Logopedic portal / Planning / The problem of accessibility of higher education for disabled people. Problems of accessibility of general education in modern Russia Universality and accessibility of higher education

The problem of accessibility of higher education for disabled people. Problems of accessibility of general education in modern Russia Universality and accessibility of higher education

28.02.2022

Currently one of the public priorities in Russian Federation is to ensure the right to education of persons with handicapped health and disability in the framework of inclusive education.

The creation of conditions in universities for the education of students with disabilities and the disabled is becoming increasingly important every year. In 2001, 11,073 students with disabilities and with disabilities were studying in 299 universities of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation. The number of students with disabilities and with disabilities in Russian universities continues to grow: from 5.4 thousand people in 2002 to 14.5 thousand people in 2003, in 2016 - more than 23 thousand. IN last years there has been a trend towards an increase in the number of educational institutions of higher professional education that provide training for people with disabilities and people with disabilities in the framework of inclusive practice. However, today the availability higher education for persons of the indicated category is an acute social and pedagogical problem which consists in creating the necessary conditions for comfortable learning of a "special" student - an inclusive educational environment.

Since the beginning of the nineties of the XX century, as noted by I.N. Zarubin, the activity of persons with disabilities and disabled people in obtaining higher professional education has increased.

An analysis of the pedagogical literature shows that the problem of the accessibility of higher education is rooted in one of the main problems of pedagogy: the development of the individual in specially created conditions. The term "accessibility" exists in the theory of pedagogy, expressing one of the principles of managing the activities of students (V. Davydov, L. Zankov, M. Skatkin, D. Elkonin). Recently, the issues of higher education of people with disabilities and people with disabilities have attracted all more researchers in connection with the obvious public recognition of the special relevance of these issues and the need to find pedagogical ways to solve them. Axiological approach to this issue, the role of the social integration and rehabilitation potential of higher education, the social and pedagogical nature of the problem of accessibility of higher education, the issues of inclusive education for people with disabilities at the university are covered in the publications of N. Malofeev, N. Nazarova, M. Nikitina, G. Nikulina, T. Privalova, E. Starobina, L. Shipitsyna, and others. S. Lebedeva, P. Romanov, O. Tarasova, E. Yarskaya-Smirnova, and others deal with the problems of access to education for disabled people in Russia.

The accessibility of higher education for people with special needs directly depends on the existing legislative support for the educational opportunities for this category of students in universities. Domestic and foreign experience shows that the educational process is built taking into account international legal documents (declarations, acts, pacts, conventions, recommendations and resolutions), as well as legislative and by-laws. These documents speak of the need to create in universities barrier-free environment(ramps, elevators, handrails, etc.), providing educational institutions with special furniture and rehabilitation equipment (sound-amplifying equipment for stationary use, tiflo devices, etc.), adapting training programs to the psychophysiological characteristics of people with disabilities (individual schedule of consultations, individual schedule for taking tests and exams, etc.).

In her research, E. Martynova accessibility of higher education for people with disabilities and people with disabilities is considering four levels: university, region, national and global level.

The first level is the university level. Availability "begins and ends" at a particular university. One way or another, the applicant decides how accessible this university is to him. Serious problems can be encountered at this level. The first is university admissions policy. The second problem, which follows from the first, is to attract potentially bright students to a given university. When an applicant becomes a student, this does not mean that the problem is solved. Passing the barrier entrance examinations, many find themselves among the many difficult situations: adaptation, financial side of life, personal problems.

The second level is regional. Accessibility at the regional level is understood by E. Martynova as an opportunity for young people to receive the desired type of education in the area where they live. This implies the opportunity to realize their abilities in the chosen profession. The university should cooperate with the scientific societies of students, work with gifted children in such a way as to bring them closer to scientific research. The same actions purposefully contribute to the expansion of the accessibility of higher education for persons with disabilities and the disabled.

The third level is national. Accessibility at the national level can be understood as a vertical, level compatible, national education system, so that the student has the opportunity to freely move from one level to another, higher, in another educational institution. Then the question arises about the standardization of curricula, certificates, diplomas, certification and transition procedures.

The fourth level is global. Global accessibility means a person's ability to enroll in any university of their choice in the world. The role of universities at the international level in expanding the accessibility of higher education is the development of student exchange, the universalization of final documents on higher education, integration into the world educational system.

Table 1

Indicators of accessibility for the disabled of the service provided

A student with a disability has the status of not only a student, but also a disabled person at the university. This should be reflected in curricula, teaching methods, in the calculation of the load and features of the staffing of higher educational institution as well as in the range of services and facilities of the university environment that allow an applicant, and later a student (a person with disabilities, a disabled person) to acquire learning skills, behavior in an inclusive environment, freely get to the right place in the university, have access to special equipment and a library .

