EU: education policy. European Higher Education Area
Introduction
The phrase “educational tourism” is commonly used to describe trips abroad for the purpose of study. But is this tourism? This is the question that educational agencies and travel agencies are arguing about today, which are increasingly starting to work with educational trips.
According to IQ consultancy, the number of students going to study in the UK alone is growing by 28% annually.
In 2003, more than 80 thousand Russians went to study abroad. Compared to the tourist travel market, this is a drop in the bucket. However, according to experts, the annual turnover of this market is more than 200 million euros. Therefore, competition is growing, and each side is vying for its share of this pie. For the consumer, this means, of course, the opportunity to choose among a growing number of agencies and their price offers.
Common educational space of Europe
EU: education policy.
“Education - vocational training - youth” - in this context, policy in this area is formulated in official documents of the European Union. According to the Treaty of Rome establishing the EEC, EU bodies do not interfere in the policies of member states, which independently decide on the content and organization of education and training.
EU education policy objectives:
Study and dissemination of Community languages
Encouraging mobility of students and teachers, mutual recognition of diplomas and terms of study.
Promoting cooperation between educational institutions
Development of distance learning, as well as exchange of youth and teachers.
The main instruments for implementing EU educational policy are all-Union programs. The first of them, the Young Worker Exchange Program, appeared in 1963.
In the 80s and early 90s, the implementation of a whole series of large programs began, such as Comet, Erasmus, Euroteknet, Lingua.
The Bologna process is the idea of bringing together and harmonizing the education systems of European countries with the aim of creating a single European higher education space. This movement, as is commonly believed, began on June 19, 1999, when in Bologna, Italy, the ministers of education of 29 European countries adopted the declaration of the “European Higher Education Area”, or the Bologna Declaration.
It is assumed that the main goals of the Bologna Process should be achieved by 2010. Russia joined the Bologna Process in September 2003 at the Berlin meeting of European Ministers of Education, and since then leading Russian universities (in particular, Moscow State University, St. Petersburg State University, MGIMO) in 21 cities have either already implemented the ideas of the Bologna Process or have begun to introduce them within its walls.
Participants in the Bologna Process and the declaration of the “European Higher Education Area” are 46 countries (more than 100 universities), including Russia.
Diploma Supplement - Pan-European Diploma Supplement
To ensure the comparability of national educational systems, the mobility of specialists and take into account constant changes in educational programs and qualification characteristics of graduates, the European Commission, the Council of Europe and UNESCO have developed a single standard document, issued in addition to the document on education and aimed at facilitating the procedure for academic and professional recognition of graduates. university qualifications (diplomas, degrees, certificates, certificates). This document is called Diploma Supplement (DS) - Pan-European Diploma Supplement.
The Pan-European Diploma Supplement is an international document on education, which is an international instrument for the recognition of qualifications in higher and postgraduate education throughout the world. This Annex ensures the recognition of national education abroad, the clarity of the obtained qualifications to the employer due to the variety of qualifications and forms of education. This allows you to carry out professional activities in other countries, as well as continue your education abroad.
DS is issued by national universities only in strict accordance with the model developed, improved and tested in practice by a Joint Working Group of representatives of the European Commission, Council of Europe and UNESCO.
The Pan-European Diploma Supplement consists of eight sections containing:
1. information about the qualification holder;
2. information about the qualifications received;
3. information about the level of qualifications;
4. information about the content of education and the results obtained;
5. information about professional qualification characteristics;
6. additional information clarifying the legal status, license and accreditation of the university, etc.:
7. Application certification;
8. information about the national education system within which the graduate received educational documents.
Diploma Supplement is strictly personalized, has 25 degrees of protection against counterfeiting and is supplied according to quotas from the pan-European press authority.
Having a graduate of the Pan-European Diploma Supplement provides the following competitive advantages:
· the diploma becomes more understandable and easily comparable with diplomas obtained in other countries;
· the application contains an accurate description of the individual “learning trajectory” and the competencies acquired during study;
· the application reflects an objective description of the graduate’s individual achievements;
· the application allows you to save time by providing answers to numerous questions that arise from administrative, personnel services and universities regarding the content of the qualifications obtained and establishing the equivalence of diplomas;
· graduates receive more opportunities for employment or further education in their own country and abroad.
DS contains information about the nature, level, context, content and status of the training program completed by the graduate receiving the educational certificate. The diploma supplement does not contain any evaluative judgments, comparisons with other training programs and recommendations regarding the possibility of recognition of this diploma or qualification.
1. Formation of a unified educational and cultural space in Europe and certain regions of the world;
2. Bologna process; Main provisions of the Bologna Declaration;
3. Joining the process;
4.Formation of a unified educational and cultural space.
5.Advantages and disadvantages.
6.The Russian Federation in the Bologna process.
1. Drawing up notes according to plan:
1. Formation of a unified educational and cultural space in Europe and individual regions of the world.
A single educational space should allow the national education systems of European countries to take all the best that their partners have - by increasing the mobility of students, teachers, management personnel, strengthening ties and cooperation between European universities, etc.; as a result, a united Europe will become more attractive in the global “education market”.
2. Bologna process; Main provisions of the Bologna Declaration.
The beginning of the formation of a single educational and cultural space (Bologna process) can be dated back to the mid-1970s, when the Council of Ministers of the European Union adopted a resolution on the first cooperation program in the field of education. The decision to participate in the voluntary process for the creation of the European Higher Education Area was formalized in Bologna by representatives of 29 countries. To date, the process includes 47 participating countries from the 49 countries that have ratified the European Cultural Convention of the Council of Europe (1954). The Bologna process is open for other countries to join.
Countries join the Bologna Process on a voluntary basis by signing a corresponding declaration. At the same time, they assume certain obligations, some of which are limited in time.
3. Joining the process.
The beginning of the Bologna Process can be traced back to the mid-1970s, when the Council of Ministers of the European Union adopted a resolution on the first cooperation program in the field of education.
In 1998, the ministers of education of four European countries (France, Germany, Great Britain and Italy), who participated in the celebration of the 800th anniversary of the Sorbonne University in Paris, agreed that the segmentation of European higher education in Europe hinders the development of science and education. They signed the Sorbonne Joint Declaration, 1998. The purpose of the declaration is to create general provisions for the standardization of the European Higher Education Area, where mobility should be encouraged both for students and graduates, and for staff development. In addition, it had to ensure that qualifications correspond to modern requirements in the labor market.
The objectives of the Sorbonne Declaration were reaffirmed in 1999 with the signing of the Bologna Declaration, in which 29 countries expressed their willingness to commit to increasing the competitiveness of the European higher education area, emphasizing the need to maintain the independence and autonomy of all higher education institutions. All provisions of the Bologna Declaration were established as measures of a voluntary process of agreement, and not as strict legal obligations.
To date, the process includes 47 participating countries from the 49 countries that have ratified the European Cultural Convention of the Council of Europe (1954). The Bologna process is open for other countries to join.
4.Advantages and disadvantages.
The purpose of the declaration is to establish a European higher education area, as well as to activate the European higher education system on a global scale.
The Declaration contains seven key provisions:
1. Adoption of a system of comparable degrees, including through the introduction of the Diploma Supplement, to ensure employability of European citizens and increase the international competitiveness of the European higher education system.
