Professional Activities of Russian College Teachers: Problems and Main Trends

The article presents the results of an empirical study performed in 2004. After analyzing the collated data, the authors form a portrait of the professional practice of college teachers. They analyze the motivation and role patterns that serve as a conventional norm for college teachers. The external conditions of college teaching are investigated as well. The research has discovered both positive and negative tendencies in teachers professional activities. The authors have also been able to find ways of overcoming the problems they identified, and these approaches could enhance the ongoing reforms in higher education.