Education as an institution of socialization. Types and systems of education, educational organizations Main social institutions

A social institution is a historically established stable form joint activities members of society on the use of public resources to satisfy certain social needs (economic, political, cultural, religious, etc.). Education as a social institution arose to organize relatively socially controlled socialization of members of society, to transmit culture and social norms, and in general to create conditions for satisfying social needs - the meaningful cultivation of members of society.

In the process of development of society in education as an activity, the following processes are noted:

Education is differentiated into family, religious and social, the role, meaning and correlation of which are not constant;

Education spreads from the elite strata of society to the lower ones and covers an increasing number of age groups(from children to adults);

In the process of social education, first training and then education are distinguished as its components;

Corrective education appears;

A dissocial education is taking shape, carried out in criminal and totalitarian, political and quasi-religious communities;

The tasks, content, style, forms and means of education change;

The importance of education is growing, it is becoming a special function of society and the state, and is turning into a social institution.

Education as a social institution includes:

The totality of family, social, religious, correctional and dissocial education;

A set of social roles: pupils, professional educators and volunteers, family members, clergy, heads of state, regional, municipal levels, administration of educational organizations, leaders of criminal and totalitarian groups;

Educational organizations of various types and types;

Education systems and governing bodies at the state, regional, municipal levels;

A set of positive and negative sanctions, both regulated by documents and informal;

Resources: personal (qualitative characteristics of the subjects of education - children and adults, level of education and professional training of educators), spiritual (values and norms), informational, financial, material (infrastructure, equipment, educational literature, etc.).

Education as a social institution has certain functions in public life:

Creating conditions for the relatively targeted nurturing and development of members of society and their satisfaction of a number of needs in the process of education;

Preparation of the “human capital” necessary for the functioning and sustainable development of society, capable and ready for horizontal and vertical social mobility;

Ensuring the stability of public life through the transmission of culture, promoting its continuity and renewal;

Promoting the integration of aspirations, actions and relationships of members of society and the relative harmonization of the interests of gender, age, socio-professional and ethno-confessional groups (which are prerequisites and conditions for the internal cohesion of society);

Social and spiritual-value selection of members of society;

Adaptation of society members to a changing social situation.

The components of education as a social institution are family, religious, social, correctional and dissocial, which differ significantly from each other. In religious and family education, the emotional component plays a large role; in social and correctional education, the rational component predominates, and the emotional component plays a significant, but only complementary role. The basis of dissocial education is mental and physical violence. Family, religious, social, correctional and dissocial education differ significantly in principles, goals, content, and means. The identified types of education are fundamentally different in the nature of the dominant relationship between the subjects of education. In family education, the relationship between subjects is consanguineous in nature. In religious education, which is carried out in religious organizations, the relationship between the subjects is of a confessional-communal nature, i.e. it is determined by the creed they profess and the relationships that develop in accordance with the doctrinal principles. Social and correctional education is carried out in organizations created for this purpose. The relationship between the subjects of these types of education has an institutional-role character. In biosocial education, the relationship between subjects and objects has the character of a “master-slave” relationship. Education as a social institution, having universal elements and characteristics, has more or less significant differences associated with the history of development, socio-economic level, type of political organization and culture of a particular society.

From the history of social education

In the process of historical development in any society, education goes through its own path of formation.

Early stages of human development. There was no special period preparing for adult life. Education and spontaneous socialization were closely interconnected and syncretic. Children actively participated in various spheres of life (domestic, industrial, ritual) of adults. Education was limited to the assimilation of everyday rules, practical life experience passed on from generation to generation.
Early class societies. Children begin to be specially prepared for life in a particular society. The process of education is identified as a relatively independent part of the process of socialization, however, the spontaneous component of this process is still visible in the development of different age groups. How family education, and the emerging religious education, was focused on the formation in the individual of positive, from the point of view of society, qualities, the development of inclinations and abilities characteristic of a particular class. There is a social differentiation of education. Specialized educational organizations appear (for the ruling classes).
Middle Ages. In Europe, various educational institutions for children of artisans and traders (guild schools, guild or craft schools) are widespread. The development of factory and manufacturing production was accompanied by the emergence of schools for the children of workers, and schools were organized for peasant children.
New time. The emergence of civil society, the development of industry and the introduction of capitalist relations into rural areas have increased the requirements for the training of labor in all spheres of social and socio-economic life. The development of the social education system led to universal primary and universal secondary education. Preparation for adult life has become an independent sphere. Countercultural organizations emerge in the sphere of religious, political and social life that conduct dissocial education (criminal structures, quasi-religious sects, extremist organizations, etc.).
Modern times. Education is realized through the institutions of family, culture, religious institutions, education (primary, secondary, higher). Corrective education appears. The final formation of education into a specific social institution takes place. It becomes a special function of the state and society.