2. Introduction of two-cycle training: preliminary (undergraduate) and graduation (graduate). The first cycle lasts at least three years. The second should lead to a master's degree or doctoral degree.
3. Implementation of a European credit transfer system to support large-scale student mobility (credit system). It also ensures that the student has the right to choose the disciplines he studies. It is proposed to take ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) as a basis, making it a savings system capable of working within the framework of the concept of “lifelong learning”.
4. Significant development of student mobility (based on the implementation of the two previous points). Expanding the mobility of teaching and other staff by crediting the time spent working in the European region. Setting standards for transnational education.
5. Promotion of European cooperation in quality assurance with a view to developing comparable criteria and methodologies
6. Implementation of educational quality control systems within universities and involvement of students and employers in external assessment of universities’ activities
7. Promoting the necessary European perspectives in higher education, especially in the areas of curriculum development, inter-institutional cooperation, mobility schemes and joint study programmes, practical training and research.
5.The Russian Federation in the Bologna process.
Russia joined the Bologna Process in September 2003 at the Berlin meeting of European education ministers. In 2005, the Bologna Declaration was signed by the Minister of Education of Ukraine in Bergen. In 2010, a final decision was made in Budapest on Kazakhstan’s accession to the Bologna Declaration. Kazakhstan is the first Central Asian state recognized as a full member of the European educational space
Russia's accession to the Bologna process gives a new impetus to the modernization of higher professional education, opens up additional opportunities for the participation of Russian universities in projects funded by the European Commission, and for students and teachers of higher education institutions in academic exchanges with universities in European countries.
Countries join the Bologna Process on a voluntary basis by signing a corresponding declaration. At the same time, they assume certain obligations, some of which are limited in time:
Ø starting from 2005, start issuing free uniform European supplements to bachelor’s and master’s diplomas to all graduates of universities in the countries participating in the Bologna process;
Ø by 2010, reform national education systems in accordance with the main provisions of the Bologna Declaration.
2. Conversation on issues:
1. To what period can the beginning of the formation of a unified educational and cultural space be attributed (Bologna process)?
2.Name the purpose of the Bologna Declaration;
3. Why is it common to call the process of creating a single educational space by European countries as “Bologna”?
4.What does Russia gain from joining the Bologna process?
5.Main provisions of the Bologna Declaration;
6.Name the participants in the Bologna process;
7.Identify the advantages and disadvantages of the Bologna Declaration;
8. The role of the Russian Federation in the Bologna process.
9. Try to make a forecast of the demand for specific professions and specialties for the Russian economy over the next few years. Justify your forecast.
10. Your idea of educational projects since 1992 - in order to identify the causes and results of the process of introducing market relations into the Russian education system.
Know the terms and concepts: Bologna Declaration; Bologna process (single educational and cultural space); Modernization of higher professional education.
Among the sources of international law on educational issues establishedregionalinternational communities, the most important are the acts adopted by the Council of Europe, of which the Russian Federation is a member.
In 1994 At the Vienna meeting, the UN General Assembly adopted the official proclamation of the UN Decade for Human Rights in Education for 1995-2004. and developed Action Plan for the Decade. Within the framework of this Plan, emphasis was placed on civic education in a pan-European spirit. The goal of the Decade is to raise it to the rank of law by the end of the Decade respect for human rights to education And fixation of the appropriate structure of directions of action in national legislation. This document assumes and directs European countries to develop educational policies to introduce universal compulsory schooling throughout the world, to uphold fundamental human rights and justify the need for systematic and motivated education. In order to implement the Plan, state governments must play an active role in the implementation of its programs, thereby developing national action plans to protect human rights to education.
Among the documents adopted by the Council of Europe in the last decade on education issues, the program “Values of learning in society” is of no small importance. Elementary law in civic education. Secondary education for Europe”, emphasizing that the personality of a European is closely connected with citizenship, and that education for democratic citizens is a condition for strengthening European national unity. It was in this document that the idea of uniting the national communities of the European space was consolidated. States, according to this document, must adhere to the course of democratization of education as an obligatory component of educational policy, understanding of freedoms in education, balance of rights and responsibilities at the local, regional, national and international levels.
Thus, the educational policy of the leading countries of Western Europe since the late 90s. was focused on providing social, economic, political guarantees, ensuring equal access to any education throughout life; the widest possible coverage of the population with education, increasing the level and quality of education of the population; providing a person with maximum opportunities in his choice of his path to obtaining an education, improving the conditions of education and the educational environment for all subjects of the educational process; stimulation and development of scientific research, creation of special funds and scientific institutions for these purposes; allocation of funds for the development of the educational environment, technological and information support for education systems; expanding the autonomy of educational institutions; creation of an interstate educational space within the European Union.
At the same time, the regulatory documents stipulated that each country is developing its own ways to achieve a qualitative change in education and create favorable conditions for people with different abilities, capabilities, interests and inclinations to receive any education.
The growing process of integration leads to the need to develop appropriate agreements on the mutual recognition of educational documents and academic degrees, which implies diversification 38 higher education.
Lisbon Declaration. A proposal for the development of a single, joint convention that would replace the European conventions on higher education, as well as the UNESCO Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Diplomas and Degrees in Higher Education in the States of the European Region, was presented at the 16th session of the Permanent Conference on university problems. The proposal to carry out a joint study on the possibility of developing a new convention was also approved by the twenty-seventh session of the General Conference of UNESCO.
Adopted in 1997 in Lisbon Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications Relating to Higher Education in the European Region, is a production document of the legal framework of international educational cooperation in more than 50 countries of the world. Joining this Convention makes it possible to enter into a single legal field in this area with potential parties to the Convention, which are all European countries, the CIS, as well as Australia, Israel, Canada, and the USA, where the problem of recognizing Russian educational documents is particularly acute. The Convention brings together a variety of educational documents, which are called “qualifications” in it - school certificates and diplomas of primary vocational education, all diplomas of secondary, higher and postgraduate vocational education, including doctoral degrees; academic certificates about completion of periods of study. The Convention states that those foreign qualifications are recognized that do not have a significant difference with the corresponding qualifications in the host country.
Within the framework of the Convention, governing bodies establish a list of foreign diplomas, university degrees and titles of foreign countries that are recognized as equivalent to national educational documents, or such recognition is carried out directly by universities, which establish their own criteria, and this procedure occurs under the terms of a concluded bilateral or multilateral agreement at the level of governments or individual universities;
The two most important instruments in the procedure for mutual recognition of educational documents mentioned in the Convention are the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), which allows the establishment of a unified international credit system, and the Diploma Supplement, which provides a detailed description of qualifications, a list academic disciplines, grades and credits received.
The UNESCO/Council of Europe Diploma Supplement is generally seen as a useful means of promoting the openness of higher education qualifications; Therefore, efforts are being made to promote the use of the Diploma Supplement on a wider scale.
Sorbonne Declaration. The first step towards building a united Europe was Joint Declaration on the Harmonization of the Structure of the European Higher Education System(Sorbonne Declaration), signed by the ministers of education of four countries (France, Germany, Italy and Great Britain) in May 1998.