Within the university inclusive education- inclusion of a student with disabilities/disability in the educational environment. The educational institution must be adapted and have all the necessary conditions for comfortable learning of the “special” student. Inclusion is a process of transformation of the entire educational institution, aimed at removing barriers to the equal and open participation of all students, including those with physical disabilities in the educational process and the life of the university.

IN this process all employees of higher education, parents, students, officials and the whole society are involved. In this regard, a number of pressing issues can be identified, including:

Is the educational institution always ready to accept a student with disabilities?

Are there teachers who are competent in teaching students with special educational needs?

Is there any necessary (special) equipment to carry out educational process at the university?

Are students with normative development ready for co-education with persons with disabilities?

To date, a number of Russian universities have gained successful experience in creating special conditions for students with special educational needs as part of an inclusive practice. Together with students with normative development, students with disorders of the musculoskeletal system or organs of vision study at Saratov State University, Tomsk State University, Russian Academy entrepreneurship, etc. Conditions for teaching students with hearing and speech impairments have been created at the Head Educational Research and Methodological Center for Vocational Rehabilitation of the Hearing Disabled of the Moscow State technical university them. N. Bauman, Institute of Social Rehabilitation of Novosibirsk State Technical University. Chelyabinsk State University, Moscow City Pedagogical University, Russian State Pedagogical University named after A.I. Herzen, Academy of Management "TISBI" and others.

Currently, the Union of Russian Rectors is conducting a study of the accessibility of buildings, structures and the premises of Russian universities included in them for people with limited mobility. Are being developed road maps for the period from 2016 to 2030, in the following areas:

1) creation of a barrier-free educational environment - ensuring unimpeded access of students with disabilities to college, as well as ensuring the organization of the educational process of students with disabilities, disabled people with special means (architectural accessibility);

2) material and technical equipment of the educational process, taking into account special educational needs;

3) formation of a comfortable psychological environment that allows a student with disabilities to feel comfortable in the organizational and pedagogical conditions of an educational organization;

4) access of students with disabilities, disabled people to new information and communication technologies and systems, including the Internet;

5) correction of the behavior of students with disabilities, disabled people and students with normative development in the conditions of the university;

6) providing access for students with disabilities, disabled people to places of recreation and sports.

The study was carried out in 2 stages:

Analysis of the accessibility certificates of the object for persons with disabilities, the disabled and provided on it educational services FGBOU VO "OGPU".
Survey of students of FGBOU VO "OGPU", FGBOU VO "OGPU" through the official group in the social network.

We have analyzed the Passports of accessibility of the object for persons with disabilities, the disabled and the educational services provided on it.

table 2

The state and existing shortcomings in ensuring the conditions of accessibility for the disabled of the services provided in the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education "OGPU"

	Main indicators of accessibility for the disabled of the provided service	State
	the presence at the entrance to the object of a signboard with the name of the organization, the organization's work schedule, the building plan, made in Braille and on a contrasting background	in stock
	providing persons with disabilities with the assistance necessary to obtain information in an accessible form on the rules for the provision of services, including on the preparation of documents necessary for receiving the service, on the performance of other actions necessary for them to receive the service	absent
	instructing or training employees providing services to the population to work with people with disabilities on issues related to ensuring the accessibility of facilities and services for them	in stock
	the presence of employees of organizations that are entrusted by an administrative act with the provision of assistance to persons with disabilities in the provision of services to them	in stock
	provision of services with accompaniment of a disabled person on the territory of the facility by an employee of the organization	in stock
	provision of hearing-impaired services, if necessary, using Russian sign language, including ensuring access to the object of a sign language interpreter, audio interpreter	absent
	correspondence Vehicle used to provide services to the population, the requirements of their accessibility for people with disabilities	absent
	Ensuring admission to the facility where services are provided for a guide dog if there is a document confirming it special education issued in the form and in the manner approved by the order of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation	in stock
	the presence in one of the premises intended for holding mass events, induction loops and sound-amplifying equipment	absent
	adaptation of the official website of the body and organization providing services in the field of education for persons with visual impairments (visually impaired)	in stock
	ensuring the provision of tutor services	absent

This allows us to conclude that the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education "OGPU" is not ready to fully implement inclusive education for people with disabilities and people with disabilities. At the same time, more than 30 students with impaired functions of the musculoskeletal system, vision, hearing, and speech disorders are currently studying at the Orenburg State Pedagogical University. Students with special educational needs study on a general basis.

It should be noted that among the graduates of the university over the entire long history there are more than 20 people with disabilities and disabilities. Shortcomings in ensuring the conditions for accessibility of the services provided for the disabled did not become an obstacle for them to receive higher education.

It should be noted that inclusion in education places increased demands on all participants in the educational process. From students with disabilities, it requires intellectual and psychological mobilization and readiness, from students with normative development - tolerance, willingness to help, understanding. In addition to the problems that arise in the team of students, there are barriers that face teachers working in groups where there are students with disabilities.

