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The improvement and expansion of the training of economic cadres was discussed in a presentation by A. P. Bukhtoiarova (Ural University). She examined the development of economics education in its quantitative and qualitative aspects. In her opinion, the quantitative correspondence of economics cadres to the needs of the national economy can be judged on the basis of a number of indicators: the overall number of economics specialists with diplomas; the percentage of economists in the total work force and in the total number of specialists; the professional advancement of economists engaged in research; the proportion of higher-education students specializing in economics in the total number of students [in the country]; etc.The total number of economics specialists with diplomas is characterized by the data given in Table 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The report by E.V. Fedina (Moscow Institute of the National Economy) discussed a number of important questions pertaining to the improvement of the utilization of specialists with higher education. In 1969-1970 the author of the report conducted an economic and sociological survey, based on questionnaires, of economists with higher education. Two large economics faculties of higher education were the subjects of the survey: the Moscow G. V. Plekhanov Institute of the National Economy, and the Irkutsk Institute of the National Economy. The survey included specialists who had graduated from higher-education institutions between 1965 and 1969 and who were working in various regions of the country. Eleven specialties in economic employment were surveyed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, when study by correspondence and in evening courses is becoming substantially the predominant form of training cadres in higher educational establishments, academic work with students who are working in production at the same time, is becoming increasingly important in the activity of departments of social sciences. The departments must solve in practice many questions which arise in this connection: What should the relation be between various kinds of academic studies? How should syllabi for the social-economic disciplines be organized in accordance with the amount of time allotted for studying them? What should teaching-methodological literature be like? How can the independent work of students be best organized?, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the competence of Russian college and university instructors in the use of information and communication technologies shows that it can be improved through the use of online conferences if training is provided in advance. Russian education needs to devote more resources to developing this use of technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Second Congress of the Society of Psychologists of the RSFSR Academy of Pedagogical Sciences met in Leningrad June 24-29, 1963. In their papers and comments, the delegates to the Congress were guided by the decisions of the June Plenary Meeting of the CPSU Central Committee both in appraising the status of Soviet psychological science today and in defining its cardinal tasks in the immediate future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews some government policy measures aimed at strengthening competition in the Russian university market and looks at the best international practices in this area. It analyzes the competitive behavior of universities under the current government policy on higher education and research and development and suggests an approach to assessing the efficiency of government stimulation of competition among universities and to predicting the outcomes of applying existing stimulation tools. This paper presents the results of assessing the current level of competition in the Russian university market using a nonstructural method, an adjusted Panzar-Rosse competition assessment model. We used the value of grants received by universities as part of government orders as one of the model factors and also analyzed the effects of other factors describing the size, entrance requirements, and research activities of universities. This article investigates how university income depends on the value of grants received (a ratio of total income to the size of grants) and on the number of students and teachers. The level of competition in this market is characterized by the elasticity of the total income of an average university based on the value of grants received. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The study of Russian children's illustrated magazines at the various stages of their formation and development remains a relevant topic due to the evolution of their printed forms in the context of the transformation of the media environment. The first Russian children's magazine was Children's Reading for the Heart and Mind [Detskoye chteniye dlya serdtsa i razuma] (1785–1789). This publication contributed to the creation of Russian periodical literature for children, and it provided the point of departure for the creative efforts of numerous publications that followed in its footsteps, including even present-day Russian children's magazines. The aim of the present article is to study the evolution of the forms of Russian children's illustrated magazines under modern processes of the transformation of the media environment. This goal has determined the objectives of the paper: to study empirical materials related to this topic, consisting of numerous children's publications from different historical periods; identifying the relevant stages of the development of children's periodicals; examining the content and formal characteristics of children's periodicals; applying an integrated approach to working with the most important aspects of Russian children's magazines in the