The role of the education system as a social institution in the life of society is shown. The tasks facing the domestic education system at the present stage of rapid changes in public consciousness are analyzed. Ways have been outlined for modernizing domestic education in order to transform it into a resource for reducing social risks and social conflicts based on xenophobia, migrant phobia, social aggression and intolerance. The need to introduce programs into the education system that ensure the development of tolerance, religious tolerance, civil patriotism and social identity among the younger generation has been proven.
In recent years and even decades, Russian education, together with the entire country, has become an arena of changes that affect virtually every resident of Russia. It has experienced and continues to experience periods of stabilization (early nineties), reform and development (mid-nineties) and, finally, modernization (from the late 90s to this year 2010). The main vector of the modernization period, the chronological starting point of which is 1997, was and remains the vector of developing organizational and economic projects for the development of the education sector (1). Assessing the successes, failures and socio-economic consequences of each of the periods indicated above is a matter of special historical and analytical research, which is necessary for designing future scenarios for the development of education.
At the same time, even a cursory analysis of the recent history of education reform allows us to conclude that beyond the various scenarios of its development, as a rule, there were the following systemic social effects:
the formation of civic identity as a prerequisite for strengthening Russian statehood;
social and spiritual consolidation of society;
ensuring social mobility of the individual, quality and accessibility of education as factors in reducing the risks of social stratification of society;
constructing social norms of trust in each other among representatives of different social groups, religious and national cultures;
successful socialization of the younger generation;
increasing the competitiveness of the individual, society and state.
For further searches for ways to transform the education system, it is necessary to highlight issues related to the nature of the social effects of education and their role in the life of the individual, family, society and the state as an institution for the formation of civil, social, cultural, personal identity of the inhabitants of Russia, the consolidation of citizens in a society of increasing multicultural and multiethnic diversity. These are, first of all, the following questions.
What kind of risks do politicians and managers face when trying to reform the education sector without taking into account the social effects of education?
How does education influence such manifestations of social stratification as: “social elevator” (increasing socio-economic status in the system of social hierarchy of society), “social mixer” (mixing different social strata of society), “social well” (declining socio-economic status in the system of social hierarchy of society)?
What social actions and programs should be implemented in order to move from the declaration of the priority of education as a value of society to the achievement of a real priority of education as a task of state policy?
What is the role of education in general, including school education standards, in the formation of a person’s civic identity, the “common ancestry” of Russian citizens, a sense of understanding of the historical “common destiny”, which is the basis of social solidarity of Russian society?
Can education as an institution for the socialization of the individual be competitive in relation to other institutions for the socialization of younger generations: family, religion and mass communication?
How to turn education management through its standards into a resource for reducing various risks, social and interpersonal conflicts, including those arising from xenophobia, ethnophobia, migrant phobia, social aggression and intolerance?
How can we achieve social trust and mutual understanding in Russian society through knowledge management using such a tool as educational standards?
In order to outline ways to resolve these issues, let us turn to the analysis of the barriers of mass consciousness that impede the modernization of education.
Barriers of mass consciousness that impede the modernization of education
Globalization, the inevitable inclusion of Russian society in global processes, and the era of communication civilization that has already arrived have significantly influenced political, sociocultural and economic processes in Russia.
Changes have led to society moving from a relatively stable phase of development to a dynamic one; from a “closed” society to an “open” one; from industrial society - to post-industrial, information society.
The social, spiritual and economic differentiation of society inherent in this transition and the emergence of different forms of ownership became prerequisites for the coexistence of state, non-state and family education, and thus the inevitable social transformation of the entire education system as a whole.
This transformation of the education system is often regarded as a direct result of targeted reforms. Such a characterization of the changes undergoing is inaccurate and largely naive.
In reality, behind the ongoing changes in Russian education there are, along with attempts at targeted reform by government bodies, numerous poorly controlled processes. Some of them are associated with the initiatives of various social groups, others with the passive reaction of the educational system to various budget constraints. It should be taken into account that attempts to reform education, including an attempt at its organizational and economic modernization in recent years, were carried out against the backdrop of negative social expectations of both various segments of the population and many representatives of the educational community. There are a number of serious reasons causing such expectations and disappointments:
ignoring the motivation of the population when carrying out social reforms;
negative experience of previous reforms in the field of social policy;
reducing the state policy of reforming education to programs for its reform as a separate industry.
From the postulate about the priority of education as a social myth - to achieving the priority of education as a task of state innovation policy
Let's consider a number of general questions and problems, which sometimes, due to their obviousness and seeming banality, are perceived as postulates that do not require proof, and not as tasks whose solution requires joint efforts.
One of these questions is why the thesis about the priority of education, as well as the value of education (as well as science) sharply diverges from reality and, as a rule, is at the level of myths, declarations and good assurances? Let us note that in countries with a post-industrial level of development, their competitiveness is determined by the level of accessibility and quality of education. It is obvious that Russia faces the task of achieving the priority of education and turning it into a value in the Russian mentality as a strategic goal of state policy. Only if this problem is successfully solved can education become a genuine resource for increasing the competitiveness of individuals, society and the state.
In Soviet ideology, education and the media explicitly or implicitly played the tune of the social construction of an identity called “Soviet man.” Let us remember the words of the song: “My address is not a house or a street, my address is the Soviet Union.”
The identity crisis after the collapse of the USSR, the sinking of Soviet Atlantis to the bottom of the historical ocean led to the fact that the mass consciousness of people of different nationalities, confessions and regions became a kind of “homeless consciousness”. In such a situation, it is the active ideology of designing civic identity (state identity) that can become a factory for the production of “social glue” that holds together weakened ties in Russian social networks.
To achieve this goal, it would be advisable through education, which is an institution of socialization, to use the standards of the new generation as a political tool for constructing civic identity as a basic prerequisite for strengthening statehood. This kind of task, although with a much more significant expenditure of resources, could be solved through the media.
It is the social construction of civic identity that acts as the mission of the sociocultural modernization of education, and thereby the sociocultural modernization of society.
To achieve this mission, it is necessary to assess the extent to which the structure of education meets the strategic goals of Russia's development, to develop state standards as conventional norms that implement social expectations in relation to the education of the individual, family, society and state in the form of a social contract.
In the context of sociocultural modernization of society, it is necessary to consider the effectiveness of such important innovations as: quality control of general education through the Unified State Exam; introduction of a new generation of school education standards; mass distribution of specialized training models; the effectiveness of the education informatization program; the effectiveness of introducing the mechanism of educational loans in the field of vocational education; the degree of compliance of the updated classifier of specialties and areas of training of specialists in vocational education institutions with the forecasts of the needs of the Russian economy.
Let us emphasize once again that in order to understand the potential, limitations and risks of the organizational and economic concept of modernization of education, it is necessary to go beyond education as a limited sphere and consider potential vectors of transformation of education as the leading social activity of society in the coordinate system of the political, socio-economic, intellectual and cultural development of the country.
Risks of underestimating the social effects of education
As noted above, even a cursory analysis of the place and function of the education sector in Russian society shows how much the thesis about the priority of education diverges from social reality. The risks of underestimating the social effects of the education system reflect society’s attitude to education, and, accordingly, to the result of education as a social activity.
Let us give examples of the increase in just some of the social risks that manifest themselves in the process of socialization of the younger generation in modern society:
lack of a clear strategy for youth policy, support for children's, adolescent and youth public associations that contribute to solving the problems of personal self-determination and the formation of the identity of young people;
increase in social orphanhood;
the phenomenon of child begging;
the phenomenon of early commercialization of adolescents, which causes an increase in violations of the moral and moral development of adolescents and the likelihood of their interaction with the criminal strata of society;
the risk of increasing aggressive and violent behavior in adolescents;
increase in child and teenage crime;
an increase in the number of child victims of violence;
lowering the age limit for early alcoholism, the spread of drug addiction and substance abuse;
personal immaturity, including moral immaturity;
inadequate coping strategies for adolescents and young people with difficult life situations.
The list of such phenomena and trends could be continued. But even this sample is enough to state the inconsistency of the actions of various social institutions designed to solve the problems of preventing and preventing defects in socialization, and to come to the following conclusions.
Firstly, the socialization of children, adolescents and young people is undergoing serious changes in the era of mass communications, the Internet, cyberspace, a shift in values during the transition period Russia is experiencing, etc. Sociological surveys indicate the social heterogeneity of the growing generation, its multidimensionality, and a tendency to break “ connections of times”, etc. At the same time, both abroad and in Russia, systematic research programs on the social profile of the younger generation and the role of identity in the development of society are only at the very initial stage.
During educational reforms in previous periods, different strategies for the development of education were developed based on a very vague, social portrait of the future generation. It is hardly necessary to argue in detail that reforming education against the backdrop of such “generational uncertainty” represents one of the highest risks of any social reforms in the modern world.
Secondly, even a random selection of the examples given proves that such a traditional institution of socialization as the institution of the family is experiencing a deep crisis. Moreover, the institution of family cannot withstand competition with other institutions of socialization - religion, the media, the Internet. Therefore, the systemic picture of the process of socialization of the growing generation cannot be considered without studying the process of interaction between the institution of education and the institutions of family, religion and mass communication, which are largely determined, using the term of the classic of world psychology L.S. Vygotsky, the “zone of proximal development” of the younger generation. At the same time, for many reasons, including departmental barriers, the growing generation of these “nannies” finds themselves “out of sight.” It will not be surprising if this generation presents the most unexpected surprises to Russian society.
Thirdly, due to the fact that the social institution of education is the most state-controlled institution of socialization, it has been and will be required to compensate for the social defects of other more spontaneous and less controlled institutions of socialization, primarily such as the family and the media. As a result, education, itself experiencing a crisis, has been and will be assigned social expectations and political tasks related to compensating for the defects of the socialization process in the family, not to mention the defects of the powerful informal education carried out through the media and the Internet.
Fourthly, all the above-mentioned general features of the process of socialization of younger generations should be considered taking into account the specifics of socialization in the historical transition period that Russia is experiencing. The well-known saying “God forbid you live in an era of change” is fully applicable to the process of socialization of younger generations ongoing in Russia. In a situation of shifting values, the phenomenon of “negative identity” arises and intensifies. The phenomenon of “negative identity” is of particular importance for understanding the specifics of identity formation as a process of identifying oneself with a particular social group in adolescents.
If we take a closer look at the picture of the socialization process outlined above and the various social institutions that ensure this process (family, education, religion and the media), we will see a discrepancy between the strategy of reforming education without taking into account its social effects and the attitude towards education as a priority channel for the state to influence society will become even more obvious.
Without understanding the systemic nature of all the above-mentioned social effects and priorities of education, it is impossible to organize its design as an institution of successful personal and professional socialization, ensuring the growth of the socio-economic resources of the state and leading to the growth of state capital through the accumulation of human capital.
The various social effects of education are particularly clearly manifested in preschool education, general school education, additional education for children and adolescents, as well as in special compensatory education for children with physical and mental developmental difficulties. As a result, society questions education not only and not so much for its contribution to the education of children, but for those negative effects that are a consequence of all institutions of socialization.
