Abstract
The article discussed the dynamics of the project started by V.N. Shubkin. The first part presents and discusses the results obtained in the 1960-1990s. These data allowed us to draw conclusions about how the social behavior of young people is associated with changes in the economy and education. The following part shows the development of the project at the Institute of Sociology of the FCTAS RAS at the present time. A new situation is discussed, which caused a flow of young people to switch from higher education to secondary vocational education. The results obtained confirmed that the accumulation of information during the development of the project contributed to a deeper interpretation of social processes and opened up opportunities for forecasting. Particular attention is paid to the personality of V. N. Shubkin. It is concluded that the humanistic worldview, gained through hard personal experience, pushed him to innovate in research, raise critical questions and rule out technocratic approach to social problems. It is emphasized that the V. N. Shubkin’s contribution to the sociology of education is of exceptional value. He succeeded in laying the foundation for an important area of social research.