Education as a social institution

Education as a social institution appeared for the following tasks:

development of socially controlled socialization;
transmission of social norms and cultural values;
implementation of social and correctional education.

Note 1

As an institution, education has structural, more or less formalized elements that have certain specific features in social, family, dissocial, religious and correctional education.

Structural elements of the social institution of education:

functions,
resources, organizations and groups to implement relevant functions;
set of social roles;
a set of sanctions (rewarding, punishing, condemning).

Note 2

Education performs both obvious and latent functions in social life.

General explicit or conscious functions of education:

systematic and consistent creation of conditions that ensure the targeted development of members of society, the satisfaction of their needs realized in the process of education or through other social institutions;
Preparation " human material", adequate to public culture and values necessary for the sustainable development and functioning of society;
guarantee of stable social life through the transfer of cultural values, ensuring the continuity of culture and its renewal;
promoting the integration of harmonization of the interests of society, sexually mature, socio-professional, ethno-confessional groups and aspirations, actions of individual members of society.

The hidden or latent functions of education are numerous and predetermined by the culture of society and the type of education. There are common hidden functions:

social selection of members of society;
adaptation of society members to a changing sociocultural situation.

Functions of the education process

To implement the functions of the education process, certain resources, groups and organizations are required. The concept of resources includes:

personal resources of subjects of education;
various values that are transmitted in the process of education;
material resources - equipment, benefits, infrastructure, etc.;
financial resources - private investments, budgetary, extrabudgetary, family income, etc.

Social roles necessary to carry out the functions of education:

children of different ages;
professional educators (educators, teachers, leaders of creative associations, trainers, social educators and workers, nannies, tutors, etc.);
relatives involved in family education;
managers, methodological and technical specialists involved in the development and implementation of various educational programs at all levels;
fellow believers and clergy;
leaders of totalitarian and criminal communities.

Under socialization understands the process of an individual’s assimilation of social norms and roles accepted in a given society, through both his own activity and “other people’s” (the influence of parents, training).

Stages of socialization.

According to the criteria mental development There are eight stages of human development that have become generally accepted today.

Trust - distrust - infancy;

Autonomy - doubt – age 1–2 years;

Initiative - guilt - age 3–5 years.

Hard work - inferiority - junior school age(6–11 years old);

Identification - diffusion - youth (12–18 years);

Intimacy - loneliness - the beginning of the adult period;

Creative activity - stagnation - average age;

Peace - despair - old age

Mechanisms of socialization

In the scientific literature, they distinguish, first of all, psychological mechanisms socialization.

S. Freud was one of the first to try to do this. He identified confirmation mechanisms - exclusion, imitation, prohibition, substitution (substitution), identification.

In J. Mead's concept of role behavior, the mechanisms of socialization are revealed through the perception of roles. Awareness of the “generalized other” occurs, in his opinion, through the processes of accepting and playing a role. Accepting a role is the process of assigning a role in another, unusual interaction situation, and playing a role is actual actions or acts of role behavior. Role training must also be added to these processes.

Socialization factors.

At different stages of socialization, certain agents and institutions play an active role. In pre-work life, the main factors are family, educational institutions and peers. At the labor stage great importance has a team, a professional community, friendly company, and the media. At the post-work stage, the circle of socialization agents narrows significantly.

At the same time, socialization is carried out under the influence of a set of conditions - socially controlled and directionally organized, spontaneous and spontaneous (involuntarily arising). These are economic, socio-political, spiritual and ideological conditions and factors necessary or sufficient to ensure the development of the individual.