All the above-mentioned social effects reinforce the historically existing social expectations, sometimes unconscious, in the teaching profession, especially the Teacher profession, as especially valuable to society, that education compensates for social defects in socialization that arise in the family, under the influence of the media and other institutions of socialization.
In the same case, when these effects are not taken into account, federal and regional education programs are confined to the education sector, and education is reduced to the service sector. As a result, social-role relations between society and education begin to be built in the plane of relations between clients and providers of educational services.
If the state and society in relation to education explicitly or implicitly occupy the social positions of consumer and client, then the interaction between them and education is established according to the principle of pragmatic exchange (“you - to me, I - to you”). As a result, an opposition “us - them” develops, violating the relations of social partnership between education, business, family, society and the state. In this socio-historical situation, the risks of forming a society of “negative identity”, represented by a generation “without knowing kinship,” are growing.
The educational standard as a social contract and the formation of a person’s civil identity
In order to reduce the risks of social development described above, the ideology of developing standards as conventional norms that reflect social expectations in relation to the education of the individual, family, society, business and state is placed at the forefront of the sociocultural modernization of education.
The development of a general education standard is based on the idea of education as a key institution for the socialization of the individual, ensuring:
the appeal of adolescents and young people to the leading values of domestic and world culture, the formation of civic identity and community solidarity;
mastering universal methods of decision-making in various social and life situations at different stages of age-related personal development;
reducing the likelihood of risks of social maladjustment and health problems among younger generations.
The basic guidelines when designing modern standards of education as an institution of socialization are the following guidelines:
to highlight the value systems of education as an institution of socialization of the individual, reflecting the requirements of the family, society and state;
to identify motivation for learning and the formation of “competence to update competencies” as the leading goal of education in the information age;
on understanding the standards of general education as conventional norms that guarantee the accessibility, quality, effectiveness of education and fix the requirements for educational outcomes, the set of educational areas, the volume of workload at various levels and stages of education, taking into account the age and individual psychological characteristics of the development of students, as well as the requirements for terms of study, the structure of exemplary educational programs, procedures for monitoring the educational achievements of students at different age stages;
to design variable psychological and pedagogical technologies for the formation of universal cognitive actions.
Systematization of programs on the basis of “identity” allows us to move away from the administrative-territorial systematization of the components of education standards to the federal, regional and school components of standards and to reveal the real value systems of education, ensuring the solution of various educational tasks and the construction of a picture of the world by students at different levels of education.
The value guidelines of the methodology of education as the leading social activity of society make it possible, in the context of designing standards, to carry out the formation of civil, ethnocultural and universal identity through the development of three types of programs:
a set of programs for the formation of a person’s civic identity as a citizen of his country, the education of civil patriotism and love for the Motherland: Russian as the state language, history of the Fatherland, native literature, social studies, civics, etc.
a set of programs for the formation of ethnocultural identity and regional identity (solidarity with the “small homeland” - village, city, region), aimed at familiarization with the national culture, knowledge of the history of the native land, etc.: national language as a native language, local history, national history, national literature, etc.
a set of programs for the formation of a universal human identity, aimed at familiarizing with the products of world culture and the general history of mankind, universal human values, achievements of science and technology that connect a person with all of humanity: mathematics as a universal language of communication, computer science, physics, the surrounding world, world history, world literature, world artistic culture, economics, etc.
If the task of forming a person’s civil identity in the context of education as the leading social activity of society is successfully solved, systemic social effects will be achieved:
Representatives of the younger generations recognize themselves as citizens of Russia;
strengthening Russian statehood;
increasing the competitiveness of Russian society in the modern world;
reducing the risk of the country breaking up into separate territories according to ethnic, religious and/or regional parameters and the risk of various social conflicts (ethnic, religious, interregional, etc.).
Education as an institution for achieving social trust, tolerance and prevention of xenophobia
In the context of growing social diversity in the country, the education system is increasingly faced with the task of ensuring the consolidation of various layers of civil society and reducing social tension between representatives of different faiths and national cultures. Solving these problems requires the implementation of state policy aimed at implementing the principles of religious tolerance, tolerance, peacefulness, civil patriotism and secularism in the education system and, thereby, transforming education into an institution for accumulating social trust and harmony in Russia.
To design education as a social institution that ensures the formation of tolerance and the prevention of extremism, it is necessary to take into account the following prerequisites for social tension in society:
the growth of social diversity of public life and the complexity of the process of civic identification - making decisions about the place of an individual (social group) in the system of civil, social, professional, national, religious, political relations; uncertainty of values and social attitudes at the level of the individual and social group, which arose as a result of rapid changes in the political, economic and national-state structure of the country;
the growth of hypermobility of the population, due to the dynamics of the ethno-geographical structure of society in the conditions of rapid unregulated migration processes, leading to changes in social distances between various ethnic, religious, generational and social layers of society and, thereby, to an increase in social tension;
the emergence in society of stereotypes of perception of manifestations of cruelty, xenophobia, ethnophobia, migrant phobia as a habitual social norm and, thereby, explicit or implicit sanctioning of the use of negative patterns of aggressive behavior in the activities of individuals and social groups, including those transmitted through the mass media;
the active dissemination of manipulative technologies for the formation of “friends versus foes” attitudes, constructing an image of the enemy, the use of hate speech in the media, the creation of radical “hate sites” on the Internet, the main targets of which are teenagers and segments of the population who feel socially disadvantaged.
The results of sociological monitoring show that the media and the sphere of family life actually compete with each other in manifestations of intolerance, while the sphere of education is rated as the sphere of the least manifestation of intolerance. From this we can conclude that society’s expectations regarding education as an institution of socialization, capable of compensating for defects in socialization in the family, under the influence of the media and the “street”, have a real basis.
Along with these data, the study of social stereotypes formed by the media, as well as the value orientations of adolescents - witnesses and participants in various kinds of traumatic situations, deserve increased attention, proving that in modern Russian society there are stereotypes of perception of manifestations of cruelty, xenophobia, ethnophobia, migrant phobia as a social norm .
The above points are most clearly manifested in the lives of social groups that are in the focus of increased public attention (teenagers, migrants, national minorities). In the process of monitoring tolerance in the teenage subculture (2003), teenagers, answering the question about the attitude towards national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities in modern Russia, put aggressive nationalism in first place (18.6%), then racism (17. 1%), discrimination (16.4%), violence (14.7%), intolerance (14.4%), terrorism (13.4%). Only about two percent of teenagers believe that none of these phenomena are common in relation to the above-mentioned minorities.
The percentage of schoolchildren who are indifferent to this problem is also significantly high (28.2%). It is also alarming that more than a third of the teenagers surveyed are indifferent to any informal youth groups, including skinheads.
The data presented indicate that education can act as one of the leading factors in the formation of tolerance and the prevention of xenophobic attitudes in children and adolescents. However, these capabilities are used with extremely low efficiency.
In the context of developing a strategy for the sociocultural modernization of education in order to reduce social tension and overcome the negative social attitudes of adolescents and youth identified during monitoring, it is proposed to expand the use of educational programs that reveal the complementary values of different religions, national cultures in the history of civilizations and in a multinational modern society. Through specially developed socio-psychological technologies for the formation of tolerance, teachers, teachers, schoolchildren and students in the course of various trainings on tolerance and social competence can learn to resolve conflict situations, negotiate, taking the positions of opposing sides and trying to see the world through the eyes of another person. At the same time, tolerance does not mean the absence of one’s own position or indifference to various forms of religious and national intolerance. On the contrary, only a person who has his own worldview and faith is able to show generosity, respect the worldview and faith of another person, and have harmony of civil, ethnocultural and universal identity.
Prospects for sociocultural modernization of education
The above analysis allows us to outline the main tasks of the strategy for the sociocultural modernization of education, without solving which social risks will increase in the process of social development of the country.
The first task is to develop projects that reveal the essence of education as the leading social activity of society and their implementation in government programs at various levels. The focus of these target programs is the educational space as a social network, including education along with other institutions of socialization (family, media, religion, socio-economic institutions) and determining the social effects of the interaction of education with these institutions in the life of the individual, society and state. We have to admit that at present, despite the vector of movement toward a knowledge-based society that has emerged in state policy, the connection between education and the social effects of social development is very poorly represented in the mass consciousness. It follows that the implementation of the strategy of sociocultural modernization of the education system should become one of the factors in changing the social attitudes of the population in relation to education.
The second task is related to the purposeful formation of civic identity as a prerequisite for the formation of civil society and the growth of solidarity in Russian society. Without solving this problem, the identity crisis will grow, giving rise to political and social risks on the path of the country's development.
The solution to the problem of forming civic identity is directly related to the third task of sociocultural modernization of education - the task of designing programs, first of all, preschool and school education, ensuring the formation of social norms of tolerance and trust as conditions for dialogue of cultures in multinational Russian society.
The fourth task is the task of compensating for potential risks of socialization of younger generations that arise in other institutions of socialization. We are talking about ways to seek social partnership with institutions of the media, religion and family in order to successfully socialize children, adolescents and young people and the use of social networks between these institutions to reduce the risk of social conflicts and tensions in society.
The fifth task is to increase the mobility, quality and accessibility of education as a resource for increasing the social status of an individual in modern society, achieving professional and personal success, which generates faith in oneself and the future of one’s country. Solving this problem, which is directly related to the stratification-forming function of education, will also reduce the risks of social segregation, which is largely a consequence of low social mobility and the availability of quality education to the country’s population.
The sixth task is the development of “competence to update competencies” as a value target when designing educational programs at various levels, allowing representatives of the younger generations to cope with various professional and life problems in the context of the rapid growth of information flows and the pace of social change.
And finally, the seventh task of sociocultural modernization of education is the development of general education standards as conventional social norms that ensure a balance of interests of the family, society and the state and allow the life aspirations of young people to be realized.
These, in the most general form, are the primary tasks of the sociocultural modernization of education, the constructive solution of which largely determines the growth of the competitiveness of the individual, society and state at the next stage of social development of our country.
Bibliography:
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Asmolov A.G., Dmitriev M.I., Klyachko T.L., Kuzminov Ya.I., Tikhonov A.N. The concept of organizational and economic reform of the Russian education system// Search. - 1997. - No. 38.
Asmolov A.G., Burmenskaya G.V., Volodarskaya I.A., Karabanova O.A., Salmina N.G. Cultural-historical system-activity paradigm for designing school education standards// Questions of psychology. - 2007. - No. 4. - P. 16-23.
Kuzminov Ya.I. Education in Russia. What we can do?// Issues of education. - 2004. - No. 1. - P. 5-30.
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To quote the article:
Asmolov A.G. Social effects of educational policy // National psychological journal - 2010. - No. 2(4) - p.100-106.
Asmolov A. G. (2010). Social effects of educational policy.National Psychological Journal,2(4), 100-106
Alexander Kostinsky: The topic of our today's program is “Social effects of education.”
In the Radio Liberty studio - Doctor of Psychology, Professor, Head of the Department of Personality Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Moscow State University, Alexander Osmolov.
And the first question. Let's just outline what these social effects of education are. Because somehow, in the everyday mind, school is to give knowledge. Let us list them, and then we will talk about them in detail.
