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46Непрерывное образование: обзор опыта СССР и его влияние на современную российскую систему образования
Кувшинова Екатерина Евгеньевна,
кандидат исторических наук, доцент, доцент департамента языковой подготовки, Финансовый университет при Правительстве Российской Федерации E-mail: katiekuvshinova@gmail.com
Непрерывное образование влияет на рабочую среду и современный образ жизни, оно также тесно связано с непрерывным обучением. Автор анализирует систему образования в СССР, уникальный подход которого к образованию населения страны все еще служит базой для современной системы образования РФ. Также подчеркивается связь между непрерывным образованием и непрерывным обучением. Новые современные технологии поддерживают процесс непрерывного обучения.
Ключевые слова: непрерывное образование, непрерывное обучение, саморазвитие, образовательная система.
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Introduction. It is obvious that human beings are learning during the whole span of their lives - starting from the most basic thing such as learning to read and write and continuing their education at higher schools and learning something new almost every day at their work - "the very process of living and participating in any manner in the life of the community entails continuous learning." (Kirpal, P.N., 1976)
One of the oldest quotes about the life-long learning is Confucius with his "life is limited, while learning is limitless". At the same time, some researchers pointed out that there had been developing two main approaches for the life-long education - the life-long education for the elite and for masses (Lifelong Learning and Lifelong Education: a critique). Nowadays the compulsory school education is customary and exists in all countries. The school curricula are also typical: reading, writing, counting as the first stage and sciences, Information Technology, a foreign language. School knowledge is enough to find a job and earn money for living.
Lifelong learning means getting knowledge not from school but from other sources: reading, travelling, observing nature, etc. Self-development is as important as education because it teaches people
The world is changing incredibly quickly, new technologies are developing and demand for highly literate and skilled workers is growing. These technologies lead to the emergence of new theories, for example, one of them is the theory of generations (originally Karl Mannheim, Strauss and Howe, USA, E. WaMMC, A. AHTunoB, PO) which describes the patterns of behaviour and specific skills and knowledge typical for different generations.
The development of ICT has changed not only the skills necessary for employees but also the knowledge that is considered useful. The roles of universities and schools are altering too. The educational problems are coming to the forefront of our society. The Bologna process started in 1999 when twenty-nine Europeans countries united their attempts to unify the educational programmes. The idea behind was to launch the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and to establish a three-tier educational system: Bachelor, Master and Doctorate. This system now exists in the majority countries of the world. The Russian Federation signed the document in September 2003. This decision has changed the educational structure of the Russian Federation and is still - more than 16 years after -under debate.
The system of education in the modern Russian Federation is characterized by the changes initiated the Bologna process, technological development and fight between the Soviet educational system support-
ers and those who are suspicious about the existing situation emerged as the result of quick and sometimes reckless alterations in the stable systems of Soviet education.
The reforms of the educational systems are always painful as they touch the most important sectors of the society. Thus, the educational reforms in the Russian Federation has not been finished yet and finds itself under the attack with every changes in the state policy. Every new Minister of Education immediately gets into the spotlight of the public.
It's worthy of note that at the moment a lot of the rectors of the leading academic institutions in the Russian Federation have started to express the opinion that the shift to the western system of education was too quick and, having ruined the old system, has not offered a thoughtful and appropriated substitution of it. However, the teachers and faculty have to work and educate (at the same time trying to self-educate) the pupils and students who have grown up in another environment.
Probably the main difference between the old school teachers and lecturers and the modern teachers is computer literacy. New technological gadgets and devices offer new opportunities for the learning process. At the same time, it leads to different understanding of the role of a teacher in the classroom and new methods and even new training materials (a lot of them are still published by the teachers as part of their responsibilities).
Lifelong education and life-long learning are two terms often used interchangeably. In the article I would like to speak about these two terms and review educational programmes that helped people in the Soviet Union go through all stages of academic learning and achieved great results. Also there will be a comparison with modern educational system and their advantages and disadvantages, and the ways that could be helpful in reforms and transformation of modern education.