The Declaration reflected the desire to create a unified body of knowledge in Europe, based on a reliable intellectual, cultural, social and technical basis. Institutions of higher education were given the role of leaders in this process. The main idea of the declaration was the creation in Europe of an open system of higher education that could, on the one hand, preserve and protect the cultural diversity of individual countries, and on the other hand, contribute to the creation of a unified teaching and learning space in which students and teachers would have the opportunity of unrestricted movement and all the conditions would be in place for closer cooperation. The Declaration envisaged the gradual creation in all countries of a dual system of higher education, which, among other things, would provide everyone with access to higher education throughout their lives. A unified system of credits, facilitating the movement of students, and the Convention on the Recognition of Diplomas and Studies, prepared by the Council of Europe jointly with UNESCO, to which most European countries joined, should have contributed to the implementation of this idea.
The Declaration is an action plan that defines the goal (creation of a European higher education area), sets deadlines (until 2010) and outlines a program of action. As a result of the implementation of the program, clear and comparable degrees of two levels will be formed (undergraduate and postgraduate). The duration of training for obtaining the first one will not be shorter than 3 years. The content of education at this level must meet the requirements of the labor market. A compatible credit system and a common quality assessment methodology will be developed, and conditions will be created for freer movement of students and teachers. All these obligations were assumed by 29 European countries that signed the Declaration.
Bologna Declaration and"The Bologna Process". The formation and development of the European educational and legal space was not limited to the events and processes discussed. In the modern period, the educational space of Europe, primarily higher education, is going through a period called the “Bologna process,” the beginning of which is associated with the adoption of the Bologna Declaration.
1999 in Bologna (Italy), the authorities responsible for higher education in 29 European countries signed Declaration on the Architecture of European Higher Education which became known as the Bologna Declaration. The Declaration defined the main goals of the participating countries: international competitiveness, mobility and relevance in the labor market. The ministers of education participating in the Bologna meeting confirmed their agreement with the general provisions of the Sorbonne Declaration and agreed to jointly develop short-term policies in the field of higher education.
Having confirmed their support for the general principles of the Sorbonne Declaration, the participants of the Bologna meeting committed themselves to ensuring the achievement of goals related to the formation of a pan-European higher education space and support for the European system of the latter on the world stage and drew attention to the following set of activities in the field of higher education:
Adopt a system of easily “readable” and recognizable degrees;
Adopt a system with two main cycles (incomplete higher education/complete higher education);
Introduce a system of educational loans (European Efforts Transfer System (ECTS);
Increase the mobility of students and teachers;
Increase European cooperation in the field of quality education;
To increase the prestige of higher European education in the world.
The text of the Bologna Declaration does not indicate the specific form of the Diploma Supplement: it is assumed that each country decides this issue independently. However, the integration logic of the Bologna process and the decisions made during its course will most likely contribute to the adoption by European countries of the single Diploma Supplement described above in the foreseeable future.
Of all the EU countries that have switched to the ECTS loan system, only Austria, Flanders (Belgium), Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Romania, Slovakia, and Sweden have already legally introduced a funded education loan system.
As for the provisions of this document, it can be said that not all European countries have adequately adopted its provisions in national regulations. Thus, the Netherlands, Norway, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Latvia, Estonia included or reproduced its provisions verbatim in national government documents reflecting educational policy on reforming higher education. Five other countries - Austria, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and Belgium - have adopted its provisions in the context of planned activities to improve education. Other countries, including the UK, Germany and Italy, have determined that already planned activities within educational programs will be synchronized with the requirements stated in the Declaration as they are implemented.
Among the main documents and activities aimed at developing the process of mutual recognition of qualifications and competencies in the field of vocational education and training in the European Union, we point out the following:
1. Lisbon resolution, adopted at the European Council meeting in March 2000. The resolution formally recognizes the central role of education as a factor in economic and social policy, as well as as a means of increasing Europe's global competitiveness, bringing its peoples closer together and the full development of its citizens. The resolution also sets out the strategic goal of transforming the EU into the world's most dynamic knowledge-based economy.
2.Action plan for the development of mobility and skills, adopted at the EU meeting in Nice in December 2000 and provides for a number of measures to ensure: comparability of education and training systems; official recognition of knowledge, skills and qualifications. This document also contains an action plan for the European social partners (member organizations of the European Social Partnership), which have a central role in the implementation of the decisions taken.
3.Report “Specific tasks for the vocational education and training systems of the future”, adopted at the European Council meeting in March 2001. in Stockholm. The report contains a plan for the further development of the main areas of joint activities at the European level in order to achieve the objectives set in Lisbon.
4. Recommendation of the European Parliament and the Council, accepted June 10, 2001 Contains provisions for enhancing mobility within the community for students, learners, teachers and mentors, following up on the mobility action plan adopted in Nice in December 2000.
5.Conference in Bruges(October 2001) At this conference, the leaders of the EU countries initiated a process of cooperation in the field of vocational education, including in the field of recognition of diplomas or certificates of education and qualifications.
Undoubtedly, the most urgent thing at the present time is to increase the level of familiarization of the Russian scientific and pedagogical community, primarily, of course, working in the field of higher professional education, with the above-mentioned basic documents and, especially, with the requirements that Russia will have to fulfill as a participant in the “Bologna process” " In this regard, one cannot help but mention the work of one of the most active researchers and popularizers of the Bologna reforms - V.I. Bidenko, whose works have won well-deserved authority 39. In this manual, we will only briefly touch upon this topic, recommending that the reader consult these sources independently.
The main components and requirements of the “Bologna process” arising from the Bologna Declaration are as follows.
Obligations of participants. Countries accede to the Bologna Declaration on a voluntary basis. By signing the Declaration, they assume certain obligations, some of which are limited in time:
From 2005, start issuing free uniform European supplements to bachelor's and master's degrees to all graduates of universities in countries participating in the Bologna process;
By 2010, reform national education systems in accordance with the basic requirements of the “Bologna process”.
Mandatory parameters of the “Bologna process”:
Introduction of a three-level system of higher education.
Transition to the development, accounting and use of so-called “academic credits” (ECTS) 40.
Ensuring academic mobility of students, teachers and administrative staff of universities.
Availability of a European diploma supplement.
Ensuring quality control of higher education.
Creation of a single European research area.
Unified European assessments of student performance (quality of education);
Active involvement of students in the European educational process, including by increasing their mobility;
Social support for low-income students;
Lifelong education.
To the optional parameters of the “Bologna process” relate:
Ensuring harmonization of educational content in areas of training;
Development of nonlinear student learning trajectories and elective courses;
Introduction of a modular training system;
Expansion of distance learning and electronic courses;
Expanding the use of academic ratings of students and teachers.
Of particular importance for understanding the meaning and ideology of the “Bologna process” is its educational and legal culture, which consists in the recognition and acceptance of the following levels of higher education and corresponding academic qualifications and scientific degrees:
1. Three levels of higher education are being introduced:
The first level is bachelor's degree (bachelor's degree).
The second level is magistracy (master's degree).
The third level is doctoral studies (doctor degree).
2. Two models are recognized as correct in the “Bologna process”: 3 + 2 + 3 or 4 + 1 + 3 , where the numbers mean: the duration (years) of study at the bachelor's level, then at the master's level and, finally, at the doctoral level, respectively.