Education as an institution of socialization

A full-fledged and worthy member of society must be well educated. Education enables a person to gain a broader knowledge of the world, introduces him to the achievements of mankind, and allows him to systematize the processes occurring in society. From the early childhood the child enters into complex relationships with the environment. By repeating after adults, he masters speech and behavioral norms. As the student develops, the level of his responsibility to society also increases, and civic qualities are formed. At this stage, the comprehensive development and education of a growing personality is important. It is necessary to cultivate an active life position.

In modern developed societies, a whole system of social institutions is formed - historically established stable forms of united activity of members of society to exploit public resources to satisfy certain social needs (economic, political, cultural, religious, etc.).

The emergence of a social institution, such as education, is necessary for organizing relatively socially controlled socialization of members of society, for transmitting culture and social norms, and in general for creating conditions for satisfying social needs - the meaningful cultivation of members of society.

The increasing complexity of the structure and life of each specific society leads to the fact that at certain stages of its historical development:

1) education is differentiated into family, religious and social, the role, meaning and correlation of which are not constant;

2) education spreads from the elite strata of society to the lower ones and covers an increasing number of age groups (from children to adults);

3) in the process of social education, first training and then education are identified as its components;

4) correctional education appears;

5) dissocial education takes shape, carried out in criminal and totalitarian, political and quasi-religious communities;

17b 6) the tasks, content, style, forms and means of education change;

7) the importance of education is growing, it is becoming a special function of society and the state, turning into a social institution.

Education as a social institution includes:

1) a combination of family, social, religious, correctional and dissocial education;

2) a set of social roles: pupils, professional educators and volunteers, family members, clergy, heads of state, regional, municipal levels, administration of educational organizations, leaders of criminal and totalitarian groups; educational organizations of various types and types;

3) educational systems and governing bodies at the state, regional, municipal levels;

4) a set of positive and negative sanctions, both regulated by documents and informal;

5) resources: personal (qualitative characteristics of the subjects of education - children and adults, level of education and professional training of educators), spiritual (values and norms), informational, financial, material (infrastructure, equipment, educational literature, etc.).

14. Social education. Education as one of the components of socialization

Education becomes relatively autonomous in the process of socialization at a certain stage of development of each specific society, when it acquires such a degree of complexity that there is a need for special activities to prepare the younger generations for life in society. Let us note in passing that early stages existence of any society, as well as in modern archaic societies, education and socialization are syncretic and indivisible. Education differs from chaotic and relatively guided socialization in that it is based on social action.

German scientist M. Weber, who introduced this concept, defined it as an action aimed at solving problems; as an action specifically focused on the responsive behavior of partners; as an action that involves a subjective understanding of the possible behavior options of people with whom a person interacts.

Upbringing– the process is discrete (discontinuous), because, being systematic, it is carried out in certain organizations, that is, limited by place and time.

Education is one of the main categories of pedagogy. However, there is no generally accepted definition of parenting. One explanation for this is its polysemy. Education can be considered as a social phenomenon, as an activity, as a process, as a value, as a system, as an impact, as an interaction, etc. Below is a definition that attempts to reflect what is common to education as a process of relatively socially controlled socialization , but the specifics of family, religious, social, correctional and dissocial education, which will be discussed later, are not affected.

Education is the meaningful and purposeful formation of a person, consistently promoting a person’s adaptation in society and creating conditions for his isolation in accordance with the specific goals of the groups and organizations in which it is carried out.

To define the concept of “education”, many researchers highlight:

1) education in a broad social sense, i.e. the formation of a person under the influence of society. Education is identified with socialization;

2) education in a broad sense, meaning purposeful education carried out in educational institutions;

3) education in the narrow pedagogical sense, namely educational work, the purpose of which is to form in children a system of certain qualities, views, and beliefs;

4) education in an even narrower sense - the solution of specific educational tasks (for example, the education of a certain moral quality, etc.).

5. Guseinov A. A. Expression of crisis and symptoms of renewal. Philosophy, culture, education (round table materials) // Issues. philosophy. - 1999 -No. 3.

6. Lévi-Strauss K. The Way of Masks. - M., 2000. - P. 327.

7. Lektorsky V. A. Philosophy and integration of modern social and humanitarian knowledge (materials of the round table") // Vogtr. philosophy. - 2004. - No. 7.

