feature of this support in higher education is free tuition for all students and stipends for most. The confidence of the Soviet State in the strength of its reformed system of higher education was apparent, for example, in the September 1962 international symposium held in Moscow, attended by about 200 foreign and 100 Soviet educators. The symposium was a manifestation of the increasing Soviet drive to export its system of higher education and ideas, and of the apparent intention of Soviet leaders that the role of Soviet higher education in the international as well as the domestic field should continue to grow.2 In the extensive review of the reform's implementation during the past 4 years, a basic problem which may determine the ultimate success or failure of the reform is rarely discussed. At both the secondary and higher education levels, the programs of studies attempt to combine a great increase in practical training with a substantial regular academic program. Despite the extension of secondary education by a year and of higher education by varying amounts according to specialty, the total work load on the student in each. school year is heavier than the already heavy load placed upon him prior to the reform. The problem is whether the energies and interests of students can be maintained for both regular studies and production training. Can the quality of the academic program be sustained after the reform is fully implemented, or will the "connection of school with life" be successful in giving the students a practical orientation at the expense of fundamental knowledge? It is suggested here that there are elements in the reform that, unless carefully balanced, could undermine the academic structure of the educational system. A single-minded pursuit of the national goals of polytechnical education and production training and of education "without interrupting production" may have the effect of diminishing the system's capability of maintaining the caliber of general secondary education and of training highly qualified specialists in higher education. Two recent reports by the author on this subject are "The Peoples' Friendship University in the U.S.S.R." and "Soviet Training Programs for Africa," both in the Studies in Comparative Education series of the U.S. Office of Education. PART I Soviet Curriculums in Content and Requirements Soviet objectives in higher education are reflected in the content and requirements of higher education curriculums. These objectives, as translated into currently effective Soviet law, have been stated in the Pedagogicheskii Slovar (Pedagogical Dictionary), published in Moscow in 1960 by the Russian S.F.S.R. Academy of Pedagogical Sciences: By the law on strengthening the connection of schools with life and on further development of the system of national education in the U.S.S.R., the chief requirements of higher school are: Training of highly qualified specialists, educated in the fundamentals of Marxist-Leninist teachings, mastering the latest achievements of domestic and foreign science and technology, capable not only of utilizing contemporary technology but creating the technology of the future; Fulfillment of scientific-research work, meeting the requirements of Communist construction, training research and teaching personnel, raising the qualifications of specialists working in various branches of the national economy, culture and education, and dissemination of scientific and political knowledge [Communist indoctrination] among the workers. The procedures for development and control of Soviet higher education curriculums are stated in decrees of the U.S.S.R. Council of Ministers. One of the chief responsibilities of the Soviet Higher Education Ministry is "the improvement of study plans and programs of higher educational institutions." The Administration of Teaching Methods in the Ministry prepares curriculums for Soviet higher schools. Some curriculums for higher education specialties, such as education, medicine, and art, are drafted respectively by the ministries of education, health, and culture, while other educational institutions set up their own curriculums. In practice, all curriculums, regardless of the agency or educational institution formulating them, are confirmed by the U.S.S.R. Ministry of Higher and Specialized Secondary Education. A decree on the subject (November 2, 1955, No. 1859) states that the Higher Education Ministry "approves the academic plans and programs of higher educational institutions (except the programs for special disciplines for higher educational institutions of other ministries and departments)." Structure of Curriculums The structural components of Soviet higher education curriculums are described in the most recent Nicholas DeWitt study' as follows: 1. Study schedule (grafik uchebnogo protsessa)—outlines the instruction activity during each of the 52 weeks of a calendar year. It includes: a. Instruction (teoreticheskoe obuchenie)—usually encompasses up to 34 weeks in a calendar year. The term "instruction" covers all activities in which students engage, as a group, in face-to-face contact with the facultylectures (lektsii), laboratory work (laboratornye zaniatiia), seminars (seminary), group or section work (praktikumy); also, course assignments and projects (kursovye roboty i proekty). 2 It does not include preparation of theses [diploma work], their defense, or State examinations. b. Examinations (ekzamenatsionnaia sessiia)—are conducted at the end of the spring and winter terms over a period of about 7 weeks. c. Study practice assignment (uchebnaia praktika)—lasts from 2 to 6 weeks and may be conducted as a separate or simultaneous assignment while the student is engaged in other instruction activities. d. Industrial [Production] practice (proizvodstvennaia praktika) job assignment, which is a separate requirement. It consists of several assignments, which may involve a total of 50 weeks. e. Thesis or diploma project (diplomnyi proekt) and/or state examinations (gosudarstvennye ekzameny)—in some fields both are required; in others, only one. Thirteen to 18 weeks during the final year of study are allowed for this activity. f. Recesses or vacation periods (kanikuly)—scheduled in January and in the summer. 