Russia 4.3 Education and young people

What did the October 1918 decree promise? What actually happened?

Free compulsory polytechnic education for children aged 8 to 17

Free meals and free medical examinations

//These didn't happen - not enough money during the Civil War

Abolished corporal punishment, homework, exams

//Little training, so teachers used traditional methods

//These did happen:

Coeducation, ban on religious instruction in schools, church buildings converted to schools

Why did education decline under the NEP?

Fees for primary and secondary education were introduced​

Plans for linked orphanages and schools were scrapped (7 million Civil War orphans)

Education was locally funded, leaving the central government with little control​ - As a result, polytechnic education was not often implemented

Give 2 statistics to demonstrate the decline of education during the NEP

During the first 18 months of the NEP, the number of pupils and the number of schools halved

Secondary education

97% of students paid fees

3% of working class students finished secondary school

How did Stalin try to improve primary education?

1927 - primary school fees abolished

Target that 100% of children aged 8-12 would be in education by 1932

Achieved 95% - much better than 60% in 1928

What reforms were made to education in the 1930s?

1931 decree - got rid of polytechnic focus

1932 decree - new discipline standards

1933 - new textbooks

1934 Decree on the Teaching of Civic History made teaching more nationalistic - focus on achievements of great Russian leaders, like Ivan the Terrible

1935 - new system of national examinations

How far was Stalin able to improve access to secondary education?

End of NEP - 216,000 finished secondary school

1939 - 1.5 million finished secondary school

BUT there were still fees

Scholarships and grants were more likely to be given to Party officials' children

What were Labour Reserve Schools?

Set up in 1940 by the Ministry of Labour

Trained 14-17 year old males in industry specialisms

During WWII, they also recruited women and were essential for war production

Post-war: between 1946 and 1962, LRSs recruited 4.2 million young people

Describe higher education under Stalin

Higher education grew under Stalin

In 1939, there were eight times more universities and students than in 1914

Late 1930s - university staff employed before 1928 were purged and replaced with 'red specialists'

WWII decimated the university sector, but it recovered quickly - there were 1.5 million university students in 1953

How did Khrushchev improve access to secondary and higher education? How successful was he?

1956 - fees for secondary and higher education abolished

1959 - special bursaries for poor secondary school students established

17 year olds completing secondary school

1953 - 20%

1959 - 75%

When did Khrushchev reintroduce polytechnic education? How popular was this?

1956

28% of curriculum time was devoted to practical training

Not popular - parents wanted their children to receive an academic education

What reforms did Khrushchev make in 1958?

December 1958

Education was made compulsory age 7 to 15

Schools had to offer 11 year programmes

Special schools for the most gifted children

Pupils aged 16 to 19 would do vocational training in farms and factories

What reforms did Khrushchev make from 1960 onwards?

November 1960 - strict discipline relaxed

1961 - new emphasis on foreign languages

1961 - final exams replaced with continuous assessment

Give two statistics about teachers under Khrushchev

The number of teachers increased

1.5 million in 1953

2.2 million in 1964

Also - the proportion of teachers with a university education doubled

What were the failures of Khrushchev's reforms of education?

Parents wanted children to have an academic education, not a polytechnic one

Curriculum reforms were not implemented in 47% of schools

Key problems (like poor buildings and shortages of teachers) were not addressed

What did Brezhnev do to Khrushchev's reforms?

Between 1964 and 1966, Brezhnev repealed Khrushchev's reforms and drew up a temporary curriculum with an academic focus

What reforms did Brezhnev make to education in the 1970s?

School Statute of September 1970 - textbooks updated with the latest scientific knowledge

1970s - free meals for poor pupils; textbooks made available free of charge

Give two statistics about education under Brezhnev

In 1976, only 60% of pupils finished secondary education

The number of teachers was stable, and they were well qualified

1978 - 70% of teachers had a university education

Give statistics about literacy rates under Lenin and Stalin

1914 - 32%

1928 - 55%

1932 - 68%

1939 - 94%

How much did literacy improve during the Civil War? Give 3 positives and 2 negatives

Red Army

Trotsky made education mandatory for all soldiers

50% literacy in 1918 => 86% in 1921

Identifying letters

More people could identify letters - 6.5 million textbooks printed to teach the alphabet

Likpunkty

Liquidation points offered 6 week courses in reading and writing

BUT war economy didn't produce enough educational supplies - 1920, schools had one pencil for every 60 pupils

BUT Survival was the priority, not education

What achievements in literacy were made during the NEP?

May 1925 - government announced its aim 'liquidate illiteracy' by October 1927​

Libraries and reading groups were set up in factories

Transport workers' union achieved 99% literacy in 1927

Give evidence that literacy did not improve during the NEP

90% of reading rooms were closed to save money

Peasants' literacy lagged - the October 1927 target was pushed back to 1933

Women's literacy lagged behind men's

1926 65% vs 27%

Low literacy in Central Asian regions e.g. 13% male literacy in Uzbek Republic in 1926

How did Stalin tackle illiteracy?

1930 - Sixteenth Party Congress adopted targets to eliminate illiteracy and made primary schooling compulsory

During the First Five Year Plan 90% of Soviet adults attended a literacy course

3 million Komsomol volunteers were recruited to educate people in the countryside

40% of volunteers were attacked in the first year of the scheme (hostility towards Party - collectivization)

Is the 1939 literacy figure misleading?

1939 - 94% literacy

(97% male literacy vs 90% female literacy)