The model of international joint doctoral-level programmes in the field of Russian as a foreign language: A comparative analysis of approaches to joint degree programmes in Russian and Sri Lankan universities

Introduction. The article deals with the problem of promoting Russian as a foreign language in the context of preparing doctoral-level professionals for the Sri Lankan education system. The aim is to identify common features and differences in the approaches to teaching in Russian and Sri Lankan universities and to justify the need to develop a model of joint doctoral-level programmes in the field of Russian as a foreign language. Materials and Methods. The methodological basis of the research includes comparative analysis, which allows identifying common features and differences of educational models with different historical and cultural foundations. The comparative analysis of models of doctoral-level degree programmes in Russia and Sri Lanka was carried out according to the following criteria: organizational (at the level of the structure of degree programmes and the quality of educational outcomes) and content (education related and interdisciplinary research). In order to assess the awareness of Russian language teachers about the doctorate systems in Russia and Sri Lanka and the level of their motivation to continue their studies, the method of continuous indirect questioning was used. Results. The author has revealed common approaches to doctoral-level education in universities of Russia and Sri Lanka in the aspects of: 1) organization and structure of doctoral-level programmes with the focus on research component; 2) analysis of dissertation quality. Differences in disciplinary approaches to the topics and content of research dissertations, as well as approaches to presenting the results of doctoral studies, were identified. According to the teachers’ survey, a high level of awareness among Sri Lankan Russian language teachers about doctoral-level programmes and a significant degree of their motivation to continue their education were revealed. The necessity of developing a model of international joint degree programmes for preparing doctoral-level professionals in the field of Russian as a foreign language is substantiated. Conclusions. The article concludes that the development and implementation of a model of joint degree programmes for preparing doctoral-level professionals in the field of Russian as a foreign language is considered to be an effective solution to the problem of the Russian language promotion in Sri Lanka.