Alexander Osmolov
Alexander Osmolov: I am not enough of a Don Quixote to start a battle with everyday consciousness. It would be strange if I began to poke holes in common sense and say: “School and knowledge are two different things.” But when we are engaged in education, we always need to ask at least three key or four questions.
The first question, which is not always in the mind: why are we creating such a unique activity throughout the country, which covers the huge population of Russia, like education?
Alexander Kostinsky: That is, goals?
Alexander Osmolov: Yes. Why are we doing this? Why does this activity literally bother everyone in different regions, and always has?
Alexander Kostinsky: Enough - I mean...
Alexander Osmolov: In every sense of the word. Sometimes it gets so bad that it doesn’t seem like enough, and sometimes it doesn’t seem like enough.
The second question: why today should we ask the question: what should education provide? Not for what, but what, what content, so that a person can be successful and interesting in this world.
And the third question: in what ways and techniques should we provide education in order to help a person grow, gain intellectual and personal strength, and at the same time, find his own identity?
Alexander Kostinsky: That is, we are talking about the fact that the school is organized largely for the social adequacy of a person. Not only to gain some knowledge and skills, as it is written in pedagogy, but still so that a person is socially adequate.
Alexander Osmolov: Essentially, you hit the nail on the head. And not because I want to pay compliments here. The fact is that school (many people forget about this) is the leading institution for a person’s entry into society. And hence, indeed, social competence, social adequacy for everyone - from young to old. But earlier, in Soviet times, the school was (I am not afraid of this word) the main and leading institution, as my colleagues say, of the socialization of society, that is, the entry and transformation of a person into a social being. Today there are several such institutions, and they do not always look at each other favorably.
What are these institutions that are fighting for the consciousness of a growing individual? This is religion, and today religion has a powerful voice, and this voice is becoming increasingly valuable...
Alexander Kostinsky: And state support in general.
Alexander Osmolov: Yes, and support from the state, despite the principle of secularism. “Don’t touch us, and we won’t touch you.”
Secondly, this, of course, has been a family in all centuries. And today, when we are dealing with the most complex thing - the family, the family also naturally fights for the consciousness of a growing person.
Alexander Kostinsky: But in the Soviet Union, too, there is still a family... Family and school are still two institutions that made a person who he was. Moreover, the school was not only for knowledge, but it included October students, pioneers, and Komsomol members. That is, relatively speaking, indoctrination is parallel, I’m not even saying...
Alexander Osmolov: Yes, education is the creation of a value system. And thus, education is an ideology. Education is the transmission belt of ideology. And if we speak in old terms... remember, “the Komsomol or the trade union is the transmission belt of the party.” In this situation, you are absolutely right.
But what if earlier, when school and family entered into difficult relationships, and the child, God forbid, did something in class that was not what he was told? The Russian language brilliantly conveys the meaning of this: “Call your parents to school.” Previously, parents were called to school. And thus, the family did not have a decisive or serious say in the life of the school and in the development of the child. Here, when public councils appear, when parents, in a good sense, shake their rights and say: “You are giving the wrong knowledge,” when parents choose a school, and choose it very often biasedly, this is normal. And the family has its own voice. But the crisis of the family, the emergence of problems of social orphanhood, the emergence of commercialization of adolescents, the emergence and growth of teenage poverty - all these phenomena today... What phenomena? Of course, social phenomena.
But I have not spoken about the third great competitor in the struggle for the consciousness of a growing person. The field of consciousness – the media of mass communication, including the Internet, are powerfully present on it.
Alexander Kostinsky: The Internet, computer games, which in many ways are extremely desirable for a modern child, and especially in large cities who have access.
By the way, I will make a small remark. These seemingly homeless children who beg, steal, come to large cities, including Moscow, without money, when they manage to steal or earn some money - how can they earn money, they don’t mainly spend on food, although they hungry, not for clothes, but mainly for computer games. They go to computer clubs and play.
Alexander Osmolov: Well, to paraphrase what you are talking about, the old formula: “Not by bread alone...”. In this case: man does not live by bread alone, but by computer alone.
Alexander Kostinsky: Yes, a child – this still cannot be ruled out.
Alexander Osmolov: Stop! Not only the child, but also many modern generations who are called, if you like, the “smart crowd”... I really like the term for Internet users, it’s even such good flattery - “smart crowd”. In fact, they are chained, they are without information - like without air. But let’s say the main thing, something that is often not heard. The media (whether they want it or not) is a powerful institution of informal education.
Alexander Kostinsky: And socialization too, behavioral patterns.
Alexander Osmolov: Absolutely. Non-formal education is a special case of socialization. And today I say: “Who is fighting for socialization, who will win?” Religion is here, education is here, family is here, school...
Alexander Kostinsky: MASS MEDIA.
Alexander Osmolov: Yes, the media. And today the world of childhood, the world of teenagers, the world of youth is very often a field of competition. At the same time, a very pressing question arises: how to make them partners? To order that everyone work and line up on the same line, that the media say what is needed, schools say what is needed - today this is no longer possible. All these problems were not recognized before.
And you said a very important thing. After all, the world we live in has changed...
Alexander Kostinsky: Drastically.
Alexander Osmolov: This is cleaner than the transition, excuse me, from Ptolemy to Copernicus, from Newton to Einstein. We began to live in completely different realities. What is our world called? Everyone argues... I'm not even talking about the clichés that I don't believe in - capitalism, socialism and so on. But our society is called very interesting concepts that have not been heard before: “post-industrial era”, “information age”. Stop! Here we make a stop. What is the main resource in the information age? Not raw materials, not oil, not gas, but education through which there are flows of information, flows of knowledge.
And finally, another name for our society, and a very important one today, is “risk society.” It is also called that, and there are reasons for this.
And the last thing that was encountered, which was put into use, was the “creative society”. But this is already flattery.
Alexander Kostinsky: Alexander Grigorievich, please tell me, but if we have already... well, we have said what, in general, forces have a serious influence on the formation of a child - in particular, on his knowledge, behavior and behavior patterns, how he will behave . And in many ways they even determine fate, if we’re talking seriously. And speaking specifically, what are the main effects of general education... We now understand that it is competitive, and therefore, unlike in Soviet times, it does not have such a strong influence. But still, what are the main effects of general education, school education?
Alexander Osmolov: From my point of view, the first and most important effect, which, speaking in a peculiar but still accepted scientific language today, is the formation of civic identity: “Who am I, as a citizen of Russia? Who am I as a citizen of the country? Why, when we sit next to you - Alexander Osmolov and Alexander Kostinsky - we both clearly understand: we have many differences, but we are citizens of the same country. Therefore, education should give the child a sense of common destiny, a sense of a single homeland - without this nothing will happen. And the opportunity to see others like him, representatives of one country.
Do you remember the old film called “We are from Kronstadt”. There, when in a difficult situation another Russian soldier runs up to the soldier, and he sees something and almost recognizes him, he begins to say: “We are from Pskop. We are from Pskop. We are from Pskop." When you meet someone, you ask: “What city are you from, what street?” And what is very important: “What school did you go to?” means that there is a space of common interests. “Which university did you study at?” And people from one university always recognize people from that university. In fact, this unique effect - a feeling of solidarity, community as citizens of one country - is what education gives. Hence: one of the key tasks of modern education is the creation of civic identity. The Russian language plays a great role here. Why Russian? And culture. But at the same time, uniting us into one, excuse me, tribe, into one society, into one, in the broad sense of the word, civil community. Therefore, this effect is incredibly important for the country. If they don’t understand this effect of education, then you and I will fall apart. And hence the second effect of education is the consolidation of society, the creation of a common spirituality, social consolidation - without this, nothing is possible either.
The third effect, and I will dwell on it in more detail, has never been talked about - education as the basis for a person’s entry into different layers of the social atmosphere. In other words, this is stratification, entry into social layers, strata...
Alexander Kostinsky: So the ceiling is what you want to say? Education in a sense determines where a person can go, right?
Alexander Osmolov: Or where to fall. Three manifestations of this social effect - the creation of classes, if you like. The first effect (you named it clearly) is a social lift. Education can enable a person, no matter what strata of society he was born into - remember the old Marxist, excuse me, “in huts or in palaces” - he can still achieve a lot. Therefore, in society the most powerful social elevator, including the elevator that ensures the education of what we have very little of - the middle class - is precisely education. But the social elevator is one scale.
The second is a social mixer. The word “mixer”, I think, is clear to everyone.
Alexander Kostinsky: Mixing.
Alexander Osmolov: Yes, stirring. Been in some, become in others - and thus you move mobile from one layer to another.
But there is a third effect - the social well effect. Why do people in education today think so much about the accessibility of education and the quality of education? Yes, because if there is no accessibility, the possibility of movement will be blocked. If there is no accessibility, then it will turn out that people will be thrown to the sidelines of life. And the worst thing is that if there is no access to knowledge, and if there is no development of a unique phenomenon - our teaching, if the teacher does not receive knowledge, if the teacher does not, first of all, have a powerful social and value status in this country, then he can become a lumpen. If he becomes a lumpen, then in his interactions with children he pulls the children along with him - and the patterns of behavior that are not at all the ones that we would like arise.
Alexander Kostinsky: But, on the other hand, you are now talking about a very important thing, one of the most important, which we talk about here through the program all the time - these are teachers, the aging of teaching staff, their low status and, in fact, if we take the national average , do not take outstanding schools and outstanding teachers, not a very high level. Moreover, many people simply say: “Who will replace?..”. Relatively speaking, now they are over 50... the average age of a teacher in Russia is over 50, and is already approaching 60 years. If these people leave school in 10 years... There is simply no change.
Alexander Osmolov: It's nice to agree with you, but sad. The fact is that the phenomenon, namely gerontology, in fact, the aging of the teaching workforce, is one of the great social risks that we face. Look what kind of system we have. We have a system with an exit, when people who, for age reasons, find it difficult to work, they leave school, and often leave very late. There are brilliant teachers, such as Milgram, who at 80 years old is a beacon of intellectual development and teaching, and many outstanding personalities.
But at the same time, there is another phenomenon. Who's going to school? There are more than 100 pedagogical universities and institutes in our country. If we count how many graduates decide to go to school and fall into the arms of the school environment, then their percentage is quite small.
Alexander Kostinsky: 7-10 percent.
Alexander Osmolov: Well, they play with different data. Some say 12, some even say 5. And what also happens is that many of our universities begin to be called “pedagogical universities,” then this is generally a road in a different direction. Because a physicist is a physicist, and not a teacher, as is often the case. That is, we have a very serious phenomenon. This will lead (I am looping my text), I say again, to a sharp change in the mechanisms of growth through education - social growth, professional growth. And most importantly, you can win socially, you can win professionally. Personal growth of a person. A person is always broader than his profession.
Alexander Kostinsky: Of course, this is unconditional.
Alexander Grigorievich, please tell me, but if we are talking about school, about school education, then what should we do? That's all, in general, people who are more or less interested in this area understand that school education is difficult. Now there has been some progress, something is changing - somehow they are increasing salaries, computers have arrived at schools... Programs have not yet arrived that should more or less work on these computers, I mean educational programs , not general purpose. But still movement is going in this direction. But what do you think is the most rational way to use the money that is available, taking into account not just educational, but also social effects?
