Russian Education After Perestroika_ the Search
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Transcript of Russian Education After Perestroika_ the Search
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8/18/2019 Russian Education After Perestroika_ the Search
1/11
R U S S I A N E D U C A T I O N A F T E R P E R E S T R O I K A : T H E S E A R C H
F O R
N E W V A L U E S
N I K O L A I D . N I K A N D R O V
A b s t r a c t - D u r i n g s e v e n d e c a d e s f o ll o w i n g th e R e v o l u ti o n , R u s s ia n e d u c a t io n b e c a m e
o v e r b u r d e n e d w i t h i d e o l o g y ; n o d i s c u s s i o n w a s p o s s i b l e a b o u t g e n e r al h u m a n v a l u e s
t h a t m i g h t t r a n s c e n d c l a s s b o u n d a r i e s . I n t h e w a k e o f p e r e s tr o i k a , th e r e w a s a n e x t r e m e
c o u n t e r - r e a c t i o n a g a i n s t e v e r y t h i n g c o n n e c t e d w i t h S o v i e t e d u c a t i o n . T h i s h a s r e s u l t e d
i n c o l o s s a l p e s s i m i s m a m o n g m a n y e d u c a t i o n i s t s a n d t e a ch e r s , w h o f e e l th a t th e
e n t i re e d u c a t i o n a l s y s t e m i s in r u i n s. A d d i t i o n a l p r o b l e m s a r e c re a t e d b y t h e c o m -
m e r c i a l i z a t i o n o f a ll s p h e r e s o f l i f e a n d t h e g r o w t h o f c r i m i n a l i t y . T e a c h e r s a r e
u n c l e a r a b o u t w h a t v a l u e s s h o u l d b e i n c u l c a t e d in s c h o o l s , a n d t he v a l u e o f
e d u c a t i o n i t s e l f i s c a l l e d in t o q u e s t i o n i n a s o c i e t y w h e r e i t i s b e c o m i n g i n c r e a s -
i n g l y d i f f ic u l t t o m a k e a n h o n e s t l i v i n g . T h e a u t h o r w e l c o m e s t h e m o v e t o w a r d s a n
e d u c a t i o n a l s y s t e m b a s e d o n c h o i c e r a t h e r t h a n c o e r c i o n , b u t h e b e l i e v e s i t w i l l
t a k e m a n y y e a r s to d e v e l o p a n e w s e t o f v a l u e s t h a t c o u l d b e i n c u l c a t e d i n R u s s i a n
s c h o o l s .
Z u s a m m e n f a s s u n g - I n d e n s i e be n J a h r ze h n t e n n ac h d e r R e v o l u t i o n w a r da s
r u s s i s c h e B i l d u n g s s y s t e m m i t I d e o l o g i e f i b e rf r a ch t e t, e i n e D i s k u s s i o n f i b er a l lg e m e i n e ,
m 6 g l i c h e r w e i s e k l a s s e n f ib e r s c h r e i t e n d e m e n s c h l i c h e W e r t e w a r n i c h t m 6 g l i c h . I m
Z u g e d e r P e r e s t r o i k a g a b e s e i n e e x t r e m e G e g e n r e a k t i o n a u f a ll e s , w a s m i t s o w -
j e t i s c h e r B i l d u n g z u s a m m e n h i n g . D i e s f fi h rt e z u e n o r m e m P e s s i m i s m u s b e i v i e l e n
P ~ i d a go g e n u n d L e h r e r n , d i e d a s g a n z e B i l d u n g s s y s t e m i n S c h e r b e n s a h e n . Z u s f it z -
l i c h e P r o b l e m e s c h a f f t e n d i e K o m m e r z i a l i s i e r u n g a l le r L e b e n s b e r e i c h e u n d d e r
A n s t i e g d e r K r i m i n a l it ~ it . L e h r e r s i n d s i c h f i b er d i e i n d e r S c h u l e z u v e r m i t t e l n d e n
W e r t v o r s t e l l u n g e n i m u n k l a r e n , u n d d e r W e r t d e r B i l d u n g s e l b s t w i r d in e i n e r
G e s e l l s c h a f t in F r a g e g e s t e l l t, i n d e r e s i m m e r s c h w i e r i g e r w i r d , s e i n e n U n t e r h a l t
z u v e r d i e n e n . D e r A u t o r b eg r ti l3 t d e n T r e n d z u e i n e m B i l d u n g s s y s t e m , d a s e h e r a u f
f r e i e r W a h l a l s a u f Z w a n g b a s i e r t , b e f fi r c h t e t j e d o c h , d a b d i e E n t w i c k l u n g n e u e r f ~ir
d e n U n t e r r i c h t i n r u s s i s c h e n S c h u l e n g e e i g n e t e r W e r t v o r s t e l l u n g e n v i e l e J a h r e d a u e r n
w i r d .