Background
Literacy and education in the Russian Empire
After the October revolution (October 24-25 [November 6-7, New Style], 1917) the new government faced not only the economic and political challenges but also the necessity to work with a large number of uneducated or even illiterate population. According to the results of the population Census of 1897 literate people in the Russian Empire made up approximately 17,4 percent of the population, male population - 25, 2 per cent, female population demonstrated even smaller numbers - less than 10 per cent (9,8 per cent). (PawMH r.)
Also there was the difference in number of literate people between the urban population and the rural population, the latter could "boast" % illiterate people.
Of course, the end of the 19th century saw the rising number of people attending primary schools but in general the situation was rather frustrating.
In the times of Nickolas II the educational system was quickly developing. The funds on the educational increased 6 times. from 25,2 million Roubles to 161,2
million Roubles (Романов Ю.). According to the researches, "no other problem raised so heated debates as high illiteracy rate of Russia's population" (Cherkas-ov, Aleksandr A.). A lot of people were peasants and the education in the rural areas was very limited - the majority studied at the parochial schools (according to Merriam-Webster dictionary - a private school maintained by a religious body usually for elementary and secondary instruction). 33,942 parochial schools gave education to 1,813,145 (ibid). The system of education had the aim to illiteracy among the population. There were formed zemsky (state) schools where in one classroom were pupils of different ages. At these school children were taught arithmetic, the Russian language and the God's law. But the realities of life affected the process of education - as always in the agricultural country - children had to leave school before finishing their education as they had to help their parents.
The government also set up classical gymnasiums and real gymnasiums (where children were taught mainly sciences and living foreign languages? Not Latin of Greek). The gymnasiums were single-sex, thus had different aims and curricula.
At the same time the industrial changes in the country were great - in the 19th century in the country there were 458 big plants which gave jobs to 1155 workers. All this people got new knowledge and skills. Still the situation did not meet the demands of the new century and the new government (that came to power after the October revolution) had to solve the problem of education as well as many other ones.
Educational system after the October revolution
The new (Bolshevik) government announced the fight against illiteracy in 1917, right after the revolution. Among the first decrees of the government was the one named "On eradication of illiteracy of population of RSFSR", issued in December 1919. The abbreviation of the decree in the Russian language sounded like "Likbez". It had the purpose to teach the population of the country under 35 to read and write. Later the age was expanded to 50 years. The American researcher Sheila Fitzpatrick analyzed the attempts of the Soviet government in her work "Education and Social Mobility in the Soviet Union 1921-1934". She pays attention to the effects the efforts of the government had and mentions the better exults of the campaign among those who served in the Red Army (Fitzpatrick S.). By the way, those who served in the army got some privileges for entering educational institutions.
The first idea was to make school with two stages: five-year stage for children 8-13, and the second stages had to last four years - for children 13-17. But the political situation was changing very quickly and in 1922 there was created a school system consisting of two stages again: four years for the first stage and 5 years for the second. "The general census of December, 1926, however, revealed that the energetic struggle against illiteracy conducted by the Soviet State was bearing fruit For the first time in Russian
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history the majority of the population could read and write" (Soviet Union Information Bureau. Education). The end of the campaign against the illiteracy is considered to be 1939-1940.
The educational system of the Soviet Union in the form that the majority of people know was created in 1958. Secondary education consisted of three stages:
1) primary (from the 1st to the 3rd form)
2) secondary (form the 4th to the 8the forms) and
3) senior (9th and 10th forms).
The pupils of primary and early secondary school could also the chance to attend the after-school care where the children did their homework, could get consultations from their teachers; at the same time the older children took care of the younger ones, organized different events for them.
After the 2nd stage school leavers could continue their education in vocational schools where they got the chance to obtain a profession. They also could enter universities later but usually they chose correspondence courses because after the vocational schools they started to work and continueB their education only if they needed it to build a career.
