The Bologna system of education or the Bologna process was born on July 19, 1999, on the day that 29 European states signed the so-called Bologna Declaration, which affirms the importance for Europe of education and educational cooperation in the development and strengthening of sustainable, peaceful and democratic societies.
Russia joined the Bologna process in 2003
Basic principles of the Bologna system of education
-
Diplomas recognized in all countries
-
Two-level system of higher education (bachelor, master)
-
The introduction of a generally understood system of transfer and accumulation of study hours in universities, which provides the student with freedom of movement.
History of the Bologna Process
Its roots go back to the Middle Ages. When a university was founded in Prague in 1348 by the will of King Charles IV, students from German lands, Scandinavia, Poland, and Hungary immediately began to arrive there. And since teaching was conducted everywhere in Latin, there were no problems with the language of communication and teaching. Most European universities had four faculties: theological, legal, medical, liberal arts or preparatory. In it, a student comprehended the secrets of grammar for 5-7 years. rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music. Upon graduation from this faculty, students could continue their studies at any of the first three.
Bologna is the oldest university in Europe, founded in 1088.
The oldest universities in Europe
- Bolognese
- Oxford (1096)
- Cambridge (1209)
- Sorbonne (Paris)
- Salamanca (1218)
- Padua (1222)
Oxford and Cambridge were famous for their successful combination of technical and humanitarian disciplines, the Italian University of Salerno - for the training of doctors
Education reform in Russia has always been a difficult issue. The consequence of the latest innovation in Russia was the transition to the Bologna system. Once upon a time, a variety of arguments were heard in its favor. Some voices were from opponents of the legacy of the USSR. Others - from supporters of globalization, they say "in free Europe there is such a Bologna system, and in order to urgently integrate into a free democratic world, we need to make the same education system as they have!" But has our education become the same as in Europe, are there any real advantages from the Bologna system of education, and what did Russia eventually get from the change in the educational process? These questions were answered by an expert, chairman of the OOD "Reforms - New Deal» Sergey Zhuravsky.
Sergey Vladimirovich, against the backdrop of tense events in Ukraine, internal problems have somehow been forgotten. But now school graduates will go to universities and from September they will begin to receive higher education. Have we managed to get closer to Europe in terms of the quality of education or not?
First of all, I want to answer the question of whether we have managed to get closer to Europe in terms of the quality of education. Answer: no. And the main reason is that in the world there was not and is not such an education system that would be close in quality to the Soviet one. This is recognized by everyone - both in Russia and abroad. successes Soviet education can be measured by the scientific achievements that were achieved in the USSR, and this is just a huge baggage of discoveries. No other education system could provide anything like this.
Now to the issue of integration. Yes, initially the arguments in favor of the Bologna system of education were as follows: when entering a university that works according to the Bologna system, a student, if desired, can transfer to another, which also works according to the Bologna system. That is, in theory, a student from a Russian university could go to any European university. But this is only in theory. In practice, everything is not so simple. And often it is simply impossible. For reference: in the EU, higher education diplomas are legally recognized only within the European Union. That is, if your Russian university is a member of the Bologna process, then your diploma will not be recognized in the EU. And vice versa. Getting an education in the EU, your diploma will not be recognized in Russia. It's in literally can be called legal and educational discrimination.
- It turns out that the Bologna system is not suitable for Russia?
It is important to understand that this system was created for Europe, and its goal was to create a single European higher education area. That is, the Bologna system is a tool for strengthening European integration. For Russia, if it is not going to join the EU, this system does not make sense.
- Does it have any advantages for Russia?
There are pluses, but they are designed specifically for European countries. The biggest plus of this system is an attempt to unify and standardize the education system. However, this is necessary for the member states of the European Union, but not for Russia. Secondly, it can be noted that from the point of view of globalization, the Bologna system makes it possible to pursue a policy of internationalization, strengthening cultural, political and economic ties.
Thirdly, the possibility of changing the place of study for students and jobs for teachers is increasing. This is what I was talking about answering the first question. I entered one university in one country, moved to another in another country. Here are three obvious pluses, others include such as: A competitive market for specialists with higher education is being created. Flexible system for changing the training profile. The two-tier system of education makes it possible to improve professional level. First a bachelor's degree and then a master's degree. It is also possible to get a bachelor's degree in one specialty, and a master's degree in another.
