Soviet Higher Education: An Alternative Construct to the Western University Paradigm

Autor/in	Kuraev, Alex
Titel	Soviet Higher Education: An Alternative Construct to the Western University Paradigm
Quelle	In: Higher Education: The International Journal of Higher Education Research, 71 (2016) 2, S.181-193 (13 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0018-1560
DOI	10.1007/s10734-015-9895-5
Schlagwörter	Western Civilization; Administrative Organization; Higher Education; International Education; Labor Force Development; Specialists; Industry; Social Services; Collectivism; Social Systems; Educational Objectives; Foreign Countries; Political Influences; Vocational Education; Political Attitudes; Ideology; Authoritarianism; Universities; Models; Institutional Autonomy; Educational Administration; Government School Relationship; Comparative Education; European Union; Russia; USSR + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Internationale Erziehung; Arbeitskräftebestand; Industrie; Social service; Soziale Dienstleistung; Soziale Dienste; Social system; Soziales System; Educational objective; Bildungsziel; Erziehungsziel; Ausland; Political influence; Politischer Einfluss; Ausbildung; Berufsbildung; Political attitude; Politische Einstellung; Ideologie; Autoritarismus; University; Universität; Analogiemodell; Institutionelle Autonomie; Bildungsverwaltung; Schuladministration; Schulverwaltung; Vergleichende Erziehungswissenschaft; Russland
Abstract	Historically, the university was an alien establishment for Russia, reflecting the political ambition of its leadership, not the organic impetus of Russian society. In Soviet academia, the notion of university education was replaced by the concept of vocational-technical training. As a creation of the Soviet government, Soviet higher education represented a very unusual organizational construction with an umbilical connection to the communist party ideology and Soviet autocracy. In its organization and social purpose, Soviet higher education was quite different from the European notion of a university and remote from the international academic community. Soviet higher education opposed the western university model on a fundamental level: The pragmatism of practical training contradicted the ideology of academic liberal knowledge and institutional self-governance. An analysis of Soviet HE administrative structure reveals three defining characteristics: uniformity, top-down administration and one-man management. The purpose of Soviet higher education was to be a nationwide conveyor of a professional workforce that would supply the state with qualified specialists in each field of industry or social services. It intentionally promoted communal values. This review and analysis of Soviet HE administrative organization indicate that in both form and function, it seems to be an alternative to the traditional western notion of university education, rather than a variation of higher education in its traditional sense. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01