Adult Learning
A scholarly report on Andragogy
Introduction
???? By the mid-eighteen hundred, Europe had already developed a very robust system of higher education. However, Russia, due to its poorly set up elementary and secondary education, lagged behind many European nations and it did not look like there was any hope for higher education in Russia. It was as though Russia had to settle for second-tier performance in that area.
???? Yet by the mid-twentieth century, the Soviet Union, at the time, fully reformed its higher education system, which was a surprise to others. They did not do it by improving their universities but by transforming their elementary and secondary systems, something that seemed odd at the time. Two researchers: Yaroslav Kuzminov and Maria Yudkevich report.
Research question/Hypothesis
???? One important approach that they had was focusing internally instead of, asking external questions and/or blaming the outer events and factors. Their research question was: “What should the Soviet Union do to improve its systems in the higher education arena?” That led them to the second research question “Why their higher education was in such disarray.”
???? Therefore, they reached their hypothesis “If the entire education system before universities is transformed, higher education does not have a choice but to improve.”
???? This, in my opinion, was the key to their success. They were able to become a scientific and technological hub during the Cold War, precisely because of this transformation. Today, Russia’s higher education is being taken seriously in the west.
Methodology (Research Design and Methods)
???? The research was designed around the reasons that students did poorly, by and large. They initially identified the foundational field/science which was Math. Then their survey showed that the reason university students could not make it was the fact that instructors were not fully capable. That proved the point that since Math was essential in almost all fields and the survey showed that the majority suffered in that area, they should start with strengthening Math in elementary and secondary schools first.
???? By regularly bench-marking against the European universities and later the American higher education, they were able to tweak and modify as necessary.
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???? The surveys, although not nationwide, it was conclusive enough to direct the authorities to meaningful findings, i.e., instructors’ readiness, students’ competence, etc.
Results
???? This research is the first comprehensive analysis of higher education in Russia. After the curriculum was modified, instructors were retrained, and students went through the newly designed materials, Russia came to the attention of the international community for the quality of its higher education. The large-scale reforms were clearly proven effective as Russian students in universities are today among the best in the world and very comparable to the western world, in terms of both quantitative (scores and marks, which was above 80% improvement), as well as qualitative (competence, sense of confidence, and being attractive to large and successful organizations.
Conclusion
???? By considering the cultural factors and realities in Russia, and by employing logic, up-to-date methodology, and scientific principles, Russia has now one of the best reformed and modern higher educations in the world. Yaroslav Kuzminov and Maria Yudkevich clearly described the path of transformation which led to the developments in the higher education system. Approaching anything in a logical, scientific, foundational, statistical, and organized way leads to desirable results.
References:
Kuzminov, Yaroslav; Yudkevich, Maria – Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022
Roberts, C. & Hyatt, L. (2019).?The dissertation journey?(3rd?ed.). Corwin.
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4 个月Great insights on Russia's education reform! By improving elementary and secondary schooling, they transformed higher education and now compete globally!
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7 个月Excellent article Mr. Mogarei! Changing the system is the key to effective improvement!
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7 个月The research is spot-on. I firmly believe the United States has mis-educated two generations of Americans...using a 1930s model of "assembly-line students" to churn out 'graduates' mis-educated for the America that IS. What did we lose? Millions of urban and rural public schooled kids with no prospects other than despair, anger and addiction. While thousands of bright college dropouts unsuited to the current desk-rote-listen-regurgitate method set out for Seattle and Silicon Valley to build their own futures, they really did little to bring the rest of us along. I don't remember who said it, but it was an astute observation that the problems in this country won't be fixed until the first tech billionaire comes out of Kentucky.
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7 个月Hi Hormoz, How is this about andragogy? Andragogy is supposed to be about adult education, and the book is about the entire primary, secondary, and higher education system in Russia. “Andragogy” is actually a poorly constructed word because “andron” is Greek for male, not adult. Andragogy, therefore, should be the science of teaching males, not adults…