencies, limited resources, and decision-making lagging behind the requirements of modern time [2].…”

“…The analysis of management decisions of universities during the pandemic showed "excessive rigidity and inflexibility of the educational process of universities [5]. An expert assessment revealed the need of a significant transformation of higher education management [1], [5], "necessary renewal and sufficient improvement to ensure stability" [6]. One of such solutions in many universities is the development of programs for digital transformation of universities.…”