Problems of modern education and science. Ways to solve problems at the state level. Education and science: modern realities
The quality of education is a fundamentally important issue that affects not only the intellectual potential of the younger generation, but also the overall future of the country. The Soviet education system was almost destroyed, but nothing relatively decent came to replace it. The crisis in the Russian education system is influenced not only by the change political system, but also ever-increasing globalization.
Let's look at the main problems Russian education.
Crisis of the traditional education system
Organization educational activities V modern Russia largely inherited from the Soviet education system. However, the industrial society is being replaced by the information society, the world is developing in the context of globalization, which necessitates radical reforms in the current education system. The principles of presenting educational material and the role of the teacher in the educational process need updating. Requires implementation into the educational process innovative technologies, equipping educational institutions with computers and modern technology. Theoretical training of students should be aimed not at simply memorizing information, but at understanding it and the ability to apply the acquired knowledge in practical activities. It is worth noting that the 21st century is a time of rapid scientific progress. Thus, today's educational materials for educational institutions will become obsolete tomorrow. Constant updating of taught knowledge is required in accordance with the latest scientific achievements.
Low practical orientation of education
Today's education system is more aimed at educating the future theoretical scientist than at training a practicing specialist. Theoretical knowledge is largely divorced from practical activities. Students, for the most part, do not know how to use the acquired knowledge in their professional activity. Most people who graduate from university note that they do not feel ready to begin practice. There are several reasons for this. This is both poor practical training and a weak connection between the taught theoretical material and practices, and an outdated education system that no longer corresponds to the rapidly changing conditions in the labor market.
Low level of funding
Russian educational establishments all levels face constant underfunding. Chronic deficiency Money negatively affects the level of salaries of workers in the education sector. Every year this problem becomes only more acute, because educational institutions require computers, modern equipment, and textbooks that correspond to the latest scientific achievements. Reforms in the field of education are impossible without qualitative renewal teaching staff, but solving this problem is hampered by the low prestige of the teaching profession, which is a consequence of low salaries in the field of education.
Weak system of relationship between different levels of education
The main levels of education are preschool, school and higher education. Low continuity between all “steps” educational process negatively affects the quality of learning and interferes with the deep mastery of knowledge on the part of students. Preschool education in Russia it is a poorly organized system that does not provide the required amount of knowledge necessary to start studying at school. Often, preschoolers are taught by persons who have not received teacher education. The situation is even more complicated with continuity between school and university. At the moment, school graduates do not receive the amount of knowledge required to pass the Unified State Exam and enter a university. High school students are forced to turn to paid tutors, because free education does not meet all the needs of future students.
Weak legislation in the field of education
The quality of education largely depends on legislation in this area. At the moment, attempts are being made to qualitatively reform the law “On Education”, but many problems remain unresolved. In particular, these are “blurred” social obligations on the part of the state and poorly defined principles for licensing educational institutions. Incomplete laws on control and supervisory procedures increase corruption and increase the number of universities that do not provide quality education. Education laws in rural areas are extremely weak. In particular, the laws do not take into account the special specifics of rural educational institutions.
Massive demand for higher education
Undoubtedly, there were and still are good universities in Russia. However, every year more and more more people strive to obtain higher education, which directly affects the increase in the number of bad universities. The problem under consideration is becoming more acute also because the prestige of vocational schools has dropped significantly. In addition, many young men enter universities only to be exempt from military service, which further increases the number of universities that provide a poor educational level;
Corruption
Corruption in the Russian education system is a multi-faceted and multi-level phenomenon. This can include extortion from parents of schoolchildren, theft of budget funds, bribes, the sale of false diplomas, and the production of fake educational documents. Many laws have been taken against corruption, but whether they work is a difficult question. In particular, it was supposed to reduce corruption through the introduction of the Unified State Exam, but whether this measure led to the desired results is still debated not only by ordinary citizens, but also by experts. High levels of corruption in educational institutions block the possibility of vertical mobility through quality education for children from disadvantaged families;
The decline in the prestige of studying at vocational schools and technical schools
The problem in question arose back in the 90s. Since then, the shortage of workers in the labor market has been increasing, and the number of students studying at vocational schools has been decreasing. According to 2009 data, 7 times more students studied in universities than in technical schools and vocational schools. As a result, Russia lacks its own labor force, and has to resort to the help of foreign workers. A consequence of the problem under consideration can also be called high unemployment among people with higher education.