R 6 s u m 6
A u c o u r s d e s s e p t d 6 c e n n i e s q u i s u i v i r e n t l a r 6 v o l u t io n , l e s y s t~ m e 6 d u c a t i f
r u s s e 6 t a i t i m p r 6 g n 6 d ' i d 6 o l o g i e e t i n t e r d i s a i t t o u t e d i s c u s s i o n s u r l e s v a l e u r s h u m a i n e s
f o n d a m e n t a l e s o u t r e p a s s a n t l e s d 6 1 i m i t a ti o n s s o c i a l e s . L a p e r e s t r o i k a a m a r q u 6 l ' a v ~ n e -
m e n t d ' u n e c o n t r e - r 6 a c t i o n r a d i c a l e , c o n d a m n a n t t o u t c e q u i a v a i t t r a it h l ' 6 d u c a t i o n
s o v i 6 t i q u e . C e c i s e t r a d u i t p a r u n t r 6 s g r a n d p e s s i m i s m e p a r m i d e n o m b r e u x 6 d u c a -
t e u r s e t e n s e i g n a n t s q u i v o i e n t t o u t l ' 6 d i f i c e 6 d u c a t i f e f f o n d r 6 . D ' a u t r e s p r o b l ~ m e s
r 6 s i d e n t d a n s l a c o m m e r c i a l i s a t i o n d e t o u s l e s d o m a i n e s d e l a v i e e t d a n s l a c r o i s s a n c e
d e l a c r i m i n a l i t 6 . L e s e n s e i g n a n t s r e s t e n t i n d 6 c i s q u a n t a u x v a l e u r s ~t t r a n s m e t t r e d a n s
l e s 6 c o l e s , e t l a v a l i d i t 6 d e l ' 6 d u c a t i o n e l l e - m ~ m e e s t r e m i s e e n q u e s t i o n d a n s u n e
s o c i6 t 6 oO i l s 'a v ~ r e d e p l u s e n p l u s d i f f i c i l e d e g a g n e r s a v i e h o n n & e m e n t . L ' a u t e u r
a p p r o u v e n 6 a n m o i n s l ' 6 v o l u t i o n a m o r c 6 e v e r s u n s y st ~ m e 6 d u c a t i f f o n d 6 d a v a n t a g e
s u r l e c h o i x q u e s u r la c o n t r a in t e , m a i s e s t i m e q u e d e n o m b r e u s e s a n n 6 e s s e r o n t n 6 c e s -
s a i r e s p o u r 6 l a b o r e r u n n o u v e a u s y s t ~ m e d e v a l e u r s s u s c e p t i b l e d ' e t r e e n s e i g n 6 d a n s
l e s 6 c o l e s r u s s e s .
I n t e r n a t i o n a l R e v i e w o f E d u c a t i o n - I n t e r n a t i o n a l e Z e i t s c h r i f t f i i r E r z i e h u n g s w i s s e n s c h a f i -
R e v u e l n t e r n at i o n a le d e l E d u e a t i on 41(1-2 ) : 47 -57 , 1995 .
9 1995
K l u w e r A c a d e m i c P u b l is h e r s . P r i n t e d i n t he N e t h e rl a n d s .
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S u m a r i o
En Rus i a , duran t e l os s i e t e decen ios que s i gu i e ron a l a Revoluc i6n , l a
educac i6n p f ib li ca e s tuvo r eca rga da de i deo log i as , s in que fue ra pos ib l e n inguna d i s -
cus i6n sobre va lo res hum anos genera l es que pud i e ran t r a scender l a s ba r r e r as soc i a l e s.
A r a i z de l a pe res t ro ika se p rodu jo una ex t r emada con t r a r r eacc i6n con t r a t odo l o que
es tuv i e ra r e l ac ionado con l a educac i6n sov i6 t ica . Es to de r iv6 en un en orm e pes im i smo
ent r e muchos educadores y maes t ros , que pe rc iben que t odo e l s i s t ema de educac i6n
cay6 en ru ina . Ademfis , s e han generado p rob l emas ad i c iona l es con l a comerc i a l i zac i6n
de t odas l a s e s f e r as v i t a l e s y con e l aumento de l a c r imina l i dad . Los maes t ros ya no
saben qu6 va lo res i ncu l ca r en l os co l eg ios , y e l va lo r de l a educ ac i6n m i sm a se e sf ft
pon i endo en du da en una so c i edad en l a cua l e s cada vez mi ls d i fi c il v iv i r honrad a-
m e n t e . E 1 a u t o r a p r u e b a e l d e s a r r o l o h a c ia u n s i s t e m a d e e d u c a c i 6 n b a s a d o e n l a
e l ecc i6n mgts q u e en l a coe rc i6n , pe ro t ambi6n op ina que e l desa r ro l l o de un nuev o
con junto d e valores que se pued a inculcar en los coleg ios rusos af in requer ir fi m uch os
afios.
P e 3 t o u e
- - B TeqeHHe CeM~I ~eC~TI4~IeTH ~ r]oc,~e peB o~ ou H~ pOCCHfiCKOe o6 pa 3o sa nH e
6bIJIO neperpy~KeHO H~Ieo30rHefi. ~HCKyCCIAtl 06 O6LReqeJloBeqeCKHX L~eHHOCTSIX, KOTOpbIe
npeo~o33eBatOT K~aCCOBNe rpaHHUb~, 6bI3]H HeBO3MO:CKHbl. HocJ le nepecTpOfIKH peaK~/H~
npOTHB COBeTCKO~I CHCTeMN o6pa3OBaHH~t ~NJ~a BeCbMa OCTpOfi. ~TO nopo~Hao qpe 3M ep -
HbI~ neccHMH3M cp e;IH MHOrUXne;Ia roro B H yu HT ene fI, KOTOpb~en o aa ra am qTO CHCTeMa
06pa3osaHH 9 pa 3p ym e~ a. KpoM e 9TOrO, SO3HHKaeTMHOrO np o6 ~eM s CB~3H c KOMMep-
t~Ha~3au~efi
Bcex
cqb ep )KHaHH H
pOCTOM HpeCTyHHOCTH. YqHTe3]~ He yBepeHbI B TOM,
KaK~e LteHHOCTH c~e~IyeT HpHBHBaTb B 1JJKOJqax, a 1J, HHOCTb o6pa3oBaHH~ no~ Be pr ae Tc 9
COMtteHHIO B 06IKeCTBe, rAe gce Tp y~ue e qeCTHO 3apa6aTNBaTb. ABTOp BNCTyHaeT 3a
CnCTeMy o6pa3oBanng, oc~osauHyro Ha Bb~6ope, a He Ha npnHy~K~leHUn, HO nonaraeT,
qTO npofi~leT ue M an o ~ eT , npe~K;Ie qeM cqbopM npyeTc9 HOBa~ CnCTeMa tte~nocwef~ ~la~
pOCCH~ICKHX llI KOZI.