process of transforming the media reality. Our research methodology is based on a structural approach, which has been updated to incorporate structural-functional, structural-formal, and system-synergetic approaches as well as linear regression methodology. The problems that arise from the epistemological context are determined by the significance of the integrated approach to the study of the formal structure of Russian children's illustrated magazines. When we review the state of research in this area, we see that there have been very few studies of Russian periodicals for children despite the relevance of the topic. During the process of their formation and development, children's magazines came into being as a special type of publication with varying subject-thematic, ideological, political, pedagogical, and commercial orientations. They differed in their target audience, content, and presentation, and they were made available to a wide circle of readers. The content of these publications mainly included fiction, journalism, nonfiction articles, sociopolitical commentary, entertainment, and advertising. We have provided a theoretical justification of our research methodology, which uses the general scientific structural method and facilitates the study of the evolution of Russian children's illustrated magazines. The methodology has allowed us to draw conclusions about how their formal structure as well as the larger media environment were transformed over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an overview of studies on the correlations of teacher pay to regional economics and to regional factors affecting the size of teacher salaries. It describes the basic pay indicators for teachers in the regions: absolute salary, teacher pay level as compared to the average regional salary, and ratio of salary to the cost of a fixed set of goods and services and to the per capita gross regional product. Based on calculations that used open government databases, a classification of regions by teacher pay level was developed. Regions of the country turned out to belong to seven different clusters. Recommendations on teacher remuneration were developed for each of these clusters and common risks and challenges were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Interest in the sociological study of problems of higher education arose at our institute in 1965; the following year, at a conference of social science teachers at Kaunas Polytechnical Institute, an independent sociological research section was organized, at which twenty papers have been presented on various topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of instruction and development, which was discussed at Symposium No. 32 of the International Congress of Psychology, was the occasion for statements by psychologists from the USSR, Poland, Hungary, the GDR, Czechoslovakia, Romania, the USA, Norway, and Holland. Soviet psychologists G. S. Kostiuk of Kiev and N. A. Menchinskaia of Moscow were the organizers of the symposium. J. A. Bruner of the USA and Menchinskaia shared the chair. The principal papers were delivered by Kostiuk, N. F. Talyzina (USSR), I. Linhart (Czechoslovakia), R. Hodgman (USA), J. Smedslund (Norway), G. Ebli (Constanz, FRG). The discussion was opened by meaningful and pointed statements by discussants E. Fleszner of Poland and A. Roska of Romania. Menchinskaia, G. A. Konstamm of Holland, B. Inelder of Switzerland, and Bruner of the USA participated in the discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first practical steps toward the realization of labor education in the general schools of Bulgaria were taken soon after the First World War. Then this work was introduced into the schools for all students - manual training for the boys, handwork and domestic science for the girls. After 1921, "Subotniks" (Sundays) were organized for pupils to do mass work harvesting on school property, planting trees in drought-ridden lands and on treeless hills, cultivating school gardens, flower beds, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socio-pedagogical studies of victimization consider various age cohorts within their respective anthropological contexts, in which specific risk factors are identified for individuals at a given physio-psychological stage that may threaten their integral identity and future development. This paper examines the characteristics of youth that predispose young people to join countercultural groups, and in particular antisocial cults. There is a pressing need to address this issue because the leaders of countercultural organizations are actively recruiting young and capable persons to join their groups. Because Western scholars have been the first to write about the problem of antisocial cultism, our goal has been to analyze the main foreign studies by primarily American and Canadian psychologists and educators that probe the reasons why young people join vile cults. Characteristics of this age group, such as fear of rejection by peers, growing sexuality, growing conflicts with the adult world, youthful black-and-white thinking, the active development of an independent worldview, and sympathy for alternative religiosity, are not strict conditions determining whether young people will join antisocial cults. However, the considered characteristics allow us to deem this period in a person’s development as one of the most vulnerable in terms of developing deviant religious views. