Education Options for Young People from Indigenous Minorities of the North: Regional Aspect

Abstract

The relevance of the problem considered in this article is due to the need to provide qualified personnel for investment megaprojects in the Arctic region, while preserving the traditional culture, language, and life values of indigenous peoples of the North. We use qualitative and quantitative methods of the sociological research we conducted in 2016–2017 on the territory of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug of the Tyumen region of Russia: mass surveys of northerners, highlighting among them the indigenous peoples of the North, in-depth interviews of experts and so on. The analysis of scientific domestic and foreign literature on the subject of the study, including the study of Russian and foreign educational practices of different levels in the Arctic regions, allows us to assess the current level of training of qualified personnel for the Arctic. We substantiate possible ways to improve the system of ethno-regional education, assess the satisfaction of representatives of aboriginal ethnic groups with the system of general and professional education and its compliance with the desired future for their children. According to the results of the study, we make the following conclusions. General and professional ethno-regional education for different levels of the Arctic Zone of Russia needs long-term state and non-state support, including corporate and non-governmental support associated with the prospective modernization of its entire system. It is necessary to strengthen the interaction of universities and other educational organizations with companies that participate in neo-industrial development of the Arctic with the aim of expanding the training of specialists in the industries related to the traditional life of indigenous Northern ethnic groups. Ethno-regional education in the Arctic region should be considered on the basis of the standards adopted by UNESCO for minority groups as an inclusive education having a status different from other educational organizations, taking into account the smallness of the majority of schools in Arctic settlements and nomad camps. At the same time, it is necessary to expand the range of educational opportunities for young people who belong to the indigenous peoples of the North

Keywords

• arctic
• traditions
• arctic
• indigenous peoples of the north
• professional and ethno-regional education
• levels of education
• social changes
• sociological diagnostics