To summarize, it can be noted that to solve problems in the Russian education system, traditional “cosmetic repairs” are clearly not enough. There are problems at almost every level of the system, and solving them is the most important strategic task of Russia. New times require new reforms that can raise the educational level of Russian citizens, increase the number of qualified employees and raise the quality of education in Russia to international standards.
The current stage of technological development has created unprecedented opportunities for creating fundamentally new and more effective teaching methods and methods. At the same time, original approaches also take place in the scientific community, where the latest developments are actively used. However, the introduction of new concepts and programs that promote development is not always readily accepted by those in charge. But this is not the only reason for the problems of modern education and science, which make further development impossible. Stagnation pedagogical activity, for example, is facilitated by several factors, the culprits of which are teachers, the students themselves, and ineffectiveness. For a more complete understanding of the current situation in the education and science sectors, one should take a closer look at their problems and ways to overcome a difficult situation.
Funding problems
Domestic for a long time was considered one of the best in the world. The reason for this could be attributed to the enthusiasm of the teaching staff, who performed their duties efficiently and with love for their students. However, in our time, quality education is impossible without funding. And we are talking not only about the proper level of remuneration for teachers, among whom there are still many people truly dedicated to their work. The fact is that the distribution of money is planned based on the number of students. But this approach today is ineffective and gives rise to other, no less education problems, including the difficulty of monitoring student attendance at schools. For this purpose, some institutions practice the introduction of special commissions, which subsequently draw up reports on the actual number of students. This is due to the fact that the allocated money does not always correspond to the intended tasks precisely because of discrepancies in the numbers related to the number of students. However, there is an alternative to this financing system, which involves receiving funds directly from parents. At least, the most pressing problems of the technical condition of schools are solved in this way.
Lack of young specialists
The aging of the teaching staff is one of the main problems modern universities. It would seem that this is a normal and natural process, since the older generation is always replaced by young educators and teachers. But every year the decline in the rate of “reproduction” of young personnel becomes more and more obvious. The situation is aggravated by the fact that out of despair, heads of institutions are forced to hire people with dubious qualifications. As a result, he also suffers. By the way, in science there are problems of the same nature, but with their own specifics. It must be said that many young specialists begin their journey into science with teaching. This is followed by conducting research, writing articles, etc. But state participation is not enough to stimulate such processes. Again, much depends on the lack of sufficient provision of teaching staff with material resources.
Lack of career guidance institute
As surveys of high school students show, most of them, even at the last stages of receiving basic education, do not have a clear idea of what choice future profession. Of course, we can name several specialties and niches that are in demand in our time, but in the conditions of a rapidly changing market and technological development, it is difficult to say which professions may be useful in 5 years. Accordingly, the problems of education in Russia are to a certain extent expressed by the lack of confidence among schoolchildren in in order to obtain specific knowledge.
According to experts, students should have an idea of the possible direction of their further development from an educational point of view. Of course, this in no way eliminates the need to acquire a wide range of knowledge. The solution to such problems in the West is to attract successful people who have made a career in one field or another. As a rule, these are recognized experts who share their experience with schoolchildren and students.
Lack of practical orientation of education
Another unsolved problem follows from the problem outlined above - the practical orientation of education. Even if a student determines the direction of further development for himself at an early stage, he will not have the opportunity to fully master practical skills during the learning process. The Russian education system is rather focused on producing young scientists with a theoretical basis. Such problems of education in Russia appear in the future, when graduates cannot organically fit into the conditions of real activity. And it’s not even so much about getting practice in the traditional sense. It is much more important at the training stage to be able to navigate the market of professions and services, understanding where and how specific skills may be in demand.
Limiting the capabilities of gifted children
The notorious “equalization” is still on the list of main problems national education. Unfortunately, even modern system does not allow children to rise higher than the bulk of their classmates. The five-point system, in particular, does not allow rewarding students who strive to go beyond the boundaries of standard programs. We can say that working according to standard programs and methods are common problems of modern education and science that hinder development in both areas. Originality of thinking, of course, finds its own ways of expression, but schools and universities should encourage and support such aspirations in every possible way. And this is not to mention the lack of practice of teaching within the framework of individual programs, which are much more effective than standard methods that smooth out the personal characteristics of students.