330 people voluntarily took part in the survey. In total, the respondents were asked 2 questions in the questionnaire, the answers to which made it possible to identify the attitude of students towards persons with disabilities, to the situation of teaching persons with disabilities and people with disabilities in the OGPU as part of the organization of inclusive education at the university.

To the question “How do you feel about the fact that people with disabilities study at our university?” 210 respondents answered - "positively"; 115 students - "neutral" and 5 people out of 330 students - "negative".

The next question is “How do you feel when you see people with disabilities?” revealed: 169 people feel a desire to help and a sense of responsibility to people with disabilities, 152 people feel a sense of pity and compassion, 9 people feel fear, hostility and irritation with people with disabilities. Perhaps students who experience negative emotions towards persons with disabilities have never had the opportunity to contact them or have insufficient knowledge about this category of persons.

Based on the results, we can conclude that psychologically, the majority of respondents are ready to learn, interact and help people with disabilities. It is impossible to completely eradicate negative attitudes, but it is possible to contribute to this. The competencies necessary for working in inclusive education are “dissolved” in various academic disciplines that introduce students to psychological features persons with disabilities, disabilities and the specifics of their education in the context of inclusive education.

The results obtained during the study allow us to formulate the following conclusions:

1. An analysis of modern works in the field of research suggests that the problem of accessibility of higher education for people with disabilities and people with disabilities within the framework of inclusion is relevant. This is confirmed by the contradictions between the need of modern society for integration and equality of life opportunities for all social groups and the insufficient level of readiness of the higher education system to involve people with disabilities and persons with disabilities in the field of social and professional relations and the insufficient theoretical and practical development of the ways of its formation in the conditions of educational institutions of higher education. education.

2. According to the results of our study on the example of the Orenburg State Pedagogical University, we can conclude that the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education "OGPU" is not ready to fully implement inclusive education for people with disabilities and people with disabilities.

3. Psychologically, the overwhelming majority of respondents are ready to learn, interact and help people with disabilities, the disabled. Students are ready to accept a student with disabilities, provide him with timely assistance, support in the learning process and contribute to psychological comfort in the student team.

I'm here also broken spears. The majority of the population (according to the results of a study by A.G. Levinson) continues to believe that education, including higher education, should be free. But in fact in state universities already pays more than 46% of the total number of students. First year students at state universities paid basis 57% are studying today. If we take into account the contingent of non-state universities, it turns out that in Russia at present every second student pays for higher education (in fact, 56% are already studying on a paid basis). Russian students). At the same time, the cost of education, both in the public and non-public sectors of higher education, is constantly growing.

As early as 2003, tuition fees at state universities exceeded tuition fees at non-state ones. At prestigious higher education institutions, tuition fees can be 2-10 times higher than the average, depending on the type of institution and specialty, as well as the location of the institution.

Significant funds are spent by families not only on education at the university, but also on admission to high school. According to sociological research, families spend about 80 billion rubles on the transition from school to university. This is a lot of money, so changing the rules for admission to universities (for example, the introduction of a unified state exam- USE) will inevitably affect someone's material interests. Tutoring accounts for the largest share of the above amount (approximately 60%). It is unlikely that tutoring in itself can be considered an absolute evil. First, it was, for example, back in tsarist Russia, practiced in Soviet time, blossomed into the present. Secondly, in mass production - a modern education- this is mass production, the need for an individual fit of a product or service to the needs of the consumer is inevitable. This is the normal role of the tutor.

But in recent years, for many tutors (although by no means for all), this role has been significantly transformed: it began to consist in the fact that the tutor had not only to teach something within the framework of school curriculum, and even not so much to give knowledge in accordance with the requirements of not universities, but a specific university, but to ensure admission to the chosen university. This meant that payment was taken not for giving knowledge and skills, but for certain information (about the features of examination problems, for example, or how to solve a specific problem) or even for informal services (to poke around, follow up, etc.). Therefore, it became necessary to take a tutor only and exclusively from the educational institution to which the child was going to enter (this applies both to the provision of some exclusive information, and to the provision of informal services). This does not mean that admission to all universities was necessarily associated with tutors or with informal relationships, but in prestigious universities or to enter prestigious specialties without appropriate "support" became more and more difficult. In general, the idea began to take shape that a good education at school was no longer enough to enter the university that allowed one to hope for a successful professional career in the future.

Sociological studies have shown that parents are still inclined to believe that "you can study at a well-known university for free, but it is no longer possible to enter it without money." Connections are an alternative to money. In a "regular" university, there may still be enough knowledge itself, but the knowledge itself is already differentiated into just knowledge, and knowledge, taking into account the requirements of a "specific university". And this knowledge is given only either by courses at the university, or again by tutors.

38.4% of applicants are guided only by knowledge. At the same time, the orientation only to knowledge when entering in this context means that the applicant and his family are not inclined to enter into informal relations for the sake of entering a university. But this does not at all indicate that such applicants will not use the services of tutors, it’s just that the perception of a tutor in this case is different - this is a person (a teacher or a university lecturer, just a certain specialist) who transfers knowledge, and does not “help with admission” .

