Title: The problem of humanizing and humanitizing education at institutes of higher education in the USSR

Authors: Galina Arefyeva

Addresses: Dept. of Philosophy, Moscow Institute of Energetics, USSR

Abstract: This paper deals with one of the central trends in reforming higher education in the USSR. The author makes a distinction between humanising (making more human) and humanitising (strengthening the position of the humanities), and explains and demonstrates how these concepts are inter-related. Reasons are given for the fact that higher education has become dehumanised, something caused not only by the nature of social relations in the USSR, but also by internal problems in higher education itself. Some general tendencies in the humanising of institutes of higher education are singled out: making government and student life more democratic, changing admittance procedures and educational methods. An analysis is presented of the ways in which education is being humanitised, a process connected with overcoming ideologisation of education (making sure that education is not reduced to serving ideological ends), acknowledging the right to different opinions, and increasing the number of subjects pertaining to the humanities, taught at institutes of higher education. Special attention is paid to the problems of humanism in connection with the transition of the USSR to a market economy.

Keywords: administrative systems; command systems; higher education; humanisation; humanitisation; USSR; de-ideologisation; democracy; individualisation; culture; personality; education; technicism; humanities; market economy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCEELL.1991.030362

International Journal of Continuing Engineering Education and Life-Long Learning, 1991 Vol.1 No.3, pp.249 - 262

Published online: 15 Dec 2009 *

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