The Role of Self-Education in Preservation and Development of Human Capital in the Republic of Karelia: Socio-Cultural Aspect

The problem of preserving human capital in the context of globalization is due to processes in the economic, social and cultural spheres. The search for a solution to this problem in the field of humanities is associated with aspects of personality self-development. Among the most important components of personality self-development, the majority of researchers in the humanities note self-education as a motivator for labor and social activity. Therefore, the identification of socio-cultural factors affecting the level and need for self-education requires a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach with regional specifics taken into account. Objective is to identify the factors influencing the level of self-education of residents in the modern economic and socio-cultural conditions of the Republic of Karelia. The material for cultural analysis was the results of field studies obtained during a scientific expedition to the Karelian Arctic, northern and southern border regions of Karelia. As a research methodology, an integrated cultural approach was used. Among the effective methods were focus groups on thematic cases, standard and non-standard questionnaires, interviews, polls, factor analysis, statistical and normative methods. For the first time in scientific practice possible sources, channels and preferences of the population of Karelia in self-educational activities have been researched. As a result, it was concluded that the combination of economic indicators is the determining socio-cultural factor for self-educational activity of the residents of the investigated areas and geographical indicator, which allows the inhabitants of Karelia to realize their spiritual and material needs at a high level and to preserve human capital as the main value of society in the unstable situation of a globalizing world.