Orientation to knowledge and money or/and connections among 51.2% of applicants indicates that the applicant (his family) believes that knowledge alone may not be enough, and it is necessary to insure either money or connections. In this case, the tutor performs a dual role - he must both teach and provide support to his client upon admission. The forms of this support can be different - from withdrawal to the right people before transferring money. Sometimes, however, a tutor can only teach, and intermediaries for transferring money are sought independently of him. And, finally, the third category of applicants openly counts only on money or connections. At the same time, a tutor can also be taken, but his payment is actually the mechanism for paying for admission: this is the person who pushes into the university - we are no longer talking about the transfer of knowledge.

The extremely high proportion of those who consider it necessary to use money and connections when entering a university (more than 2/3) indicates that persistent clichés arise in public opinion, which university can be entered “without money”, and which “only with money or connections. Accordingly, entry strategies are built, the choice of a university is made, and ideas are formed about the availability or inaccessibility of higher education among various groups of the population. It is characteristic that the concept of accessibility is increasingly supplemented by the words " quality education". In this context, it is no longer significant that higher education has become accessible at all, but that certain segments of it have become even more inaccessible.

career paid education

3. The role of the USE in the accessibility of higher education

Because of this, the unified state exam should and will be perceived extremely ambiguously in society. The idea of the USE as a tool to fight corruption in entrance examinations or tutoring (which is far from the same thing) does not exhaust even a small fraction of the understanding (or misunderstanding) of this tool. When they say that the USE increases the accessibility of higher education, then in a situation where it has already become accessible, this statement is of little worth. The answer to the question of who exactly and what kind of education will become available as a result of the introduction of the USE becomes the most important. Obviously, a prestigious education will never be enough for everyone - that's why it is prestigious (which includes a certain restriction of access). It will also not be possible to create a mass good higher education in a short time (and in Russia the contingent of university students has grown 2.4 times over 15 years). The process of massization of higher education is going on in the country at an unprecedented pace (similar processes in the republics former USSR, as well as other countries with economies in transition, still did not acquire such a scope), and the quality of education in its traditional sense in these conditions will inevitably have to fall. Therefore, if earlier it was possible to talk about fixing a certain quality and expanding accessibility, now the achieved level of accessibility must be provided with at least some acceptable quality. At the same time, given the limited budget funds and effective demand of the population, this task cannot be solved simultaneously for the entire system of higher education. It would be more practical and honest to legitimize the differentiation of universities, especially since at the moment everyone knows that they differ in the quality of education. Explicit fixation of differences in quality educational program could become the basis for posing the problem of accessibility, since the question would no longer be raised about the accessibility of higher education in general, but in relation to a specific category of higher education institutions. But to legitimize the differentiation of universities in terms of prestige or the quality of the educational program (which, generally speaking, does not always coincide) means at the same time to legitimize the differences in their budgetary financing. They - these differences - exist at the present time, but they are informal (exclusive). Making them formal and clearly defined means, on the one hand, fixing some rules of the game, and, on the other hand, explicitly prescribing the responsibilities of those universities that are at the top. In other words, formalization will also affect the rights and responsibilities of the parties, and whether the parties are ready for this is a big question. The idea of GIFO - state nominal financial obligations - no matter how controversial it was in itself, made it possible to fix this problem very clearly: many prestigious universities, in which all applicants would come, even with the most high category GIFO - the 1st category, would not receive the budgetary funds that they currently receive. And, besides, it could have happened that they would have come with lower categories of GIFO, which would have jeopardized the financial well-being of these universities.

At the same time, the lack of formalization of differences in the position of universities leads to the fact that teachers of even very prestigious educational institutions receive very small salaries, and tutoring becomes an almost obligatory means for them to stay teaching at a university. Our calculations show that, on average, a tutor receives about 100-150 thousand rubles a year. or about 8-12 thousand rubles. per month. Considering that the budgetary salary of even a professor is on average 5.5 thousand rubles, we find that the tutoring “appendage” provides an income for a university teacher somewhat higher than the average salary in industry or the average salary in such an industry as non-ferrous metallurgy. Naturally, prices and incomes are highly differentiated in this sector.

Looking from these positions at USE problem, then it will appear in a slightly different perspective. Already in the course of an experiment on single exam acti began

In a study under the IISP project, E.M. Avraamova showed that children from families with a low resource potential are now enrolling en masse in universities, but this enrollment has ceased to fulfill its traditional role for higher education - the role of a social elevator. As a rule, after graduating from a higher educational institution, they find that higher education does not give them either income or social status.

Table 1

Relationship between the resource endowment of households and the possibility of obtaining a promising profession

Disappointment sets in. This is especially difficult for low-income families, since they, having sent their child to a university, as a rule, have already exhausted all the possibilities for a social breakthrough. Wealthier families, having discovered that the education received does not meet their expectations, rely on obtaining a second (other) higher education or some other prestigious educational program (for example, an MBA program).