T h e c o l o s s a l c h a n g e s t h a t h a v e t a k e n p l a c e i n R u s s i a a n d t h e S o v i e t U n i o n
s i n c e th e l a te 1 9 8 0 s h a v e a f f e c t e d th e r e a l m o f v a l u e s a n d b e l i e f s a s m u c h a s
t h e p o l i t ic a l a n d e c o n o m i c s p h e r e s . T h e o l d r i g id i t i e s o f M a r x i s m - L e n i n i s m
a r e n o l o n g e r o f f i c ia l d o c t r i n e , a n d t h e i n d i v i d u a l i s f r e e t o s e a r c h f o r m e a n i n g
i n c a p i t a l i s m , n a t i o n a l i s m , c o n s u m e r i s m a n d a v a r i e t y o f o t h e r " i s m s " . I n
i d e a l s , a s in g o o d s , t h e f r e e m a r k e t re i g n s . W h i l e t h is i s e x h i l a r a t i n g , i t i s
a l s o p r o f o u n d l y c o n f u s i n g f o r m a n y p e o p l e .
T h i s f e e l i n g o f c o n f u s i o n i s f e l t e s p e c i a l l y a c u t e l y i n t h e e d u c a t i o n a l s y s t e m ,
w h i c h i s e x p e r i e n c i n g m a n y d i f f i c u l t i e s i n m a k i n g t h e t r a n s i t i o n t o t h e p o s t -
c o m m u n i s t e r a . It h a s , f o r e x a m p l e , t a k e n s e v e r a l y e a r s t o r e p l a c e t h e o l d
i d e o l o g y - l a d e n t e x t b o o k s w i th n e w o n e s, a p p r o v e d b y a p a n e l o f R u s s i a n
s c h o la r s. S y l l a b u s e s h a v e c h a n g e d a c c o r d i n g l y a n d n o w f e a t u re s u c h s u b j e c t s
a s c i v i l r i g h ts , e n v i r o n m e n t a l s t u d ie s a n d b a s i c m a r k e t e c o n o m i c s . I n a d d i t io n ,
s tu d e n ts a r e n o w e n c o u r a g e d t o b e g e n e r a l ly m o r e i n q u is i ti v e a n d q u e s t io n i n g
i n t h e ir a p p r o a c h t o le a r n in g . T h r o u g h t h e s e m e a n s , t h e g o v e r n m e n t h o p e s t o
c r e a te a w h o l e n e w p o s t - c o m m u n i s t m e n t a l i ty . T h e m a g n i t u d e o f th is u n d e r -
t a k in g c a n b e s t b e u n d e r s t o o d b y b r i e fl y s u r v e y i n g t h e h i s t o r y o f S o v i e t e d u -
c a t i o n a n d t h e v a l u e s w h i c h i t a t t e m p t e d t o i n s t i l .
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V a l u es a n d e d u c a t i o n in th e U S S R h i s t o r ic a l b a c k g r o u n d
F o r o v e r 7 0 y e a r s t h e p r e v a l e n t ( o r p e r h a p s t h e o n l y ) p o s s i b l e a p p r o a c h i n
R uss i a n s c i e n t i f i c a nd c u l tu r a l l i f e wa s the so - c a l l e d c l a s s - o r i e n t e d a pp r oa c h .
The un de r ly in g ide a wa s tha t , i n al l e s se n t i a l f e a tu r e s , t he th ink ing o f e a c h
ind iv idua l i s de t e r m ine d by h i s o r he r be lo ng in g to a pa r t i c u l a r soc i a l c l as s .
I n i t s e x t r e m e f o r m th i s me a n t a l so tha t t he r e we r e on ly tw o c l a s se s : t he bou r -
ge o i s i e ( t he ha ve s ) a nd the p r o l e t a r ia t ( t he ha ve - no t s ) . The r e ar e o f c ou r se
b e t t e r - o f f w o r k e r s a n d p o o r e r c a p i ta l is t s, b u t e v e r y o n e b a s i c a ll y b e l o n g s t o
one g r oup o r t he o the r .
T h i s s i m p l i s t i c v i e w w a s v e r y c o n v e n i e n t f o r t h e p e o p l e w h o c a p t u r e d
p o l i ti c a l p o w e r in R u s s i a i n O c t o b e r 1 9 1 7. I t w a s s o e a s y t o d e t e c t f r ie n d f r o m
f oe by the t ouc h s tone o f c l a s s a f fi l ia t i on . F u r the r mo r e , s in c e the opp os i t i on
b e t w e e n t he t w o c la s s e s w a s c o n s i d e r e d a n t a g o n i s t ic , t h a t is t o s a y u n c o m -
p r o m i s i n g t o t h e l a s t, t h e o n l y w a y to e n d it w a s b y l i q u i d a t i n g t h e
( f o r m e r l y ) r u l in g c l a ss . T h i s m a c a b r e w o r d c o u l d m e a n e x i l e , c o n f i n e m e n t i n
a l a b o u r c a m p o r p h y s i c a l e x t e rm i n a t i o n . A t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f th e 1 9 3 0 s J .