2. Allocation of time (svodnyi biudzhet vremeni)—gives by total and by year of study, the number of weeks allocated to any given activity indicated above. 3. Curriculum proper, or plan of study (plan uchebnogo protsessa)-shows the total number of hours to be spent on each instruction subject by term and year, according to the method of instruction (lecture, laboratory, seminar, practice session). It also lists the terms in which students take final examinations and which type is required-graded examination (ekzamen) or qualifying [test or] examination (zachet). The former has four descriptive grades: excellent, good, average, or failing. The latter is simply either passed or failed. 1 Education and Professional Employment in the U.S.S.R., Washington, D.C. Also included are practical studies (prakticheskie zaniatiia). 4. Optional courses (fakultativnye distsipliny)—are courses students may take if they desire, in addition to the subjects required in the curriculum. 5. Practice assignments describe the type and give the dates for on-the-job assignments, consisting of industrial [production] practice and/or teaching practice, or other practice assignment. 6. State examinations and diploma project states when and in which subjects examinations are scheduled and the due date and place of performance of the diploma project. 7. Specialized courses (perechen' spetsial'nykh distsiplin)-lists the subjects required for a specialty. Some specialized courses must be taken by all students; other courses are electives, called "choice courses" (kursy po vyboru). The student may take as many electives as are allowed by the time allocated in the curriculum specifically for this purpose. 8. Explanatory notes-give various detailed instructions as to specialization options, maximum loads, and additional practice assignments for specializations; also indicate when students are to be assigned to specialization groups, and which courses may be added or dropped by decision of the academic council or an institution or its departments. Common to all curriculums for Soviet students in higher education are the three required courses in Communist ideology: History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Political Economy, and Dialectical and Historical Materialism. An average of about 15 percent of every Soviet higher education curriculum is devoted to these courses. Their syllabuses have been translated into English and published in the University of Michigan's Administration of Teaching in Social Sciences in the U.S.S.R., Ann Arbor, 1960. Hours in the required courses are shown: Hours devoted to required courses in Communist ideology (out of total curriculum hours in higher education) The length of higher education studies ranges from 4 years for teachers of the primary grades to 6 years for physicians, most courses requiring 5 years. A diploma of specialization is awarded upon completion of the curriculum, a diploma project, and passing the state examinations. Graduate Program The graduate program (aspirantura), which generally requires 3 years of training and research beyond the diploma, the passing of examinations, and the public defense of a dissertation, leads to the degree of candidate of sciences (kandidat nauk). Since programs are individualized, no standardized curriculums are published. The degree is also awarded to assistant, associate, and full professors and to senior research associates who pass examinations and defend dissertations without formal aspirantura training. The aspirantura is given not only at higher schools, but also at scientific research institutes under the jurisdiction of: (1) U.S.S.R. and republic academies of Science; (2) Soviet government ministries, administrations and committees, including industrial ministries and the State Planning Committee (Gosplan); and (3) other organizations, such as the U.S.S.R. Academy of Medical Sciences and the R.S.F.S.R. Academy of Pedagogical Sciences.3 Graduate programs are closely integrated with scientific, industrial and other research projects assigned to state institutions, and the work of each graduate student (aspirant) fits into and is intended to support the overall research program of a given higher school or scientific institute. In 1961, 3,795 aspirants graduated from higher schools, and almost that number, 3,126, from aspirant programs in scientific research institutes. The degree of doctor of sciences (doktor nauk) requires no specific program (the doktorantura was abolished in 1956) or specific period of preparation, but is awarded to a select number of individuals outstanding in given scholarly fields who make original contributions to an area of specialization. Considered a higher degree than the kandidat nauk, the doktor nauk may be awarded to those who already have a kandidat degree, or to those holding the rank of professor. The doktor nauk may also be awarded for work already performed or may be earned by preparation and defense of a doctoral dissertation. Production Practice The major development in the higher education curriculums is the increase in production practice, in line with the Soviet 1958 educational 3 For a detailed description of graduate training, including listings of graduate degree-granting institutions and disciplines in which degrees are granted, see Aspirantura, Spravochnik dlia postupaiushchikh v aspiranturu i soiskatelei, uchenykh stepenei (Graduate Program: Handbook for Graduate Program and Scientific Degree Candidates), published by the U.S.S.R. Ministry of Higher and Specialized Secondary Education, Moscow, 1960, 454 pp. |