A.G. Levinson, in his research within the framework of the IISP project, revealed that in Russian society, obtaining two higher educations is becoming a new social norm. 20% of persons aged 13-15 years old declare a desire to receive two higher educations, including 25% of young people in the capitals and 28% in the families of specialists.

Thus, educational careers become more and more complex, involving a constant choice. Accordingly, the problem of the accessibility of higher education is changing, being built into a new social and economic context.

It is also important to take into account that entering a university does not solve all problems - this is only the beginning of the path. You have to graduate from a prestigious university. And this has become an independent problem in recent years.

The availability of higher education also depends on how the state will finance it. Currently, spears are also breaking here. The majority of the population (according to the results of a study by A.G. Levinson) continues to believe that education, including higher education, should be free. But in fact, more than 46% of the total number of students in state universities pays. Today, 57% of students study at state universities on a paid basis in their first year. If we take into account the contingent of non-state universities, it turns out that in Russia at present every second student pays for higher education (in fact, 56% of Russian students are already studying on a paid basis). At the same time, the cost of education, both in the public and non-public sectors of higher education, is constantly growing.

Significant funds are spent by families not only on education at the university, but also on admission to higher education. According to sociological research, families spend about 80 billion rubles on the transition from school to university. This is a lot of money, so changing the rules for admission to universities (for example, the introduction of a unified state exam - the Unified State Examination) will inevitably affect someone's material interests. Tutoring accounts for the largest share of the above amount (approximately 60%). It is unlikely that tutoring in itself can be considered an absolute evil. Firstly, it was, for example, back in Tsarist Russia, was practiced in the Soviet era, and has flourished at the present time. Secondly, with mass production - and modern education is mass production - there is an inevitable need for an individual adjustment of a product or service to the needs of the consumer. This is the normal role of the tutor.

But in recent years, for many tutors (although by no means for all), this role has changed significantly: it began to consist in the fact that the tutor had not so much to teach something within the framework of the school curriculum, and not so much to give knowledge in accordance with the requirements are no longer universities, but a specific university, how much to ensure admission to the chosen university. This meant that payment was taken not for giving knowledge and skills, but for certain information (about the features of examination problems, for example, or how to solve a specific problem) or even for informal services (to poke around, follow up, etc.). Therefore, it became necessary to take a tutor only and exclusively from the educational institution to which the child was going to enter (this applies both to the provision of some exclusive information, and to the provision of informal services). This does not mean that admission to all universities was necessarily associated with tutors or with informal relationships, but it became more and more difficult to enter prestigious universities or prestigious specialties without appropriate “support”. In general, the idea began to take shape that a good education at school was no longer enough to enter the university that allowed one to hope for a successful professional career in the future.

38.4% of applicants are guided only by knowledge. At the same time, the orientation only to knowledge when entering in this context means that the applicant and his family are not inclined to enter into informal relations for the sake of entering a university. But this does not at all indicate that such applicants will not resort to the services of tutors, it’s just that the perception of a tutor in this case is different - this is a person (a teacher or university lecturer, just a certain specialist) who transfers knowledge, and does not “help with admission ".

Orientation to knowledge and money or/and connections among 51.2% of applicants indicates that the applicant (his family) believes that knowledge alone may not be enough, and it is necessary to insure either money or connections. In this case, the tutor performs a dual role - he must both teach and provide support to his client upon admission. The forms of this support can be different - from withdrawing to the right people to transferring money. Sometimes, however, a tutor can only teach, and intermediaries for transferring money are sought independently of him. And, finally, the third category of applicants openly counts only on money or connections. At the same time, a tutor can also be taken, but his payment is actually the mechanism for paying for admission: this is the person who pushes into the university - we are no longer talking about transferring knowledge.

The extremely high proportion of those who consider it necessary to use money and connections when entering a university (more than 2/3) indicates that persistent clichés arise in public opinion, which university can be entered “without money”, and which “only with money or connections. Accordingly, entry strategies are built, the choice of a university is made, and ideas are formed about the availability or inaccessibility of higher education among various groups of the population. It is characteristic that the concept of accessibility is increasingly supplemented by the words "quality education". In this context, it is no longer significant that higher education has become accessible at all, but that certain segments of it have become even more inaccessible.

career paid education

Sulfur content, gasoline with lead additives, certain types of paints, varnishes, thinners, etc. A type of environmental tax can also be considered a payment for emissions in environment contaminants.

7. Environmental pledge. For example, since 1991, a system has been in place in Germany that involves the inclusion in the price of goods sold in packages of a deposit surcharge, which is returned after the packages are delivered to their collection points. In a number of countries, such a system applies to cars, batteries, glass containers, etc.

