Russia's movement towards education sovereignty and the intent to create competitive graduate programs necessitate the modernization of student selection procedures. Admissions to master's programs in Pedagogy, among the most large-scale in the country, require special attention as teacher training directly influences the overall quality of national education. International experience could serve as a source of ideas for admission requirements' transformation. The present article contains a complex analysis of master's admission practices at universities leading in Education and Training, as determined by the QS Subject Ranking. Eleven requirements for admission are recognized, described, and divided into three groups: omnipresent, frequent, and rare. The formal side of the requirements is evaluated through content analysis, their meaning – through inductive thematic analysis. Five assessment criteria are distinguished: academic, motivational, communicative, professional, and ideological. The prevalence of the first three criteria, with the ideological component gaining prominence, is noted, while Russian universities continue to focus on assessing the applicants' subject and pedagogical knowledge.

Article presents result of the study of the segment of English-language master's programs in data science implemented in BRICS countries. Characteristics of 75 programs were analyzed: title; specialization; form, format and duration of study; type of degree awarded; tuition fees; curriculum content; professions of graduates; features of the educational institutions implementing the programs. Descriptive and correlation analysis, nonparametric statistical texts and clustering were used as data research methods. It was revealed that the titles of master's programs most often include terms "data", "analytics", "business" and "science", a significant share of programs are implemented at universities and award Master of Science degree, typically suppose offline teaching and last for two years. Statistically significant differences in tuition fees are observed across countries and across programs with different study durations. Cluster analysis revealed four groups of master's programs with similar characteristics, each with specific features: (1) rather expensive programs, offered at lower-ranking universities, that award MS degrees; (2) the most expensive programs, offered primarily at non-university institutions, that award MS degrees, with a significant share of programs specialized in certain subject area; (3) inexpensive programs, offered at higher-ranking universities, with a significant share of programs specialized in certain subject area or data science method; and (4) inexpensive programs, offered primarily at lower-ranking universities, with a significant share of programs specialized in certain subject area.

The aim of the study was to explore how teachers in rural schools of the Republic of Buryatia perceive the practices of teaching their native language and literature. Empirical data from interviews with teachers working in rural schools about their teaching practices and their views on the educational outcomes of the subject “Native (Buryat) Literature” complement a broader review of the presence of native languages in today’s bilingual schools of the Russian Federation. Eight semi-structured interviews were analyzed within the framework of the theory of language orientations (Ruiz, 1984), where language is viewed as a right, a problem, or a resource. The findings show that teachers in the Republic of Buryatia are more inclined to perceive the Buryat language as a resource essential for preserving cultural identity. At the same time, teachers see their role as promoting the language and creating a supportive environment for its study, motivating students by their own example. The teachers emphasize that learning Buryat language helps overcome communicative fears and fosters a sense of pride in their heritage. The relevance of this research lies in the barriers teachers face in a multilingual school environment: the disconnection between curricula and students’ everyday experiences, the shifting roles of the mother tongue and the language of instruction, including within the family.

This study is dedicated to analyzing the hybrid pathway from vocational education to higher education as a distinct segment within Russia's higher education system. The research is based on comprehensive administrative data on graduate employment in Russia. It identifies the specifics of employment sectors and assesses the wage returns for graduates of the hybrid pathway compared to conventional pathways of vocational education (VE) and higher education (HE) graduates.

Up to a third of VE graduates continue their education in universities, forming an important target group for non-selective universities, particularly their branches. The hybrid pathway VE-HE trajectory is predominantly implemented through part-time programs, allowing students to combine work and study. Graduates of this pathway occupy more qualified positions compared to VE graduates, with a wage gap increasing from 13% immediately after graduation to 18% after several years. However, transfer graduates earn 25% less than those who follow the conventional pathway from high school to university, primarily due to the level of job qualification, with this gap also increasing over time.

Transfer students form a distinct cohort by obtaining higher education in different institutional settings, studying at branches, private universities, and on part-time programs. Despite differences in educational patterns, the employment and quality of human capital of these graduates are similar to those of non-selective university graduates. The study highlights that the hybrid pathway VE-HE creates human capital of a different quality compared to the conventional route leading to higher education after high school. This may be related to the specifics of self-selection in higher education for different educational pathways, the nature of investments in education, and the characteristics of human capital utilization in the labor market.