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the fact that the family is extremely significant in the system of values of young people (in Russia), the number of divorces is increasing in this population group. Our analysis of this contradiction establishes that young people need to be specially prepared for family life. The paper presents the results of a large empirical study conducted in eight regions in various federal districts of Russia. The study covered a representative sample of over 7,000 respondents from two-parent and one-parent families, families with one to two children and large families; they were inhabitants of large and small Russian cities and villages. The study showed that (a) the family is of primary importance in the formation of young people’s values. (b) Most respondents believe that a family is an indispensable condition for happiness. (c) Most respondents believe that one should be specially prepared for family life. (d) Only a third of respondents believe that a school course on family issues could solve this problem. (e) Most respondents noted that their parental families failed to be role models. (f) Young people’s reproductive attitudes, which mainly involve having two or three children, do not correspond to actual modern demographic statistics. (g) More than half of the respondents approve of common-law marriages. (h) But the young people were less tolerant of births out of wedlock. (i) Mothers had the greatest influence on young people as they were growing up. (j) Fathers took second place, with a large gap between them and mothers. (k) The generalized portraits of mothers and fathers were entirely positive; that is, there were no negative characteristics. (k) The most popular adjectives used to describe both mothers and fathers were the following: kind, dependable, caring, responsible, family-oriented, and smart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An expanded meeting of the board of the Ministry of Education of Russia was held on 2 March 1999, summarizing the results of the work of the system of education in 1998 and mapping out the principal tasks to be accomplished in 1999. How has the past year turned out, and what is in store for us in the new year? This was the subject of the paper given by V. Filippov, minister of general and professional education. Herewith, the editors offer readers a number of the topics from that paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As prime ministers have come and gone in the Russia of the 1990s, so have the heads of the basic governmental departments that are responsible for the day-to-day running of the nation. The confusion and uncertainty that this creates needs no elaboration, and education has suffered the same fate as other areas of Russian life. As readers of this journal know, the constant tinkering with education and the endless debates on this or that particular policy have not been helpful to those who teach and run the schools on a daily basis; in fact, it has had a demoralizing effect on educational personnel. In an attempt to clarify where he intended to take education, last year the education minister (Aleksandr Tikhonov) presented a position paper to a board meeting of the Ministry, and it is with the text of this paper that we begin this month. While covering a large number of issues, the main thrust of his argument is the need to put secondary education as the primary concern of the nation, a policy that he sees as central to the future health of education in Russia. Stating clearly that free and universally available access to secondary education was to be the norm, he tried to allay the fears of those who are concerned about the growth of fees and the proliferation of private schools. He also stresses the need for schools to return to their earlier mission of "upbringing" and the instillation of moral values, and for greater attention to be paid to those who were on the margins (such as the neglected rural schools) or were outside of education altogether (such as the million or so children who are not receiving schooling at all). It is the task of the Ministry, he asserts, to take responsibility for the social welfare of children, to halt the growth of delinquency, and to work with other state agencies to strengthen and support family life. Given the parlous condition of the government's budget, a program such as this will call for some tough and unpopular choices, one of which is the capping of expenditures on higher education; thus, the decision to reduce the number of tuition-free admissions to universities. While Tikhonov's position is set out in a clear and mercifully jargon-free manner, he has not really specified what the goals of education should be. There remains a need to clarify exactly what the schools should be trying to achieve, for the constant declaration of often contradictory goal-statements has made it difficult for school administrators and teachers to know what to do. In an attempt to bring some order to the situation, Veit et al. have provided in their article an organized survey of some of the more prominent statements on educational development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the explanatory possibilities and limitations of the concept of alienation within the framework of educational psychology studies. Research into various phenomena associated with alienation (frustration and burnout, extrinsic motivation, cynicism, etc.) is often limited by the ontological realm of the individual, whereas the concept of alienation refers to a whole range of processes characteristic of both individual and sociocultural levels. The study outlines the heuristic potential that the cultural-historical activity approach to meaning and meaning regulation has in the analysis of alienation phenomena. The author reviews findings of empirical studies of alienation in education, as well as the theoretical groundwork dealing with the triggers of alienation and ways to cope with it. The discussion reveals that as human knowledge expands and becomes more complex and multifaceted on an ongoing basis, this causes various manifestations of alienation to grow in their frequency and intensity across educational environments. However, what could potentially help overcome specific psychological instances of alienation is the individual's