These advantages are not entirely suitable for the Russian reality. Are the cons the same "European" or not?
Minuses of course are no longer European. First, the Bologna agreement implies the division of education into elite and non-elite. In Russia, for example, Moscow and St. Petersburg State Universities have received a special status and do not participate in the Bologna process. The training time is also reduced from five to four years. This cannot but affect the quality of student training. It does not take into account the fact that in Europe secondary education is received for 12 years, and in the Russian Federation for 11 years. It turns out that in any case we are losing a year of the educational process compared to the EU. And within the framework of education, this is a huge loss that is difficult to make up.
Thirdly, it is a policy of unification of higher education, not taking into account national educational and cultural traditions. Everything comes down to one faceless European format. This will only cause content problems in the future. educational process, adoption of new state standards, and advanced training of the teaching staff. The Bologna system is, first of all, a system of points. The main goal is to score the required number of points. Each university has a main base for which students receive grades or points. But the rest of the assessments they must gain, based on their desires and preferences. And since only a certain number of points are needed for a test or exam, everyone, of course, takes the path of least resistance.
Fifth, the goals of the Bologna process are focused on economically developed countries and do not take into account economic differences. Teachers and students are becoming more mobile, all the expanses of Europe are opening up before them. At the same time, the best domestic minds will quite calmly leave for European countries, where the salary level is much higher. That is, the brain drain will go in favor of rich countries, making economically poor countries even poorer.
- Not the best prospect for Russia...
Exactly. I think it would be better if we kept the Soviet standard of education, which would serve as a good basis for the integration of the Eurasian Union, and not follow the EU standards, which do not suit us at all. The education system really needs to be reformed, but the reform must be linked to social security teachers. Raising their salaries and increasing spending on science. We should not mindlessly copy everything Western, but only take into account their experience in some areas, not forgetting our mentality, which is fundamentally different from the European one. In the meantime, we have a ticking time bomb in the education system. But with a boomerang effect. After all, when someone tries to break and underestimate the general educational level of the state, counting on the effect of some vague pluses, sooner or later it will hit their children or grandchildren, for whom the level of education will be even lower.
As we can see, the current education system in Russia raises many questions. Instead of a single European higher education area, we have received not entirely clear prospects. Copying Western models and structures as a whole does not lead to modernization, but to regular losses and deadlocks.
The Bologna system of education in Western Europe is commonly called a single educational field. This means that a student graduating from a university in his country receives a diploma that is recognized in all countries participating in the Bologna system, which makes it easier for him to find a job in his specialty.The Bologna process or the Bologna system of education was organized on July 19, 1999. On this day, a special declaration was signed, which was approved by 29 European countries, and it became known as the Bologna Declaration. It affirms the particular importance for Europe of educational cooperation and education in strengthening and developing democratic, peaceful and sustainable societies.
The Russian Federation was included in the list of countries supporting the Bologna process in 2003
The main principles declared by the Bologna education system
The inclusion of a generally understood translation tool at universities and the saving of teaching hours, which allows the student the opportunity to move freely;2-level system of higher education (master, bachelor);
Diplomas that are recognized in all states.
History of the Bologna Process
The history of the emergence of this process goes far into the past of Europe. By order of Charles 4, a university was established in Prague in 1348, then, having heard about it, youths began to gather there not only from German regions, but also from Hungary, Poland, and the Scandinavian countries. And since in this educational institution they taught exclusively in Latin, the students did not have any problems with understanding.Traditionally in all European educational institutions There were four faculties:
- Preparatory (Faculty of Liberal Arts);
- legal;
- medical;
- theological.
- music;
- geometry;
- rhetoric;
- astronomy;
- arithmetic;
- grammar.
According to historical data, the oldest educational institution Western Europe considered to be the University of Bologna, which was opened in 1088
The University of Paris (founded in 1215) and the University of Bologna had a significant influence on the formation of all European educational institutions, as such. They were the first to develop special statutes that streamlined the principles of organizing the internal life of the university, for example, dress code, rules of conduct for teachers and students. Similar corporate rules have served as models that have been taken as a basis by many other European educational institutions.