S. Markets for the sale of saved resources. Their action is expected in the event that some enterprises exceed the planned standard of electricity consumption and thereby receive the right to sell the saved surplus to other enterprises that failed to meet the standards established for them. Note that here the principle of combining directive planning with indicative planning is quite clearly manifested. The plan for the sale of energy by energy companies appears as a directive, while the planned volumes of energy consumption by industrial companies and institutions are indicative.

The expansion of the considered practice of combining the plan and the market puts Western countries to a qualitatively new level of development, characterized as sustainable.

It is obvious that their experience is especially necessary for Russia until its economy has completely turned into a raw materials appendage of the developed countries of the West. This need is intensified by the growing resource cost of production, its high material and energy intensity. The scientific and personnel potential that has been preserved in the country makes it possible to make the transition to target planning.

Notes

1 See: Selin S., Chavez D. Developing a Collaborative Model for Environmental Planning and Management // Environmental Management. 1995. No. 2. P.23.

2 Weizsacker E., Lovis E., Lovis L. Factor four. Costs - half, returns - double: New report to the Club of Rome. M.: Academia, 2000. P.220.

CRITIQUE AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

S. S. Smirnov

WHO IS NOT ACCESSIBLE TO HIGHER EDUCATION?

(About the book by V.N. Kozlov, E.N. Martynova, L.P. Maltseva and others.

"Higher education: the problem of accessibility in the region". Chelyabinsk, 2000)

Published by the publishing house of Chelyabinsky state university The book is definitely relevant and interesting. It is based on specific sociological research, conducted in 1999 by the Laboratory of Applied Sociology together with the staff of the Center for the Education of the Disabled of ChelGU. It is devoted mainly to two categories of youth - the disabled and students of university classes, that is, those with whom the university is conducting purposeful work in the field of organizing the accessibility of education. Such a choice is quite justified both in applied and general theoretical terms, since, indeed, scientific research involves not only a good command of

his technique and methodology, but also, no less important, excellent knowledge of the object and subject of study. Both conditions are met, and therefore the book "turned out."

It consists of three independent parts. The first one reveals the methodology and methodology of the study. The second examines from a sociological perspective the importance of education for young people with physical and social disabilities, as well as preparation for entering a university in university classes. In the last part, the authors offer some ways to solve the problem raised.

However, the book is somewhat overloaded with non-core material. For example, it says a lot and correctly about the role of education in modern social life, about which university is and which is not classical, and that the future belongs to the classical university. It contains information about modern information technology. There is also a retelling of the Law of the Russian Federation "On Education". All this, of course, needs to be known to the future student, but it is not directly related to the survey, and therefore seems to be something foreign, superfluous and, in our opinion, only spoils the impression of a really good specific study.

Let's make a reservation right away, no sociological survey can give a complete picture of the problem under study, if only because you can not ask an infinite number of questions. Their number is always limited, so you have to select the most significant ones. In addition, the human mind is arranged in such a way that in any of our questions, even if not in an explicit form, there is also an answer or one of its variants. What we ask, we are answered. In this regard, the selection of questions asked is no less important than the calculation and interpretation of the answers received. So what did the researchers ask respondents about?

Considering the specifics of the problem, it would probably be logical to ask first of all how they understand the term “accessibility of higher education”, what are its criteria, what factors strengthen or weaken the accessibility of education for Russian youth in general and for young disabled people in particular. The questions, of course, are not simple, one might say, fundamental, methodological. The result of the entire survey essentially depends on what the answer to them will be. But they were never given.

Not trusting future applicants and their parents to answer the main question, the authors decided to do it themselves, or rather, to “survey” the Committee of Ministers of Education of the European Union. Referring to the latter, they scrupulously listed as many as eleven factors that make higher education inaccessible. Among them are various types of discrimination based on ethnicity, age, gender, and insufficient awareness of the government "about the preferences of the population in relation to higher education", and the archaic forms of education. They “forgot” the truth about one “trifle” that makes everything accessible or inaccessible in a market state (depending on the presence or absence of this “trifle”), including higher education.

It is quite clear that if the respondents were asked about this directly, they would receive one direct answer, and not eleven indirect ones.

If the authors had followed the indicated path, many questions could have been omitted. Why, say, ask what place higher education occupies in the system of life values of young people from rural areas, if this does not directly affect the degree of access to education? Probably, the question should have been put much broader, for example, how do young people feel about the commercialization of education, would they like to receive educational loans, what do they think about the content of vocational education?

The value of any scientific work is determined not only by what facts and phenomena have become clearer and more understandable for us, but also by what thoughts and questions the reader has after getting acquainted with this work. The book under review was no exception in this case. The study showed quite clearly that during the years of bourgeois reforms, the accessibility of higher education was transformed from a predominantly intellectual-pedagogical problem into a social and even political factor.

The authors quite rightly point out that education is part of the process of socialization, that it creates favorable opportunities for "vertical mobility". “... A diploma of higher education becomes evidence of social status, and education becomes a means of struggle for social groups to acquire wealth, power, and prestige. All this gives rise to powerful incentives for its acquisition and expansion” (p. 3).