Alexander Osmolov: You know, there is an old formula: “Give me money and I will change the whole world” - it doesn’t really work. Because when there is even money, and now the situation is somewhat different than in 1993-1995, the important issue is its clear and effective use, so that it provides those programs that have a systemic effect. Therefore, a clear identification of these programs is necessary. And this cannot be done without understanding the new situation in education and its new mechanisms.
Therefore, first of all, we must calmly realize that today the goals of education are different. The main goal of education today is not to stuff us, like hamsters, with knowledge (knowledge has always been, is and will be), but to understand that the main task of the school is to teach how to learn and provide, starting from preschool age, the competence to update the competence. In fact, this stands out as a goal.
Second point. Everyone clearly understands that simply accumulating knowledge will not lead to anything if there is no great thing - motivation to learn. How can we make sure that the main strength of our children, students, and youth is the motivation for creativity, the motivation for knowledge - then we will achieve very serious things.
Third. In Russia, two questions always concern us: “who is to blame?” and “what should I do?” So, if we answer the question “what to do?”, then the first effort after developing a clear education strategy, which I call variable education, providing opportunities for different people and giving the opportunity for choice and self-development, it all starts with preparation. And you are absolutely right, so that the teacher has independence - support from the teaching staff. Hence: the main thing today is not even pedagogical universities, but the colossal retraining of teachers and teaching teachers to live in the information world, full of risks and dangers. One of the main tragedies of the school is the drama of primary school teachers lagging behind 5-year-olds and 6-year-olds in the field of information technology knowledge. When at 4-5 years old a 5-year-old is affectionate and arrogant, and sometimes not always arrogant, he already lives and breathes the computer world, this is his habitat...
Alexander Kostinsky: And the teacher doesn’t even know how to approach him.
Alexander Osmolov: Absolutely.
Alexander Kostinsky: And he has complexes in many ways and is nervous.
Alexander Osmolov: Yes. Should we be taught to walk on earth when we are 3 years old? We're already walking. In the same way, a child lives in a world of information. For him, computer elements and games, for him this cybersphere, cyberspace, is his normal habitat. And there are so many dangers and so many risks... But whatever they are, this is our life today. And the child who plays these games learns a lot. And here comes another unique move. The remarkable psychologist Daniil Borisovich Elkonin, speaking about great people called “preschoolers,” said that learning should come to school (think about these words) through the gates of children's play.
Alexander Kostinsky: Through the game, yes.
Alexander Osmolov: Absolutely. Through the gate of a children's game. Sometimes they ask: “At what age should I start?” From anyone. But the question is: why start and how to start? If you put a 5-year-old at a desk and chain him to this desk for many years...
Alexander Kostinsky: Handles on the desk.
Alexander Osmolov: ...yes, put him in this prisoner position... Sit in this position yourself. This is a unique experiment on the stress resistance of the child’s psyche.
Alexander Kostinsky: And this is what I would like to talk about. Now modernization is underway, and modernization is always change. When we talk about the fact that teachers are people over 50, close to 60, then these teachers have a very strong brake, because these people cannot adapt so quickly. And modernization brings some confusion, some chaos. Let's talk about the risks that modernization in education brings, in particular, about the social effects of these risks.
Alexander Osmolov: The first social effect associated with modernization. Our consciousness has a powerful resistance to any reforms.
Alexander Kostinsky: Strength of materials.
Alexander Osmolov: Yes, powerful resistance of materials. Therefore, by and large, experiments on people must be carried out with their consent. What is modernization? This is a massive experiment on a national scale. And therefore, when the motives of this modernization are unclear, when it is unclear what it gives to the teacher, child, parent, in this regard, the first risk is the misunderstanding and fears generated by any modernization.
Second. Another risk is to reduce everything to economics: “money is everything.” Today the formula is different. They used to say: “If you want to live, know how to spin.” Today I want to say: “If you want to live, know how to learn.” And in this sense of the word, in essence, this is the basis for the socialization of education. And then it turns out that when we attack the population and say that “only economic solutions to education are needed, only economics will save the world,” this is wrong. Therefore, today we are talking about sociocultural modernization, and not about economic one. The point is not, and not only, what resources and how much to pay. I come back: what are they going for? Therefore, the biggest risk is when we begin to build new reforms in education according to the formula “where Piglet and I are going is a big, big secret, and we won’t tell you about it, no, no, no.” Here is a clear identification of goals - without this you can’t get anywhere.
Alexander Kostinsky: And not just highlighting, but also just a serious problem - how to convey these goals, in general, to the people who are consumers of this education - parents, who would share... Because parents are as important a point of education as the school, and the child himself. And without parents, by and large, without their support... And when parents are skeptical about this, teachers are skeptical about this, then why be surprised that reforms are going so hard at school.
Alexander Osmolov: Absolutely correct. Because when we are dealing with a unique community of parents... First of all, everyone knows about education.
Alexander Kostinsky: They think they know.
Alexander Osmolov: As I say, they think that... Everyone can discuss health, education, and everyone very often makes the school a scapegoat for any sins of society. Therefore, if we break into people’s consciousness without explaining why the state and the professional community are taking certain steps... parents will accept it, children will accept it - this is wrong. Each step must be clearly explained. And I'm not exaggerating here. And then we will receive in the person of the family institution not an adversary, not a constant opponent, but a person who, if you like, is the organ of vision behind education - the family must clearly see all this. And in fact, the family should become a supporter of the development of all educational reforms. Today, unfortunately, and we know this well, this is not happening.
And especially when we have two social crises of the family. I will name only two of them - social orphanhood... And you know very well how many children now turn out to be social orphans. But I’m also talking about one more thing to make parents think about it - I would call parental orphanhood. When parents are old, they begin to be sent to nursing homes and so on. If, through education, we form in a child how to care for parents as a norm, as a value, as a key (I seem to be saying banal things), then we would decide differently in a country with a Pension Fund. Because if a person grows up thinking about how he will later support his family and his parents, and they are always his love and an object of care, then everything changes. Taking care of parents should become the same norm as, by and large, excuse me, brushing your teeth every day.
Alexander Kostinsky: Yes. But you, Alexander Grigorievich, are simply preaching biblical truths: “honor your parents...”.
Alexander Osmolov: These may be biblical, but they are truths. And has this become the norm of our consciousness?..
Alexander Kostinsky: And we listen to Igor from Moscow. Hello.
Listener: Hello. First of all, I have a very interesting question. Where does this arrogance towards school come from? And the school teacher is 50 years old... Excuse me, but how old are our philosophy teachers? And why do you think that you are not as well behind the times...
Regarding the second question. By the way, this is also a very interesting question. We understand why we need socialization. But if we did graduate from an institute, and not only teach there, then we know that the institute issues a diploma that says “specialty.” And the sum of knowledge is such an insert, and many, in fact, simply lose it. That is, what specialty. This specialty is the entrance to the social world. And then, again, we find out... Listen, this liner, it defines knowledge. I hear from a person who says: “There was a capitalist society, a communist one, and now there is industrialization.” You don't remember that Stalin was engaged in an industrialization project. These concepts - industrialization and capitalism, industrialization and communism - they seem to come from different planes. How do we pass college entrance exams? This moment surprises me a little. That is, we mixed together all the concepts that we have. Socialization – what is it? Society - where is this? This is for society. We say: “But religion...”. And religion... it's called churching. Socialization by religion is churching. We are socialized by religion - 3 percent are grandmothers. We say: “Religion intrudes into life.” Ideology - maybe. But ideology is not socialization. Well, this is really a different hypostasis. And so we get in the way of everything... and forget that we just need a specialist. You see, not an ideologist, but a specialist. You say: “The bomb has been tested.” There is no ideology, not “we are from Pskop”. "We know the multiplication table."
Alexander Kostinsky: Thank you. Your opinion is very interesting.
Well, before Alexander Grigorievich answers your question, I’ll just name the following data. Not long ago we had a detailed program, last year, I think, where there was a fairly detailed study of who universities graduate from. And from the point of view of employers, that is, those who hire. Moreover, there was a very large broadcast there, the largest one, people from the personnel departments were interviewed. And no one, believe me, expects that after higher education a person will come who will immediately become a leader who will do something. The best that is expected from him is that the university, firstly, will make a selection, that, for example, it is a good university, and good guys go there. Secondly, that they will receive basic knowledge of the profession. That is, if he is, say, a foundry engineer, then he will distinguish some kind of martensite. But the fact that he will design a new alloy... he still needs to work for 5-7 years. That is, none of the real employers are waiting for a specialty. And in this sense, one should not be deceived, firstly.
And secondly, probably, this is still variability. If in Soviet times nomenklatura was a specialty, and a person was assigned, and if now this specialty is not in demand, then what should a person do?..
Please, Alexander Grigorievich.
Alexander Osmolov: When there is a conversation, it is very joyful that there is an opportunity to clarify understanding and dispel misunderstandings. A few points. First. I spoke with remarkable irony about labels - socialist, capitalist, industrialization and what is now post-industrialization. That is, you and I, colleague, comrades-in-arms, cannot characterize the complex phenomena of our reality with such labels and clichés. This is the first thing.
Secondly, religion is one of the most powerful institutions of socialization, it was, is and will be. Because it justifies a system of ideals and values, like other institutions of socialization. Therefore, it should never be crossed out.
Alexander Kostinsky: And not only grandmothers, I must say.
Alexander Osmolov: Yes, grandmothers are very important. Grandmothers are a wonderful phenomenon.
And finally, the third point. The most dangerous thing if someone develops arrogance towards school is the road to nowhere. There are similar phenomena in both school and university. Both at school and at university we have the effects of an aging teaching staff.
Alexander Kostinsky: We just have a program about school...
Alexander Osmolov: Yes. Teachers don't go to school. And I could clearly show how difficult it is for people today in many universities to become assistants, that is, young teachers.
Alexander Kostinsky: Well, they just don't get enough money.
Alexander Osmolov: Yes, including this. And they choose other, more competitive professions and paths of knowledge. Therefore, of course, it is easy to say: “Everything is mixed up in the Oblonskys’ house...”. But behind what we are saying, there is a clear system, and every step of our reasoning is sufficiently verified to come to the conclusion of how we, together with you, understanding all these crisis points, can further develop education.
Alexander Kostinsky: Certainly. And we listen to Valery Arkadyevich from the city of Korolev. Good afternoon.
Listener: Good afternoon. You know, I would like to look at it from a pragmatic point of view. Your department would give a good answer. After all, in the end, the main customer for a generation - educated or uneducated - is the state. And obviously, here it is necessary to put at the forefront that the goals of the state should be comparable, so to speak, with the results of education. And in the first place - of course, this is not only knowledge, but first of all morality, which is not the case now. Therefore, I completely disagree with the term “smart crowd” that you use. This is an immoral crowd.
And I would like that when a child enters school (and so on every year), a normal legal agreement is concluded between parents and the director or school, which would outline the rights and responsibilities in order to regulate what is now... practically the regulation is blurred.