Note that the current Russian model (4 + 2 + 3) is very specific, if only because the “specialist” degree does not fit into the presented models of the “Bologna process” (a), the Russian bachelor’s degree is a completely self-sufficient first-level higher education (b) , technical schools, colleges, vocational schools and secondary schools, unlike many Western countries, do not have the right to issue a bachelor's degree (b).
3. An “integrated master’s degree” is allowed, when an applicant upon admission undertakes to obtain a master’s degree, while the bachelor’s degree is “absorbed” in the process of master’s preparation. An academic degree (third level of higher education) is called “Doctor of Science”. Medical schools, arts schools, and other specialty schools may follow other, including single-tier, models.
Academic credits - one of the most specific characteristics of the “Bologna process”. The main parameters of such “lending” are as follows:
Academic credit is called the unit of labor intensity of a student's educational work. Exactly 30 academic credits are awarded per semester, and 60 academic credits per academic year.
To obtain a bachelor's degree, you must earn at least 180 credits (three years of study) or at least 240 credits (four years of study).
To obtain a master's degree, a student must generally complete a total of at least 300 credits (five years of study). The number of credits for a discipline cannot be fractional (as an exception, 0.5 credits are allowed), since adding up the credits for a semester should give the number 30.
Credits are awarded after successfully passing (positive assessment) the final test in the discipline (exam, test, test, etc.). The number of credits awarded in a discipline does not depend on the grade. A student's attendance in classrooms is taken into account at the discretion of the university, but does not guarantee the accrual of credits.
When calculating credits, the labor intensity includes the classroom load (“contact hours” - in European terminology), the student’s independent work, abstracts, essays, coursework and dissertations, writing master’s and doctoral dissertations, internships, internships, preparing for exams, passing exams, and etc.). The ratio of the number of classroom hours and hours of independent work is not centrally regulated.
A – “excellent” (10 percent of passers).
B – “very good” (25 percent of passers).
C – “good” (30 percent of passers).
D – “satisfactory” (25 percent of passers).
E – “mediocre” (10 percent of passers).
F (FX) - "unsatisfactory".
Academic mobility - another characteristic component of the ideology and practice of the “Bologna process”. It consists of a set of conditions for the student himself and for the university where he receives his initial training (basic university):
The student must study at a foreign university for a semester or academic year;
He is taught in the language of the host country or in English; takes current and final tests in the same languages;
Studying abroad under mobility programs is free for students; - the host university does not charge money for tuition;
The student pays himself: travel, accommodation, food, medical services, training sessions outside the agreed (standard) program (for example, studying the language of the host country on courses);
At the base university (to which the student entered), the student receives credits if the internship is agreed upon with the dean’s office; he does not complete any disciplines during his studies abroad;
The university has the right not to count toward its program academic credits that the student received at other universities without the consent of the dean’s office;
Students are encouraged to obtain joint and double degrees.
Autonomy of the university is of particular importance for ensuring the tasks facing the participants in the Bologna process. It manifests itself in the fact that universities:
In the current conditions, within the framework of the State Educational Standards of Higher Professional Education, they independently determine the content of training at bachelor/master levels;
Independently determine the teaching methodology;
Independently determine the number of credits for training courses (disciplines);
They themselves decide to use non-linear learning trajectories, a credit-module system, distance education, academic ratings, and additional grading scales (for example, 100-point).
Finally, the European educational community attaches particular importance to the quality of higher education, which, in a certain sense, can and should be considered as a key component of the Bologna educational reforms. The position of the European Union in the field of ensuring and guaranteeing the quality of education, which began to take shape in the pre-Bologna period, comes down to the following main theses (V.I. Bidenko):
Responsibility for the content of education and the organization of education and training systems, their cultural and linguistic diversity, rests with the state;
Improving the quality of higher education is a matter of concern for the countries concerned;
The variety of methods used at national level and the accumulated national experience should be complemented by European experience;
Universities are called upon to respond to new educational and social demands;
The principle of respect for national educational standards, learning objectives and quality standards is observed;
Quality assurance is determined by Member States and must be sufficiently flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances and/or structures;
Quality assurance systems are created within the economic, social and cultural context of countries, taking into account rapidly changing situations in the world;
It is expected that there will be a mutual exchange of information about quality and systems for guaranteeing it, as well as the equalization of differences in this area between higher education institutions;
Countries remain sovereign in choosing quality assurance procedures and methods;
Adaptation of quality assurance procedures and methods to the profile and goals (mission) of the university is achieved;
Purposeful use of internal and/or external aspects of quality assurance is practiced;
Multi-subject concepts of quality assurance are being formed with the involvement of various parties (higher education as an open system), with mandatory publication of results;
Contacts with international experts and cooperation in providing quality assurance on an international basis are being developed.
These are the main ideas and provisions of the “Bologna process”, reflected in the above-mentioned and other educational legal acts and documents of the European educational community. It should be noted that the Unified State Examination (USE), which has become the subject of heated debate in recent years, is not directly related to the “Bologna process”. The completion of the main Bologna reforms in the participating countries is planned for no later than 2010.
In December 2004, at a meeting of the board of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, the problems of Russia’s practical participation in the “Bologna process” were discussed. In particular, the main directions for creating specific conditions for full participation in the “Bologna process” were outlined. These conditions provide for operation in 2005-2010. first of all:
a) two-level system of higher professional education;
b) a system of credit units (academic credits) for recognition of learning results;
c) a system for ensuring the quality of educational institutions and educational programs of universities that is comparable with the requirements of the European Community;
d) intra-university systems for monitoring the quality of education and involving students and employers in external assessment of the activities of universities, as well as creating conditions for the introduction into practice of an application to a diploma of higher education, similar to the European application, and the development of academic mobility of students and teachers.
Firstly, the new stage of deepening and expanding Western European integration is directly related to the development of the EHEA. The goals of integration are determined by its internal dynamics and profound changes in Europe and throughout the world. The completion of the single market, the creation of an economic and monetary union, and the accession of 10 Central and Eastern European countries to the EU led to the need to create a single market for highly qualified labor. In order to prepare a new type of workforce, the policies of Western European countries are aimed at integration processes in the field of higher education.
It involves promoting high-quality education and vocational training and increasing investment in human capital. Long-term policies to improve academic, professional and social mobility are identified as priority number one. The creation of the internal market also required the creation of a single market for educational services. By developing the EHEA, EU public bodies are expanding the horizons of the labor market and thereby promoting economic growth and social well-being of the population. Secondly, the EHEA, which took shape more clearly as a result of Bologna process- this is already a Russian reality.
Developing a discussion of issues in the context of the Bologna process can strengthen the understanding of our own higher education system, its perception in Europe and in the world. Especially such new aspects as the state educational standard with its two-component structure, bachelor's degrees, accreditation, connections with the world of work, new economic and social policies in the field of higher education, autonomy and accountability, systems for ensuring guarantees and quality control. The resolution of issues discussed within the framework of the EHEA stimulates our higher education regarding the structural, organizational and economic aspects of its modernization.