At the same time those who left school after the 8th form and didn't enter vocational schools could continue their education at night school (evening courses for adults). The night school was created for those who wanted to get secondary education working at the same time. The reasons for that choice were numerous, some of them, for example:
1) the necessity to leave school and go to work to provide the family
2) bad grades during their studies (as a result, they could not continue their education in the 10th and 11th forms but could find work at factories and plants and later were sent to night schools to improve their knowledge)
3) the necessity to get better education connected with the development of industries in the country. The most interesting factors for us were the second and the third - people understood the need to get better education and returned to schools, sometimes years after they first left it. It was the result of economic climate of that period: quickly developing industries and construction of new plants and factories in different parts of the country needed qualified workers. Those who finished school were better qualified and better paid.
Alongside the nights schools, there were made vocational training courses which offered the students to progress higher in certain profession and later get a more interesting job.
Getting upper secondary education allowed people to enter the universities and institutions. The industrialization process that took place in the Soviet Union in the 20th century required a vast number of technical specialists, such as engineers, specialists in electronics, radio-physics, chemistry, etc. This necessity was supported by the State - the universities were free of charge (secondary education in the Soviet Union was not - from 1940 to 1956 people had to pay for studying in the 8th-10th forms).
During the Great Patriotic war (1941-1945) children continued their education - the length of education was changed, new subjects appeared, such as lessons in weapons handling (in modernized form is has survived till our days); most promising soldiers and officers were sent to military schools and after the war some of them continued to study and served in the army or got civil specialties.
The greatest achievement of the educational system was its availability.
The system of education had a clear vertical structure: primary school, secondary school, vocational school, university, post-graduate education, doctorate.
Each stage had standards and unified curricula. If pupils changed schools they didn't have to take any exams to continue to study in another school (the exception were school with extensive learning of a particular subject). One more important thing was the principle of equality - all children had access to education and the knowledge they got at schools were enough to enter universities (without taking private lessons). A very important feature of Soviet education was the education for citizenship- it was necessary for the teachers to know everything about their pupils and their families and the pupils had to be active in their social life - prepared the reports on political situation, organized patriotic events, etc.
Education in the Russian Federation
The system of education in the Russian Federation is rather controversial. On the one hand, it is still considered by many the best educational system in the world and the changes in it that were triggered by the Bologna process and appearance as the result of a new - two-tier system (Bachelor degree + Master degree) does not satisfy those who got their education in the Soviet Union.
The experts say that the graduates with a bachelor degree have less and worse knowledge in comparison with those who studied five years. The qualification is rather narrow and it can cause problems when they start working.
On the other hand, the mobility of students and closer links with the future employers who "order" the specialists they need for their industries, attract younger generation.
The introduction of United National Exam has been approved by school graduates and their parents from provincial regions and cities - the graduates have got the chance to enter the most prestigious universities in the country. Unfortunately, very often pupils are trained to pass the exams and not get the knowledge, especially in the last years.
At the same time, life in the two main cities of the Russian Federation offers not better education but chances to continue education abroad or find a job in an international company. Here another problem occurs - many school leavers do not know foreign languages well. So, undergraduates take courses to improve their knowledge of the language or -but much more rarely - learn one more foreign language.
Moscow and St Petersburg offer a wide spread of different courses - language, accounting, computer, etc. On the one hand, people can get new skills, on the other, they can master the knowledge they already possess.
Modern system of education in the Russian Federation has lost one very important function - the academic component has been withdrawn. The result of is the lower level of knowledge and difficulties with what is called critical thinking. However, the vertical system of educations is kept: comprehension school -vocational school - university (bachelor degree)-post-post-graduate education (master's degree) -candidate- doctorate. But the desire of Russia to preserve the old system of post-graduate education
Costs of education and learning and future benefits
In the Soviets Union lower secondary, upper secondary education, vocational training courses and higher educational institutions were free of charge. The State supplied educational institutions with all necessary things; facilities. Textbooks, equipment for laboratories, paid the teaches and lecturers. The students of higher educational institutions also got scholarships (the amount of it depended on their marks: usually those who had "excellent" (A grade) and "good" (B grade) marks (without "satisfactory" (C grade) marks) could get 25 per cent more to their scholarships, those who had only "excellent" marks" (A grade) got 50 per cent. University graduates had a few (up to four) work placements during which they could get some practical knowledge in the institutions where they would be later working and had supervisors who were interested in controlling and educating "young specialists") as they were called in the Soviet Union).