And the last question. If a low-quality product (let's call it cynically) is produced by the education system - a school, a university, then, obviously, claims must be made in accordance with jurisprudence. Thank you.
Alexander Osmolov: Well, it's easy to answer the last question. If the product is of poor quality, then claims really need to be made. But when a low-quality product is a person who graduated from a university, then this is no longer just a complaint, but this is his deep personal tragedy. This is the first thing.
Secondly, the state today has clearly set a program - the construction of a civil society, and thereby the value characteristics of the individual that the school should give birth to. For example, such a characteristic as tolerance - the art of living with unlike people. Such a characteristic as responsibility for decision making. And without these value guidelines, if you like, this code of personal development, nothing will happen. And in this sense, the state and civil society enter into a kind of agreement with each other in order to solve all these problems.
And finally, regarding the contract between parents and school, a kind of “marriage contract”, I would say.
Alexander Kostinsky: Sorry, I'll interrupt. I’ll just tell Valery Arkadyevich that, for example, this is literally what happens in private schools. What he is talking about is not some kind of wish. Not in public schools, but in private schools, parents sign a specific agreement, because, in particular, they pay money under this agreement.
Alexander Osmolov: Absolutely. Therefore, these are no longer some future proposals, but reality.
Alexander Kostinsky: But in a public school this can be done, what do you think?
Alexander Osmolov: In a public school, we are practically moving towards the fact that parents, I repeat, are shaking up their rights, and this is becoming, perhaps not de jure, but de facto a complete reality.
And lastly, regarding morality. My teacher, psychologist Alexey Nikolaevich Leontyev, said: “The main crisis of the school is the impoverishment of the soul when enriched with information.” And in fact, when we talk about value guidelines for personal development in the context of socialization, this is what is necessary for us, like air.
Alexander Kostinsky: And I would like to talk about your work, which you have now transferred to the Ministry of Education, in particular. You have identified seven tasks that stand in this area of socialization, in the sphere of influence of general education, school education on modern Russian society. Let us list them, but not all at once.
Alexander Osmolov: I'll be very brief. The number 7 is a magic number. There are seven wonders of the world, there are seven problems...
Alexander Kostinsky: There are seven days in a week.
Alexander Osmolov: ...sociocultural modernization of education.
Alexander Kostinsky: So are you speaking here as a magician if it is magical?
Alexander Osmolov: “I just work as a wizard...” - remember this song? And by the way, “I didn’t teach from textbooks.”
The first task is to develop an understanding of the development of education as the leading social activity of society. If this is not clear, if education remains a declaration only in words and is not a real priority in the world of knowledge, then we will lose.
The second step (I talked about it) is the formation of a person’s civic identity as the basis for the solidarity of Russian society. Without this, we will return to the times before Ivan Kalita. In fact, the function of education is to gather Russia into a cohesive state.
The third point is the creation of an education system that would ensure understanding of people, dialogue between cultures, tolerance and trust in our society. Because the main crisis in the development of society is not the crisis of the economy today, but a crisis of confidence. And we need to clearly understand what opportunities education has here. And this is the third task of education.
Alexander Kostinsky: So, we have listed three tasks, four more remain.
But let's listen to Valentin from Ryazan. Hello.
Listener: Hello. It seems to me that it’s too early to talk about trust. Because, generally speaking, state policy is aimed at reducing the level of education, including reducing the level of higher education. So my question is this. What have you heard about education quotas?
And to the question “what to do?” I would like to answer with a Chinese proverb: “Move and a shadow will appear.” Thank you.
Alexander Kostinsky: Wait! What did you mean by asking the question about quotas? What are quotas?
Listener: That's why I'm asking.
Alexander Kostinsky: What are quotas, based on nationality, what?
Listener: No, that's what it says - quotas in education.
Alexander Osmolov: For me, just like for Alexander, the concept of an “education quota” is completely incomprehensible.
Alexander Kostinsky: If we talk about quotas, then there were such quotas in Tsarist Russia. For example, for some nationalities there was a percentage, in particular, Jews, Gypsies... I don’t remember the full nomenclature now. By the way, everything was completely open, it was not something hidden, but it was openly believed that such and such people had the right to, say, 2 percent of all applicants. Sometimes there were quotas, and now there are in many countries - quotas on a social scale. Universities specifically reserve places for... low-income people, on the contrary.
Alexander Osmolov: Finally, regarding the fact that the state is doing everything to, if you like, lead to the impoverishment of consciousness. I think this is a very strong conclusion. Today there are a huge number of forces and different groups in civil society. And I don’t know which ruler we can blame for these things. This is a strange phrase.
You mentioned a Chinese proverb. I will answer the Chinese proverb with a Chinese proverb about the evil that comes from education. Confucius was asked: “How should one respond to goodness?” “Good must be answered with good,” Confucius replied. “How should one respond to evil?” Without hesitation, he answered: “And evil must be answered with justice.” And in this situation, we need a fair education system that moves and provides more than just shade.
Alexander Kostinsky: And let's return to the next tasks that exist in the sociocultural field, in education.
Alexander Osmolov: The next task is completely special. The school is often made a scapegoat for all the sins of society, which are carried out both by the media and by what sometimes happens in the family. Therefore, education today has a very special function - education as an institution of compensation and equalization of those sins that arise in society. When you constantly watch programs in which murder sits on murder and chases with murder, it cannot be said that these programs do not reflect on the growing children's consciousness.
Alexander Kostinsky: Not directly, indirectly, but reflected.
Alexander Osmolov: I’m not saying that there are some direct, deterministic connections here, no, that’s not what we’re talking about. The point is that special patterns of behavior are laid down. Many studies show that aggression often becomes the norm for teenagers today. Think about it. When aggression in society becomes the norm, it is a crisis phenomenon in society, something common. And they treat her as normal. Therefore, here education as a powerful institution for compensating for potential risks of socialization is another task that was not faced before.
Finally, by and large, this is the growth of mobility, accessibility and quality of education as a condition for the growth of a person’s status in society. And education is the path to achieving personal and professional success. We talked about specialists. You may not be a specialist, but you must be a person. And in this sense, I once again return to what I said. Why are we talking about masters today? Why not only about specialists? Why are we trying to provide broader education? Yes, because the following happened. Previously, after leaving university, a person was tied to his profession, like an English convict exiled to Australia to his core. Now how many times do we change professions in our lives... “Mobile in mobile,” remember what was written on Captain Nemo’s boat? Today, education enables us to be mobile in a mobile world. Today I am a journalist, and tomorrow I am an economist - this happens today. Today I am an economist, and tomorrow I am a manager, a manager. These transitions in society are becoming a normal phenomenon. And the mobility and variability of society is increasing. And hence, the growth of mobility as a condition for success is a key task of education.
Alexander Kostinsky: Alexander Grigorievich, you understand, school is a very conservative instrument. The fact is that even if it is changed, even if all the management wants it, and wants everything to be good, it changes very slowly. But perhaps it makes sense to talk, for example, about additional education. The school has some shortcomings and sins. But the man realized that he - sometimes, perhaps out of ignorance, sometimes because he did not find good teachers - had missed something. And he needs to have the opportunity not to return to school, but to receive some tools of additional education, where he could make up for the deficiency that is simply impossible for him to make up for, perhaps.
Alexander Osmolov: You know, additional education today is becoming (pardon the pun) the main education. Because self-education, self-training, additional education are a resource for the development of freedom and personality. Moreover, additional education for both children and adolescents.
Alexander Kostinsky: And teachers.
Alexander Osmolov: I started with the children. Our Houses of Creativity, Houses of Pioneers, all these circles...
Alexander Kostinsky: Thank God they didn't all collapse.
Alexander Osmolov: And not only did they not collapse, but there are more than 11 thousand of them in the country at the moment. What do they give? They give what I was talking about - motivation for self-development.
And finally, today universities are overwhelmed with programs of additional professional education. People come there at 24 years old, at 25 years old, at 40 years old. Now several people – 52-54 years old – have applied to us for admission to the Faculty of Psychology. What does additional education mean? It's the most important. While you are studying, you have a future. Education is the organ of perspective of every person.
Alexander Kostinsky: Alexander Grigorievich, just to confirm what you said, I will say that we recently conducted a study on popular science magazines. Almost all of them are natural sciences. But it turned out who the readers are. It turns out that they are not children, not teenagers. For example, “Popular Mechanics”, “Around the World”, “What’s New in Science and Technology” and so on. The main thing is men and women, of whom there is also a large percentage, from 25 to 35 years old. When a person has already become professionally realized, and he lacks what he received, and he begins to read, he begins to become interested. That is, this is a very interesting phenomenon, which, for example, did not exist for 10 years, when, in general, there was simply a struggle for survival.
Alexander Osmolov: You know, I’m probably an optimist, and I dream that this powerful motivation for such brilliant magazines that we have will return. They are a little tired, tired, but I hope they will grow. “Knowledge and power”, “Nature”, “Science and life”... In fact, this is a unique orientation in the normal human worldview. And these magazines are examples of our Russian culture.
Alexander Kostinsky: And we listen to Alexander from Moscow. Hello.
Listener: Hello. I have a question for your distinguished guest. I was somewhat struck by this breathy conversation about the role and significance of the church and its intervention in education. You know, I can’t imagine that a child in elementary school can understand these myths. Perhaps, from a cultural, so to speak, aspect, high school students will perceive this, but with some life experience. Actually, this is a retrograde move. Still, the Great French Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment somehow, in general, eliminated religion mainly from the secular school. What kind of church-religious drive and enthusiasm is this? He is completely incomprehensible to me.
Alexander Osmolov: I will answer briefly. The most dangerous thing is if any of the other institutions of socialization, including religion, impose patterns of behavior. I said that education today is competitive with religion. And without aspiration, but with cautious breathing.
Alexander Kostinsky: I thank Alexander Osmolov for participating in our program.
Many of the processes that have become widespread in Moscow over the past five years, in a piecemeal format, originate back in the 90s. Unfortunately, not all of them were further developed. The reason for this was largely due to financial and economic circumstances.
What is the task of any educational system, be it a school, a family or another group? It must help the student grow useful for his country, society, city, family and for himself, and for this it is necessary to cultivate a person’s sense of responsibility for the freedom he has. But any educational system can help in the formation only of those qualities that it itself possesses. What kind of example could the school have set five years ago?
If it were necessary to give a proper name to a Moscow school in 2010, then it would be quite possible to call it -schola mendicans - “a begging school”, because regardless of whether poor or rich, strong or weak, any Moscow school, like 90 % of schools in the country asked for money from the Department of Education, and asked parents of students for help. The question arises again: what socially useful qualities can a “begging school” cultivate in the future generation?
The educational function is the main one in the activities of the school. It is precisely this that the Federal Law “On Education in the Russian Federation” puts first in the definition of the concept of “education”: “Education is a single, purposeful process of upbringing and training.” Therefore, like any educational system, the school is indeed able to promote the development only of those qualities that it itself possesses. In this regard, the first strategic pedagogical task that was set by the Department of Education in 2010 was to help the Moscow school become authoritative, trustworthy, solid, self-sufficient, free and responsible for its freedom, as well as reliable for all partners.