S t a li n s t a t ed p r oud ly tha t t he ku la ks ( be t t e r - o f f pe a sa n t s ) ha d be e n l i qu ida t e d
as a c lass .
M y p u r p o s e n o w i s n o t t o p r o n o u n c e m o r a l j u d g e m e n t o n t h e i n h u m a n
ide o log y be h ind the l i qu ida t ion . An o the r t h ing is m or e impo r t a n t he r e : wh a t
m e a n t p h y s i c a l d e a th f o r m a n y p e o p l e a l s o m e a n t d e s t r u c ti o n o f m a n y i d e a s ,
m a n y i n t e l le c t u a l a c h i e v e m e n t s o f th e t i m e s , m a n y p u b l i s h e d a n d u n p u b l i s h e d
w r i t i n g s , m a n y w o r k s o f a r t ( s o m e a l r e a d y c r e a te d , o t h e r s o n l y p l a n n e d )
i f t he y d id no t c on f o r m to t he s t a t e d ide a l o f p r o l e t a r i a n c u l tu r e , s c ie nc e ,
e duc a t ion , pa in t ing , s c u lp tu r e , c a t t le - r a i s ing o r ma c h ine - bu i ld ing , a s t he c a se
m i g h t b e . E v e n t h o u g h V . L e n i n i n 1 9 2 2 c a l le d o n th e S o v i e t c o m m u n i s t s t o
b o r r o w t h e g o o d f r o m a b r o a d w i t h b o t h h a n d s , i n p r a c t i c e t h e S o v i e t U n i o n
w a s c u t o f f b y w h a t w a s la t er c al l ed th e I r o n C u r ta i n f r o m m a n y i d e a s t h at
o r ig ina t e d in t he c a p i t a l i s t c oun t r i e s .
Th i s b i t t e r t r u th a pp l i e d to e duc a t ion w i th a ve nge a nc e . A l though the i de a
o f b u i ld i n g a n e w m a n d a t es b a c k m a n y c e n tu r ie s , c o m m u n i s t o r t h o d o x y
h a d l i tt le u s e f o r e d u c a t i o n a s i t h a d d e v e l o p e d b e f o r e t h e G r e a t O c t o b e r
S o c i a l i s t R e v o l u t i o n . A l m o s t e v e r y t h i n g i n e d u c a t i o n h a d t o b e o v e r h a u l e d
o r r e b u i lt f r o m s c ra t ch . T h e a t a v i s m s o f t h e o l d m o r a l i t y w e r e c o n s i d e re d
e x t r e m e ly da ng e r ous - m or e da nge r ou s t ha n , sa y , u s ing c e r t a in t e c hno log ic a l
i d e a s o r i g in a t i n g a b r o a d . I t w a s e v e n d a n g e r o u s t o m e n t i o n c a p i t a li s t i d e a s
i n a c r it i ca l w a y ; th e n a m e f o r t h is c r i m e w a s b o r r o w i n g u n d e r t h e p r e t e x t
o f c r i t i c i sm .
A s a r e s u lt , b y t h e e n d o f t h e 1 9 2 0 s S o v i e t e d u c a t io n a n d t h e s c i e n c e o f
e d u c a t io n ( te r m e d p e d a g o g i c s ) w e r e o v e r l o a d e d w i t h i d e o lo g y . W h a t e v e r
b e l o n g e d to t h e n e w p r o l e t a ri a n t h i n k in g w a s p r o g r e s s i v e ; w h a t e v e r h a d
a n y t h i n g t o d o w i t h c a p i t a li s t i d e a s w a s r e a c t i o n a r y a n d h a d t o b e g o t r id
o f . T h e r e w a s n o t a l k a b o u t g e n e r a l h u m a n v a l u e s t h a t tr a n s c e n d c l a s s b o u n d -
a r i e s . O n l y m u c h l a t e r d i d i t b e c o m e a p p a r e n t t h a t t h e i d e o l o g y d i v i d e d t h e
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Today, in the eyes of many Russian educationists and teachers, almost
everything is in ruins. In my opinion this pessimistic view should not prevail.
There are encouraging trends in education. There are also general human
values, and deviations from them (however saddening) do not cancel them out
entirely. When we come to accept this, the worst thing for us to face will
be the fact that we shall have to wait (and work) for a better life and better
education longer than some other countries and cultures. I would say that
one of the most important educational trends for the Russians is the move
towards humane education, that is education which is opposed to coercion,
education that presupposes choice available to teachers and students. It is
understandable that there is no place for all this in a totalitarian state. There
may be humane teachers, but there cannot exist humane education as a general
rule. In the wake of the perestroika that began in 1985 there was a burst of
interest in democratization in education, as in all other domains of social life,
and an enthusiasm for ideas of freedom and choice in education. All this came
to be known as pedogogics of cooperation , the opposite being pedagogics
of command . Since, however, the people who activated all this in 1985 were
practitioners rather than scholars, and knew little of the history of education,
much of this seemed like a discovery to them. Pedagogics of cooperation
became a popular educational slogan and, in a way, a touchstone of progres-
sivism in education (HeaarorHKa, 1986).