Modern approach to higher education is different. More and more taxpayers question why they have to pay for university education. Making it free for students if not so many people want to continue their education in colleges and universities.
The next thing is that higher education nowadays does not guarantee stable and well-paid job. Many school leavers get jobs and salary that is enough for their basic needs and which grows with time when they get experience and demonstrate loyalty to the companies they work for.
The Economist (Special Report, 2017) describes the correlation between formal education got early in life and high income that people receive all their life. However, it also mentions that the tuition costs are rising but the reward for spending four years at college striving for a degree is not as big as it once was.
In the Russian Federation the length of education is the same for almost all professions (the exceptions are military universities, medical universities and some legal professions) but the earnings for the graduates are different. The jobs which are mostly in demand are given in Table 1 (for year 2018).
Comparing the two tables, we can come to the conclusion that not all well-paid specialist need to spend four years on studying at university. As a result, a lot of people, especially, during the financial crisis take
a few months courses and later work as masseurs, stylists, hairdressers/barbers, specialists of manicure and pedicure. They all have their skills development courses later.
Table 1. Jobs mostly in demand
# Job
1 IT specialist
2 Marketer
3 Auditor
4 Service sector (masseur, stylist, hairdresser/barber, specialist of manicure and pedicure)
5 Doctors
6 Notary
7 Logistics specialist
8 SEO specialist and SMM manager
9 Electrician
10 Engineer
The best paid jobs are given in Table 2 (year 2018) Table 2. Best paid jobs
# Job
1 Cosmonaut (astronaut)
2 Captains of the navy and aircraft
3 Financial director
4 Gold mining technologist
5 Coaches of the Olympic team
6 High qualified engineer
7 Specialist physicians (dentists, endocrinologists, in-patient obstetrics and gynaecology specialists, in vitro fertilization specialists)
8 IT analysts
9 Workers of oil industry
10 Real estate specialists
11 Scientists (depending on their contribution in their industries)
12 Federal civil servant
13 Insurer/lawyer/financier
14 Chef
15 Engineer
The second conclusion is that well-paid jobs need good academic education and constant development of their skills, improving their knowledge.
In the time of the Soviet Union the most respected jobs were connected with the development of the country - the construction of new industrial institutions created the new class of what was called "technical intelligentsia": highly-skilled workers, engineers and scientists. After the end of the II World War the restoring of the country also attracted new labour sources into industries.
In the 1980s the industrial development in the Soviet Union was slowing down and the overproduction
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of specialists became a problem. The service sector was poorly developed and people could not find other jobs in other spheres where they could apply they knowledge.
One more disadvantage was absent of access to foreign sources. Firstly, it was very difficult to get access to foreign publications, except for scientists, diplomats and tourists industry workers; secondly, not so many people knew foreign languages. The role of foreign languages
It's interesting that in the Soviet Union the Russian language was foreign for other republics except Russian. It's a well-known fact that learning a foreign language broadens the mind. Through learning the Russian language, the peoples of the country got access to knowledge that was new for them.
Foreign languages in the Soviet Union were studied in special higher educational institutions and many people who could speak a foreign language worked at schools and universities, research institutions and military forces. Travelling to other countries was usually limited by the borders of political systems and the tourists were usually accompanied by a foreign languages specking guide which meant that the majority of people just did not need foreign languages even for business trips and tourism. The emergence and fast expansion of modern technologies was shocking for many people of the country.
At the same time after the access to them became available - especially to younger generations - modern technologies rather quickly closed the gap in technical knowledge between the countries.
Modern technologies have affected the life of all generations in the world. Returning to the people who are called "digital natives", the conclusion can be made that they are used to receive the knowledge easily -learn it, not find out. At the same time, it is they who change the attitude to all spheres of our life applying new technologies and making others - those who had to adapt to use computers in their work - try their best to keep the lights on and adapt to the new realities.