On May 7, 2004, Vladimir Putin, in an address to the citizens of Russia when taking office as President of the Russian Federation, said: “Only free people in a free country can be truly successful. This is the basis of both Russia’s economic growth and its political stability. And we will do everything so that every person can demonstrate their talent and abilities.”
It is clear that such qualities of a school as freedom and awareness of responsibility for it do not arise on command. They are formed in the course of changes, which are sometimes difficult, primarily for educational organizations themselves. As strange as it may sound, in order for the psychology of the people running the school and working in the school to change, the principles of school financing must change.
The goal of modernizing Moscow education is to increase the contribution of the education system to the global competitiveness of Moscow. This goal is unattainable without solving two problems - maximum development of the abilities of every Muscovite and maintaining the consolidation of the urban community.
In 2010, funding for educational organizations in Moscow depended on their status. For the vast majority of Moscow schools that did not have the status of “lyceum”, “gymnasium”, “education center”, “health school”, the financial standard was 63 thousand rubles per student per year. The so-called privileged schools received 3-5 times more funds.
Serious organizational and structural changes in the Moscow education system began with the transition in 2011 to funding that followed the student. In accordance with the resolution of the Moscow Government of March 22, 2011 No. 86-PP, it is usually called normative per capita. But it would be most correct to call it formulaic, since such financing is based on standards and simple calculation formulas. In general, today the Moscow school lives according to understandable formulas: be it the amount of subsidies for fulfilling a state task, the amount of budget funding for additional educational programs, or the amount of remuneration for the director. The new logic of financial provision became a powerful motivating tool for all subsequent changes, simply because in a system centered on the student, and not on building space or staffing, financing becomes a catalyst for increasing the quality of education. Just like spot irrigation in agriculture - what needs to grow is watered - so in metropolitan education today, funds are directed only to what leads to the achievement of the desired result. Therefore, the consequence of the transition of the Moscow education system to formula financing was an increase in the school’s interest in working with each student, in preserving and increasing the student population.
In order to get rid of the hectic enrollment of children in the first grades (every year in April), which sometimes resulted in parents being on duty at night at schools, it was decided to open electronic enrollment in educational organizations in Moscow. Parents of students had the opportunity to choose any educational organization in their neighborhood or could use an additional list of schools. Nowadays, the registration procedure for schools takes place without worries and problems, is accompanied by widespread information to parents in the media and is carried out through the portal of public services of the capital. If the school is located in the microdistrict at the child’s place of registration, enrollment in the first grade is guaranteed, and a parental statement is sufficient to transfer pupils from kindergartens at the school to the school. For example, for 50% of those entering first grade this year, the enrollment procedure was simplified to a minimum, since these children entered first grade from preschool groups in the same schools.
It must be said that the emergence of formula financing also changed the nature of managerial work. Previously, the school director had to “agree,” “get and bring funds to his team,” but due to the transition to formula-based financing, this need has disappeared. A modern manager is engaged in organizing the work of primarily the management team, which in turn organizes the activities of the teaching staff in various areas. In such a situation, each school faces the task of optimizing resources for its own further development.
An increase in funding for educational organizations, combined with financial and economic independence and a more rational approach to the use of human resources, ensured a significant increase in the salaries of teaching staff. Today, the system of incentive payments to teaching staff of an educational organization includes incentive payments based on the results of their work. It is important to highlight the fact that in connection with the transition to formula financing, the process of removing non-core functions that are far from the sphere of education from educational organizations began quite quickly. For example, the positions of medical personnel were transferred to the health care system, and responsibility for the activities of cooks was removed from school directors. Currently, educational organizations are increasingly resorting to outsourcing services needed by the school, for example, cleaning their premises. Until recently, the school, one might say, was running a “subsistence economy”; now it is becoming not only a producer of educational services, but, and this is very important, a demanding and competent customer of the services it needs. As you know, our children will also need this quality in life.
As well as the rational use of available resources, and respect for state property. That is why the Moscow education system entered a new stage, changing its approach to the distribution of resources: having covered the basic needs with gross supplies of equipment, it switched to direct orders from schools for specific projects in the interests of students, mass standard repairs were replaced by repairs for the specific pedagogical strategy of a particular school for the further use of repaired and newly constructed premises and buildings.
With the transition to formula financing, the principles of managing an educational organization have changed. Previously, when staffing was funded, it was beneficial for the director to keep a bloated administrative and managerial staff: the more deputies, the more money the school would receive. Today the situation has changed: you can have a large staff of deputies, but their activities will be financed from the funds brought to the school by students who come to learn from teachers. Therefore, in the current conditions, it is more profitable to have more students and teachers than deputy directors in different, sometimes overlapping areas of work. In 2011, in accordance with 86-PP, the wage fund for heads and deputy heads of educational organizations could amount to no more than 15.1% of the wage fund for teaching staff directly involved in the educational process, which was difficult to achieve for many schools. In 2015, the share of the payroll fund for administrative and managerial personnel of Moscow educational organizations decreased to 6.3%. The changes entailed the reduction of in-school and super-school “officials” in schools, who “took” a significant part of the teachers’ salary fund. It cannot be said that such a reduction triggered a campaign against changes in Moscow education. But, as Moscow Mayor Sergei Semenovich Sobyanin once said, “a radical solution by the city authorities to any issue is, in fact, a ticket to war.” Moreover, over the past five years, the number of department officials and the number of subordinate organizations, the so-called quasi-managerial structures, which sometimes interfered with the work of schools, demanding various types of reporting from them, have been sharply reduced. More than 68 thousand square meters of space, which was previously occupied by city administrative bodies of the education system, have been released and transferred to the organization of the educational process. Currently, the financial support of a Moscow school determines the number of students, and it depends only on the school itself, on its teaching staff, whether a Muscovite will send his child to this or that school or not. It must be said that in conditions of equally high funding, an opportunity arises to create openness in the education system, because when equal conditions are created and there are rules of interaction within the system that are common to everyone, there is nothing to hide.
An analysis of the educational situation in Moscow, carried out at the end of 2010, showed that the lack of uniform objectively measurable indicators of school performance indomitably led to the formation of an emotional, sometimes biased assessment of the work of an educational organization, limited by the definitions of “good” or “bad”, and as a consequence to the absence interest of school teams in the overall measurable positive result. Absolute transparency and equal access to funding for educational organizations made it possible to openly compare the results of their activities. Since 2011, an annual independent ranking of schools has been formed in Moscow, which has become an objective and generally accepted scale for assessing the quality of Moscow education. This is the case when, understanding the logic of the ongoing transformations in the country, the Department of Education acted proactively, which allowed schools to calmly accept the conditions of the rating of the best schools in Russia in 2013 and worthily represent Moscow in it. The dynamics of the results of Moscow educational organizations in the Russian rankings for 2013 and 2015 objectively testify to the undoubtedly positive achievements of the capital’s schools: their number in the Top 25 increased by more than 70% (from 7 to 12), in the Top 500 - by 62% ( from 89 to 139).
Speaking about the formation of the rating of educational organizations in Moscow, it must be said that the ranking is carried out on the basis of data on the performance of schools contained in citywide information systems.
The rating is based on the following indicators:
the results of the participation of students of a particular educational organization in the regional and final stages of the All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren, the Moscow Olympiad for schoolchildren;
results of passing the main state exam and the unified state exam;
results of voluntary diagnostics in grades 4 and 7;
results of work of preschool groups;
indicators of school effectiveness in crime prevention;
effective work with disabled children;
participation of the school in projects based on the inclusion of the unique historical and cultural resources of the city in the educational process - meta-subject Olympiads “Museums. Parks. Estates”, “The connection between generations will not be interrupted”.
The ranking results are published on the website of the Department of Education, which ensures their openness. The desire of the teaching staff and administrative team to get to the top of the ranking, maintain or improve their position supports healthy competition in the interests of Muscovites among educational organizations in our city.
Speaking about a set of tools or basic mechanisms for the development of education, one cannot fail to mention independent monitoring of the educational results of schoolchildren as a reliable tool for determining the effectiveness of an educational organization. For example, in Moscow, multidirectional diagnostics of schoolchildren’s educational achievements are carried out; participation in such diagnostics is voluntary and is carried out at the request of educational organizations. The school is interested in an objective assessment of its results - it participates in the system for assessing educational achievements, publishes its rating, thereby attracting the attention of parents. There are no worthy results - there is no expected place in the ranking, and the pedagogical and economic efficiency of the educational organization can be assessed as low. The demand for diagnostics of educational achievements of schoolchildren is confirmed by convincing indicators: if in 2010 36 thousand schoolchildren took part in testing, then in 2015 there were 900 thousand such children. Moreover, in the capital's education system it has become possible to free teachers from the difficult obligation to be objective in relation to their students - an independent testing center for schoolchildren has been created in Moscow.
The authority of the education system in the city is the prestige of many components of the system, one of the main ones being the heads of educational organizations. In the recent past, the school director was only the organizer of the professional activities of a small teaching staff, while being included in a rigid mechanism, the control levers of which were in the district education department. A modern Moscow school director is an educational policy specialist with high responsibility for the results of the professional activities of the entire teaching staff, a professional who knows how to create conditions for the development of his organization, and an organizer of the management team. A new generation manager is also a generator of all ideas for the development of his educational organization or an organizer of such generation. He manages a large number of people, solid resources, complex processes, socially significant results and, of course, public information about his educational organization.
We can say that the educational system of Moscow itself is a professional environment for the growth of management personnel of the new generation. Voltaire also wrote that “some are useless in the first row, but shine in the second.” When applied to today's situation, this phrase could sound like this: “Some people dim in the second row, but shine in the first.” Over the past couple of years, a significant number of young talented directors have grown from yesterday’s head teachers and teachers. In previous years, they were doomed to be content with their status for decades. The certification of candidates for the position of manager, introduced in Moscow, opened up the opportunity for them to realize their plans. To date, 931 people from among deputy directors, head teachers, and teachers have been certified for compliance with the position of “manager”. The principal corps of the Moscow education system now has a “gold reserve” of impressive size and decent quality. You can often hear that directors are afraid to let their deputies go for certification, so that they don’t sit on them. Probably, some not very smart directors, who mentally privatized schools and established serfdom for their employees, think so. The wise understand that, at a minimum, they are strengthening their team, and at a maximum, they are preparing new additions to the Moscow directorial corps. Both are done in the interests of Moscow families, because, of course, they affect the quality of education. The school's team, which forges worthy personnel, will never lack talent striving to get into this forge. And the blacksmith director himself has nothing to fear for his fate: blacksmiths in Russia have always been held in high esteem. Directors who are afraid of something unclear can be reminded of the words of one of the recognized authorities in the field of strategic management, Robert Grant: “By hiring someone smarter than you, you prove that you are smarter after all.”