However, this is only one part of objective reality. The second side of it is that a diploma of higher education can also indicate the social status of an unemployed teacher, doctor, or soldier living below the poverty line. It is well known that an "educated" teacher earns four times less than an "uneducated" trolleybus driver and dozens of times less than a shopkeeper. So is or is not professional education"a means of struggle of social groups for the mastery of wealth"? This question, due to its problematic nature, would probably also be useful to ask the respondents.

What does the aspiration of young people, and even those with serious health problems, to universities testify to?

Unfortunately, the questions on this topic are not formulated very clearly in the questionnaire. The answers are similar: “I want to become a specialist” (52%), “I want to have an interesting job” (42%), etc. At the same time, the answer “Education is a value” was given by only 17% of respondents. What happens? To be a specialist Good work- this is not a value for the majority ?! (p.52).

It may seem strange, but not only many respondents with disabilities and their parents, but also the authors of the survey themselves, implicitly do not consider education an independent value. This is indirectly confirmed by the fact that both of them consider the study of a disabled person at a university mainly from the standpoint of his rehabilitation. Undoubtedly, studying at a university is one of the important ways of reintegrating young people with problems into society. physical health. But what kind of specialist will turn out as a result, in fact, few people are interested. Yes, apparently, few people are counting on work in the specialty they have received (about 30% of parents, slightly more than the young disabled themselves). How many of them in practice will be able to find a job in conditions of fierce competition in the labor market, the researchers thoughtfully kept silent about this.

Most of the respondents would like to get a legal or economic Education. Now it is prestigious, fashionable, but therefore the least accessible, especially for the disabled (meaning, first of all, employment). “Families with low incomes are more oriented towards medical, pedagogical and agricultural areas,” they also agree on humanitarian and even “free” professions. The rich are only interested in the first two (p. 85). Why is that? Is it related to the accessibility issue? (Who is richer, he chooses better goods?) There is no answer. One can only guess. However, guessing is not so difficult. One must think that no education at all is available to the poorest, since scholarships have long since lost their economic content.

As you can see, after reading the book, the questions did not decrease, perhaps even more. But, unlike a reference book, the task of a good book is to awaken the reader's thought, to make him think for himself, and not formulate ready-made answers. It is far from possible and necessary to agree with all the provisions and conclusions of the authors. But what they managed to prepare good material for thought, no doubt.

REVIEW

on the book of Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences A.G. Granberg "Fundamentals of Regional Economics", approved by the Ministry of Education as a textbook for students

universities studying in economic areas and specialties

Currently booming scientific direction and practice of organization and development of the regional economy. The number of publications is growing, scientific and practical conferences are being held on the problems of developing territories of different levels. The number of economic specialties is increasing, and, accordingly, the number of students studying regional economics. Therefore, the release of this book, summarizing the Russian experience in creating a regional economy, is necessary.

Prior to the publication of the textbook under review, there were works in Russia devoted to certain issues of the regional economy, and, above all, in the direction of economic geography. Academician A.G. Granberg, in our opinion, considers these problems on a qualitatively different level.

The book is undoubtedly a great contribution to the successful study of the regional economy; it is built on the use of modern theoretical achievements in this area. In subsequent editions, the author can be recommended to expand the issues of regional efficiency and institutional development of regions.

The book is of great theoretical and practical interest not only for students, but also for professionals involved in teaching and research activities.

A.Yu. Davankov, Director of the Institute of Socio-Economic and Regional Problems of ChelGU T.A. Vereshchagin, Dean Faculty of Economics ChelGU A.A. Golikov, Professor of the Department of World Economy, CSU

FIRST PUBLICATION

I.A.Komarova REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH OF STUDENTS AS A MEDICAL AND SOCIAL PROBLEM

The reproductive health of students deserves attention due to the high social expectations from this group of young people. The need to realize oneself as a spouse and parent is one of the basic needs of a person at the age to which students belong. Young people now often begin to live sexually quite early and do not look back at what they consider to be obsolete moral conventions. Sexual behavior and reproductive attitudes often diverge from each other, however, they cannot be ignored in a single complex, speaking about the reproductive health of the population.

“In the aspect of the study of value orientations, special attention is paid to the value of “education”.

Speaking about education, it should be noted that today there are several specific promising trends in the development of a modern university:

1. The attitude of students and their parents towards university education is becoming more and more consumerist. Great importance acquire such components of choosing a university as a well-known brand, a beautiful and compelling catalogue, good advertising, a modern website, and so on. In addition, and perhaps in the first place, the principle of "price-quality" turns into a leading one in determining a higher educational institution for future students and their parents. The university should be a mega market for knowledge consumption, with all the ensuing consequences.

2. For the majority of students, university education has lost the characteristic of "fatefulness". Education at the university is just an episode in their life, unfolding along with other equally important episodes: parallel work, personal life, and so on.