There is no diminishing the role of the perestroika people who introduced
the idea of humane education into practice. But it is easy to show that it was
not a discovery after all. Rather, it was a revival of traditions that existed all
over the world, a continuation of a step-by-step movement interrupted in
Russia in 1917. Of course, it would be an oversimplification to say that the
movement elsewhere was quite steady and without its ups and downs. But a
trend it was, and the trend - among others - makes Russian education part
of the world's educational progress.
T h e v a l u e c h a n g e i n u s s i a
What makes the situation in Russian particularly dramatic is that of late there
have been two value changes. One was that of the perestroika period when
M. Gorbachev initiated very significant liberalization of all spheres of life in
the former USSR. It is important to realize that the change was not an imme-
diate result of a struggle by a significant part of the population against human
rights violations. The diss idents were a tiny fraction who could at most
attract international attention which could (and very often was ) easily brushed
away by the Soviet authorities. So, whatever others may say, my opinion
is that perestroika was a courageous decision of the man who wanted to
make Russia a democratic country recognized as such by the international
community.
There is now much talk about Gorbachev's mistakes ; perhaps future his-
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torians and politicians will throw more light on this. More than anything else,
the slow pace of reform has been blamed on him. My understanding is that
even the pace he admitted was deadly dangerous for him and for the cause
itself. Suffice it to recall that, at the time he took the decision, hard-liners
were still very powerful and could easily have demoted Gorbachev from the
central position of the General Secretary of the Communist Party if they had
felt their own position to be threatened.
On the other hand, the change i tself was seemingly very easy for the vast
majority of the people to accept. In fact, what was it all about? Human rights,
technically proclaimed in the Brezhnev Constitution and even in the earlier
one under Stalin freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of
meetings, inviolability of the domicile etc.) were to be actually granted. The
power of the Party in administering the economic and cultural activity at the
centre and in the cities was to be severely curtailed. The key importance was
attached to the initiative of the working person. Private property was gradu-
ally introduced. All this and much more was gladly accepted by the vast
majority of the people.
The picture, however, was not entirely rosy. Some thought the changes
should have been still greater initially - for example, private property should
have been allowed without any limitations. Others were not prepared for the
initiative. Another faction found it abhorrent to do certain things that were
allowed under the new regulations. Still others abused the new possibilities
to make quick money. Examples are easy to find. Many people just did not
want to become owners of factories or shops. Others, on the contrary, made
full use of the possibilities to organize enterprises of any kind, the choice
being only that of the quickest way to make money. Many people thought it
immoral to buy a thing in a state shop and sell it for five times the price at
the door of the shop. Others made it their business to do just that. And so on.
True, Gorbachev wanted to have it all under some sort of control, but he
declined authoritarian practices, and that was very well ab)used by some
people. And it was a great change in values which was being gradually
accepted by most people.
The situation became much more acute after Yeltsin came to power in
Russia in April 1991, and especially after the coup attempt in August and the
liquidation of the USSR in December of that year. Rapid economic decline
followed the dissolution of economic and cultural links that had been built
up in the course of centuries rather than in the decades of Soviet power. For
most people estimates vary between 40 and 85 per cent, but my personal
estimate is closer to the second figure) that meant rapid impoverishment. For
very few 3 to 5 per cent) it meant making big money in no time. The
remainder did not feel the change either for the better or for the worse in real
terms. Practically all, however, felt the general uncer tainty and anxiety.
There was also another, and much more serious, change in values. It became
virtually impossible to earn decent money by decent means, and whoever
wanted to stay afloat had to accept the means that had been abhorred by most.
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On top of that, racketeering, robbery, prostitution, drug trafficking, murder
for money, corruption in government and the police are now so widespread
that the situation in Russia, especial ly in large cities, has become, to say the
least, generally unfriendly to the people.
As far as values are concerned, this means a very hard choice for almost
everyone. Some people are prepared to stay in honest poverty while rejecting
the over-commercialization in all spheres of life. Others have no liking for
dubious means of making money but feel economically pressed to accept them.
A tiny minority wish nothing better.
Of course economic values are not the only ones that matter, even though
they are closely linked to almost everything else, and it may be interesting
to have a look at other values and the role that education can play in trans-
mitting (inculcating?) them. That education has such a mission is hardly open
to question, though terminology matters very much here. Transmission and
especially inculcation of values presupposes, inthe eyes of many, a sort of
pressure, even violence; words like brainwashing and indoctrination also come
to mind. Nevertheless it is hardly imaginable that education can be limited
to transmitting factual, positive knowledge and no values. It is not only
a problem of educational philosophy; an understanding of democracy is
also involved. My understanding is that the educational system should, as
far as possible, limit itself to transmitting general human values and be
especially careful not to transmit party values. In this sense the order by the
former Minister of Education, Dneprov, forbidding party activity, was very
important.
There are and have always been traditional values. So, in assessing the
importance of a general change in values, two things should be taken into
account. First, it should be asked whether new values have appeared that did
not exist before - a relatively rare phenomenon. Second, has there been a
change that has made some values less, some more important? The second
question is likely to yield more informative answers, reflecting overall changes
in society.
If we look at a range of values in Russia, we find that the family has always
been given high importance. In a public opinion poll in 1993 by the news-
paper oscow News 90 per cent of the respondents gave the family as value
number one. Admittedly, the poll was somewhat simplified. The respondents
were given a list o f factors - family, money, work, emotions, love, friends,
sex, religion, art, national feelings - and were asked how significant a role
these things played in their lives. Only two answers were possible - very
important and insigni ficant - which does not allow for much precision.