conscious and more socially aligned self-identification that can be achieved through meaningful reflection on the contributory part they play in the broadest context of collective activity and societal progress as a whole. Although too abstract and heterogeneous for specific psychological studies to be based upon, the concept of alienation may be of great utility in interpreting psychological findings and integrating them into the interdisciplinary context, in order to more thoughtfully revisit and improve the existing institutional configurations and instructional practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several important articles on the subject of mathematics education in the school have appeared in our periodical press during the past year. Outstanding among them were the articles by A. N. Kolmogorov and A. I. Markushevich, as well as the project outlining the mathematical knowledge to be imparted in the eight-year school, elaborated by the Commission on Mathematics Education of the Division of Mathematics of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. These papers elucidate major aspects of mathematics education and deserve careful discussion. The present article is directly related to the papers listed at the end of this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An all-Russian conference on teaching methods, organized by the Institute of Theory and History of Pedagogy, RSFSR Academy of Pedagogical Sciences, was held in Moscow from November 27 to December 1, 1962. It was attended by more than 200 researchers, instructors at teacher training institutes, elementary and secondary school teachers and principals, as well as visitors from the union republics and some socialist countries (Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article by the late A. Ia. Khinchin (1894-1959) was recently published in a somewhat abridged form in a symposium entitled Mathematical Education (State Publishers of Physico-Mathematical Literature, 1961). The issues it raises are undoubtedly of interest for the teacher and for the development of mathematical education in general. That is why we consider it of use to reproduce the complete manuscript text of A. Ia. Khinchin's paper, which also contained a sketch of the possibilities of mathematics in inculcating patriotism. The paper was written in the summer of 1947. The fact that the author did not submit it for publication in the course of twelve years apparently indicates a certain dissatisfaction with what he wrote. The reader will undoubtedly notice that at a number of points in the article questions are merely raised and exhaustive answers to them are not provided. The editors believe that this incompleteness in elaborating the topic will certainly stimulate the reader to develop the given topic in various directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chief aims the teacher sets himself at manual training lessons and at lessons devoted to socially useful work may be formulated as follows:Starting with the 1st grade the teacher commences the psychological preparation of the children for work. He instills in them an interest in and a love for work; he encourages a desire to take part (in the future) in the great work being carried out by the socialist society to build communism; he develops and encourages industry; he consolidates the habit of working and the need to perform some kind of work every day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is based on the results of a study of secondary school principal decision-making styles conducted in eight regions of the Russian Federation (one per federal district) in 2014 using the methodological approach developed by Alan J. Rowe. The study aimed to assess the reformist potential of Russian school principals. We believe that this potential is determined in the present context by a leadership style that involves teachers in decision-making processes and the delegation of responsibilities to them in uncertain situations that require them to solve extremely complex tasks. Using the two-factor leadership model proposed by B. Bass, we suggest that either the transformational or transactional leadership style may prove to be effective depending on a given school's individual circumstances. Consequently, two types of leaders may be the most effective in terms of their ability to enact reforms: (1) principals who mainly exhibit a conceptual decision-making style and secondarily make recourse to an analytical style; (2) principals who mainly exhibit an analytical decision-making style and secondarily make resource to a conceptual style. The article establishes that only 12% of school principals apply the conceptual decision-making style while relying on an analytical style to a secondary degree. These are the principals who we classify as transformational leaders. Only 11% are effectively prepared to implement changes given a specific environment. These are the transactional leaders who are likely to change their leadership style for a transformational one. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article presents the results of an analysis of the moral value judgments of adults (parents, teachers, educators) that directly concern the socialization process of the young generation in the modern metropolis. This paper follows the model study by Jean Piaget that investigated the moral value judgments of children. A comparative analysis of the judgments of respondents allows us to investigate whether certain perceptions of the norm are widely held. Statistically significant differences between the groups of “parents” and educators uncovered give us grounds to pose a practical question whether representatives of these groups can be functionally interchanged in pedagogical practice. The results of the analysis demonstrate the need to conduct comprehensive research into the normative value system, which is an integral component that regulates the activities of both children and adults. We also discuss the broader issues relating to the original explanatory model. We note the ambiguity, variability, and the complex structural construction of the normative-value unit that regulates activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work discusses the results of a pilot project performed in 2013–14 within the framework of the Asian Leadership Project international comparative study, which continues research of school leadership in Europe and America since years 2006–2008. Alongside with Russia, the pilot project also included Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. After analyzing statistical reports on the Russian Federation as a whole, as well as on Moscow and Krasnoyarsk Krai in particular, we created a profile of an average school principal and identified their specific features across regions (age, sex, years of experience, competencies, etc.). Upon investigation of decision-making styles (A. Rowe's Decision Style Inventory) applied by school principals in Moscow and Krasnoiarsk and by award winners in the School Principal professional competition, we found that contextual factors and personal and professional attitudes of school principals have considerable effects on school leadership style. This paper also discusses changes in school leadership styles over recent decades, managerial methods used by Russian school principals, and similarities and differences between school leadership practices in Russia and Canada. The report describes the concept and design of a future large-scale study of these issues. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper proposes a model of educational strategies for college entrants that makes it possible to assess the investment efficiency in additional preparation as evidenced by the Unified State Exam [USE] scores. It was found that college entrants still use traditional forms of preparation despite the new institutional admission conditions at universities. However, it was expected that after the unification of the examination system prospective students would be less likely to resort to extra classes in order to prepare for university entrance. A survey of first-year students and their parents was conducted. It included a total of 1,600 households in the 16 largest Russian cities. A positive relationship was found between monetary investments and time spent on additional preparation courses, on the one hand, and exam results, on the other. However, the return on these investments was low. These results were based on an assessment of a modified function of the educational achievements of students. On the one hand, this means that the results of the USE are connected to the efforts of prospective students, and on the other it shows that those who pursue additional preparation outside of school may gain an advantage by achieving an overall higher score, thereby creating inequality in access to higher education. The particular school that a student is enrolled in and that student's school performance are more significant factors in some cases than the effect of additional preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper presents the results of a large-scale study on the scope of extracurricular education services and an assessment of the potential role of education outside the classroom and informal education in solving children's socialization issues. The study was carried out by questioning students as consumers of education services. A new instrument was developed and tested to allow for a detailed description of various aspects of extracurricular activities and their correlation with studies and social and psychological characteristics of students. An extensive set of statistics (over 6,000 questionnaires filled out by schoolchildren from several regions of Russia) was used to analyze the degree of engagement of children of different ages in out-of-class activities; the most popular types of activities of specific age groups; the age range when children are most engaged in such activities; the reasons for nonparticipation in extracurricular activities; the infrastructure of education beyond the classroom; the relative frequency of structured and nonstructured activities; the correlation between out-of-class activities and development of self-esteem, a feeling of community, and satisfaction with school. Age- and gender-related profiles of various activities are described. It appears that structured extracurricular activities, unlike unstructured ones, correlate with higher self-esteem (both overall and academic), and a stronger sense of belonging in and better satisfaction with school. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In our technical school, appraisal of the work done by correspondence students in the periods between sessions is based mainly upon the way these students fulfill their scheduled assignments and on the marks they receive on examination papers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Born in the Ukraine in 1888 and educated as a teacher, A. S. Makarenko is widely cited in the Soviet educational literature as one of the central figures in the efforts to develop educational systems appropriate to the philosophical and practical realities of the early Soviet state. Though influenced by a wide range of educational theories, Makarenko's perspectives on education were defined in many respects by his experiences in socializing and educating children who had been made homeless during the period of the revolution-some of whom had roamed the countryside of the Soviet Union in criminal gangs. Much of Makarenko's early reputation in the Soviet Union reflects his involvement in rehabilitation and production settlements such as the Gorky Colony and the Dzerzhinskii Commune. Indeed, many of those interested in Makarenko's work outside the Soviet Union are concerned with the rehabilitation and education of orphaned, homeless, and delinquent children (e.g., Kristen D. Juul [1986], International Journal of Special Education], 1:193-96); Bob Caskey [1979], Comparative Education, 15:277-86). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In February 1978 an important conference was held in Moscow on the theme of continuing education. Some forty papers were presented, and the leading ones were summarized in the report of the conference proceedings that comprises the bulk of this issue of Soviet Education. Dr. A. P. Vladislavlev, deputy chairman of the "Knowledge" [Znanie] Society - a key provider of popular education programs for adults in the USSR - gave the concluding paper; his address is included as it appeared in the Soviet journal Voprosy filosofii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early in May the Leningrad Institute of Pedagogy of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the Russian Federation held a scientific conference on questions dealing with the study of age characteristics of children and of improving methods of their education and upbringing. Papers were read by personnel of this institute as well as by staff workers of Leningrad University, the N. K. Krupskaia Library Institute, the P. F. Lesgaft Physical Culture Institute, the University of Latvia, the Ukrainian Institute of Psychology and the Moscow Institutes of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences - Theory and History of Pedagogy, Psychology, Art Education, Physical Training and School Hygiene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information about several papers discussed at a seminar sponsored by the editorial boards of the journals "Pedagogika" and "Voprosy filosofii," the Russian Academy of Education, and Moscow N. E. Bauman State University of Technology in Russia is presented. The event tackles the role of education in the formation of a civil society. Other topics include the pedagogical aspects of socialization in the context of education. The seminar features several educators, psychologists, and philosophers.

Administrators of regional bodies of educational administration and of the Russian Academy of Education and methodological services participated in a meeting of the board of the Federal Ministry of Education (31 March-1 April). The media showed understandable interest. Aleksandr Nikolaevich Tikhonov, minister of general and professional education of the Russian Federation, delivered a paper entitled "On the Principal Guidelines and Concerns in the Sphere of Russia's Educational Policy." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along with written tests, drawing tests can be used to determine the individual characteristics of school students. Drawing tests have a number of advantages. First of all, the results of a traditional test kquently testiQ not so much to the child's abilities as to the level of his knowledgeability and the particular skills he has fonned. Second, most traditional tests call for the use of essential test materials (questionnaires, blanks, tables, and so forth). Making a drawing, on the other hand, does not require any special devices or materials; all it takes is a pencil and paper. For this reason, such a test can easily be carried out under any conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the spring of last year, the Moscow Institute of Architecture together with the RSFSR Architects' Union held an impressive conference concerning the humanization* of architectural education. Problems that were touched upon in many of the papers are so important that they should be discussed more broadly and in greater detail, especially considering that the task of "humanization" is one that faces not only architectural education but the entire sphere of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of alcohol abuse are not especially a secret to children and adolescents. Sometimes they see drunk people on the street, at home, in the park or at the stadium, or in other public places. Quite frequently, drinking people, vulgar drunks, and alcoholics are portrayed on movie and television screens. Both on these screens and in real life, youngsters have a chance to observe drunken brawls. Lately, young people can read about the horrors of drunkenness just about every day in the newspapers. Adults tell them about the consequences of drunkenness, and don't spare them the details. We thought it would be useful not only to find out what teenagers know about drunkenness from hearsay but also what has happened to them personally after using alcohol. For this purpose, we asked them the question, "What consequences have resulted from your use of alcoholic beverages?" From their answers it is clear that there are all kinds of consequences, some highly unpleasant: "I couldn't get home and passed out on the way"; "The police or people's volunteers picked me up" (we should specify that these are the answers of girls as well as boys); "I wound up in the sobering-up station"; "I lost my papers and money"; "I got in an accident on the street." Compared to the answers we have cited, those such as "I was refused a trip ticket" or "I got into a fight with my parents" look almost innocent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers who are blazing new paths to students are often met with suspicion by people in science who attempt to intimidate them with some kind of "theory." The calculation is simple: don't turn off your path, or you'll get bogged down in debate. An article with a rather scornful title appeared in a Leningrad newspaper. With scientific aplomb the author reproached me for something I never did. The astonishing thing was the sheer, eclectic jumble of the article, consisting of numerous "halfs": half-facts, half-rumors, half-insinuations. I knew that the author of the