All-Russia competition "The teacher of language and literature and his role in the formation of the cultural and educational space": five years of progress

Abstract

The article summarises the experience of holding the All-Russia student competition for the best research work which focuses on the personality of the literature teacher and their role in the formation of the cultural and educational space of Russia. The competition has been held jointly by Vologda State University and Pitirim Sorokin Syktyvkar State University since 2021. This competition is relevant since it is necessary to maintain professional continuity in the field of philological education. In addition, it is important to comprehend the academic legacy of philology classics to meet new scientific objectives. Yet another reason is the demand for mentor teachers’ methodological experience in the practice of modern school work. Over the five years the competition has existed, its category composition has taken shape. A circle of Russian and foreign experts has been formed as part of the competition jury. In addition, the practice of preparing students participating in the competition has been systematised. Moreover, the appropriateness of combining the written component (a scientific article) with an oral public defence of the paper in the competition format has been confirmed. However, there arose content-related problems as well as organisational and methodological issues. The identified challenges made it difficult to conduct the competition and hindered its popularisation in academia and in the eyes of the general teacher community. This paper aims to comment on the results of organising and holding the All-Russia competition for the best student research work "The teacher of language and literature and his role in the formation of the cultural and educational space" in 2021–2025. The other goals include noting the contribution of various Russian universities to the implementation of the competition ideas; proposing possible solutions to the above problems; determining the possibilities for its continuation in the socio-cultural situation of modern Russia.