Economic education for sustainable development: problems and perspectivers

The article explores the main aspects of economic education, its role in sustainable development of society, the main priorities of Russia's strategy of education for sustainable development. Considerable attention is paid to the problems existing in the field of economic education in connection with the transition of higher education to the educational standards of the third generation, in accordance with the recognition of the principles of the Bologna Process. The most difficult, according to the authors, are the problems associated with the preparation of bachelors and masters in "Economics", since the introduction of educational standards has led to the unification of such specialties as "Accounting, analysis and audit", "Finance and Credit", "Statistics", "Taxes and Taxation". Academic profile characterising "Economy" syllabus does not always allow a student to gain knowledge to ensure a high level of professional competence, which in turn leads to the need for further education. The authors determined the role of further economic education in ensuring student specialisation and an in-depth study of the theoretical and practical foundations of their chosen profession. Using the method of survey the authors have conducted the research characterising the relationship of professional competence and responsibility of a higher school teacher and the quality of the graduates of Economics curriculum. The authors examined the role of a university professor in the development of core professional competencies required for the sustainable development in the present century. The authors draw conclusions that to get good economic education, it is necessary on the one hand to preserve the traditions of Russian higher education, on the other - to have qualified teaching staff constantly seeking for self-improvement. This is an important factor for the education of future generations, who will have to strive to make optimum use of natural resources, the preservation of the stability of the existing social and cultural systems, to ensure the unity and vitality of society as a whole.