Sociology of Higher Education in Structure of Branch Sociological Knowledge: a Problem of Constitution

The article deals with the problem of the constitution of sociology of higher education as a branch of sociological knowledge. Describing the features of this branch, the authors give an interpretation of the object and subject of sociology of higher education, show their relationship with the object-subject field of sociology. The constitution of sociology of higher education is shown within the process of branch differentiation of sociological knowledge as one of the main trends of its development. Considerable attention is paid to the analysis of special sociological theories in the structure of branch sociology, their correlation with branch knowledge is emphasized. Among the special sociological theories of higher education, the authors separate and describe in detail the theory of non-linear higher education.