8. Russell B. Wisdom of the West. - M., 1998. - P. 468.

9. Russell B. Philosophy of logical atomism. - Tomsk: Aquarius, 1999. - P. 166.

UDC 370.1 + 362

EDUCATION AS A SOCIAL INSTITUTE

A. V. Mudrik

The education system, purposefully created by society and the state, is one of the subsystems that provides society with the “human capital” necessary for the effective functioning and development of culture, the economy, and the social structure as a whole. In turn, upbringing carried out in the educational system can be considered as one of the components of the process of human development throughout his life under the influence of numerous circumstances and in interaction with various social institutions, structures, and organizations.

In other words, upbringing in the educational system is carried out in explicit or implicit interaction, complementarity or contradiction with a whole complex of conditions characteristic of a particular society, which together determine the formation of a person, his socialization. In this regard, it seems appropriate to briefly consider education in the context of socialization. In the interpretation of socialization, two approaches have historically developed: subject-object: the subject of socialization is society, the object is man (E. Durkheim and T. Parsons) and subject-subject: both society and man are subjects of socialization (C. Cooley and J. G. . Mead).

Within the framework of the subject-subject approach, socialization is the development and self-change of a person in the process of assimilation of culture, which occurs in the interaction of a person with spontaneous, relatively directed and purposefully created living conditions at all age stages (the most important and most developed of them is the education system).

Education (relatively socially controlled socialization) becomes autonomous from the historically primary spontaneous socialization when, at a certain stage of the socio-economic development of a particular society, preparation for the life of its members is allocated to a relatively independent sphere. Gradually, education becomes a special function of society and the state, that is, it is formalized into a specific social institution, in which the educational system plays a leading role.

The essence of socialization is a combination of adaptation and isolation of a person in society, the balance of which determines the formation of an individual as a social being and the development of his individuality.

Education as a relatively meaningful, purposeful “nurturing” of a person, carried out in the family, in religious and educational organizations (including educational ones), more or less consistently contributes to a person’s adaptation in society and creates conditions for his isolation in accordance with the specific goals and content and means of family, religious education, as well as social and correctional types of education carried out by the education system.

Education differs from spontaneous socialization primarily in that it is based on social action. This concept was introduced by Max Weber, who considered social actions of a person aimed at solving problems and consciously focused on the responsive behavior of partners. Social action involves a subjective understanding of the possible behavior options of people with whom a person interacts.

Thus, the basis for separating the process of education from the process of spontaneous socialization is its meaningfulness and the presence in it of a certain conscious goal, which is most characteristic of educational organizations.

Spontaneous socialization is a continuous process, since a person constantly interacts with society. Education is a discrete (discontinuous) process, because, being relatively meaningful and purposeful, it is carried out in a certain place, at a certain time and in a certain organization. In addition, its discreteness is determined by the fact that since certain types of upbringing and types of educational organizations do not have common goals and a well-functioning and consistent relationship, the “nurturing” of a person does not become a continuous process (even in the education system, upbringing has an objectively discrete nature).

The relationship between education and spontaneous socialization, the “volume” of education in the process of socialization vary significantly both in different societies and, to a lesser extent, in different strata of the same society. The more modernized a society is, i.e., the more complex its social structure, the further it has advanced in socio-economic development, the more it is aware of the need for “human capital” of a certain quality, the more resources it spends on its preparation and additional training and even more so, the education system created in it is developed. And therefore, the greater the “volume” that its socially controlled part occupies in the process of socialization, the greater the role that education as a social institution and the education system as its component play in public life. In addition, the more elite a particular stratum of society is, the greater importance is attached to the education of its representatives, corresponding to its position, claims and needs.

The scope of education in the process of socialization largely determines its place in the hierarchy of values of society and its individual strata.

The value of education in social life has two aspects: objective and subjective. The objective value of education is manifested

in what resources society spends on educating its members, how the level of education affects their social status and success in life. The subjective value of education is determined, in particular, by what expectations representatives of certain sections of society associate with education, what requirements they place on the content of education, how much, from their point of view, it is connected with their daily life activities and the success of achieving group and individual goals and etc.