Problems of higher education
The last 20 years have seen a whole series of changes that have significantly transformed the main result of the reforms was the commercialization of universities and granting them complete freedom from the state. Most of Modern universities are almost commercial organizations that take money from students for their services. Of course, this situation causes other problems of modern education and science, which, among other things, are expressed in the low level of acquired knowledge. Similar problems begin with accessibility. higher education. Theoretically, any school graduate can receive it. The following are the nuances of personnel formation at universities. An increase in their number amid a shortage professional teachers It also does not allow for specialist training at the proper level.
Causes of educational problems
As already noted, one reason to explain modern problems in education it is impossible. On the one hand, we can name the weak position of the state, which does not participate in supporting universities, does not sufficiently fund schools and practically does not stimulate schoolchildren and students to acquire new knowledge. But problems in the education system are not only explained by government policy. The reluctance of teaching staff to introduce new technologies into teaching processes causes the backwardness of Russian schools and universities compared to European educational institutions. For example, one of the most high-profile innovations in recent years has been interactive tools, which are being actively introduced in many Western schools. But in Russia, even large educational institutions are reluctant to accept such innovations. Of course, among the reasons behind the problems of domestic education, one cannot ignore the reluctance of schoolchildren and students themselves to study. But these factors are closely intertwined with the lack of incentives and, in general, understanding of the benefits of knowledge.
Basic problems of science
Many of the problems in education are also characteristic of science. First of all, this is a lack of funding. Activities in this area require considerable investment - only in this case can one count on high results from research and new developments. But the problems of domestic science are connected not only with the technical arrangement of laboratories. According to many experts, domestic science lacks a clear definition of goals and objectives. As a result, there is inconsistency in activities and, as a consequence, an inability to implement innovation priorities.
Ways to solve problems
Most concepts that propose creating conditions for natural solutions to educational problems assume an initial focus on students, rather than on the development and constant improvement of new rules and standards. In other words, the school should not force and control, but stimulate interested development. From this point of view, solving educational problems occurs through encouragement to independently search for answers to questions. For their part, teachers and educators must evaluate the proposed solutions taking into account the originality of the approaches used. An important component in this process is the motivational component, which arouses the interest of a schoolchild or student in further research.
Promising areas of development
Both in the education system and in science there is a huge gap between theory and practice. The school has practically no connection with the labor market, the mechanisms of which are knowledge and specialist skills, and does not take into account interests financial groups. Therefore, the most promising direction in which movement can solve the problems of development of education and the scientific industry is the merging of theoretical thought and viable market segments. Moreover, the effectiveness of this merger is only possible with the support of the state. Still, without proper funding it is impossible to talk about the implementation of promising knowledge and projects developed on its basis.
Conclusion
In recent years, Russia has been in some search for an optimal education system. This is evidenced by the reform of this segment. Nevertheless, attempts to make changes are not yet modern education and science, but only change their nature. If we talk about the most pressing tasks that the state faces today in this direction, then there is a lack of funding and a lack of orientation in scientific and educational activities. That is, despite their high development potential, domestic schools and universities provide rather modest returns.
Another reform awaits the Russian school. Actually, this is what the pedagogical community expected when Olga Vasilyeva headed the Ministry of Education and Science. Until now, only individual theses have been voiced about what needs to be changed in the domestic education system - improving the Unified State Examination, introducing a five-day week, etc. But the minister’s statement about the return of schools to the regional level caused the strongest resonance in the professional community. Reform – a threat or salvation for Russian general education? Read the FederalPress article.
Vasilyeva's first reform
Domestic education is once again preparing for reform. Moreover, as a member of the State Duma Committee on Education and Science told FederalPress Boris Chernyshov, the regulatory framework ensuring this process, both at the federal and regional levels, may be ready by the end of this year, or at most by the middle of next year.
