Students’ Individual Educational Trajectories as a Condition for High-Quality University Education

Abstract

The article studies the contexts in which the students’ individual educational trajectories are of particular importance. There are introduced and specifi ed the following concepts: individualization in education, individual educational program, educational order, self-competencies. Nowadays, the category of self-competencies is only beginning to be discussed among education researchers. Thus, the authors propose its conceptual structure and defi nitions. Analyzing the special literature and university cases presented within the project «Scientifi c and Methodological Support for the Development of a Quality Management System in Higher Education in the Context of the COVID-19 Coronavirus Infection and after It» (2021), the authors show which universities are making substantive and organizational changes in their educational activities, so that individualization becomes possible. Based on this, the article distinguishes environmental, tutor and mixed types of initiating individualization. When comparing the practices of universities presented within the project above, the authors identifi ed the main stages and features of the HEI’s transition to one or another model of individualization and the formation of students’ individual educational trajectories. The article shows that such trajectories and the principles of individualization are usually introduced due to a number of organizational and managerial conditions related to digitalization, personnel policy, restructuring of educational programs, etc. We conclude that these conditions made it possible to implement the practice of individualization in universities. Based on the analysis carried out, there can already be fi xed certain general results and eff ects that have arisen as a result of implementing such practices.