Teacher’s Values: Personal Choice or Component of Education?

Thе article examines values and value orientations in Russian higher education, their reflection in research publications, and the perceptions of future and current faculty.    The primary goal of the study  is to identify the value orientations as components of higher education.    The study utilized quantitative and qualitative content analysis of research publications, which allowed for the identification of key approaches to examining the axiological component of higher education, the frequency of references to values, and their classification. The analysis also revealed the use of synonymous terms when describing value orientations and a predominant focus on students’ values, with significantly less attention paid to faculty members’ value orientations. A survey of 253 faculty and graduate students at Russian universities was then conducted to determine the composition and hierarchy of the value orientations they identified. It was found that master’s students in pedagogical programs and faculty primarily focused on universal and personal-professional value orientations, while national-cultural values were less prominent and perceived as less significant. The study emphasizes the need for a unified, clear conceptualization of value orientations in the Russian educational space and the creation of a unified list of basic value orientations for teachers.    The main conclusion of the article  is the importance of considering value orientations in higher education as a component of the content of targeted educational activities and a tool for interpreting pedagogical decisions.