The oldest European universities
Padua - founded in 1222;Parisian (Sorbonne);
Oxford - founded in 1096;
Salamanca was founded in 1218;
Cambridge founded in 1209;
Bolognese.
Cambridge and Oxford were an example of an excellent combination of humanitarian and technical disciplines, the Italian university located in Salerno was famous for the successful training of medical personnel
About the Bologna system of education analytics video
Recently, a lot of controversy has been caused by the transition Russian system higher education to the Bologna system adopted in many European countries.
According to university teachers, the Bologna system of education, with all its pluses and minuses, sets an important vector for the development of higher education: a vector for cooperation and development.
There is no doubt that the Soviet system had a number of advantages over Western models. This is recognized by almost everyone - from university professors to ordinary citizens. Among the undoubted advantages was the fact that education in the Soviet school was intended not only to teach children basic skills, reading and writing, the basics of science, but also to form their personality, to educate them.
Education erases borders - the motto of the Bologna system of education, introduced in Russia for cooperation with European universities. Photo: RIA Novosti / Alex Aminev
No wonder the new Minister of Education Olga Vasilyeva announced a return to best practices Soviet education. “First - upbringing, and then - education,” she said at the II All-Russian Congress of Teachers of Rural Schools. She added that she intends to achieve the elimination of "admitted to last years roll".
In particular, thanks to this approach, the children showed a high motivation for education, society's respect for this process and for the teacher's personality itself. In the Soviet Union, the prestige of education was carefully maintained, including thanks to sufficiently high scholarships, which made it possible for young people to study, textbooks were completely accessible and free. At the same time, each graduate of the university was guaranteed a job.
Nevertheless, the main achievement of the Soviet school was its mass character: for the first time in the history of Russia, almost universal literacy was achieved. As a result, the education system met the demand of the state for qualified personnel and scientific achievements. So, in the USSR there was a qualitative technical education: physics, mathematics, applied technical disciplines reached the highest world level and retain such positions until now.
The knowledge control system is also among the pluses: if you can play a “guessing game” with the test, then the Soviet knowledge control both in the classroom and during exams was understandable and transparent. Soviet education was fundamental and made it possible to enter a university without a tutor.
The achievements are undeniable. However, over the past decades, it has become obvious that the Soviet education had enough disadvantages. First of all, this is politicization, the existence of censorship and a number of restrictions that squeezed students within the framework of Soviet ideology. This entailed Negative influence into individual scientific disciplines In particular, there were restrictions on familiarization with foreign scientific literature, international communication between scientists. And in general, although foreign language teaching was carried out, it was extremely divorced from reality, frankly weak.
Thus, time itself required changes and development from the Soviet education system, taking into account previous achievements.
EUROPEAN ALTERNATIVE
With the breakup Soviet Union it became more and more obvious that with all the obvious advantages of domestic education, this system needed changes - especially taking into account the rapprochement modern Russia With Western countries at all levels. It is also worth recognizing that this was largely due to a kind of fashion - the rejection of the old and the democratization of all aspects of the life of citizens.
With the opening of the "path to the West", the authorities decided to reform the old school, taking into account the need to integrate into the world education system, primarily higher education. The Bologna system of education introduced in Europe was chosen as a reference point.
Bologna is called a single learning space for European countries. Founded this system in 1998, and it was initiated by the German, Italian, French and British Ministers of Education. In 1999, this system included 29 states that signed the Bologna Declaration. Later, other countries began to join the process. Today, the Bologna process has already united students from 45 countries, and joining it continues.
It is absolutely logical that in the context of our society’s request to open borders for previously inaccessible communication, migration and simply awareness of freedom, it was the European system that was chosen, focused on the continuous development of population mobility with a real possibility of employment after graduation in various EU countries. For Russia, embedding in this educational process became an opportunity for globalization and transition to world standards of education.
In Russia, the transition to the new system began in 2003.
The system itself consists of three levels: undergraduate, graduate and doctoral. At the same time, the first level, the bachelor's degree, does not provide the student with a wide range of competencies. It provides a specific set of competencies that allow you to perform any function. A wider scope of knowledge, thanks to which it is possible to cover more areas within the same field of activity, is offered to be obtained at the magistracy. Doctoral studies are designed to prepare a specialist focused on fundamentality and creativity, capable of realizing himself in scientific activity.
