The Motivational Potential of the Research Activity of an Educational Institution: Conditions and Ways to Develop

Abstract

Research activity in an educational institution is an important element of qualifi specialists training and their popularity in the labor market. Teaching staff and students’ motivation to research determines the condition and ways to develop the activity, research results and experiments. The paper presents the results focus groups interviews provide by teachers and students of the educational institution of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia on their motives for conducting research work. The study showed that motivation for research, on the one hand, is infl by all-Russian trends of development of education and science. In this context, it was found that scientometric indicators of conducting research activities do not add motivation to its conduct either for the teaching staff or for students. On the other hand, the aspirations for the scientifi path are infl by the combination of educational and departmental principles in conducting research activities. Thus, the study revealed that teachers have signifi motivational potential for conducting research, but they defi themselves, fi of all, as teachers, not scientists. In this regard, it is not a coincidence that the teaching staff primarily associates their motivation for the scientifi fi with the need to improve pedagogical practices in the educational institution. At the same time, representatives of both categories of respondents believe it is necessary to fia balance between the above principles when conducting research work. The results of the study may be useful in adjusting approaches to increasing motivation for research work by teaching staff and students of educational institutions of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs in order to properly provide scientifi support for the activities of the law enforcement bodies of the Russian Federation in the context of new challenges arisen in recent years.