Training PhD students for teaching of engineering disciplines: Study of Russian Universities Experience

Abstract

Abstract The paper contains several findings of the study of the Russian universities’ system related to pedagogical training of PhD students, which has been carried on in the framework of the ERASMUS+ Capacity Building for HE project EXTEND (# 586060-EPP-1-2017-1-RO-EPPKA2- CBHE-JP) - “Excellence in Engineering Education through Teacher Training and New Pedagogic Approaches in Russia and Tajikistan”. The project itself is devoted to the training of new personnel for the engineering universities. The strengths and weaknesses of the Russian system of pedagogical training of young teachers are under discussion in this article. The Introduction part of the paper describes the Russian system of education, EXTEND project main activities, Project Consortium participants, objective of the analysis of curriculum contents of PhD programs in engineering in Russian universities, including courses and internships on pedagogy, learning outcomes and PhD student’s teaching competences and motivation. The methodology part of the paper draws the four stages of the research. The main part of the paper presents the results of the analysis of the 22 PhD programs collected by Russian universities’ team. The Discussion part consists of four recommendations on how to enhance the Russian teacher preparation.