An important innovation, which became possible due to the use of the Bologna educational system in Russia, was the introduction of a standard for the educational process.
The introduction of the Bologna system was due to the desire to unify education standards, recalls the chairman of the public council under the Moscow Department of Education Tatyana Mineeva. And from this point of view, such a process can only be welcomed. One way or another, Russia becomes a participant in global processes. And in educational integration, we just lagged behind. “Personally, I don’t see any disadvantages in this process,” she says. - More precisely, in the idea of the process. Do we want our graduates to be competitive in the global labor market? The quality of education, in my opinion, depends on high educational standards, the equipment of universities and the level of the teaching staff. Another question is that the very process of introducing this system may not go perfectly, although this is a matter of time and management of education officials.”
SERIOUS STEPS
The most controversial issue today remains the introduction of the Bologna system on Russian soil itself. There are a huge number of opinions: from the need to develop it further to complete failure. Recently it has become fashionable to criticize the Bologna system in Russian higher education. But, according to the Doctor of Sociological Sciences, Professor of the Department of Sociology of Volgogradsky state university, University of Essex Mikhail Anipkin, in reality, no transition to this system took place in Russia. All similarities with the real Bologna system ends with the creation of a three-level education. The most important thing has not been done - the figure of the teacher, associate professor, professor has not been put at the center of the argument.
The teaching staff, instead of science and the preparation and processing of lectures and seminars, writes unnecessary educational and methodical complexes, prepares mountains of useless reports. All the activities of a university teacher today come down to the production of tons of waste paper, which has nothing to do with either science or teaching. This is not the Bologna system, but an absolutely incomprehensible mutant, not similar to either the old Soviet or Western systems. And this distortion needs to be corrected.
There are both pluses and minuses in the introduction of the Bologna education system in Russia, says Advisor to the Vice-Rector of the RANEPA, Head design work educational programs candidate historical sciences Natalia Bulycheva. The Bologna system is inherently based on the introduction of a competency-based approach, in which direct assessment of students takes place according to certain points. The student receives competencies that are currently important to him, but at the end of the training it may turn out that completely different skills are required for work and you need to learn again. That is, you need to invest again and learn.
The biggest plus of this system is an attempt to unify and standardize the education system. However, Russia always goes its own way and, having broken one education system, is not able to quickly replace it with a new one, the expert believes. And this entails problems with the content of the educational process, the adoption of new state standards and the improvement of the qualifications of the teaching staff.
“I think,” says Natalya Bulycheva, “that it is now more important to develop secondary technical and vocational education, to raise the status and prestige of working professions ... We should not mindlessly copy everything Western, but only take into account their experience in some areas, not forgetting our own mentality, which is fundamentally different from the European.
The pros and cons of Russia's joining the Bologna Process have been discussed for more than a year, but there is still no clear answer, says a graduate student of the Faculty of Philosophy of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov Anna Aleshina. And while it is difficult to give some kind of assessment - there are too few graduates who studied new system, entered the market and spent too little time there. Much is said and written about the cardinal change curricula, that the two-stage system of higher education provides more opportunities and results in better specialists.
But now there is a constant attempt by teachers to compress the curricula designed for five years into four years.
“I undoubtedly assess the introduction of the Bologna system in Russia as a progress in domestic education,” objected the rector of the RGS U Natalya Pochinok. - Its goal is to create a single educational space, which allows our country to join the pan-European educational process, increase student mobility and exchange of experience between leading scientists. This makes our education market more attractive for students from near and far abroad countries.
Today we can say that student exchanges with European countries have increased many times over since the early 2000s. In fact, this means that thousands, if not tens of thousands, of Russian students got the opportunity to improve their level of mastery of professional competencies and the level of knowledge of foreign languages in Europe, and thousands of young Europeans visited Russia, imbued with our history, culture, made friends with Russian peers. I think it's a big success."
According to Natalia Pochinok, in recent years, much has changed for Russian education in better side. “It is precisely with the inclusion of Russia in the Bologna process that the increase in funding for universities, the introduction of programs to support higher education and scientific research. Poor quality educational organizations lost state accreditation,” says the rector.
