In the next few days the meeting of the Russian-Chinese Commission for Humanitarian Cooperation will take place. It is preceded by the Forum of Rectors of the two countries where the joint construction of future schools will be discussed. The rector of Moscow State University of Education, the co-chairman of the Chinese-Russian Union of Pedagogical Universities, UNESCO prize winner, academician Aleksey Semenov tells about this sphere of joint interests:
The need for a new educational policy in China follows the most important processes that are underway in the country. The logic of economic development has led management to conclude that the need to shift from mass, low-cost, «the Chinese» consumer goods to producing a unique high-tech products. In other words, China intends to make the leap from industrial to knowledge society. And it is necessary to begin with education. And fundamental transformations are required at all levels: from kindergarten to the system of professional development, corporate universities and international scientific and educational centers.
Even today, Chinese parents are more likely to send their children, not only in western prestigious universities, but also in secondary schools, focused on the individual development of the child’s personality, his creative qualities, thinking outside the box. For example, in the Russian mass media discussed the reasons for the victory of the Chinese and US teams in the International Mathematical Olympiad. So, the absolute winner was a Canadian student, whose family came from China to Canada when he was 5 years. He studied in the US elite private school where education is an essential part of the collective art projects, discussions at «a round table» etc. It’s not like a Chinese school with its rather rigid authoritarianism.
In new economy, which requires independent decision-making, creativity in every workplace, the authoritarian principles of education are unviable. The country needs a new educational model. In recent decades, China has proven to be a phenomenal ability to replicate quickly and effectively and to adapt economic and cultural patterns of other countries.
Why Chinese experts address for new models of education in Russia? In the 30 years of the last century, the Soviet Union made the leap from an agrarian economy to an industrial one, which required the construction of a uniform mass education. In the 50s a similar leap in the field of higher education made China. It was able to move in terms of Chinese Soviet model and participated in the transfer of thousands of Russian and Chinese teachers and students.
Today, Russia is trying to build a new school that meets the challenges of the time, trying to preserve and recreate the most important traditions and achievements of past centuries. It does not always go well, but there are undeniable achievements. For example, our school education standard as a generic, a policy document, considered one of the most promising in comparison with other countries.
China intends to take our model of transition from an authoritarian to a modern pedagogy, consider the experience of the application of information technology, to invite our specialists, invest correctly and quickly with minimal costs to get the result. For example, our graduate, a world-class mathematician Aleksey Belov prepares Chinese team to participate in international competitions in mathematics.
However, China needs a massive system, rather than individual achievement. And such a system is created in Russia. MSPU takes an innovative stance in the modernization of pedagogical education. Our preparation of teachers is focused on the study of the most modern models of school education, including foreign and domestic, dating back to Lev Vygotsky, including — developed by the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Education. Students learn and most advanced educational technologies. As a basis for the individual improvement of future teachers we take modern development of mathematics Jan Amos Comenius. That is why the best of our graduates in the years ahead, «ordered» the directors of the best schools of Moscow and the country.
The Government of Russia and China supported the initiative of Beijing Normal University and Moscow State University of Education to establish the Chinese-Russian alliance, which includes the leading pedagogical universities of Russia and China, where they are called «normal universities». The term «normal» means that the university provides a universal preparation for a free, creative man of the XXI century, in particular, teaches him to learn and teach.
Of course, the process of transfer of educational technology and practice cannot be one-sided. Russian schools also address for methods of training and education to the models developed in other countries, such as Waldorf education. But our achievements are also recognized global education community, so a technique of developing training Vasily Davydov widely known.
More specifically, the joint training of teams of international Olympiads will be useful for our students in terms of mathematical content enrichment and education of the competitive spirit and the formation of the discipline. Chinese students are not only numerous and visible in the universities of different countries, they are also the most disciplined, regularly attending classes, who give time credits, etc. Today, the question of the subject matter becomes critical for us. In China, there is a thousand-year tradition of the exam, which has a mandatory basis of «work», to which we come now. At the same time scientists clarify the social nature of learning, the importance of interaction in it, including among students, is a professor of the University Lev Vygotsky, the 120th anniversary of whose birth we celebrate this autumn and is highly valued in China and other countries.
An example of the implementation of the intervention is designed MSPU together with Weinan Normal University (Shaanxi Province) created the Art Institute. The students learn classical Chinese art, singing, etc., as well as classical and contemporary Russian art.
The general approach to teacher training is absolutely necessary for the joint construction and implementation of the model of the future school. The result of joint activities should be common current model of education — from kindergarten to school teachers and pedagogical high school teacher.
Joint creation of a model of the future of the school and teacher training for it is not only the direction and cooperation of the task and the work of the Chinese-Russian Union of pedagogical universities. The leading Chinese pedagogical universities are research. They carried out research work at the level of the best universities in the country, and often world class.
MSPU also a Research University. For example, our physics — world leaders in areas such as the production of high-temperature superconducting devices operating in the terahertz range ultra-sensitive detectors for space, security systems. But Russian researchers often do not have the expensive equipment, which have our Chinese colleagues.
We plan to combine their efforts, both in research and in teaching students. Chinese students will participate in this elite program «Physics in English», where bachelors learn a wide range of disciplines — from theoretical physics to high-tech production and innovative business.
Russian version: https://mpgu.su/novosti/kitay-i-rossiya-sozdayut-shkolu-budushhego/
https://rg.ru/2016/07/04/kitaj-i-rossiia-sozdadut-shkolu-budushchego.html