The current higher education in Russia has been living in new conditions for several years now. The development of domestic labor markets by Russian higher education is an important task in its modern mission. The concept of modernization of Russian education for the period up to 2010, approved by the Government, contains significant “fields of convergence” with the development of the European Higher Education Area. The target, problem and thematic perspectives of the concept are quite compatible with the concept of development of the European Higher Education Area. This is an important point when developing an updated education policy.
Third, a paradigm shift in economic development is expressed in the formation of the so-called new or information economy, that is, an economy based on knowledge and information technology, as well as in the globalization of economic (and other social) processes. The “new economy” and globalization, erasing national boundaries of competition, objectively put forward its intellectual and educational potential as a key resource for economic growth and improvement of well-being in a particular country. In this regard, the personnel training system acquires strategic importance, becoming the main tool for ensuring high competitiveness.
Proclaimed the "Era of Education" UNESCO“intellectual”, by her own definition, 21st century. Education, science and culture are increasingly becoming a sphere of international competition and, at the same time, cooperation. In modern conditions, a successful career can only be ensured by an education system that takes into account the processes of globalization: university graduates will have to live and work in a new world in which the boundaries of national economies and cultures are becoming more and more arbitrary. A new concept has come into use - “globalization of education”, denoting the onset of a qualitatively new stage of international relations in this area.
Problems of formation of the European Higher Education Area have not been comprehensively studied by either foreign or domestic historians. The authors mainly focused on the analysis of individual national educational systems, as well as general trends and contradictions in their development. For this reason, the study of the formation process of the EHEA is still an unresolved issue. In addition, unified approaches to studying this problem have not been developed. Thus, the problems of the formation of the European Higher Education Area in the second half of the 20th - early 21st centuries. are not covered in the historical literature, which allows us to talk about the relevance of this problem. The object of the study is the process of deepening and expanding Western European integration in the field of education.
Subject of research are the trends and specifics of the process of formation of the SEEHEA, the development of a unified educational policy and the features of its implementation, the stages of the formation of the SEEHEA, identified on the basis of institutional criteria, substantive parameters and general principles of functioning of the SEEHEA. Chronological framework of the study: second half of the 20th century - beginning of the 21st century. The choice of chronological boundaries is determined by the subject of the study - this is the time of formation of the EHEA (from the signing Treaty of Paris(1951 to the present day). The selected period makes it possible to study the dynamics of the development of the EHEA as a result of the activities of various subjects of educational policy in Western Europe, and this in turn makes it possible to identify the qualitative changes that have occurred in the EHEA, as well as the consequences of this process.
The degree of knowledge of the problem Comprehensive work on the problems of forming the SEEHVO does not yet exist; research has been carried out in separate areas of this issue. The initial stage of scientific study of various aspects of the formation of the EHEA dates back to the 60s. years. As for foreign historiography, unfortunately, the volume of scientific research, both in individual countries and in Europe as a whole, is far from sufficient. Research in higher education in Western European countries does not have a specific field of study, which is the reason for the persistent organizational weakness of this research. Research into higher education, which began in the mid-1960s, focuses on the analysis of external factors that have a decisive influence on the development of higher education and its adaptation to rapidly changing political and socio-economic conditions.
In the first years of development Research in higher education focused on providing management structures in this area with the information necessary for centralized planning of its development and rational distribution of financial resources. With the beginning of the transition from elite to mass higher education and, as a consequence of the emergence of a binary system of higher education, the problems of managing universities, their connections with industry and the state, as well as financing issues began to come to the fore. In the process of their further development, three main areas of research were formed: - research aimed at scientific support for the development and decision-making at the government level; - research conducted in order to provide solutions to internal problems and as a form of professional self-expression.
As for the organizational forms of higher education research, in Western Europe the number of higher education research institutes financed from the state budget is insignificant. There are also few similar institutes in universities. A significant amount of research into higher education is carried out by scientists independently within the framework of one or another university structure. Until the 90s, the attention of foreign scientists was focused mainly on studying certain aspects of higher education. Research on integration processes in the field of higher education remained in the shadows. Western scientists have worked to create theoretical concepts and practical recommendations on a number of pressing issues in higher education.
The problem of expansion of the Western value system into Russia and the formation of “mass culture”
Problems of culture in Russia. Despite all the positive processes taking place in our country, trends that negatively characterize today’s sociocultural situation are still gaining strength in society. The gap between the potential influence of culture on society and the actually existing ability of the masses to master it and use it in everyday sociocultural practice is growing. The crazy pace and dynamism of social and cultural life have caused a significant complication in the structure and content of people’s relationships with each other, with the natural and artificial environment, which is expressed both in objective indicators (in a quantitative increase in qualitatively diverse objects, scientific ideas, artistic images, patterns of behavior and interaction ), and on a subjective plane - in the level of mental and social tension that accompanies this kind of complication.
The most significant problems that reflect the nature of the sociocultural environment of people and do not yet have effective means of solution are the massive lack of adoption of innovations available in culture, discrepancies between the demands of various members of society and the possibilities of satisfying them, the lack of technological means of generalizing and integrating new sociocultural experience. In the social sphere, the trend of social stratification on such socio-cultural grounds as way of life, social identity, position, status is becoming increasingly noticeable.
One of the sources of socio-cultural and personal problems is intensive migration processes that destroy the cultural integrity of settlements, “excluding” large social groups from the process of cultural self-development, activating lumpenization workers and de-peasantization of rural residents. Socio-economic transformations, mass migration, violent policies of previous decades, aimed at overcoming differences between city and village, destroyed traditional forms of communication and human relations with the social, natural and cultural environment, caused the alienation of man from the land, from the life of society, from his own destiny .
The socio-cultural crisis in society is aggravated by the ongoing ethnic stratification and growth of inter-ethnic tension, largely due to miscalculations of national policy, which for several decades has limited the possibilities of preserving and developing the cultural identity of peoples, their language, traditions, and historical memory. Aggression towards another point of view, another value system, the desire to discover an enemy in the person of representatives of a different faith, nationality, is becoming more and more noticeable; extremism in political and public life is intensifying.
But the most significant problems associated with general condition spiritual life Russian society. — The processes of erosion of the spiritual identity of Russian culture are intensifying, the danger of its Westernization is increasing, and the historical and cultural identity of individual territories, settlements, and small towns is being lost. The commercialization of cultural life led to the unification of customs, traditions and lifestyles (especially of the urban population) according to foreign models. The consequence of the mass replication of the Western way of life and behavior patterns is the standardization of cultural needs, the loss of national and cultural identity and the destruction of cultural individuality.
The indicators of the spiritual life of society are declining. The gap between specialized and ordinary levels of cultural development continues to grow. In particular, numerous studies document an obvious decline in the level of artistic taste (if in 1981, 36% of city residents and 23% of rural residents had sufficiently high artistic erudition, now it is 14 and 9%, respectively). Cinema and music are losing popularity. The decline in interest in cinema is largely due to the destruction of the previously existing film distribution system. There is a sharp decline in the role of television in introducing the population to art. Contemporary domestic art is almost completely absent from the preferences of the population.