In more modernized societies, upbringing (and especially the education system) is a serious factor in horizontal and vertical social mobility, because the possibility of a person’s transition from one role to another, from one stratum to another, more elite one, depends on it. In traditional societies, education can, to one degree or another (depending on the degree of traditionalism of the society), “preserve” the social structure. This is mainly due to two circumstances: the more traditional the society, the more isolated and closed all the strata in it, especially the elite ones, and the more modernized the society, the less differences in the content and quality of education in the lower and elite strata.

The place of education in the hierarchy of social values, on the one hand, depends, and on the other hand, determines the readiness of society to pay more or less attention to it, to allocate more or less resources for its development. This is also related to the degree of readiness of society to put forward and formulate educational tasks, to search for and implement effective ways to solve them.

Upbringing in the educational system, considered in the context of socialization, has certain opportunities to influence the positive nature of a person’s socialization, namely:

Upbringing in educational institutions to a certain extent determines how the object of socialization (a person) more or less successfully masters prosocial norms and values, rather than asocial or antisocial normative value attitudes and behavioral scenarios;

Educational institutions have certain opportunities to create conditions for the prosocial self-realization of a person as a subject of socialization, for the manifestation and development of his subjectivity and subjectivity in a positive aspect;

Upbringing in the educational system can create such conditions for a person’s development that will help him achieve a balance between adaptation in society and isolation in it, that is, to one degree or another, minimize the degree to which he becomes a victim of socialization;

The education system has some opportunities to prevent a person from encountering certain dangers of spontaneous socialization, as well as to minimize and partially correct the consequences of collisions that have occurred, that is, to reduce the risk of a person becoming a victim of unfavorable conditions of socialization.

Presented above a brief description of the relationship between education and socialization makes it possible to bear in mind not only the objective con-

text of education, but also take it into account in the process of determining priorities, formulating principles, developing content and methods for developing education in the education system.

1. Count Uvarov’s slogan “Orthodoxy. Autocracy. Nationality" was a response to another slogan "Freedom. Equality. Brotherhood". The ideas contained in them directly opposed each other. The mechanism by which these ideas became the basis of the ideology of both Russia and France, respectively, in the 19th and early 20th centuries was the same. This mechanism was education.

2. 20s XX century entered the history of the Russian school as a period of experimentation, innovation, and confusion. In the 30s the school was streamlined, “reduced to a common denominator.” It was not the innovations of the 20s that became common, but the deteriorated examples of the pre-October gymnasium system. The education system, the foundations of which were laid by Peter I, took over.

3. In Moscow and Khabarovsk, in Arkhangelsk and Taganrog, teachers and parents have very similar ideas about what children should be, how to achieve this, how to encourage and punish them. And these ideas are very stable.

The examples given (and their number can be multiplied many times) show that any attempt to influence the formation of the younger generations, change its content, forms of organization, etc. may be more or less successful, if we bear in mind the presence of a phenomenon in the life of society, whose name is “education as a social institution.”

Since the late 80s. The word “upbringing” has practically ceased to be used; the term “education” has become fashionable. Even kindergartens have become preschool educational institutions.

Vladimir Ivanovich Dal would be very surprised by such a replacement. In his dictionary we read: “To form - to give a form, an image; to trim... education is the state of being educated or an external gloss.” “To educate is to take care of the material and moral needs of a child... to educate is to give water and nourishment.”

It seems to me that “watering and feeding” is a more honorable thing than “hewing.” But apparently many people think differently. These reflections should be classified as black pedagogical humor, if not for one “but”...

Words know how to take revenge on themselves. The actual exclusion of the word “upbringing” from the relevant documents and various pedagogical texts resulted in practice in schools and other “educational” institutions ceasing to engage in upbringing. Ten years later, unpleasant consequences became obvious, about which they now talk and write a lot.

The question arises: were the consequences not foreseen before? And another: what was wrong with my upbringing?

“Education” became an outcast because for many years it had a communist definition. But this is really just an excuse. But there were other reasons. Firstly, many of those who are supposed to educate did not know how to do this and did not want to. And secondly, education is a ministerial, departmental word. Education is carried out by certain institutions. Education is a non-departmental word. It is difficult to “pin” him to certain ministries. An official, even with high academic titles, loves order and certainty. He also likes to have less responsibility for anything. It is easier to be responsible for education -

it has a “registration” and a clear definition in content, forms and methods of monitoring results.

