The study of values and traditions of student education is the basis for the development of a consolidated policy in the sphere of professional education in the BRICS countries. The study of historical prerequisites for the formation of modern approaches in the education of students and the analysis of educational programs of universities included in the rating of the 100 best universities in Russia (RAEX-100, 2024) allows us to identify positive aspects and problems that need to be solved, including the use of foreign experience. The effective implementation of the mission of higher education, focused on cultural and historical value meanings of the Russian Federation, is possible if the educational program is developed and implemented as an integral component of the basic professional educational program, which determines the conditions, technologies and mechanisms of the university’s activities to develop the student’s personality. The set of features of modern student youth requires new approaches and models of education, increasing the level of involvement and activity of students in educational work, and diversification of the educational socio-cultural environment of the university. Misunderstanding and ignoring the changes in the portrait of a modern student leads to the formalization of the processes of designing educational programs, which are archaic and ineffective.

The article presents a brief overview of methodological approaches to the study of personality traits of students of higher education. The presence of a wide and diverse range of approaches, on the one hand, emphasizes the relevance of the task of studying personal and professional, including managerial qualities of students of the higher education system, which contribute to their successful development in the chosen professional field of activity. On the other hand, it causes the need to define a holistic view of the methodological outline of research in this subject area.
Based on the results of the analysis of modern domestic studies in the subject area of development of personal and managerial qualities of students, as well as close to it in meaning issues of personal development of students of higher education; personal and professional development of students; study of professionally significant personal qualities and socially important personal qualities of students, etc., as one of the options for solving this problem, a typological model of methodological approaches implemented in the subject area of development of personal and professional, including managerial qualities of students is proposed. The model is based on the interrelationship of the levels of methodological knowledge and the application of the system-network principle, according to which nodes of the network of methodological approaches are formed in conjunction with the principles of interparadigmality and interdisciplinarity.
The principles that represent the «unifying platform» of methodological approaches in the typological model are the principles of systemicity and integrity, humancentricity, pragmatism and technology. This model is an open-to-add system that can include approaches that develop a specific scientific methodology of research in the subject area of research on the development of students’ personal and professional qualities.

Modern heads of educational institutions often experience anxiety regarding the school’s performance during their absence. Analyzing this phenomenon, the authors turn to the practice of military training, demonstrating the importance of an organization’s ability to function autonomously even in the temporary absence of the commander. The success of a unit commander is assessed precisely when the commander is temporarily «removed» from the management process, and the team must demonstrate the ability to quickly adapt and make independent decisions in a situation of uncertainty. This rule is also applicable to educational institutions, emphasizing the need to foster a corporate culture of rapid learning, self-learning, and adaptation to change. The authors propose two approaches to management: the first focuses on developing the abilities of the entire team, the second emphasizes the personal indispensability of the leader. Only the first path ensures the sustainable development of the school, making it competitive and flexible in the face of constant change.

State thinking is a stable turn of speech, used most often as a personal assessment. A similar assessment could well have been given by a «pike vest» instead of «NN is a head!». Putting aside philistine judgments, it is still worth paying attention to the phenomenon of state thinking with all seriousness, since it is not only an abstract image, but also a very concrete result of managerial education. In the course of the research, the main characteristics of government thinking were highlighted: scale, strategic and optimization orientation, rationality.
The styles and characters of mental activity are not only individual, but also have a very natural professional connection, since they are associated with solving certain mental tasks. The activities of managers, including civil servants, are no exception. Moreover, making any management decision requires serious thought work. It is not enough to speak only about analytical and synthetic operations in this case. Developing a management solution requires both an assessment of scale, and embedding in a specific strategic context, and striving for rationalization and optimization. A civil servant should be able to think in line with the interests of the cause, the interests of other people, often ignoring their own.
The training of civil servants in professional activities should include a set of educational tasks aimed at developing state thinking. It is important to ensure a smooth transition from classroom practical training to internships and internships in government agencies. This requires the selection of practice-oriented tasks from the live practice of public administration. Students and trainees should have the opportunity to practice developing various solutions, analyze and form expert assessments of the decisions made. Of particular interest are case studies, which involve the student’s analysis and evaluation of his own decisions. State thinking is inextricably linked with self-control, the skills of which are of high importance for successful professional activity.