The decrease in demands on the artistic level of works of art led to an expansion of the flow of low-quality literature, cinema, and music, which significantly deformed the aesthetic taste of the population. — There is a significant reorientation of public consciousness - from spiritual, humanistic values to the values of material well-being. A study by the Russian Institute of Art Studies showed that in recent years there have been significant changes in the system of value orientations: on the scale of values of the population, the orientation of a significant part of Russian citizens towards material well-being as the main goal of life is noticeable.
If in the early 1980s, in the system of value orientations of both urban and rural residents, thoughts about a happy family life, the desire to have good, loyal friends and other humanistic motives “led”, and the absence of financial difficulties seemed to be the primary concern of 41% of people in cities and 36% in villages, then today 70% of city residents and 60% of rural residents speak about material well-being as the most important thing. In many ways, such moral values as love for the “small homeland,” mutual assistance, and mercy have been lost. Essentially, culture begins to lose the functions of social regulation, social consolidation and spiritual and moral self-determination of a person, approaching a state that in sociology is characterized by the concept anomie, i.e. lack of norms of behavior, deprivation of functionality.
Values and norms, constituting the moral vertical and spiritual core of Russian culture, today are unstable, vague, and contradictory. The decline in the indicators of the spiritual life of Russian society is to some extent due to a change in the social status of the humanitarian intelligentsia, which has traditionally been considered in society as the flagship of moral development. Today, relatively weakly developed segments of the population—spiritually gray individuals—have come to the forefront of life. If in the early 1980s the humanitarian intelligentsia constituted the largest part of the spiritual elite, today it is inferior to “natural scientists” (medics, biologists, etc.).
And this is due not only to the decline in the prestige of the humanitarian professions, but also to the lower level of personal development of humanists - the latter now lag behind the “naturalists” in the most important personal potentials of people of mental work - creative and cognitive. Having abandoned the values of comprehensive personal development and increasingly being guided in life by purely personal, selfish motives, demonstrating increased social activity, this part of society today determines the key issues of politics, economics, and culture. Of particular concern is the younger generation, which is increasingly moving away from spiritual culture.
This is largely facilitated by the crisis of the education system, the policy of the media, which introduce immorality, violence, and disdain for the profession, work, marriage, and family into consciousness as the norm. Disillusionment with democratic ideals and values is growing (50% of respondents do not participate in elections at various levels), and the mood of hopelessness and disbelief in the possibility of resolving socio-political issues is intensifying. The discrepancy between the declared priority of universal human values and real life leads to the destruction of moral foundations and legal chaos.
If we specifically touch upon the culture of youth, then it is customary to speak, rather, about a youth subculture, thereby emphasizing in youth a certain stage of development of a person who has not yet reached the highest examples of world culture, but is trying to openly and covertly bring it into his environment. something of its own, not always culturally appropriate. Over time, this passes, like youth itself, but every generation necessarily goes through this stage of subculture. This does not mean that young people do not have high cultural models of the classical type. As a rule, in adolescence, we say, a reassessment of values occurs.
And behind this phrase is precisely the fact that the young man begins to measure his existing patterns of behavior, activity, thinking, feeling, etc. with “adults”, or accepted in world culture. At the level of state policy, there is an underestimation of culture as a consolidating and meaning-forming factor, as the most important resource for the spiritual transformation of Russia. The main emphasis in state cultural policy is on the development of mass commercial culture, which is considered as a necessary component of a democratic social order and market economy, the basis of civil society and the rule of law.
On the one side, market principles of cultural organization weaken managerial dictates, involve the population (consumers) in participation in cultural policy, eliminate ideological influence, expand the capabilities of cultural and leisure institutions through new sources of financing, allow increasing the wage fund, etc. On the other hand, there is a commercialization of culture, the erosion of free forms of cultural and leisure activities, and a shift in cultural priorities from the content of activities to making a profit. Artistic creativity, freed from censorship, found itself under economic oppression. The film industry is going through a deep crisis.
The video market is monopolized by the pirate industry. As emphasized in the documents of the third meeting of European ministers of culture, commercial cultural products are no longer perceived as a bearer of moral and aesthetic criteria, spiritual or metaphysical meaning, they influence public and individual behavior primarily at the level of consumption, sinking to the level of banalities and stereotypes. The consequences of this commercialization process, the extent of which is still difficult to predict, is a matter of concern for cultural workers.
Thus, the tendency observed in society today towards degradation spiritual life and cultural environment is not balanced by positive processes and efforts aimed at optimizing socio-cultural life, improving living conditions and the quality of human life. To some extent, the problems outlined above are being solved within the framework of Federal programs developed by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.
For a number of years, the main directions and priorities of federal cultural policy have remained virtually unchanged, which are implemented through organizational support and partial financing of such programs as “Study, preservation and restoration of the cultural heritage of the Russian Federation”; “Formation, restoration, preservation and effective use of museum funds”; “Revival and development of traditional artistic culture, support for amateur artistic creativity and cultural and leisure activities”; “Support for young talents in the field of culture and art”; “Preservation and development of national cultures of the peoples of Russia, interethnic cultural cooperation.”
For 1996-1997 The Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, together with the Ministry of Social Protection of the Population, additionally adopted the “Disabled Children and Culture” program; “Children's Summer Vacation”; “Children of the North”; “Children of refugee and displaced families”; “Children and Culture”; “Patriotic education of youth”; “Gifted Children.” However, for a number of reasons, primarily economic, the effectiveness of the implementation of these programs is still quite low. The standards for financing the industry guaranteed by the “Fundamentals of Legislation on Culture” are not being met, as evidenced by the widespread, landslide reduction in budget allocations for culture.
The volume of replenishment of book collections is sharply decreasing (by 3-4 times compared to previous years) in the context of the objective growth of libraries as a source of information in the only opportunity for free self-education. Due to the extremely low level of equipment of libraries with modern technological means of processing, storing and transmitting information, the vast information resources of the country and the world are inaccessible to the Russian provinces. The technical support for the preservation of archival, museum and library collections is in a catastrophic state - from 30 to 70% of museum collections are in need of restoration today. There is massive commercialization and repurposing of cultural and leisure institutions.
The infrastructure of publishing and the cultural and leisure sphere is being destroyed. The number of institutions involved in organizing leisure activities for children and adolescents has sharply decreased. Many theaters, museums, libraries, and gyms are on the verge of extinction. The current situation indicates a lack of resources and mechanisms that block negative processes in the sociocultural sphere, provide guarantees for the protection and use of cultural and historical heritage, conditions for the development of professional and amateur artistic creativity, and the self-development of cultural life in general.
There is another group of reasons for the low effectiveness of state cultural policy - the poor development of Federal target programs, which only indicate general priorities and directions of activity in the field of culture, their too abstract nature, which does not take into account the specifics of specific regions and territories. The fact is that in design technology, a too abstract model of the situation (and the corresponding radius of problems) is not always optimal. Understanding national problems is, rather, the global ideological context that determines the position of the designer or subject of management.
The main thing in the process of forming a project is to study the specific sociocultural space where human life takes place, to understand those socially and personally significant problems that, firstly, reflect the real and immediate conditions of human life in the sociocultural environment, and secondly, are associated with a suboptimal level of cultural personality development. Conclusion So, the topic we have considered - the problem of culture in Russia - is extremely relevant today. There is no doubt that culture is an integral part of human life; it organizes it and displaces instinctive activity. Therefore, we can say that culture is the cement of the edifice of social life, not only because it is transmitted from one person to another through the process of socialization and contact with other cultures, but also because it forms in people a sense of belonging to a particular group.