With education, everything is much more complicated. Education takes place not only in educational institutions, but also in other organizations (for example, in children's and youth voluntary associations - scouts, pioneers, etc.), as well as in the family, in religious organizations, etc., a much larger number of people are involved in education structures of society than education. Its content, forms and methods in these structures are very diverse and sometimes quite specific. Therefore, it is not easy to “keep track” of them, perhaps that is why there is still no more or less clear, much less generally accepted, definition of the concept of “education.”

The unfinished sentence “Education is...” is usually completed by practicing teachers with various words. But they have a common meaning: education is work carried out with children, adolescents, and young men outside the learning process (it is no coincidence that for many decades Soviet pedagogy solved the problem of “ensuring the unity of teaching and upbringing”).

If you look for the ending of the phrase “Education is...” in dictionaries, encyclopedias, pedagogy textbooks, you will find complete inconsistency. It turns out that education is influence, interaction, activity, cooperation, process, etc. All these definitions are fair, but... one-sided. They should hardly be considered as contradictory to each other. Rather, they complement each other. But even taken together, all these definitions do not reflect the role that education plays in society, the life and development of its members. In order to show and reveal this role, education must be characterized as a social institution.

In no city in the world will you be able to find a building with the sign “Social Institute”. And this despite the fact that in every society there are quite a few social institutions. The list alone is impressive.

Culture is a social institution. Religion is a social institution. The media is a social institution. The family (not each individually, but as a phenomenon) is a social institution. And then there are political, economic and other social institutions.

A logical question arises: why are quite ordinary things, for example, newspapers, radio, television and other media collectively called a social institution. The fact is that their activities are directed and regulated by certain norms and rules that have developed in the process of historical development, both formal (laws, instructions, charters, etc.) and informal (traditions, values, customs that are shared by those working in them People).

In addition, the media, in accordance with the interests of society, individual social strata and professional groups, influence the views and behavior of members of society in various spheres of their life. And finally, in general, the media satisfy the essential need of society and its citizens for information. The media as a social institution -

this is a set of material resources (printing houses, radio stations, television studios, etc.), personal resources (the people who create them), spiritual resources (the values that they broadcast; norms, traditions, etc., in accordance with which they work).

Other social institutions (culture, religion, etc.) can be characterized in a similar way, each of which directs and controls the activities of members of society in vital areas of family and spiritual life, politics, economics, etc. A social institution is a scientific concept, a kind of abstraction . You cannot touch it with your hand, but you can see its individual elements (temple, theater, book, members of specific families, etc.), they are quite material and can be touched. Around the middle of the 19th century. In developed countries, education has developed as a social institution that is very important for individuals and society.

Education becomes a social institution at a certain historical stage in the development of each specific society. Namely, when the requirements for the preparation of all citizens for participation in economic and social life, for their assimilation of a certain level of culture, those values, norms of behavior and relationships that regulate the life of society and unite it, are significantly increased, i.e. when The most important social need—the systematic and purposeful formation and development of members of society—becomes relevant.

Education, like any social institution, has certain elements. First of all, we need to pay attention to the fact that historically there have been five fairly autonomous, but interconnected, and most importantly complementary, types of education: family, religious, social, dissocial and correctional.

Their fundamental differences from each other are absolutely obvious. Thus, the basis of religious education is the sacredness (i.e. sacredness) of its goals, content, means, etc. An emotional component plays a significant role in it, which can be considered the basis of family education. In social and correctional education, the rational component predominates, and the emotional component plays, although significant, a complementary role. All types of education differ significantly from each other in tasks, principles, methods, forms, and style of interaction between those who educate and those who are being educated.

An important element of education as a social institution is the educators and the educated (not good, of course, people are an element, but the most important one): family members and relatives (if this is family education); believers, clergy and teachers of religious educational organizations; children, teenagers, young men, professional educators of various specializations (teachers, educators, trainers, social workers etc.), volunteer educators (volunteers); organizers or leaders of religious, social and correctional education.