The priority for many professionals - teachers, doctors, engineers, etc. - is to continue self-education and self-improvement.
Implementation of technologies has shortened the jobs, especially those with routine unskilled work. But other specialties obtained the opportunity to develop specific knowledge (in medicine doctors learned to work with four new categories that computers give them - data storage and data sharing, surgery procedures, diagnostic tests; in education - new skills in presentation, data storage, audio and visual means of teaching, etc.).
Lifelong learning vs lifelong education
According to Cedefop (a EU agency was founded in 1975 „ and unites policymakers, employers' organisations and § trade unions, training institutions, teachers and trainers, o and learners of all ages; its purpose is to support the = development of European vocational education and ■S training; it pays attention at early leaving from education
and concentrates on adult education and training) early leaving from education is one of the serious problems because those who stop to study in the youth face a lot of problems with future employment.
Lifelong learning is defined in the Cambridge dictionary as "the process of gaining knowledge and skills throughout your life, often to help you do your job properly", at Dictionary.com as "the provision or use of both formal and informal learning opportunities throughout people's lives in order to foster the continuous development and improvement of the knowledge and skills needed for employment and personal fulfilment", in Collins dictionary as "the provision or use of both formal and informal learning opportunities throughout people's lives in order to foster the continuous development and improvement of the knowledge and skills needed for employment and personal fulfilment".
Lifelong education goes together with lifelong learning. To solve social, economic and political problems the governments and educational organizations need an educated, intellectual, socially active citizen and to create such personality the above mentioned institutions need to make all conditions for development.
After the introduction of the tern "lifelong learning" a lot of research was carried out to study different aspects related to it: lifelong learning and social emotional learning (Akcaalan, M., 2016), media, technology and lifelong learning (Iqbal, M.J.), the responsibility of an individual to develop themselves (Egglemeyer, S., 2010), etc.
The idea to adopt lifelong education was suggested by UNESCO in its report Learning to Be: The World of Tomorrow. In 2015 Quality Education was introduced.
Lifelong education and learning are interconnected: individuals need to get education to achieve their goals and governments have to provide them with the opportunities to do that.
Nowadays individuals need to develop their knowledge and skills to not only to build careers but sometimes to stay employed because quick development of the modern world does not allow them to not to enhance their knowledge.
The governments need specialists - in the modern worlds the computer programmers are not the only specialist they need - they need specialists with computer skills and the people who are able to develop themselves fast and adapt to changing life and working conditions easily. The task of the government is to create the environments which enables keep to grow in knowledge. The Soviet Union educational system was aimed at enlarging the number of educated people and providing these people with conditions that allow the most talented to get education and later to expand their knowledge.
Conclusion
There's never a new fashion but it's old, the saying goes. The educational system formed in the Soviet Union provided people not only with good education but also created different chances for constant self-development. The government took the best from the
old educational system and developed new forms. The access to education and learning was open to almost all ages of population which meant that the process of learning was really available during the whole life.
After the October revolution in the country were created two privileged social groups (classes): peasants and workers. The "origin" of these people gave them access to different privileges like getting education, for example. Of course, could the majority of them got "simple" education, vocational schools, for instance, but the others continue to study: after finishing medical school some people entered medical universities.
On the one hand, many peasants who left villages for towns and cities had some difficulties with finding a job. On the other hand, big plants, such as Kuznet-sky and Norilsky plants, needed working hands badly because of the scarcity of the population on the nearby territories. Over time those workers could become production-rationalizers and offered their suggestions to the engineers of the plants. If the ideas were realistic and beneficial for the plants, those workers were offered to continue their education at night schools, vocational school and universities. Migration also gave opportunities to see new places and people who had other ways of living and thus broadened their minds, got new knowledge and developed their old skills and acquired new ones.
The academic component of the Soviet educational system is believed to be one of its strongest features and many modern scholars consider the necessity of restoring it nowadays and to return some other aspects to improve the current situation with education in the country.