By itself, the Bologna system does not carry significant risks and does not entail losses, she adds. Some experts, of course, say that the division of higher education into a two-tier system will ruin the achievements of the Soviet school, but this is not so. The Bologna system fits perfectly into Russian realities and in no way creates a conflict between the classical education system, the so-called Soviet one, and the new standards.
Higher education, Natalya Pochinok is sure, will try to "rebuild" in modern world where the university is no longer the main source of knowledge for the individual. This is already happening in the West and is starting to happen in Russia. Probably, educational programs will change in the direction of greater use of distance learning. educational technologies. The Bologna system, with all its discussed pluses and minuses, sets an important vector for the development of higher education - a vector for cooperation between universities.
One way or another, but the Minister of Education and Science of Russia Olga Vasilyeva has already stated that Russian universities have recently taken serious steps towards leading positions in world rankings. “The domestic higher school demonstrates high level subject training, which is clearly shown by the results of the latest QS ranking, where Russian universities have taken serious steps towards leading positions, taking over 140 positions in 38 subjects and industries. Traditionally, our universities turned out to be strong in physics and astronomy, which is confirmed by the results of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and NSU,” the minister noted.
Dmitry Livanov proposes to expand the list of universities with state support
Minister of Education and Science Dmitry Livanov believes that at least 15 Russian universities should enter the top 250 international rankings by 2020. The Ministry of Education and Science is ready to expand the program to improve the competitiveness of universities 5:100, which provides that at least 5 universities by 2020 should enter the top 100 in the world rankings.
What the endless optimization of education leads to: when standards and grants matter most
One of the components of the optimization of education in Russia is the introduction of state standards. If in some other industry standards are created for a certain time, then discussed and approved, and then work begins on the accepted requirements, then in modern Russian education this is something different.
Project 5-100: waiting for the "reboot"
From 24 to 26 October, the progress of the project to increase competitiveness was discussed in Moscow Russian universities(project 5-100). The results of the review of university reports are as follows: in 2020, support for project participants will continue, and from 2021, the project will be “rebooted”.
Mathematics Education: Are There Reasons for Optimism?
About how the state is trying to revive the once best in the world mathematical education what progress has been made and what challenges lie ahead. Why is math needed? With the advent of the 21st century, the spread of big data, universal automation and the penetration of the Internet into all areas of our lives, mathematical methods and algorithms are beginning to be used absolutely everywhere.
THE BOLOGNA PROCESS AND RUSSIAN EDUCATION
The Bologna process is a process of convergence and harmonization of the education systems of European countries with the aim of creating a single European higher education area. The official start date of the process is considered to be June 19, 1999, when in the city of Bologna the ministers of education of 29 European states adopted the declaration "European Higher Education Area" or the Bologna Declaration. The Bologna Process is open to other countries to join.
The need to modernize the education system Soviet Russia acutely ripe in the late 80s - early 90s. XX century, because it did not meet the needs of the time, lost the ability to develop, use internal reserves. As a result of the implemented reforms, Russian education was freed from ideological dictate and democratized, which allowed Russia to join the Bologna process in September 2003 and join the Common European Higher Education Area. Although the country's pedagogical community has been divided into supporters and opponents of the Bologna process, new transformations in domestic higher education are gaining momentum.
The dissemination of the provisions of the Bologna Declaration in Russia gives a new impetus to the modernization of education in order to:
1 its development as an open state-public system;
2 accessibility extensions;
3 improve quality and competitiveness.
Main objectives of the Bologna process
The objectives of the process, which are expected to be achieved by 2010, are:
Building a European area of higher education as a key direction for the development of the mobility of citizens with the possibility of employment;
·formation and strengthening of the intellectual, cultural, social, scientific and technical potential of Europe; increasing the prestige in the world of European higher education;
Ensuring the competitiveness of European universities with other education systems in the struggle for students, money, influence; achieving greater compatibility and comparability of national higher education systems; improving the quality of education;
· Increasing the central role of universities in the development of European cultural values, in which universities are seen as carriers of European consciousness.
The main points of the Bologna Process:
1. The transition to a two-stage system of higher education, consisting of a bachelor's degree (3-4 years of study) and a master's degree (1-2 years), between which students must take graduation and entrance exams.
2. The introduction of so-called hourly loans in universities: in order to transfer from one course to another, students need to spend a certain amount of time on training, which consists of classroom lessons and independent work.
