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ENJOYMENT OF STUDENTS' ACADEMIC LIBERTIES IN THE NEW EDUCATIONAL SPACE OF UNIVERSITIES
N. Y. Shaposhnikova
The third-generation Federal State Educational Standard of higher professional education (FSES of HPE) emphasizes that universities can enjoy more academic freedom when developing basic curricula, i. e. higher educational institutions may develop their basic curricula (BC) for specialities by themselves. BC should be developed on the basis of the respective speciality with regard to the labor market demand, the basic object of evaluation being professional and general cultural competencies. The latter are understood as abilities to apply knowledge, skills and personal qualities to achieve success in a particular area. This formulation underscores that successful professional self-actualization depends not only on knowledge and abilities but also on particular personal qualities. According to the new Federal State Educational Standard of HPE, a university BC should include the subjects selected by the student in the volume of at least one third of the variable part of each cycle. We should particularly emphasize the following item, “a university shall provide students with a real opportunity to take part in development of the curriculum” [1], which legislatively supports students in the exercise of their academic liberties. They are expressed in the students' right to select the level, type, deadlines and methods of their education and an opportunity to take part in development of the contents of their education.
The students' academic liberties are legally bound in Clause 34 'Students' basic rights and measures of their social support and encouragement' of the Federal Law On Education in the Russian Federation. This gives us a strong reason to claim that freedom of choice should become an integral part of the academic process at all universities for all students of higher educational institutions. It enables students to go into higher education meeting their individual educational needs rather than those imposed upon them from the outside, the latter being often the case, unfortunately. “An opportunity for a student to take part in selection of the contents of his/her education contributes to his/her internal freedom, which in its turn enables him/her to become a full-fledged subject of not only the education system but also the society as a whole” [2, p. 2]. Freedom of choice in the academic process makes students more active as citizens. In addition, it enables university students “to set and attain the goals going beyond the standards imposed from the outside. Freedom of choice also enables them to evaluate their activity on the basis of analysis and reflection” [2; p. 2]. These qualities and abilities are in great demand now. Their necessity and demand are stipulated by the conditions of modern society and the world in general, as well as the specificity of those changes that took place in previous decades.
A student’s participation in developing of the contents of his/her education can take the form of choosing electives or optional courses offered by departments and faculties, when the student enjoys his/her right to study not only the subjects stipulated by the education area he/she has selected, but also any other subjects of interest and taught at that university. Students also have a right to master any other subjects taught by other higher educational institutions upon agreement
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between their administrations. This provision considerably expands the academic frameworks for students by creating conditions for the maximum satisfaction of their academic needs and wishes. At the same time, it is important to take the following considerations into account. University students are vested with a right to take part in the development of the contents of their education if the students meet the state educational standards of higher professional education. This right can be limited only by the contract made between the student and the person, either an individual or a legal entity, helping the student to receive a higher education and respective employment in the future.
However, a very important point, not to be forgotten, is that the real enjoyment of academic liberties by students in the course of studies at university depends not only on themselves but also on many other factors. Among the most important is the university rector's wish to provide academic freedom to his/her students. If there is such a desire, then, firstly, not only does the university administration, but also all members of the faculty know about it. Secondly, some efforts aimed at granting academic freedom to students should actually be made. The organization of elective courses needs revision because it does not enable students to take part in development of the contents of their education to the extent the students would like to. According to V. P. Shram, a drawback to their organization is that students’ interests are not taken into account when developing the subjects offered by the department. Usually, the students can only select between two or three subjects which have already been developed.
Elective courses, i. e. optional subjects, are among the mobile components of a basic syllabus. Therefore, teachers should revise them on an annual basis, proceeding from their students' cognitive needs and interests. In other words, their students should be treated as their customers. Certainly, this process is rather labor-consuming for the university faculty to implement. However, positive results are sure to appear, even though not immediately. In this case, some important organizational matters will have to be solved, e.g. payments to teachers for their additional work. We believe that the optional subjects organized in this way will increase not only students' educational motivation, but also their desire and striving for self-education to be externally achieved.
The fact that students do not know their academic rights or duties is among the reasons for their low activity in the academic process. This problem can be rectified by introducing a special course which covers all aspects of academic liberties in the university academic process. The experimental work by V. P. Shram at Adyghe State University shows that students became more conscious of the academic process after participation in such innovations.
As a result, we can see that universities are creating preconditions for the fuller actualization of students' academic liberties in the new educational space.
References
1. Об образовании в Российской Федерации. Электронный ресурс. Режим доступа: http://^Ho6pHay^^/qoKyMeHTbi/2974.
2. Шрам, В. П. Реализация академических свобод студентов в системе образования // Вестн. Адыгейского государственного университета. Сер. 3: Педагогика и психология. -2007. - № 3.
Translated from Russian by Znanije Central Translations Bureau
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