Social Prestige of a Scientific and Pedagogical Specialists in Russia and Europe: Paradoxes of Subjective Perception of the Profession

Abstract

The article presents an assessment of the level of social prestige of the academic profession in Russia and European countries. In literature a thesis about the crisis of academic profession in prevail. The empirical part of the study is based on the results of in-depth interviews with academic staff in Europe (45 informants, 2016–2019) and Russia (120 informants, 2019–2021).  Informants from European universities note the high prestige of the profession, but aslo point out its decrease from the end of the 20th to the beginning of the 21st century. One of the reasons is the ignorance of society about the professional activities of scientific and pedagogical workers and their official duties, which are much broader than the transfer of knowledge to students. In addition, socio-economic factors, insufficient funding for higher education, multitasking and multidisciplinary functions of academic workers, consumer attitude of students to the educational process were named as reasons for the decline in prestige.  In opposite to foreign colleagues, Russian informants has noted the increase in the prestige of the profession in recent years. At the same time, this trend does not apply to all scientific and pedagogical staff, but only to those who meet high qualification requirements. Informants from Russian universities note a positive and respectful perception of the academic profession, both by the general public and by the social environment.