State and prospects of support for student families in the higher education system: expert assessments[Состояние И Перспективы Поддержки Студенческих Семей В Системе Высшего Образования: Экспертные Оценки]

Introduction. The introduction discusses the analysis of expert estimates of heads of educational organizations of higher education. This analysis allows identifying the perceptions of heads of universities about the demographic situation in the region and country, the necessity and interrelation of support measures for young families, including those of students, at different levels (federal, regional, university). The expert survey makes it possible to evaluate not only the state and prospects for the support of student families in the system of higher education but also the scale of assistance provided to members of a student family. Materials and methods. By conducting an expert survey of nine heads of educational organizations, expert assessments were collected on the significance of supporting student families for the university’s social policy, the structure of implemented measures, the place of universities’ social policies to support student families in regional social policy, and their prospects. The survey was conducted anonymously, which allowed informants to express their own opinions without fear of negative consequences from the professional community. The informants' answers were analyzed and systematized exclusively in a generalized form, which, on the one hand, did not allow us to study the state of support for student families in a particular university, but, on the other hand, made it possible to form a generalized idea of the situation in Russian universities related to support and assistance to student families. families based not on the “de jure” principle (as it should be), but based on its real manifestations “de facto”. Results. The results of the study are aimed at solving the priority demographic problem associated with the popularization of the institution of a prosperous young (student) family. At the national level, the idea that the student family is not a new phenomenon for Russian society, but relevant and in demand by the state, society, educational organizations, and parent families, should be consolidated and promoted in the mass consciousness. The expert survey allowed to estimate the scale of assistance in higher education organizations and to determine possible prospects for the implementation of policies in the interests of student families. Discussion. It is extremely important to study the real and projected contribution of student families to the demographic and socio-economic development of Russia, to identify ways to increase the well-being of student families, and the value of a family lifestyle among the younger generation. Consideration of the specifics of the functioning of young families in which spouses continue their education has made it possible to obtain a reasonable understanding of the methods and measures of targeted family and demographic policies in their interests. The results of the study will serve as the basis for developing a set of measures at the national level aimed at supporting the Russian student family.