Литература
1. Akcaalan M. Investigation of the Relationships Between Lifelonf Learning and Social Emotional Leaning. Educational Journal of Educational Research Reiew, 2017. Retrieved 2020, January 30.
2. Dave, R.H. (Ed.) Foundations of Lifelong Education, p. 109. Oxford: Pergamon
3. Egglemeyer, S. (2010, November 11) What are the benefits of lifelong learning? Expert Answer. http://continuing-education.yoexpert.com/ lifelong-learning/what-are-the-benefits-of-lifelong-leraning-445.html
4. Fitzpatrick S. Education and Social Mobility in the Soviet Union 1921-1934.Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1979
5. Iqbal M.J. Lifelong Education: A Conceptual Debate, Seminar.net-International Journal of Media, Technology and Lifelong Learning, Vol. 5 -issue 1-009.
6. Kirpal, P. N. (1976) Historical studies and the foundations of lifelong education, in R.H. Dave (Ed.) Foundations of Lifelong Education. Pergamon Press (Oxford, UK).
7. Laal V., Salamati P. Lifelonf Learning: Why do we need IT? Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 31 (2001) 299-403
8. Matheson, D., Matheson, C. (1996). Lifelong Learning and Lifelong Education: a critique. Research in post-compulsory education, 1:2, 219236 DOI, 10:1080/13596749600110207.
9. The Economist. Learning and Earning. Special Report Lifelong Education, January 14, 2017
10. Soviet Union Information Bureau. Education. https:// www.marxists.org/history/ussr/government/1928/ sufds/ch21.htm
11. Рашин, А.Г. Население России за 100 лет (1813-1913). Статистические очерки. Http:// ustmat.info/node/86
12. Романов Б. Грамотность и образование в царской России. http://www.proza. ru/2010/03/15/1426
LIFE-LONG EDUCATION: A REVIEW OF SOVIET EXPERIENCE AND ITS TRACES IN MODERN RUSSIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
Kuvshinova E.E.
Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation
Lifelong education is a process that affects modern working environment and everyday life. Lifelong education is closely connected with lifelong learning. The author analyses the system of education in the USSR which managed to create a unique approach to education of the population of the country which is still used as a base for modern education in the Russian Federation. The connection between learning and earning is also shown. New technological development supports the continuous process of lifelong learning.
Keywords: life-long education, life-long learning, self-development, educational system.
References
1. Akcaalan M. Investigation of the Relationships Between Lifelonf Learning and Social Emotional Leaning. Educational Journal of Educational Research Reiew, 2017. Retrieved 2020, January 30.
2. Dave, R.H. (Ed.) Foundations of Lifelong Education, p. 109. Oxford: Pergamon
3. Egglemeyer, S. (2010, November 11) What are the benefits of lifelong learning? Expert Answer. http://continuing-education.yo-expert.com/lifelong-learning/what-are-the-benefits-of-lifelong-leraning-445.html
4. Fitzpatrick S. Education and Social Mobility in the Soviet Union 1921-1934.Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1979
5. Iqbal M.J. Lifelong Education: A Conceptual Debate, Seminar. net-International Journal of Media, Technology and Lifelong Learning, Vol. 5 - issue 1-009.
6. Kirpal, P. N. (1976) Historical studies and the foundations of lifelong education, in R.H. Dave (Ed.) Foundations of Lifelong Education. Pergamon Press (Oxford, UK).
7. Laal V., Salamati P. Lifelonf Learning: Why do we need IT? Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 31 (2001) 299-403
8. Matheson, D., Matheson, C. (1996). Lifelong Learning and Lifelong Education: a critique. Research in post-compulsory education, 1:2, 219-236 DOI, 10:1080/13596749600110207.
9. The Economist. Learning and Earning. Special Report Lifelong Education, January 14, 2017
10. Soviet Union Information Bureau. Education. https://www.marx-ists.org/history/ussr/government/1928/sufds/ch21.htm
11. Rashin, A.G. The population of Russia for 100 years (18131913). Statistical essays. Http://ustmat.info/node/86
12. Romanov B. Literacy and education in Tsarist Russia. http:// www.proza.ru/2010/03/15/1426
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