3. The university should be at the forefront of the technical and technological process, offering students the latest achievements in the organization of the educational process and student life.

4. Gradual university education is included in the process of virtualization, i.e. distance education programs, teleconferences, education via the Internet - sites and so on are gaining more and more weight. For any student, the university and the teacher should be promptly available.”

However, over the past 15-20 years in the system Russian education many problems have accumulated that threaten the preservation of the high educational potential of the nation.

One of the serious negative trends in the Russian education system has been the strengthening of social differentiation in terms of the degree of accessibility of different levels of education, as well as the level and quality of the education received. Interregional differentiation continues to grow, between urban and rural areas, as well as the differentiation of opportunities for obtaining high-quality education for children from families with different income levels.

“There is a problem of accessibility of higher education for people with disabilities, associated with the reform of the education system and social policy in relation to the disabled.

Despite the current federal legislation that guarantees benefits for applicants with disabilities, a number of factors make it difficult for people with disabilities to enter a university. Most universities in Russia are not provided with even the minimum conditions necessary for teaching disabled people in them. Higher education institutions do not have the opportunity to reconstruct their premises according to the principles of universal design from their own budgetary funds.

Currently, applicants with disabilities have two alternatives. The first is to enroll in a higher education institution at the place of residence, where there is hardly an adapted barrier environment, where teachers are hardly prepared to work with people with disabilities. And the second is to go to another region where such an environment exists. But then another problem arises related to the fact that a disabled person who comes from another region must “bring with him” the financing of his rehabilitation program, which is difficult due to the mismatch between departments.”

Within the boundaries of the European educational space students and teachers will be able to move freely from university to university, and the resulting document of education will be recognized throughout Europe, which will significantly expand the labor market for everyone.

In this regard, complex organizational transformations are ahead in the field of Russian higher education: the transition to a multi-level system of personnel training; the introduction of credit units, the required number of which a student must collect to obtain a qualification; practical implementation of the mobility of students, teachers, researchers, etc.

Any education is a humanitarian problem. Education, of course, means awareness and professional competence, and characterizes the personal qualities of a person as a subject of the historical process and individual life.

At present, there is a trend towards the commercialization of higher education, towards the transformation of universities into commercial enterprises. Relations between a teacher and a student are becoming increasingly market-oriented: the teacher sells his services - the student buys them or orders new ones if the proposed ones do not satisfy him. The disciplines taught are reoriented to the immediate needs of the market, as a result of which there is a “decrease” in the importance of systemic fundamentality. There is a reduction in the proportion of courses in fundamental sciences, which give way to the so-called "useful knowledge", that is, applied knowledge, primarily to numerous special courses, sometimes esoteric.

As a legacy from the Soviet era, Rossi inherited free higher professional education, one of the main principles of which was the competitive selection of university applicants. But there was and especially reveals itself in modern conditions, along with the official, a completely different practice of selecting applicants for higher education. It is based, on the one hand, on the social ties of the families of applicants, on social capital, on the other hand, on the basis of monetary relations, in other words, on the purchase of the necessary results of competitive selection, regardless of the actual level of preparation of applicants and their intellectual development. Not those who are better prepared and think better, but those for whom the parents were able to pay the necessary amount of money, go to study.

The university is both an intellectual and information center for local civil society institutions, as well as a forge of leadership qualities for them. Higher education, primarily universities, can play a key role in the deep evolutionary transformation of regions, the country as a whole, in the formation and development of civil society in it. This requires the formation of interest both in university structures and in the student environment.

“The first paid places in state universities appeared in 1992. The demand for paid higher education services began to form precisely from that time, i.e. even before the opening of the first non-state universities (1995) In 2001-2002. 65% of the respondents considered paid education more prestigious, and among the group of "payers" this opinion was expressed by 75% of respondents. In 2006-2007 the total number of students who deny the greater prestige of commercial education compared to education at state universities increased to 87%, and the share of those who hold the same opinion among the "payers" was 90%. Among the reasons why one or another system of education is chosen, the main ones are still the ease of admission and the desire to reduce the risk of failing exams to zero (more than 90% both in 2001-2002 and in 2006-2007) . Other reasons - the level of training of teachers, the best technical equipment of universities - do not have a significant impact on the selection process. Studying the attitude of students to paid education, it is important to consider what their ability to pay for their studies is.

Also, based on the study of Tyuryukanov E.V. and Ledeneva L.I., it can be noted that now the prestige of higher education is high both in general among the population of migrants surveyed by them, and in each individual region. At the same time, in general, migrant families are distinguished by limited adaptation resources: both material, and information, communication and social. They are torn out of their usual life context and have limited access to social services and cultural values. The successful integration of migrants into Russian society, their transformation into an organic part of the Russian population will, in particular, contribute to the implementation of the educational orientations of their children

Related materials:

Site Map