Specifics of secondary vocational education as a stage in the process of professional student self-determination

The paper proposes a sociological approach to the analysis of the process of professional self-determination of students studying under secondary vocational education programs in colleges affiliated with a HEI. Professional self-determination is considered as a prolonged process of professional self-actualization, self-realization and professional development as part of the entire educational and professional-labor “biography” of the subject. The article defines the main factors influencing the choice of applicants in favor of college education, presents the analysis of the results of sociological research of the process of professional self-determination of college students of Nizhny Novgorod Institute of Management - branch of Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration and College of Economics and Law of Dzerzhinsky branch of Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. College enrollment reasons are highlighted, as well as groups of SPE students depending on their future plans for professional self-actualization, self-actualization and professional development.