In our country, during the restructuring of the economic and social foundations of the state, the desire to gain certainty and confidence in the future gave rise to the emergence of new social groups of various directions - both in the economy and in culture, even on an everyday basis. The desire to imitate the West is growing, the spiritual identity of Russian culture is disappearing, the history and culture of entire regions is being forgotten, especially in the North and the Caucasus. These problems cannot be overcome as long as the government and the President are more occupied with their own political ambitions than with the needs of the population. The peculiarity of the problem of the state of culture is that the invested labor and resources do not produce results immediately, but over the course of several years, or even decades. After all, the deterioration of the situation does not occur immediately - it is worth remembering the 15 years that have passed since the beginning of perestroika.
Ideas of “multiculturalism” and youth extremist movements
In modern conditions of the post-reform economic and social development of Russia, one of the most pressing socio-political problems is the spread of youth extremism. Analysis of this problem shows that most often young people aged 15-25 commit crimes. The crime rate of teenagers, according to experts, is 4-8 times higher than the registered crime rates. Consequently, the social significance, the measure of the public danger of teenage crime, is much higher than can be judged by statistical figures.
A special place in this series is occupied by extremist behavior of youth, which is a special form of activity of young people that goes beyond generally accepted norms, types, forms of behavior and is aimed at destroying the social system or any part of it, associated with the commission of acts of a violent nature on social grounds. , national, religious and political motives. It is important that such activity is conscious and has an ideological justification, either in the form of a coherent ideological concept (nationalism, fascism, Islamism, etc.), or in the form of fragmentary symbols, archetypes, slogans. This circumstance leads to an increase in uncertainty and destruction of the channels of reproduction of society. All of the above indicates the relevance of the topic being studied. The purpose of the presented work is to study the connection between the ideas of multiculturalism and extremist youth movements.
To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve a number of problems:
1. Define the concept of extremism, consider the main youth extremist movements.
2. Consider the ideas of multiculturalism and their influence on the emergence of youth extremist movements.
Extremism(from French extremisme, from Latin extremus - extreme) - commitment to extreme views and, in particular, measures (usually in politics). Such measures include provoking riots, civil disobedience, terrorist acts, and methods of guerrilla warfare. The most radical extremists often deny in principle any compromises, negotiations, or agreements.
The growth of extremism is usually facilitated by: socio-economic crises, a sharp drop in the standard of living of the bulk of the population, a totalitarian political regime with suppression of the opposition by the authorities, and persecution of dissent. In such situations, extreme measures may become for some individuals and organizations the only opportunity to really influence the situation, especially if a revolutionary situation develops or the state is engulfed in a long civil war - we can talk about “forced extremism.” Political extremism- these are movements or currents against the existing constitutional order.
As a rule, national or religious extremism is the basis for the emergence of political extremism. An example of political extremism is the movement of the National Bolshevik Party, whose leader is Eduard Limonov. Today, extremism is a real threat to the national security of the Russian Federation. The growth in the number of crimes of an extremist nature in 2009 increased significantly compared to the previous two years. Thus, according to the Investigative Committee under the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation, in 2009, 548 extremist crimes were registered in the Russian Federation, which is 19% more than in 2008.
The largest number of such crimes was committed in Moscow - 93. The relevance of the problem of extremism among young people is determined not only by its danger to public order, but also by the fact that this criminal phenomenon tends to develop into more serious crimes, such as terrorism, murder, infliction of grievous bodily harm damage, riots. Analysis of statistics shows a significant increase in extremist crimes. Thus, in 2005, 144 extremist crimes were registered on the territory of the Russian Federation, which is 16.9% more than in 2004. In 2006, 211 crimes were registered in just 10 months, of which 115 were solved. However, official statistics does not reflect the real state of affairs in this area.
Recently, the emerging trend in Russia of extremization of the mass consciousness of young people has led to an increase in the number of neo-Nazi and nationalist youth movements. The above facts actualize the role of ethnopsychological knowledge for a teacher working with a multicultural student population in order to correctly interpret certain characteristics of student behavior and make the right choice of actions in the current situation, avoiding conflict, contributing to the formation of a positive attitude of schoolchildren or students to their studies, to the teacher , to each other.
Innovation activity is a priority direction in science and economics
In market economic conditions, the main driving force of economic growth is innovation, introduced both in production and in operation and consumption. They ultimately determine the growth of income of entrepreneurs, as well as the increase in living standards of the population. In modern conditions, innovation and innovative activity are becoming increasingly important for the successful financial and economic activities of commercial organizations, becoming an important tool of competition and one of the main components of an effective strategy.
Many researchers note a significant increase in the role of the “technological” factor for economic development. The level of development of the innovation sphere - science, new technologies, knowledge-intensive industries, innovative activity of companies, participation in international scientific and technical cooperation - form the basis of sustainable economic growth, are a necessary condition for the country’s successful participation in the global division of labor, determine prospects and influence the pace of economic development spheres. Accelerating scientific and technological progress, market differentiation, demanding consumers of goods and services, the emergence of new competitors, especially in the context of the globalization of the world economy, forces firms to quickly respond and adapt to the changing external environment and develop an innovative strategy.
Innovation activities- a complex dynamic system covering scientific research, the creation of new types of products, improvement of equipment and objects of labor, technological processes and forms of organization of production based on the latest achievements of science, technology and best practices; planning and financing of innovative projects.
In modern Europe, processes related to unification affect various areas and go beyond the EU. Moreover, new areas are emerging that are beginning to develop according to uniform rules. These new areas include higher education. Moreover, if the EU today has 25 members and almost 60 years of history, then the integration processes in the field of higher education, called the Bologna process and which began at the very end of the 1990s, currently cover 40 European countries. In other words, integration in the field of higher education has become an area that is developing extremely intensively, despite the language barrier, the presence of national characteristics in the field of education that have developed over centuries, etc. What are the reasons for this pace of integration?
Europe in the second half of the 20th century experienced at least two periods during which it was faced with the problem of its lag behind other regions. A certain technological lag between European countries and the United States and Japan emerged in the 1960s and 1970s. This made itself felt in subsequent years. As a result, in Europe, bank plastic cards and related services were introduced later and more slowly than, for example, in the United States, the cellular telephone network developed, and the Internet was introduced. It should be noted that in terms of the massive use of a number of technological innovations, developed European countries in the early 1990s. began to yield not only to the USA and Japan, but also, for example, to countries such as South Africa, where back in the early 1990s. The system of ATMs, payment of utilities by computer through the national network, as well as the development of the cellular telephone network, became widespread.
A kind of “second call” for Europeans was the fact that the United States, as well as Australia, are beginning to intensively provide educational services. This article becomes a significant item of their export. In particular, V.I. Bidenko writes that since the early 1990s. The number of European students who studied in the United States exceeded the number of American students studying in Europe.
The fact that European education was lagging behind was not only of economic significance. Europe, with its cultural historical traditions, of which university education was an integral part, began to give way to the “nouveau riche” in this area.
