STAGES, PERSPECTIVES AND ALTERATIONS OF HIGH EDUCATION REFORM ON NORTH-WEST OF RUSSIA

Education system reform in terms of citizens' rights has become an urgent task in Russia's social, economic, and political development in the twenty-first century; the adaptation of the system to meet modem conditions of the European educational sphere is a very complex and multi-dimensional problem and its execution is a long-term process. The characteristics of previous reforms give rise to serious concern. The Bologna process will promote an effective search of new educational boundaries in Russia. As a member of the international community, Russia should consider the unification and integration of educational standards demonstrated by the European states. Since this kind of reform will demand cardinal revision of the fundamentals of educational policy and process in the Russian Federation, and therefore influence the rights and freedom of citizens, it is very important that our best traditions (fundamentality and universality of training) are not lost, and an adequate and comprehensible formula of Russia's participation in this process is found. This paper will illustrate that the use of pedagogical technologies is most effective in the case that involves participants of the educational process in real activity. "Researchers of the Baltic nature" is a modem program in the North-west of Russia, developed by The Baltic Fund for the Nature and teachers at Russian universities, to assist the ecological and biological education of youth through its design and project activity in the field of environmental protection. The three-level structure of this program involves field experience and youth engagement in the sphere of environmental protection, conservation of natural resources, and maintenance of sustainable development; students have the opportunity to become participants in Russian and international projects and grant programs, promoting the integration of the professionally-focused Russian youth into the international scientific community. Modem educational programs like this are successful with the participation of universities of the North-west of Russian and the European Union.