A Lifelong Learning Concept or an Ecosystem Approach to Departmental Education
Kovtunenko L.V., Polyakova Ya.N. A lifelong learning concept or an ecosystem approach to departmental education. Penitentiary Science, 2026, vol. 20, no. 3 (75), pp. 341–345. doi 10.46741/27132811.2026.75.3.013.
the article analyzes transformations in the education system triggered by
technological changes, digitalization, and the use of artificial intelligence resources in the training
of specialists for the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia. Purpose: to study features and identify
trends in the transformation of the departmental education system in the context of digitalization.
Methods: theoretical methods of formal and dialectical logic, historical, comparative‑analytical,
and empirical methods of description and interpretation. Results: the analysis of regulatory
documents, available research on the state of development of the Russian education system allows
us to substantiate prospects for the development of the higher education system based on the
ecosystem approach or the conceptual provisions of lifelong learning. Conclusions: the introduction
of digital technologies should take into account the interests of the department and meet the needs
of participants in the educational process. The departmental educational system of the Federal
Penitentiary Service of Russia, along with its inherent conservatism, requires comprehensive
transformation rather than piecemeal changes to individual components. Given that the education
system is a constantly developing and evolving institutional framework that should provide conditions
for personal development at all levels, the authors propose the introduction of a lifelong education
system and the transition to flexible systems in which an individual integrates his/her personal and
professional trajectory.
Keywords: departmental educational organization; cadet; digital transformation; lifelong learning; ecosystem approach.
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