Today, it is impossible for officials to manipulate the director - all the tools are given: formulaic funding, machine testing during certification for suitability for the position, meetings of the certification commission and the personnel council convened if necessary are openly broadcast on the department’s website, and an archive of all meetings is also posted there. During certification procedures, the professional activities of the manager are analyzed not according to the subjective feelings of experts, but according to the results of the activities of the educational organization, stored in city information systems and reflected in self-analysis tables. By the way, for any head of a Moscow school, self-analysis tables on their own, without reference to certification, have become an effective analytical management tool. In addition, after all of the above stages, the founder has the right to contact the school’s governing council with a proposal to approve or not approve this or that candidate for the position of school director. True, only schools that have passed voluntary accreditation for compliance with the operating standards of governing councils receive this right.
Standards and accreditation, the procedures of which were adopted by the Public Council under the Moscow Department of Education, are another know-how of the capital’s system. In essence, this is a “quality mark” confirming that the model of state and public management built in the school works in the interests of all categories of participants in educational relations at all levels of education. This means that both parents and the Department of Education as the founder can trust such a school.
A system for objectively assessing the level of qualifications of teachers is built in a similar way. The Moscow model of teacher certification is as simplified as possible and is absolutely free from various kinds of paperwork. The teacher does not need to collect bulky folders for the procedure. The main thing in the Moscow model of teacher certification is the assessment of the results of their students based on data posted in the information systems of the Department of Education. Information openness and transparency, expanding the share of public participation in the activities of executive authorities have become integral tools for developing the quality of education in general. A schedule of all open events is posted on the website of the Moscow Department of Education. Weekly thematic selectors and press conferences, training seminars and meetings are held in the public domain on issues of financial, economic, procurement activities, as well as the implementation and operation of information systems. A citywide online parent meeting is held twice a month. In this regard, one cannot fail to note the work of the Information Technology Department, which for five years has been offering the entire city, all executive authorities and residents high-tech and convenient solutions that allow them to quickly receive information, save time and resources in the interests of Moscow families.
Speaking about the social and pedagogical effects of the modernization of metropolitan education, we need to touch on another important topic. For a long time, much public attention was paid to the unification of Moscow schools, while the subject of discussion was just a phenomenon - the process of merging, uniting educational organizations. The essence of this phenomenon - the creation of a multidimensional complex of educational offers of the city education system in response to the multidimensional complex of needs of Moscow families - was not at first an obvious fact for many. A large school has great opportunities. We can say that large schools are schools without educational dead ends. Large educational organizations have significant resources to create, for example, a system to support the individual educational needs of a child, implement the principle of diversity and variability of educational programs, change the logic of constructing the educational process and, most importantly, to create such conditions when every Moscow schoolchild can achieve high educational results in any school, and not just in a small number of specialized chamber schools.
Large teaching teams of schools become multi-subject teams and, thanks, among other things, to the presence of several teachers in each subject, they create conditions for the formation of educational motivation of schoolchildren and, as a result, the development of their abilities in any subject area. If there are a large number of students in one parallel, the school has the opportunity to open classes of different profiles in accordance with the requests of city residents. Moreover, the unique educational programs that were previously implemented by the most powerful capital education centers, lyceums and gymnasiums, did not disappear after merging with other educational organizations, as opponents of the creation of large complexes predicted. They have been preserved in full in the form of specialized training programs - “intra-school lyceums”. As a result, the share of Moscow schools implementing more than three specialized education programs in 2015 amounted to 90%. For comparison: last year it was 56%, in 2013 - 41.5%, and in 2010 it was slightly more than 1 percent. Thus, changes in the financing system entailed changes in the structure of the Moscow education system. In the new financial and economic conditions, a large number (more than 4 thousand) of small schools and kindergartens with a small contingent of students and, as a result, with a modest budget, ineffective expenses and an aura of deprivation and defenselessness (except for some “great ones”) have been replaced by large, financially stable educational organizations that provide their pupils and students with a wide range of educational programs, provide a full workload for their teaching staff and great opportunities for their professional growth, and widely use the potential of the unique socio-cultural environment of the city. Today, there are 632 multidisciplinary schools in the capital, implementing programs of both general and additional education, including 572 schools with preschool groups.
In large schools, there is a real opportunity to expand inclusive education, which allows children to come to school who were previously taught at home or in closed institutions, which limited their opportunities for development and socialization. Today, more than 8 thousand children study in regular schools under inclusive education programs. It is important that for disabled children they not only create conditions for their comfortable stay in regular schools, but also solve another problem - assistance in educational performance, which for such children becomes the basis for their social and professional viability and success in life. This year, 214 disabled children scored 63 points or higher in the Unified State Exam, and 5 people became winners of the final stage of the All-Russian Olympiad for Schoolchildren.
Today the city provides every opportunity to develop the success of every child in every school. This happens in close cooperation with city structures subordinate to the capital’s departments of education, culture, physical culture and sports and other departments, as well as numerous museums, specialized universities, specialized educational organizations through the creation of specialized classes, a network of clubs, electives, seminars, courses, and field trips. camps. Various subject and meta-subject Olympiads, such as “Museums. Parks. Estates”, “The connection between generations will not be interrupted”. The principle of the development of gifted children, which involves the search and selection of talented students, the improvement of talents in a narrow circle of special schools, which considers various subject Olympiads as an elite event for the elite and as a tool to confirm their exclusivity, was supplemented by the principle of developing the children's giftedness of each child. In these conditions, subject Olympiads, the school stage of which covers all Moscow schools, become a real tool for identifying everyone’s talent.
Since September 1, 2013, the Moscow Department of Education, together with eight universities located in the city, has been implementing a pilot project to organize specialized training. In the structure of universities, specialized 10th and 11th grades are opened, in which high school students, in addition to studying the basic subjects included in the curriculum, study special courses and disciplines corresponding to the profile of universities, engage in practical work in their laboratories, and carry out educational work under the guidance of university teachers -research projects, participate in scientific student associations. In the 2015-2016 academic year, 2,794 people are already studying in such classes, including 19 disabled children and 502 children from socially vulnerable families. 72 Moscow schools, in cooperation with military universities and formations of the Russian Armed Forces, have opened cadet classes, which enroll students starting from the 7th grade. In the 2015-2016 academic year, the second intake was already held - there are now 144 cadet classes. Everyone in Russia could see the most worthy representatives of the Moscow cadets on November 7 on Red Square - they participated in the march dedicated to the 74th anniversary of the parade on November 7, 1941. Since September 1, 2015, in more than 50 Moscow schools with the assistance of the First Medical University. I.M. Sechenov and health care organizations opened medical classes, university teachers are attracted to cooperation with schools, and most of the graduates of medical classes will continue their studies in medical universities. In addition, engineering classes are open in more than 50 Moscow schools. The capital's leading technical universities, in alliance with high-tech production and design enterprises, took part in organizing the educational process on the basis of such schools. It is very important that within the walls of one school different profiles, different classes, and varied programs are combined.
An important component of the changes is that in modern conditions in educational organizations in Moscow the logic of constructing the educational process is changing. The effective curriculum being introduced in Moscow schools expands educational opportunities for students through cooperation with other schools, colleges, universities, museums, and makes the educational process more flexible, taking into account their individual needs and abilities. Thanks to this approach, conditions have been created for Moscow graduates to maximize their portfolio of individual achievements, which universities must take into account when admitting them, which in turn increases the interest of schoolchildren and creates special motivation during their studies at school.
The unique cultural, historical, and social opportunities of Moscow today allow modern forms of organizing the educational process, such as project-based ones, to increasingly compete with the traditional classroom-lesson system. Moscow schoolchildren enthusiastically take part in such projects as “Lesson in the Museum”, “More than a lesson”, “School knowledge for real life”, “School of new technologies”. The “University Saturday” and “Professional Environment” projects, launched in September 2013 to expand the coverage of children and youth with additional educational programs, are very popular among Moscow schoolchildren and their parents. For them, open lectures, master classes, and trainings are held on the basis of 67 federal universities and at 144 sites of 70 Moscow colleges.
Just a few years ago, additional education in Moscow was concentrated mainly in specialized educational organizations, not always evenly distributed among administrative districts, which made it difficult for students to be within walking distance and free to choose classes according to their interests.
Today, each Moscow school provides motivation for at least 75% of its students to take classes in additional education programs, both at the expense of the budget and through extra-budgetary funds. The possibility of financing the implementation of additional education programs by schools is included in the cost standards for general education. Additional funding for the implementation of additional education programs is provided to schools in addition to the subsidy for general education, and if a school provides a significant amount of additional educational services to non-its students, then such activities are financed separately.
In educational organizations subordinate to the Moscow Department of Education, today more than 830 thousand children and adolescents are taught in additional education programs, 75% of these programs are implemented free of charge. Moreover, joint programs for additional education of children in various areas are being developed with relevant departments of the Moscow Government: departments of natural resources management and environmental protection, health care, science, industrial policy and entrepreneurship, and cultural heritage. After a long break, technical circles began to appear in Moscow on the basis of Moscow colleges. Today this project is supported by high-tech equipment, modern training programs, and qualified teachers. Such updated stations for young technicians operate in 53 colleges, the total number of educational programs offered exceeds one and a half thousand, and the young technicians themselves studying in these circles number more than 15.5 thousand.
To meet the educational needs of residents of Moscow districts, it became necessary to integrate the capabilities of schools located in the city districts. In this regard, inter-district councils of directors of Moscow schools arose. Key areas of their work: creation and development of a unified educational space in Moscow; organizing the activities of public associations of students and their parents; development of proposals for the development of state educational organizations and much more. It is important to realize that interdistrict boards of directors are not a bureaucratic structure, but a community of equals who, thanks to the unity of views through professional and public management, solve a large number of problems aimed at the progressive development of the education system in the interests of the city and Muscovites.
It must be said that a serious consequence of changes in the Moscow education system was a significant decrease in the number of minors brought to administrative responsibility for offenses, for example, in 2010 there were 20,702 people, and in 2014 - 9,517. The number of those registered with the Department of Internal Affairs the number of minors also decreased by almost half - in 2010 there were 8,167 such children, and in 2014 there were 4,027. This example once again convincingly proves the fact that the school is now interested in every student.
At present, we can already talk about the pedagogical and socio-economic effectiveness of the activities of a large multidimensional Moscow school. Pedagogical effectiveness is expressed primarily in the progressive increase in the number of schools that have trained winners and prize-winners of the city and final stages of the All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren, demonstrating high scores in the main state exam in the 9th grade and the unified state exam in the 11th grade, giving their graduates the opportunity discover your talents, enroll in your chosen university, realize yourself in your desired field of activity, and be competitive in life.
When the process of merging schools began, critics feared that the addition of “simple” schools to strong schools would destroy the strong ones. Today we see that all strong educational organizations that had high results five years ago still maintain them, but a huge number of other schools have rushed into this cohort of strong ones.
Today, the quality of education in Moscow has increased, and high-quality education is no longer provided by several dozen lyceums and gymnasiums, as it was before, but by the majority of schools in the city. This leads to the conclusion that high-quality education has become more accessible, and if in 2010 the number of Moscow schools that prepared prize-winners and winners of the final stage of the All-Russian Olympiad for Schoolchildren was 74, then in 2014 there were 145, and 2015 gave record figures - 181 school. In 2015, a team of Moscow schoolchildren at the All-Russian Olympiad in 21 subjects brought 583 diplomas, of which 124 students took first place. Just a few years ago, one could only dream that 28% of Moscow schools would train the winners and prize-winners of the final stage of the All-Russian School Olympiad, and 96% of the capital’s schools would train the winners and prize-winners of its regional stage. Today this is reality. Undoubtedly, the unified state exam remains a measure of the quality of general education, and here a positive dynamics of results can be seen in the education system.