The start of reforms was announced by the head of the Ministry of Education and Science Olga Vasilyeva at a meeting of the relevant State Duma committee. We are talking about transferring schools from the municipal to the regional level. This is exactly the system that operated in the Soviet Union and was destroyed in the 90s of the last century. Thus, Vasilyeva may well go down in Russian history as a revivalist minister. Unlike their predecessors - Andrei Fursenko and Dmitry Livanov, about whom not only the teaching community, but also society as a whole has not the best memories, they look at the female minister with hope.
However, according to the director of the Center for Political Science Research Financial University under the government of the Russian Federation Pavla Salina, this is not an absolute return to the Soviet education system. “Then there were different personnel, a different system for handling financial flows, a management system,” the expert explained.
The details of the reform are still unknown. Olga Vasilyeva only said that we are talking about returning “schools to the state” and building “public administration, because now schools are outside of state care and guardianship.” According to Vasilyeva, the education system needs centralization: if schools are subordinate to the regions, then the ministry will have direct leverage, which it practically does not have now, since the subjects are an intermediate link. A negative factor is that today it is impossible to create a “single educational space“, since municipal authorities have the opportunity to independently develop training programs.
However, no one is going to carry out education reform everywhere and at the same time - this requires serious legislative changes. So far it is being tested on several subjects (according to Olga Vasilyeva, 16 regions have already expressed a desire to participate in the experiment), and only in St. Petersburg the reform has already begun, but it is too early to talk about its effectiveness or lack thereof.
Money for schools
The money allocated by municipalities for schools is barely enough to pay for them utilities and cosmetic repairs (however, parents of students are often directly involved in paying for repairs, and sometimes even replacing windows, “donating” to the school fund on a voluntary-compulsory basis).
Municipalities also face other monetary problems. , V Sverdlovsk region Several cities immediately asked for help from the regional budget to pay fines issued by supervisory authorities. In the Artinsky urban district alone, the debt under regulations amounts to about 70 million rubles. School directors are resigning from their institutions because they are forced to pay fines for violations committed through no fault of their own, out of their own pockets.
Rospotrebnadzor's claims most often come down to school canteens not meeting certain points of sanitary requirements (for example, the kitchen does not have a separate workshop for preparing fish dishes). Fire inspectors require the installation of special doors in the basements of educational institutions and fire-resistant treatment of attics. At the same time, not all violations can be eliminated: in the same Artinsky district, inspectors did not like the floor covering, about which they had no comments for more than 20 years. In Kachkanar, the situation is different: in one of the kindergartens, Rospotrebnadzor requires the installation of an additional toilet in a group, as provided for by SanPiN standards, but other standards of the same document do not allow the installation of another toilet, since the area of the bathroom does not allow this.
Schools simply do not have the funds to eliminate regulations (even those that can be eliminated). Municipalities cannot help either. As a result, there are fines, and... the circle closes.
There is no need to talk about creating new places in schools (in other words, about building new schools) - these are billions of rubles (this kind of money is not even in the regional budgets, but at least they have hope for direct support from the federal treasury). Lack of funds entails failure to comply with the presidential order to switch to single-shift training. , Yekaterinburg alone needs about 7 billion rubles a year to invest in the construction of schools and renovation of existing ones. This year local authorities are preparing to open six new schools, but in order to fulfill the president’s instructions, until 2025 it is necessary to build two or three new schools and conduct major renovation. In the regions of the region the situation is no less complicated.
At the moment, the subjects are already bearing a serious burden on financing the school system. The regions pay for everything that students are required to receive within the framework of state standards, including educational literature. And teachers’ salaries are also provided by the regional authorities.
Perhaps the most difficult thing will be to transfer property from the municipal to the regional level. On the other hand, with the completion of this process, subjects will have a free hand: it is expected that the efficiency of spending budget funds will increase. At the same time, its transparency will increase for the regional authorities themselves, who will be interested in investing money in the same renovation of schools, and in education in general. And when regional authorities are the guarantor of the stability of the system, the likelihood of attracting private investment and creating public-private schools will immediately increase.
"Will be better"
The announced education reform has already been supported at the level of the State Duma Committee on Education and Science. Deputy Boris Chernyshov, in a conversation with a FederalPress journalist, noted that changes in the system are absolutely justified and expedient and, in fact, this should have been done earlier. “We spend a lot of money on school education, but we do not fully control it. Plus, at the municipal level, authorities are choking on lack of funding, large quantity responsibilities,” the parliamentarian explained. “We need a unified educational space, a unified educational policy that will not differ from settlement to settlement.”