3. Assessment of the quality of education according to standardized global schemes.
4. The mobility program, which makes it possible to continue the education started at the university of your country in higher schools other European countries.
5. Promoting the study of common European problems.
By 2010, it is expected that Russia will fully enter the Common European Higher Education Area. Our students will receive bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees, understandable in 46 countries of the continent, and fully participate in academic mobility programs. Graduates of Russian universities will become holders of European Diploma Supplements of a single sample, approved by the Council of Europe, the European Commission and UNESCO.
"Harmonization of the architecture of higher education" in the framework of the Bologna Declaration will make the received Russian student education understandable and acceptable for employers throughout Europe, as well as for foreign managers in Russia; students will have the opportunity to study for a semester or a year on mobility programs in foreign universities; they will be able to adjust the choice of profession or the choice of university when moving from level to level - from bachelor's to master's or from master's to doctoral studies; students will be able to accumulate academic credits and use them to obtain, for example, a second higher education and, in general, for lifelong learning; there will be new opportunities for in-depth study of foreign languages both at their own university and in countries where these languages are spoken.
The modernization of the higher education system is unfolding in the context of the transformation of all spheres public life Russia and is complicated by a significant discrepancy between the Russian model and the Bologna model in terms of the duration of training, qualification structure, directions and content vocational training, organization of the educational process.
Traditionally, the Russian system of higher education vocational education was single-level and carried out continuous training graduates, whose training period, as a rule, was 5 years. The structure of the professional educational program was built using a disciplinary approach . The unit for measuring the volume of work of students and teachers in Russia was and still is the academic hour. The main educational programs of higher professional education are calculated based on the volume academic work student per week - 54 academic hours with an average classroom load of 27 academic hours.
In accordance with the provisions of the Bologna Declaration, in addition to the previously existing one-level structure of the specialty, a two-level qualification structure (bachelor's/master's) was introduced. Bachelors today are trained by more than half of Russian higher educational institutions. At the same time, the concepts of professional educational programs for the preparation of bachelors and masters have not yet been fully developed, there are difficulties in the practical recognition of these educational degrees the domestic labor market.
Currently, the Russian education system is implementing quality management systems based on international standards ISO 9000:2000, experimental introduction in some higher education institutions, the credit system and European Diploma Supplements. The transition to a system of credits will lead to significant changes in educational legislation, in the structure of state educational standards, curricula, programs and academic disciplines. It is still necessary to develop legal and regulatory documents regulating the content, comparability of credit units, remuneration of teachers.
The spread of the Bologna process in Russia has a number of features and limitations. They are connected, first of all, with the uniqueness of the Russian labor market, the needs of which determine the social order for the system of vocational education.
The specificity of the Russian labor market is manifested in its regional nature and the existing uncertainty in the prospects for the development of individual industries and territories. Under these conditions, the possibilities of territorial mobility of specialists are significantly reduced, while the need for their professional mobility, provided by additional educational forms. On the other hand, in conditions of economic instability Russian society the expansion of academic mobility is fraught with a real threat of turning Russia into a supplier of intellectual resources to Western European countries.
The Bologna model is based on the principles of personal responsibility of each person for the content and quality of their education and involves a significant breakdown of the subject-object relations that have been established in the Russian system of higher education. Such serious upcoming changes do not always find understanding among the Russian educational community, as evidenced, in particular, by the results of empirical research.
The advantages of the Russian education system are traditionally considered high quality, fundamental and systematic training. The Russian opponents of the Bologna process attribute the loss of these characteristics to the reduction of the standard terms of training, the transition to a system of credits. In addition, there are concerns that the introduction of the Bologna model will lead to the loss of specializations, the collapse of departments and scientific schools, reducing the employment of teachers.
It is known that education plays a special role in establishing the national identity and cultural identity of each nation, its self-identification. Russian education is based on cultural and pedagogical national traditions and priorities, has deep historical roots and is formed taking into account the Russian mentality. High social significance education does not allow it to be turned into a platform for rash experiments.
Therefore, the integration processes that have unfolded in the European education system should develop on the principles of mutual enrichment of national educational systems, the obligatory preservation of their cultural identity, which is guaranteed by the goodwill of all countries participating in the Bologna process.