All this forced the Europeans in the late 1990s. seriously engage in reform in the field of higher education. It was initiated by Great Britain, Germany, Italy and France. At a meeting at the Sorbonne in 1998, the ministers of education of these countries signed the Sorbonne Declaration, which marked the beginning of the integration of higher education space in Europe. It was based on the University Charter ( Magna Charta Universitetum), adopted in 1988 in Bologna in connection with the celebration of the 900th anniversary of the oldest European university. The University Charter emphasized the autonomy of the university, its independence from political and ideological dogmas, the connection between research and education, the rejection of intolerance and its focus on dialogue.
A kind of “formalization” of the process of creating a unified educational space was the signing of the Bologna Declaration of 1999, which gave the name to the process itself. This declaration is based on the following principles:
two-level higher education, the first level is focused on obtaining a bachelor's degree, the second - a master's degree;
a credit system, which is a unified record of the learning process in all countries (which courses and to what extent the student has attended);
independent control of the quality of education, which is based not on the number of hours spent on training, but on the level of knowledge and skills;
mobility of students and teachers, which assumes that in order to gain experience, teachers can work for a certain period, and students can study at universities in various European countries;
the applicability of the knowledge of university graduates in Europe, meaning that the specialties for which personnel are trained will be in demand there, and trained specialists will be employed;
the attractiveness of European education (it is planned that innovations will contribute to the interest of Europeans, as well as citizens of countries in other regions, in receiving European education).
Russia signed the Bologna Declaration in September 2003 and began the process of reforming higher education.
The restructuring of higher education in all countries included in the Bologna process is far from easy for many reasons, including those related to the need to “break” many established traditions, structures, and teaching methods. In all countries included in the Bologna process, discussions are ongoing on issues of integration of the pan-European space; both active supporters and opponents have appeared. The main thing behind the debate is the socio-political consequences that the creation of a pan-European educational space will entail.
The Bologna process will undoubtedly deepen and expand pan-European integration. Comparability of the main parameters of higher education technology (levels of education, terms, etc.) will make it possible, on the one hand, to make clear the level of qualifications of graduates, on the other hand, to formulate general requirements for the knowledge and skills of graduates within Europe for each specialty, thereby ensuring the highest mobility of skilled labor. Moreover, the Bologna process, which involves partnerships between European universities, will make it possible to prepare a single European political, economic, technical, scientific and other elite. The same process will be facilitated by the mobility of students and teachers, which is also provided for by the Bologna process. As a result, graduates of European universities will enter the professional sphere with many interpersonal contacts established during their studies with their classmates from different countries.
Inclusion in a single pan-European educational space will make it possible to solve, or at least mitigate, a number of problems that exist between states, including in the post-Soviet space. One example is Russia's relations with the Baltic states in connection with the Russian language in these countries, in particular in Latvia. Both states joined the Bologna Process: Latvia - since 1999, Russia - since 2003. Latvia has been a member of the EU since 2004, and within the framework of Russia-EU cooperation programs, education occupies one of the priority places. Both countries have had a single higher education system for a long time, so Latvia represents Russian education well. Education systems of both countries in the early 1990s. faced largely similar problems. All this contributes to the development of cooperation in the field of higher education between Russia and Latvia, and good knowledge of the Russian language by Latvian residents becomes an important advantage for Latvia in the development of such cooperation. At the same time, for the Russian-speaking population of Latvia, within the framework of the Bologna process, which provides for the mobility of students and teachers, new opportunities for studying and teaching in Russia are opening up.
The development of integration in the field of education also contributes to the development of democratization. At one time, universities played a significant role in the formation and development of democracy in Europe. Today, the university, being, according to the Sorbonne Declaration, the main structural unit of the Bologna process, has the potential to once again play an important role in this area. The university community is by its nature networked, and democracy primarily implies networked social connections and relationships. Increasing the role of education (respectively, universities) in the socio-economic and political life of Europe will lead to the further development of network relations in various fields.
Along with the positive aspects, the Bologna process will also entail a number of problems. One of the groups consists of problems associated with various types of stratification of European society, which, in principle, is also typical for other regions, but within the framework of intensively ongoing educational reform they can manifest themselves with particular force.
Improving the quality of higher education will lead to increased differences between the educated elite and the rest of the population, which in turn will encourage less qualified and more conservative sections of the population to refuse further development of European integration and the growth of nationalism. Considering that today this stratification is already quite clearly evident, the intensification of these processes may turn out to be critical. However, a lot depends on the universities. If various programs are developed, according to which universities will become not only the most important units of integration of higher education, but also part of civil society, which implies educational, expert, advisory activities, i.e. openness of universities to society, then this socio-cultural gap can be significantly reduced.
The increase in the number of Europeans with higher education degrees will entail a new flow of less skilled labor from Arab, Asian and African countries. The change in the ethnic composition of Europe, accompanied by the spread of different cultural norms and values, is a problem (at the end of 2005, Europe was already faced with manifestations of violence) and requires the development of appropriate socio-economic programs.
The Bologna process will entail a restructuring of the university community, in which at least three strata will be distinguished. First stratum - the most successful and prestigious universities (in individual areas or in general), fully included in the Bologna process, which, given that educational services are becoming an increasingly important source of income, will form a kind of “consortia”, trying to monopolize the educational sphere. Second stratum- universities that will partly belong to the “first circle”, but strive to enter it completely. Finally, third stratum -“outsider” universities operating on the brink of survival. The boundaries between strata will be fluid, and in addition to cooperative ties and relationships between them, fierce competition will unfold. Of course, competition between universities still exists today, but in the context of corporate relations it will be more severe.
The socio-political consequences of the integration of the educational space in Europe may be a change in the role of regions and cities. On the one hand, we can expect intensive development of cities in which the largest university centers are located, on the other hand, the specialization of these universities depending on the profile of the city or region, since this provides a number of advantages (inviting highly professional specialists to the university, students undergoing internships in relevant organizations etc.). Thus, if we take the sphere of international political and economic relations, then the problems of multilateral diplomacy, international organizations and multilateral negotiations turn out to be relevant for Geneva universities, issues of European integration - for universities in Brussels, and international finance - for London. As a result, we can expect increased regionalization and even a kind of “megapolization” of Europe, which means a significant change in the socio-political and economic appearance of the continent.
The development of the Bologna process in Europe stimulated the raising of questions about the unification of educational spaces in other states, where it is largely decentralized (in particular, in the USA), and regions. This entails the problem of “docking” the educational system of Europe with the educational systems of other countries and regions of the world, “docking” the systems of higher education and secondary education, as well as the requirements and norms of some treaties and organizations and others (in the WTO, for example, education is considered as a service ).
Thus, education is increasingly becoming the area where the most important socio-economic and political problems of our time are focused, which poses the task of conducting multi-level international negotiations on the entire range of educational problems.
CONTROL QUESTIONS
What place do education and knowledge occupy in the modern world?
How did the material and time costs of education change by the end of the 20th century, as well as the incomes of people with different levels of education?
What is the impact of new technologies on the education process?
How does globalization manifest itself in education?
5.What are the main characteristics of the Bologna process?
What is decentralization of education?
What determines the processes of commercialization and privatization of education?
What is the role of the state in the modern educational process and the main tasks that it solves?
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