The article considers issues related to personal and professional development of a person. Assuming that human maturity can be a key characteristic of various stages of his/her development, a wide range of methodological approaches to understanding the categories of personal and professional maturity is analyzed, which made it possible to update them based on the approach from the standpoint of the life path, existential, axiological, activity and acmeological approaches. The semantic essence of the phenomenon of maturity as an interdisciplinary subject of scientific research is revealed: a certain state of personality development, characterized by its ability to self-realization and self-development in various aspects of life, determined by personal, social and professional experience. Personal maturity is considered as a stage of personal development of a person, determined by personal experience of realizing value qualities in activity and characterized by the ability and readiness of the individual for self-realization and self-development. Professional maturity is presented as a stage of professional development of an individual, characterized by a certain level of professional competence, which is determined by professional experience and is manifested in the ability and readiness of a person to carry out their professional activities systematically, productively and efficiently in various conditions, maximally realizing their personal potential. The conducted theoretical and methodological analysis of the concepts of maturity, personal maturity, professional maturity contributed to the introduction of the concept of personal and professional maturity and the disclosure of its semantic content. Personal and professional maturity is seen as a stage of personal and professional development of a person, determined by the subjective experience of behavior in a life situation and characterized by a meaningful manifestation of personal qualities (including professional ones) in interaction with other people/society and the culture of those social roles that a person plays throughout his life. The presented understanding contributed to the development of a level model of personal and professional maturity development, reflecting the dynamics of its development and the resulting positive or negative synergistic effect of development. The main principle of constructing the model was K. Graves’ principle of spiral dynamics.

The article examines the emergence, current status and prospects of Russian studies of school resilience. It is proposed that research has reached a frontier that can be overcome using new theoretical and methodological approaches.
The ecosystem, sociocultural approach and proactivity (agency) theories are considered as such. It is demonstrated how the use of these approaches to the analysis of existing knowledge about resilient schools allows us to better understand the conditions, mechanisms of formation and dynamics of resilience, as well as to build a balanced policy of supporting schools in adverse conditions.

The article is devoted to a new direction - pedagogical urbanism, which combines educational and urbanistic approaches to study urban space as an educational environment. The introduction of this concept implies rethinking the city not only as a physical place of residence, but also as an active participant of the educational process, especially relevant in the conditions of globalisation and development of megacities. Pedagogical urbanism explores how the urban environment can influence learning, contributing to the formation of the socio-cultural and cognitive experience of city dwellers. This article presents the concept of pedagogical urbanism with an interdisciplinary approach that includes sociocultural, environmental and psychological analyses, as well as project-based learning and digital technologies. Key components of the urban environment, such as cultural and historical sites, public spaces, transport and digital infrastructures that can support and develop informal and formal learning are considered. The study demonstrates the potential of pedagogical urbanism to engage the general public in educational processes, contributing to the formation of ecological and civic thinking among young people. It concludes by emphasising the importance of pedagogical urbanism as a tool for sustainable urban development and the formation of responsible, socially active citizens.

The article explores the formation of values in Azerbaijani school education policy during the post-Soviet period (1991–2011). Drawing on Ivan Illich’s critique of vague concepts, the study examines how values declared in legal documents, curricula, and textbooks often lack precise definitions, operationalization, and measurable educational outcomes. The theoretical framework is based on Karl Weick’s sensemaking approach, which allows for an understanding of how educational discourses rationalize student identities and values over time. Methodologically, the research is grounded in qualitative content analysis of 11 normative and instructional sources translated from Azerbaijani. The analysis reveals dominant value clusters — patriotism, national pride, respect for cultural diversity, democracy, and human rights. However, these are largely presented without corresponding behavioral guidelines, implementation contexts, or assessment mechanisms. A key limitation of the study is its exclusive focus on declarative policy documents, without investigating how values are interpreted or enacted by teachers. Furthermore, the unavailability of some official materials from the early post-Soviet period restricts the depth of historical comparison. The paper concludes that without clearer structuring, explanation, and assessment criteria, values remain abstract and ambiguous — becoming “amoeba words”: overly general, context-independent, and ultimately ineffective for guiding educational practice or policy.