Based on the results of passing three subjects in 2015, 48.9% of graduates scored 190 points and above (in 2010 - 34.7%), 220 points and above - 30% (in 2010 - 14.3%), 250 points and higher - 12.4% (in 2010 - 3.6%).
The rating of educational organizations based on their contribution to the quality of education of Moscow schoolchildren stimulates schools to achieve high achievements. Starting from 2016, the ranking will take into account graduates who scored 160 or more points on the Unified State Examination in three subjects. This will strengthen the desire of Moscow schools not just for quality, but for mass quality of education.
An important indicator of the development of the education system is that today the share of Moscow residents choosing schools in the microdistrict continues to grow; if in 2012 this share was 32%, then in 2015 it reached 77%. This indicator convincingly indicates that the wide range of educational needs of Moscow families is increasingly satisfied by the multidimensional range of offers of large educational organizations in the microdistrict of their residence.
The sequence of all changes in the Moscow education system has led to the fact that three important parameters of school independence are currently provided. Today, the Department of Education cannot influence the financing of schools, the assessment of their results and the certification of the director and his deputies, and new financial and economic mechanisms, changing the nature of interactions in the education system, making the school free from subjectivism and the will of officials, place the STUDENT at the center of all relations. Regulatory per capita financing, the transition to a new system of remuneration for teachers and other changes have led to the fact that the modern Moscow school has become a large, independent, solid, financially stable organization.
Although the goal of modernization - increasing the contribution of the education system to the global competitiveness of Moscow - is quite pragmatic, the tasks set to achieve it are quite humanistic.
New tasks required the use of new tools. Moreover, the previous model of managing the education system was non-instrumental - it was necessary to create tools from scratch. In total, there are more than 200 such tools today. Some tools influence the maximum development of the abilities of Moscow residents, others influence the consolidation of the urban community, and most tools are universal and contribute to solving both problems.
The resources for solving the problem of maximizing the development of the abilities of every Muscovite were:
- specialization of education, preservation of unique specialized educational programs in large schools - “in-school lyceums”, cooperation of schools with leading metropolitan universities, opening school departments within the structure of universities, which makes it possible for each child to consciously approach the choice of a future path in life, to find an area of their success ;
- development of additional education as an activity that reinforces and complements the main educational program, allowing it to expand its scope and aimed at the comprehensive development of children in each school;
- involvement of the unique cultural, historical, social environment of Moscow in the educational process.
The task of maintaining the consolidation of the urban community in Moscow today is solved through:
- introduction of a fair formulaic principle of financing educational organizations, which allows any school to create the necessary conditions for the development of children's talent, to increase the school's interest in each child;
- versatile implementation of the principle of common childhood, which in itself lays the foundation for the consolidation of society;
- implementation of a course for maximum independence of the school and its director from the subjectivity and will of officials, which allows the school to focus on fulfilling the diverse educational orders of city residents;
- information openness of the education system, transparency of management decisions, which is designed to minimize the risk of speculation and speculation and, as a consequence, conflict zones on certain issues;
- strengthening the economic sustainability of the school, organizing a system of intradepartmental financial control as a tool to combat corruption and misappropriation of funds, which, of course, affects the consolidation of society;
- restoration of the prestige of the teaching profession, an increase in wages as a guarantee of social stability within and around a large group of workers in the education system.
The following tools can be used to solve both of these problems simultaneously:
- targeting of budget expenditures, financing only those areas whose implementation leads to the desired result, shifting the emphasis of all relations in the education system to the student and the educational needs of families;
- effective functioning of the established large educational complexes, where conditions are created for the success of any child, regardless of the area of his interests and the social and financial status of his family;
- increasing the accessibility of education: uniform, clear rules for providing places for preschool education and enrollment in schools; development of preschool groups that provide children with a stress-free transfer to 1st grade and continuity of preschool and general education programs; the growth of mass quality of education, allowing Moscow families to choose a school for their children in the microdistrict of their residence; expanding the practice of inclusive education, which excludes the division of children into different categories on any basis;
- development of state and public management, strengthening the role and interest of society in the life of the school and its progressive development.
An analysis of the results of changes in the capital’s education system over the past five years indicates the correct choice of tools for solving the large-scale tasks set. Equal access to conditions for financing, enrollment, incentives and motivation of stakeholders (heads of educational organizations, teachers, students, parents) for results - this is the essence of modernization of the education system and ensures the contribution of the educational industry to the development of the city as a whole.
In the process of solving the problems of modernizing the education system, today Moscow education is entering a qualitatively new stage. This is the stage of public responsibility of the school and its director to Moscow and its residents for the results of their work.
In five years, the Moscow school was able to go from a school asking to a school responsible for its freedom. In an increasing number of schools, an environment of responsibility is being formed in which young Muscovites grow up and without which it is impossible to instill in a child his personal responsibility for his personal freedom, without which, in turn, his usefulness in the future is impossible: for the state, for society, for the family, for myself personally. A responsible school today is the key to the usefulness of its graduates tomorrow. This is the main socio-pedagogical effect of the modernization of the capital’s education system.
- 1. Social effects in education: expectations and prospects
- 2. Competitiveness of the country - innovativeness of the economy, model for the innovative economy: Russian education - 2020 March 20, 2008
- 3. Social effects in education - “social mixer”: a group of children from different social groups to gain interaction experience, build constructive relationships and prevent social upheaval; − “social greenhouse”: taking into account the individual characteristics of students − “social sieve”: tests and sifts, selects and distributes its individuals into various social strata and positions − “social elevator”: ensures social mobility
- 4. Achieving social effects: educational space as a social network increasing mobility, quality and accessibility of education as a resource for increasing the social status of an individual
- 5. State policy in the field of education National doctrine of education in the Russian Federation until 2025 Concept of long-term socio-economic development of the Russian Federation for the period until 2020 Federal State Educational Standard of the new generation Federal target program for the development of education 2011-2015 National educational strategy-initiative “Our New School” Program "Development of Education 2013-2020" Law “On Education” (from 01.09.2013) Law of St. Petersburg “On Education in St. Petersburg”
- 6. Toolkit Order of the Government of the Russian Federation dated November 26, 2012 No. 2190-r “On approval of the Program for the gradual improvement of the wage system in state (municipal) institutions for 2012-2018” Order of the Government of the Russian Federation dated December 30, 2012 No. 2620-r “On approval action plan “Changes in sectors of the social sphere aimed at increasing the efficiency of education and science” (road map) Goal: increasing the efficiency and quality of services in the field of education, correlated with the stages of transition to an effective contract.
- 7. Project of a professional standard for a teacher Project of the Federal State Educational Standard for preschool education Project of the All-Russian Physical Education Sports Complex Project of a historical and cultural standard Project of a concept for the development of mathematics education
- 8. Historical background Step 1. Spring 1991. At the initiative of the Leningrad City Council deputies, a bill was developed and published for information. It was provided for: the right of each child to an individual educational route, per capita funding, the rights of state and non-state educational institutions were equalized, and the right of a teacher to protect his honor and dignity was provided for. Result: The document did not become law for objective reasons: the council system was eliminated. The most interesting thoughts of our developers were included in the first Federal Law “On Education” of 1992. Step 2. Mid-2000s. The initiative belonged to the Education Committee of St. Petersburg. A compromise formulation was proposed: “consider the law a “framework” law.”
- 9. Federal Law “On Education in the Russian Federation” No. 273-FZ of December 29, 2012
- 10. LEGAL REGULATION OF THE ORGANIZATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES The validity of previously issued certificates of state accreditation continues, re-issuance until 01/01/2016 (Part 9 of Article 108) Charters must be brought into compliance with Federal Law No. 273-FZ before 01/01/2016 Clarifications on the names of educational institutions (Letters of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia dated June 10, 2013 No. DL-151/17 and dated July 9, 2013 No. DL-187/17)
- 11. Basic educational programs Basic general education programs Educational programs of preschool education Educational programs of primary general education Educational programs of basic general education Educational programs of secondary general education
- 12. Teaching staff Working hours include all types of teaching work, both classroom (lessons) and non-classroom (methodological, educational, and other) (Part 6, Article 47) *only for scientific and pedagogical workers
- 13. Unified State Examination results are valid for 4 (four) years following the year of receipt of the certificate. Previously, this figure was only 18 months. At the same time, the exam can be retaken annually and the highest results can be selected for admission to universities. High school students can independently choose educational courses, both in their school and outside of it using e-learning. The law established the right to use modular and distance technologies, e-learning, as well as network interaction of educational organizations in education. The concept of “conflict of interest of a teaching worker” is introduced. This is a situation in which the teacher becomes interested in obtaining material benefits while performing his work. The state final certification (GIA) for ninth-graders becomes mandatory. The law gives priority to inclusive education, which involves teaching children with disabilities not in a specialized, but in a regular educational institution. At the same time, they can still receive education in special institutions
- 14. Law of St. Petersburg dated July 17, 2013 No. 461-83 “On education in St. Petersburg” Comes into force: September 1, 2013
- 15. Contents Chapter 1. General provisions. Chapter 2. Fundamentals of the education system of St. Petersburg. Chapter 3. Students. Chapter 4. Teaching staff. Chapter 5. Final provisions. 34 articles
- 16. Financial support for obtaining education in public and private educational institutions Multifunctional centers of applied qualifications Educational and methodological associations Social Code of St. Petersburg (as amended on June 28, 2013) Individual training, inclusive training Family education and self-education (externship) Education of persons who have demonstrated outstanding abilities Atypical educational organizations Requirements for admission to training Requirements for clothing
- 17. Higher School of Economics, Moscow, 2013 Expert and consulting support for the implementation of Federal Law No. 273-FZ Hotline of the National Research University Higher School of Economics for managers of public organizations: forum, e-mail, telephone / fax. Seminars and webinars. Education in Russia: new legal regulation The portal is designed to monitor the results of the practical implementation of the new law on education, by-laws and regulations and takes into account the opinions of all participants in relations in the field of education http://ob-education.rf Advanced training of employees of government bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and local government bodies that carry out management in the field of education, under the program “Implementation of the Federal Law “On Education in the Russian Federation” and that carry out management in the field of education, under the program “Implementation of the Federal Law “On Education in the Russian Federation” The portal is intended to provide information support to students advanced training programs “Implementation of the Federal Law “On Education in the Russian Federation” http://obrzakon.ru
- 18. Teacher's commandments: Do no harm. Don't push me away. Don't neglect. Do not forget. Don't be deceitful, don't stop. Don't get bitter. Don't be afraid to make a mistake, don't be afraid to not correct the mistake. Don't despair. If it’s difficult for you, remember: the last call is coming soon. And be sure that tomorrow will be September 1st.