In addition, according to Chernyshov, the transfer of schools to the level of constituent entities will improve the material and technical base of educational institutions and solve existing communal problems.
Political scientist Pavel Salin also believes that the main motive for reforming the system lies in the poverty of municipalities. “Municipal authorities are often virtually insolvent from a financial point of view,” the political scientist noted.
Another important point is that as a result of the reform, an “extra link” will be removed from the financial and management chain: on the one hand, it will be easier for the federal center to ask the regions for the transferred funds, on the other hand, such direct subordination will allow issues to be resolved more quickly, that is the controllability of the system will increase. According to deputy Boris Chernyshov, federal and regional officials “will not have the desire to expose themselves.”
At the same time, political scientist Pavel Salin is not confident in improving controllability; he believes that it is precisely in this part that the reform “could have a negative impact: schools are being moved further away from the center of decision-making.” “Management practices will vary from region to region. Everyone will build management in their own way, says Salin. “And the reform will not affect the level of latent corruption, because school administrations will remain the same, and they will continue to implement the practices to which they are accustomed.”
Photo - Ilya Pitalev, RIA Novosti
Just some 20-30 years ago, Russian education was considered one of the highest quality in the world. Today, only the lazy do not criticize our education system, and the overwhelming majority of graduates of educational institutions demonstrate such a low level of knowledge that it becomes “offensive for the state.”
Some 20-30 years ago Russian education considered one of the highest quality in the world. Today, only the lazy do not criticize our education system, and the overwhelming majority of graduates of educational institutions demonstrate such a low level of knowledge that it becomes “a shame for the state” (in particular, according to statistics, the knowledge of about 80% of first-year students in paid departments of Russian universities corresponds to the knowledge 8th grade schoolchildren of the Soviet period).
And what is most upsetting is that, despite the regular implementation of reforms to improve the domestic education system, “things are still there”: the quality of modern Russian education is not so much improving as it is rapidly deteriorating. If in 1990 the level of knowledge and literacy Soviet Union occupied 33rd place among 174 states, then already in 1998 Russia dropped to 62nd place. And the “fall” of our positions continues and continues.
In many ways, this situation is due to the fact that the well-proven Soviet school has collapsed, and our specialists have still not been able to create a new model of the educational system that corresponds to modern European trends.
Fortunately, our society understands that not only the prestige, but also the fate of the state depends on the state of the education system. Therefore, both the Russian government and the public are making every effort to identify relevant problems of Russian education and find effective ways to eliminate them. What are these problems? Let's look at the most obvious and relevant of them.
Decline in the social status of the teacher
In the Soviet Union, teachers had a special status: parents did not doubt the professional suitability of teachers and did not question their recommendations for the upbringing and development of children, and schoolchildren and students perceived teachers as certain “celestial beings” who should be treated with exceptional respect and reverence.
What are we seeing today? Students and schoolchildren allow themselves to barge into the classroom during a lesson or lecture, argue with the teacher and insult him, go about their own business during the learning process (for example, play the mobile phone or “wander” on the Internet), do not respond to the teacher’s comments. At the same time, some parents not only justify this behavior of their children, but also do not behave in the best way themselves.
It should be noted that in the current situation, the government is largely to blame, as it is unable to offer teachers a decent level of salary, as a result of which the quality of education has deteriorated. teaching staff, but also the teachers themselves, who allow themselves to discuss personal problems in front of students and “take out” your bad mood on them.
Inconsistency between labor market requirements and the range of diplomas
Experts are increasingly saying that Russian universities are placing their main emphasis on preparing “money” majors (that is, those that are popular among applicants and for which they are willing to pay). And the specialists who are really required for the economic development of our country are trained on a residual basis.
In addition, the current education system is simply not able to quickly respond to changes in the labor market, the content of in-demand specialties of which changes every 5 years. As a result, the young specialist leaves the university with outdated knowledge, which is why the first years of his labor activity he has to “spend” on acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills through experience.
Educational services
But the most important mistake made, according to the public Ministry of Education, was the retraining of the education system into a system for providing educational services. The same opinion is shared by many experts who claim that such concepts as “training” and “services” are incompatible.