Interestingly, only three per cent of respondents gave the primary value to
money.
Despite the high importance assigned to the family, the divorce rate has
been rising steadily. In the two largest cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg, there
are now two divorces for every three marriages. The largest number of
divorces take place in the fi rst year of married life. As everywhere, attitudes
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to sex outside and in addition to marriage have become quite lenient. Because
of restricted housing conditions, however, it is not as easy as in the West for
couples to live together without being legally married. So it is understand-
able that sex (in and/or outside marriage) is considered very important by
40 per cent of the same respondents, and love by 60 per cent. In the area of
sexual relations, it has to be mentioned that some new developments have
appeared in the past two years or so. A very considerable percentage of school-
girls (some polls indicate over 50 per cent) prefer prostitution to any other
way of making a living. Since this has now become dangerous - and not
because of the police, who are quite lenient in this respect - these girls are
almost openly assisted by their boyfriends, who take a share of the profit.
Over 90 per cent of the respondents consider their work very important .
It is difficult, however, to interpret this result. For many people, work is
whatever brings income. Thus racketeering, prostitution, robbery and finan-
cial misdeeds are work , although of course they cannot be openly declared.
Gone is the time when a considerable number of young people were prepared
to take up a financially less rewarding job if it was interesting. Now, for most
young people the value of a job can be measured in money terms only.
m p l i c a t i o n s f o r e d u c a t i o n
There has been a considerable change in attitudes to education. Roughly
speaking, the more education one has nowadays, the less money one earns.
Consequently many people take the view that one should forget about the
education one has and do whatever brings the most money. Theoretically
everyone understands that education is important, but at a time of falling living
standards people's minds are occupied by other matters. In some public
opinion polls education takes 12th or 13th place in the list of national
priorities.
Patterns of enrolment in institutions of higher education have changed
markedly. Competition to enroll in science or engineering courses has dras-
tically fallen. On the other hand, humanities departments and colleges are
experiencing a boom, as are departments of economics, management and
law. Combined with the fact that many engineers and scientific researchers
are leaving their professions (or the country) in search of more money, this
trend has serious implications for the future of science and engineering in
Russia.
These changes in Russian society as a whole are reflected in the attitudes
of pupils in schools. This is shown by the results of a survey carried out in
1993 among 1012 school leavers from 29 schools in Moscow. The survey
revealed that these young people are realists, acutely aware that their world
has become a difficult place in which to survive. Hence they are motivated
by practical considerations to a greater extent than their counterparts of three
to five years ago. They also place greater emphasis on independence and
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s e l f- r el ia n c e . T h u s 8 0 p e r c e n t o f t h e m c o n s i d e r t h a t s u c c e s s i n l i f e d e p e n d s
on one se l f a nd no t on f a t e o r e x t e r na l c i r c ums ta nc e s . The r e i s a l so a ne ga t ive
s ide t o t he se c ha nge s i n a t t i t ude . F o r e xa mple , 51 pe r c e n t be l i e ve tha t a ny
me a ns a r e j u s t i f i e d in t he s t r ugg le f o r e x i s t e nc e , a nd 24 pe r c e n t c ons ide r i t
a c c e p ta b l e t o i gno r e t he i n t e r e s t s o f o the r s .
M e m b e r s o f t h is g e n e r a t io n a r e t u rn i n g a w a y f ro m t h e c o m m u n a l v a l u e s
o f t h e p a s t a n d t o w a r d s i n d i v i d u a l g o a l s o f s u c c e s s a n d p r o s p er it y . T h e y a i m
f o r c a r e e r s a s l a w y e r s , m a n a g e r s o r e n t r e p r e n e u r s r a t h e r t h a n j o b s i n p r o -
duc t ion . Jo in t ve n tu r e s a nd p r iva t e c oope r a t ive s a t t r a c t t he m mor e tha n s t a t e
e n te r p r i s e s . A t t he s a me t ime , t he y p l a c e l e s s va lue on t r a d i t i ona l e duc a t ion
a n d m o r e o n t h e k i n d o f p r ac t ic a l k n o w l e d g e t h a t m o d e m l i fe r eq u i r e s ( f o r e ig n
la ngua ge s , f o r e xa mple ) .
A f e e l in g o f a li e n a t io n f r o m s c h o o l w a s a n o t h e r f e a t u r e e v i n c e d b y t h e s e
g r a d u a te s . L e s s t h a n h a l f o f t h e m w e r e s a t is f ie d w i t h t h e i r s c h o o l , w h i c h t h e y
v a l u e d m o r e f o r h u m a n c o n t a c t s th a n f o r t h e te a c h in g . T h e y c o m p l a i n e d t h a t
t h e s c h o o l w a s n o t a d a p t i n g q u i c k l y e n o u g h t o t h e c h a n g e s i n t h e o u t s i d e
w o r l d .
The su r ve y a l so r e ve a l e d a po l i t i c a l a t t i t ude s a mong the r e sponde n t s , 59 pe r
c e n t o f w h o m s a i d t h e y w o u l d n o t s u p p o r t a n y p o l i t i c a l p a r t y o r m o v e m e n t .
T h e s o c i a l i s t i d e o l o g y w a s o v e r w h e l m i n g l y r e j e c t e d - o n l y 2 p e r ce n t o f t h e
r e s p o n d e n t s s u p p o r t e d i t . T h i s a g a i n r e f l e c t s a g e n e r a l t r e n d . B e f o r e 1 9 8 6
po l i t i c a l i n s t r uc t ion wa s a lmos t ob l iga to r y a t a l l l e ve l s a nd in a l l qua r t e r s .