Education as a social institution includes a wide range of educational organizations (this is another element of it), both state and non-state (including religious). Their list

will take up a lot of space and the reader is unlikely to learn anything new from it. It is only necessary to indicate the diversity of these organizations: from kindergartens and secondary schools to universities and criminal communities, from institutions for the gifted to correctional labor colonies, from pioneer and scout groups to Bible circles.

An element of education as a social institution can be considered systems of social and correctional education and their management bodies at various levels: state, regional, municipal, as well as local (educational systems that have developed in specific organizations).

And, finally, an important element of education as a social institution are the resources that society and the state “invest” in the formation and development of their members.

Personal resources are the qualitative characteristics of the subjects of education (children and adults), the level of education and professional training of educators. Spiritual resources are those values and norms that are cultivated in the process of education and determine the nature of the interaction of its subjects.

Financial resources - funds from the federal, regional and municipal budgets; various off-budget and private “infusions”. Material resources - buildings and structures, equipment, inventory, educational literature, etc.

Thanks to the presence of all the above elements and depending on their quality, education as a social institution more or less effectively implements its inherent functions.

Education as a social institution in any developed society has a whole set of functions. The most obvious is the preparation of “human capital” necessary for the existence and development of society. This refers to the creation of conditions for the nurturing of a person, his development and spiritual and value orientation, for his acceptable self-realization.

Of particular importance in this regard is the preparation of a person for changing types of occupations, roles, teams and groups within his social stratum (this is called horizontal social mobility), as well as for the transition from one social stratum, from one professional group to others (and this is vertical social mobility). The more developed a society is, the more it and its members are interested in both types of mobility, which largely depend on upbringing.

Another very important function of education is ensuring the stability of social life, on the one hand, and its renewal, on the other. The first is due to the fact that education as a social institution transmits historically established culture, values, and norms of behavior, thereby promoting the continuity of generations. The second is due to the fact that the more developed a society is, the more the education of its members is aimed at preparing them to solve emerging non-standard problems, many of which previous generations have not encountered.

And finally, another function is integration, the unification of society. The more similar in content the upbringing members of society receive,

how less parenting depends on their belonging to one or another socio-cultural strata (and this dependence remains in any case), the more harmonized are the interests, aspirations, and relationships of gender, age, socio-professional and ethno-confessional groups and strata. And this is an important prerequisite and at the same time a condition for the internal cohesion of society. These and some other functions of education, as a rule, are not only recognized, but also formulated by society. But education as a social institution also has other hidden, unconscious, unformulated functions.

The latent (hidden) functions of education as a social institution are quite diverse, numerous, and not all of them are known. Let's mention just a few. Let's start with the fact that education objectively differentiates (divides) children depending on their achievements (few people in power and ideologists of education admit this, but it is true). Already in kindergarten or at playground in the yard, teachers and parents “pass sentences”: “you’re so awkward,” “greedy” (if the child does not give toys to his friends), “pimp” (if he gives too willingly). And often these sentences are not subject to appeal or review. A long time ago (back in the 1960s), the Ukrainian teacher A.V. Kirichuk discovered that the position of the child in the team, which he occupied in childhood (leader, outcast, outcast, etc.), does not change until graduation. (And in kindergarten and in the first two grades of school, it largely depends on the grades and attitude of teachers towards him.) This is just one example of how education objectively differentiates those being educated (and there are also excellent students and poor students, active, passive, difficult, etc. . n. - depending on other bases of differentiation). And this division, this “sentence” passed by education as a social institution, can determine the entire scenario of a person’s life.

The second one naturally follows from the first hidden function. Differentiation becomes the basis and prerequisite for the selection (selection) of people in relation to the social-role structure of society. And this selection begins very early. Parents are involved in raising a child - he has a better chance of successfully preparing for school. IN primary school the child gets a good teacher - this will have a beneficial effect on his development. In high school, it is not customary to study well - the opportunity to enter a university is sharply declining. A highly prestigious university gives you a chance to join the elite of society, etc., etc. Education as a social institution “sorts” people according to their suitability for this or that profession, for occupying certain positions. This selection is largely determined by the conditions in which a particular person is raised.

And finally, another hidden function of education as a social institution, which helps or prevents a person from adapting (adapting) to the social situation in which he lives, as well as to the changes that occur in it. First of all, we are talking about those realities and changes that are not realized, and more often not recognized by society. Let us give one somewhat paradoxical example.