The fact is that the provision of services implies the performance of work in a volume corresponding to the amount of payment. And if we take it as an axiom that educational organizations provide educational services to the population, then there is no need to talk about any high-quality and accessible education for everyone. In addition, such a consumer attitude towards education gives participants educational process full right to make such statements as “I don’t want to study, but my parents pay you, so try to teach me something” or “until you pay me for additional classes, your child will not get high grades,” etc. d.
As a result, we have graduates with “bought” diplomas and certificates, behind which there is only the minimum required amount of skills and knowledge. To understand what this approach to training can lead to, you don’t need to think long: we will be treated by doctors who do not see the difference between, for example, hypertension and physical inactivity, and the country’s economic development strategy will be developed by specialists who confuse debit with credit.
Ways to solve problems in the education system
From all of the above, it is obvious that solving the problems of modern Russian education is impossible without restoring the status of the teacher as the country's elite and the most respected member of society. Naturally, such a status must be confirmed by an appropriate salary and respect, both from the public and the bureaucracy.
In addition, it is very important not just to try to introduce Western models of the educational system, many of which, by the way, are not adapted to the Russian mentality, but to make every effort to return the country to the natural path of development, which, whether we like it or not, is inextricably linked with the socialist the past of our state. In other words, today Russia needs education system Soviet type, equipped with modern technologies and teaching methods.
Domestic realities in the educational sphereStatistics show that out of 1.5 million economists graduated annually from higher educational institutions, the domestic labor market and business community are able to accept only 500 thousand people. Nevertheless, the country has developed an acute shortage of modern managers capable of solving problems in conditions of competition and market relations. According to various sociological data, we have only 5-8 percent of managers who meet the requirements of modern standards. Meanwhile, compared to 1995, the number of students in Russia has doubled and now stands at 6.5 million, but not everyone will be able to get a job in their specialty.
The huge gap in the quality of education provided by leading higher education institutions (M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, St. Petersburg State University, State University - graduate School economics and some other reputable universities), with what students receive in many cities of Russia. Analysis shows that this gap is beyond last years Not only has it not decreased, but it continues to increase.
In addition, education in Russian Federation there is a shortage of not only financial resources, but also the most modern technologies educational process, we still have not developed a system distance learning. And for quite objective reasons, many universities are taught by people who do not know the requirements of today. Much of the above will be resolved as part of the implementation national project Education. It should be noted that government authorities will not be able to cope with the difficulties that have arisen on their own, since the current situation requires the intervention of business structures.
According to the Deputy Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation A.G. Svinarenko, employers should develop qualification requirements to specialists, the so-called professional standards, on the basis of which state educational standards should be formed.
A positive trend in the field of education was the development of a bill on amendments to the legislative acts of the Russian Federation (in terms of granting the right to associations of employers to participate in forecasting and monitoring of the labor market), since the aggravation of the break in traditional ties between the education system and the economy due to functionally incomplete legislation has partially decreased, essentially not providing for the participation of employers and their associations in resolving strategic issues of vocational education.
Speaking about the interaction between education and business, we must ask the question what is the structure of the business. There are state structures - we need to talk about training personnel for state structures, there are joint-stock companies with 100% state capital, structures in which 51 percent of the shares belong to the state, as well as completely private companies. “I believe that the form of interaction with each structural type of employer should be different,” says Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Education and Science V.N. Ivanova.
As for the forms of interaction between the education system and business, they are different: a corporate agreement and an industry order, an educational loan, participation in assessing the quality of education and establishing a ranking of universities. The development of systems of boards of trustees is also important. And, of course, special attention should be paid to creating an effective assessment of educational level, monitoring its innovative development and employment of certified specialists.
Among the above activities, special attention is currently paid to educational loans. According to the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin, business can take a direct part in this situation. Loans will be issued by agent banks, the list of which is formed on a competitive basis. For now, such lending will be carried out in an experimental mode only in a few universities.
Thus, significant reforms in the field of education are required, and the bill on amendments to the legislative acts of the Russian Federation (in terms of granting the right to associations of employers to participate in forecasting and monitoring of the labor market) is a key factor in carrying out these changes.