T h e n c a m e a b r i e f p e r i o d o f g e n u i n e p o p u l a r i n t e re s t i n p o li t ic s , b e t w e e n 1 9 8 6
a n d 1 9 9 2, w h e n t h e e l e c t o r a t e h o p e d t h a t t h e y c o u l d d e t e r m i n e t h e f u tu r e o f
the coun t r y . Th i s m oo d c ha nge d , how e ve r , to one o f d i s a ppo in tm e n t i n po l i t ic s
a nd e spe c i a l l y i n po l i t i c i a ns . T oda y in t e r e s t i n po l i ti c s i s l ow , a nd the num be r
o f e x t r e me r a d i c a l s a nd c o nse r v a t ive s ha s a l so fa l l e n . A t t he s a m e t ime , t he
p a t t e rn o f p o l i t i c s h a s b e c o m e m o r e p l u r a l is t i c t h a n e v e r b e f o r e . T h e r e
r e m a i n s , h o w e v e r , a g e n e r a l f e e li n g o f l o s s w i t h r e g a rd t o th e b r e a k - u p o f
t h e U S S R , w h i c h i s w i d e l y s h a r e d b y p o l i t i c i a n s , e x c e p t f o r t h e e x t r e m e
radica ls .
I n c on t r a s t t o po l i t i c s , i n t e r e s t i n r e l i g ion ha s e n joye d a n upswing . Af t e r
s e v e n t y y e a r s o f o f fi c i a l a t h e i sm , e n f o r c e d w i t h v a r y i n g d e g r e e s o f ri g o u r,
t h e re c a m e a t ur n in g p o i n t i n 1 9 8 8 , t h e m i l le n n i u m o f th e O r t h o d o x C h u r c h ,
w h e n G o r b a c h e v b e g a n t o f r e e r e l i g i o n f r o m i t s s t r a i t - j a c k e t . B e f o r e t h e
G o r b a c h e v p e r i o d i t i s e s t i m a t e d t h a t 2 0 - 3 0 p e r c e n t o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n w e r e
b e l i e v e r s - m o s t l y C h r i s ti a n b u t a l so i n c l u d i n g M u s l i m s , J e w s a n d o t h er s .
S inc e pe r e s t r o ika , i n t e r e s t i n r e l i g ion ha s g r own t r e me ndous ly , a l t hough i t i s
o f t e n d i f f i c u lt t o d i f f e r e n t i a t e b e t w e e n i n t e r e s t i n re l i g i o n a n d b e i n g r e li -
g ious . On e th ing i s c e r ta in : t he num be r o f c hu r c h - goe r s ha s r i s e n sha r p ly , a s
h a s t h e n u m b e r o f c h u r c h es a n d t h e n u m b e r o f r e li g io u s c e r e m o n i e s ( b a p ti s m s ,
ma r r i a ge s , f une r a l s ) i n a l l de nomina t ions .
R e l i g i o u s e d u c a t i o n h a s a l s o g r o w n c o m m e n s u r a t e l y a n d t a k e s v a r i o u s
f o r m s . M a n y c h u r c h e s n o w p r o v i d e S u n d a y s c h o o l s , a n d t h e s e h a v e b e e n
w i d e l y w e l c o m e d b y p a r e n t s a s a w a y o f in s t il li n g e t h ic a l v a l u e s i n to t h e i r
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c h i l d r e n . W i t h i n t h e s t a t e e d u c a t i o n s y s t e m , m a n y s c h o o l s a r e n o w g i v i n g
pup i l s t he oppor tun i ty to le a r n a bo u t r e l ig ion , e i t he r t h r ough oc c a s io na l one -
o f f l e c tu r e s by v i s i t ing p r i e s t s o r by in t roduc ing op t ion a l r e l ig ious s tud ie s a s
pa r t o f t he c u r ri c u lum. Ap a r t f r om i t s u se f u lne s s i n p r om ot ing in t e r- c u l tu r a l
u n d e r s t a n d i n g , r e l i g i o u s e d u c a t i o n h a s a l s o b e e n w i d e l y w e l c o m e d f o r i t s
m o r a l v a l u e a n d i t s c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e s p i r i t u a l r e g e n e r a t i o n o f s o c i e t y .
A n o t h e r f o r m o f re l ig i o u s e d u c a t i o n i s n o w p r o v i d e d b y a n u m b e r o f p r i v a te
r e l ig ious sc ho o l s o f va r iou s f a ith s a nd de nom ina t ions .
R e l ig io us p lu r a l i sm i s pa r t o f a ge ne r a l e thn ic a nd c u l tu r a l p lu r a l i sm wh ic h
i s t yp ic a l o f p r e se n t - da y R uss i a n soc ie ty . M or e a nd m or e pe op le p r oc la im the ir
r e l ig i o u s o r n a t i o n a l a f f il i at i o n , i n c lu d i n g t h o s e w h o f o r m e r l y t e n d e d t o
c onc e a l i t. In t he pas t , fo r e xa mp le , ma ny Je w s c ha nge d the ir na m e s to R uss i a n
one s . Ve r y f e w o f t he m we n t t o the syna g ogue o r c e l e b r a t e d re l ig ious ho l ida ys ,
a n d h a r d l y a n y J e w i s h c h i ld r e n l e a r n ed H e b r e w o r Y i d d i sh . N o w a ll th a t h a s
c ha nge d . The s i t ua t ion in the Je wish c ommuni ty i s pa r t i c u l a r ly in t e r e s t ing .