There was a period when percentage mania (“we write three and two in our minds”) flourished in schools. Everyone condemned this evil, even education officials. But

Objectively, this percentomania performed an adaptive function of education, preparing students for life in a society in which a double standard prevailed both in production and in social life (they said one thing, acted differently). The situation was similar in the Pioneer and Komsomol organizations: slogans are one, practice is another. And in the family, children saw how their parents spoke and acted.

The relationship between the explicit and hidden functions of education as a social institution and the effectiveness of their implementation are largely related to the state of society at a specific stage of its development.

Education as a social institution functions differently in stable and transitional societies (Russian society also belongs to the latter). In any society, education is constantly faced with a variety of social problems (from insufficient funding to drug addiction and alcoholism). However, in transitional societies, education itself becomes a social problem. Why?

It must be borne in mind that the formation of younger generations in modern Russia is in the process of assimilating the not yet established values and norms of a society in transition. In this situation, teenagers, especially young men, need to make choices that determine their present and future.

IN real life the choice is made from several alternatives: study (type educational institution, duration of training), going into small commerce (less often - into business), into criminal structures. It is also possible (and often) to refuse a choice, and as a result - aggressive, passive or self-destructive behavior.

The problem of readiness or unpreparedness to make a choice, unwillingness and inability to make it is a social problem of Russian society. And it poses new tasks for education, which it is hardly ready to solve. Because the unstable transitional society itself does not have a solution to them. An unstable society, unlike a stable one, is generally unable to adequately set the tasks of education and determine its content.

In a stable society (be it French, Danish or Soviet), the interests and capabilities of different social strata, professional and age groups are relatively harmonized, which determines their interest in maintaining stability. Therefore, in a stable society, the task is to educate a person in the process and as a result of the transfer of the culture that has developed in society from generation to generation and from the elite to the lower strata (regardless of ideological and pedagogical declarations). At the same time, the question “what to convey?” objectively not worth it, although it can be actively discussed.

In an unstable, changing society, the situation is fundamentally different. There is no social consensus (agreement), i.e. the interests of different social, professional and even age groups “do not fit together” and contradict each other. Most of them are united only by agreement that this society needs to be changed. But there is no unity on the question of what needs to be changed, and even more so in what direction.

A changing society is not able to set real and adequate goals for education, because it does not have an established ideal of human

ka and a sustainable scenario for its development, it is only trying to determine “its” and “their” hierarchies, to find new ideological guidelines. It only knows that it needs to raise a “different” person and do it “differently.”

In the conditions of a changing society, education as a social institution actually faces the task of finding, simultaneously with society, the answer to the question: what to develop in a person, or rather, in what direction to educate him and how to do it?

A natural question arises: how realistic is this? The answer is either no, or perhaps hidden in the fog of the future.

In what direction will education as a social institution of Russian society change, what values will meaningfully determine the implementation of its obvious and hidden functions? There is no obvious answer to these questions. This means that in the near future, education will remain a pressing social problem. It’s just a pity that society is little concerned about this.

ABOUT THE PROBLEM OF FORECASTING IN EDUCATION

I. P. Lebedeva

Changes taking place in Russian system education, open up rich opportunities for innovation and at the same time create a field of uncertainty of events and phenomena. In this regard, there is a need to develop a scientifically based strategy and tactics for managing educational systems, identifying leading guidelines in pedagogical activity and searching for constructive mechanisms for its transformation in accordance with the goals. In the current situation, carrying out objective forecasts is the initial stage of developing ways for the most effective development of education in the variety of emerging opportunities.

It is obvious that forecasting should be based on a deep qualitative and structural-quantitative analysis of the educational system. In this case, it is possible to identify not only the nature of changes in its development, but also indicate to what extent the parameters of the system’s functioning will change as a result of the influence of random and non-random factors. The essence of a forecast is to determine the likely consequences of a given situation. To do this, it is assumed that the pattern of development operating in the past will continue in the projected future, i.e., trends are extrapolated.

The use of extrapolation in forecasting is based on the following premises:

The development of the phenomenon under study as a whole is a continuous process;

The general trend of development of the phenomenon in the past and present should not undergo major changes in the future;

There is a continuity of evolutionary states of the system under study.