article was working on his doctoral dissertation, but my innovations were in fundamental conflict with it. What he liked to do was deal with a theoretical, paper student-"recipient." There is no need to seek out and find a personal path to such a student, since no such student exists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the national newspaper for schoolteachers in the Soviet Union, the thrice-weekly Teacher's Gazette [Uchitel'skaia gazeta] took it upon itself last year to mount a campaign publicizing innovative school teaching. The purpose of this press campaign, which got under way with a zeal that is quite astonishing for readers accustomed to the traditional style of writing in that paper, was to move the educational reform that had been adopted in April 1984 forward to implementation in actual teaching practice. The Uchitel'skaia gazeta campaign is one element in the mobilization of the central, Moscow-based press to further the overall socioeconomic reform, or restructuring [perestroika], of Soviet society. The announcement of goals and new policies for reform, such as those promulgated for the national school system by the Gorbachev government during its early months in power, proved a comparatively simple stage in the reform process, much easier than the actual implementation of change that was lagging behind schedule in the spring of 1986. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have spoken of the need to seek out new methodological approaches to the formal instruction of six-year-olds. The school and the kindergarten can both gain a great deal from this by trading experiences. Here we present just a few examples of these new approaches. The most typical is the inclusion of an element of play in formal learning activities. However, unlike the fun and games in which children usually engage, this play has an instructive, didactic import, and makes it possible to abandon to a signficant extent the rigid behavioral and instructional regimentation of children that psychologists view with well justified disfavor. One should not be surprised to find, in Russian language or mathematics lessons, the little ones playing with dolls or balls, standing in a circle, going up to the teacher and whispering their answers or backing up their responses by holding up pictures or objects, getting together to illustrate a fairy tale, making models in groups on the rug, building towers, making paper cut-outs, modeling in clay, and so forth. Play is now both a teaching method and a way of organizing the children's activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An all-union scientific conference on the topic indicated in the title was held in Moscow February 1-3, 1978, under the auspices of the Board of the Ail-Union "Knowledge" Society and the Scientific Council on Problems of Continuing Education of the USSR Academy of Pedagogical Sciences. Participants in the work of the conference included: representatives of the USSR Ministry of Education and the USSR Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education, of a number of branch ministries and agencies, of scientific research institutes of the USSR Academy of Sciences and the USSR Academy of Pedagogical Sciences, and of higher educational institutions and people's universities, as well as executives of the All-Union "Knowledge" Society. V. N. Stoletov, president of the USSR Academy of Pedagogical Sciences, delivered the introductory address to the conference participants. Papers were presented by F. G. Panachin, first deputy minister of education of the USSR; V. S. Gott, editor-in-chief of the journal Philosophical Sciences [Filosofskie nauki], meritorious scientist of the RSFSR, and doctor of philosophical sciences; N. K. Goncharov, active member of the USSR Academy of Pedagogical Sciences and chairman of the Scientific Methods Council on the Propagandization of Pedagogical Knowledge under the Board of the All-Union "Knowledge" Society; A. V. Darinskii, corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Pedagogical Sciences; and thirty-five others. The proceedings of the conference were summarized by A. P. Vladislavlev, doctor of technical sciences and deputy chairman of the All-Union "Knowledge" Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geography rooms came into being in Russia in the last quarter of the nineteenth century at the initiative of A. Pulikovskii, a famous methods specialist. In 1875, he presented a paper on the organization of geography rooms at the International Geographical Exhibit in Paris. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of the work done by higher schools in the two and one-half years which have passed since the adoption of the law on the reorganization of public education were summed up at the All-Union Conference of Higher School Workers held in July of 1961. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years the pedagogical press has been giving much space to the problem of stepping up the students' learning and practical activity during the process of training. In this paper we shall dwell on an analysis of the ways and means of improving the lesson itself, which still remains the main form of organizing school training, especially in grades 1 to 8. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decisions issued by the Communist Party and the Soviet Government for improving the higher educational system have enhanced the significance of and interest in our student activities, and in addition have increased their immediate practical value to the people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In analyzing the documents of inspectors who have checked on schools, the reports of inspectors of city and regional departments of education and the papers of directors and academic directors of schools in checking on the lessons of teachers, we came to the conclusion that it is necessary to think seriously about the methodology of inspection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the middle of July in this year the Ministry of Education and the Institute for Advanced Training of Teachers in Tataria, conducted, in collaboration with the V. I. Lenin Institute at Moscow, a scientific and practical conference on problems of increasing the educational effectiveness of the lesson in school. The objective of the Conference was to discuss the results of experimental investigations of this problem, conducted during the past school year in secondary schools Numbers 27 and 85 in Kazan by the Educational Faculty of the V. I. Lenin Institute jointly with the teaching collectives of the schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews some government policy measures aimed at strengthening competition in the Russian university market and looks at the best international practices in this area. It analyzes the competitive behavior of universities under the current government policy on higher education and research and development and suggests an approach to assessing the efficiency of government stimulation of competition among universities and to predicting the outcomes of applying existing stimulation tools. This paper presents the results of assessing the current level of competition in the Russian university market using a nonstructural method, an adjusted Panzar-Rosse competition assessment model. We used the value of grants received by universities as part of government orders as one of the model factors and also analyzed the effects of other factors describing the size, entrance requirements, and research activities of universities. This article investigates how university income depends on the value of grants received (a ratio of total income to the size of grants) and on the number of students and teachers. The level of competition in this market is characterized by the elasticity of the total income of an average university based on the value of grants received. [This article was translated by Lucy Gunderson.]

This issue of Soviet Education is the second of two issues made up of papers originally delivered at the First Scientific Conference of Pedagogical Scholars of Socialist Countries (Moscow, 1971) and published in 1973 in the Russian book, Problems of Socialist Pedagogy.* Last month's issue presented selections from the first section of the book dealing with the methodology of educational research. The six papers in this issue are taken from the second section of the book, "Education and the Scientific-Technological Revolution." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the results of a longitudinal study of the formation of graphomotor skills in elementary school children between the ages of seven and nine (students in the first and second grades). Patterns in how the skills under investigation develop in normal children and those with learning disabilities were revealed using a computerized survey of sequential movement organization and writing functions in combination with a general neuropsychological study. It is shown that graphomotor skills develop unevenly between the first and second grades in children, successful and unsuccessful in academic achievement: second-graders perform assignments faster and with fewer regulatory errors, but the spatial characteristics of their writing become worse. It was also found that children with learning disabilities lag behind in their development and automation of graphomotor and writing skills. This problem may be associated with this group's identified lack of programming and control functions as well as movement sequential organization skills. In addition, a comparative analysis of connections between age, social factors (grade level) and the formation of the functions under investigation was conducted. This analysis has shown that grade level has a greater influence on this process than was previously thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corruption and other forms of unacceptable behavior in Russian universities frequently is the result of poor conditions of work, low salaries, and inadequate administrative and oversight structures. A thorough reform and reorganization of institutions of higher education should go a long way to reducing the incidence of this behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Having heard a paper by P. K. Kholmogortsev, assistant in charge of research to the director of the V. P. Potemkin MGPI on the state of research work in the various departments of the Institute, the Collegium of the RSFSR Ministry of Education noted that some of the projects do deal with themes of immediate interest to the schools. Thus, the Department of Education is studying important problems of schooling and character training: "Coordination of education with productive labor," "Stimulating the pupil's initiative during class," "Character training as a method of organizing the pupils' activities." The departments of methods in physics, methods in natural science, and methods in Russian language and literature are conducting methodological investigations of value to teachers. Scientific workers of a number of specialized departments are providing valuable material for schools and teachers. Instructors at the Institute have written textbooks in psychology, literature, history, physical geography, botany, astronomy, and the English language, for the schools. Investigations of significance to theory in general and to the national economy are being conducted in the departments of theoretical and general chemistry, botany, physiology, zoology, organic chemistry, physical and regional geography, and economic geography. Students are involved systematically in the research work of the many departments: about 700 students participate in the work of seventy different clubs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]