T h e r e a r e m o r e t h a n 2 0 J e w i s h s c h o o l s i n M o s c o w a l o n e , r e l i g i o u s h o l i d a y s
a r e r e g u l a r l y c e l e b r a t e d , a n d k o s h e r f o o d i s n o w a v a i l a b l e . M a n y J e w s ,
how e ve r , s a y a l l th i s i s no t so m uc h a bou t re l ig ion a s suc h . R a the r , i t is a no the r
w a y to fe e l one ' s na t iona l i de n t it y a nd sho w i t t o o the r s - t he l a tt e r w i sh w ou ld
h a v e b e e n u n t h i n k a b l e o n l y a f e w y e a r s a g o .
T h e r e a r e a l s o m a n y e t h n i c G e r m a n s i n R u s s i a n , t h o u g h a c o n s i d e r a b l e
n u m b e r h a v e a l r e a d y l e f t f o r G e r m a n y . T h e y t o o s e i z e e v e r y o p p o r t u n i t y t o
l e a r n the la ngu a ge o f t he i r f o r e be a r s , t o c e l e b r a t e Ge r m a n c u l tu r a l f e s t iva l s ,
t o c o m m u n i c a t e w i t h p e o p l e l i v i n g i n G e r m a n y .
An o the r s ign i f i c a n t f e a tu r e o f m a ny t e e n a ge r s i n R u ss i a i s t ha t, i nc r e a s -
ing ly , t he y t e nd to p r e f e r W e s te r n c u l tu r e to t he i r ow n (C o~ a Te H ~o~ , 993 ) .
Th i s i s shown ve r y c l e a r ly by the i r r e a d ing t a s t e s , t hough the y now r e a d l e s s
than teenagers d id severa l yea rs ago (Co6Krm, HHcapc~H~, 1992) .
The sys t e m o f e duc a t ion h a s c ons id e r a b le d i f f i c u l ti e s in i nc u lc a t ing va lue s .
F o r one th ing , s om e t e a c he r s f e e l t ha t " inc u lc a t ion" i s a b r e a c h o f pe r sona l
f r e e dom , a so r t o f i ndoc t r ina t ion . B u t a no the r r e a son i s t he we l l - k now ine r ti a
o f t he sys t e m in a s s im i l a ting ne w ide a s. The ine r ti a i s no t t o be e v a lua t e d a s
de c ide d ly a d r a wba c k , f o r i t i s a l so a ba s i s f o r some s t a b i l i t y i n a n uns t a b le
t ime .
S t i l l , e d u c a t i o n i s a l w a y s a b o u t v a l u e s . A n y p e r s o n a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n
b e t w e e n t e a c h e r a n d p u p i l s i n v o l v e s s o m e t ra n s m i s s i o n o f v a l u e s , w h e t h e r
p l a n n e d o r n o t . I n S o v i e t t i m e s t h e r e w e r e t h e s o - c a l l e d " c l a s s h o u r s "
(K.qaCCHble qaCb~), i .e . les so ns spe cia l l y d es ign ed to so lv e mo ral pr ob lem s th at
ha d a r i s e n in the c l as s . And , o f c ou r se , t he r e wa s a s ing le c r i t e r ion f o r so lv ing
t h e m : M a r x i s t - L e n i n i s t i d e o l o g y . N o w t h e c l a s s h o u r s h a v e g o n e , t o g e t h e r
w i t h t h e i d e o lo g y , a n d f e w p e o p l e w o u l d w i s h t o r e tu r n t o t h e p r a c ti c e . M o s t
s t u d e n t s a n d t e a c h e r s f e e l f r e e a n d c h e r i s h t h e f e e l i n g . M a n y t e a c h e r s ,
h o w e v e r , a re a t a l o s s to k n o w w h i c h v a l u e s s h o u l d b e i n c u l c a te d . T h e n o t i o n
o f "g e n e r a l h u m a n v a l u e s " d o e s n o t h e lp t h e m v e r y m u c h . I t m a y t a k e s e v e r a l
ye a r s f o r mor e spe c i f i c i de a s to e me r ge . As to the me a ns , i t i s mos t ly th r ough
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the humanities part of the curriculum that values are transmitted. At the same
time it should be remembered that, in the opinion of students, parents and
teachers, the school plays a less significant role in the transmission of values
than the mass media , the fami ly and peers - in that order.
In wr i t ing th i s ar ti c le , the au thor made use o f some m ater ia l k ind ly prov ide d by Pro f .
Dr . S . G. Vershlovsky o f St . Petersbu rg.
An ear l ie r and shor ter ver s ion o f the ar t i c le app eared in the Aus t ra l ian journ al
Education and Society
11 2) , December 1993 .
e f e r e n c e s
[Ie,3aForHKa CoTpy;IH 4qecTBa:OTqeT O BCTpeqc yqHTe~e~-3KClJepHMeHTaTOpOB / YqH-
Te~bcKa9 rasexa, 18 OKT96p9 1986 ro~Ia.
CO6KHH B.C. COLtHO3OrHUeCKHfinopTpeT yyaiueroc9 FITY.- M.: MHnUcTepCTBOo6pa3o-
BaHH9 POCCH~CKO~ qbe~epa~IHH, 1992.-42 c.
CO6KHH B.C., FIHcapcKHfi U.C. ]IHHaMHKa xy;Io:~ecTBeHH~,~Xnpe~nouTeHn~ cTapmeK-
naCCHUI(OB.-M.: PAO, 1992.-80.
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