The Bologna process in the education system of the Russian Federation is an issue that must be considered taking into account the history of the formation, development and development of higher education outside the state. In particular, the end of the 20th century was largely decisive for the Russian national education system, since during this period cardinal changes took place at all levels of the higher education that had been formed by that time.
Common ground between European and Russian education
The reform process was quite natural and expected, since the optimization of the political, economic and social spheres of the state's life should have entailed restructuring in the circle of other social relations. Important steps had to take place first of all in the substantive and methodological part, and not only at the ideological level. Naturally, the ongoing changes have contributed to the modernization of the management system of universities, as well as the introduction of significant changes in the regulatory and legislative framework.
Throughout the existence and development of Russia asof a single modern power, European educational systems were exemplary. For the first time, the mechanism of functioning of the education sector in the countries of the Old World was reflected in domestic higher institutions as early as the middle of the 18th century. This can explain the frequent manifestations of traditions in Russian universities that are characteristic of European schools. The similarity is manifested in the structure, development trends, and content activities.
The new foreign policy process has played a huge role in reforming the education system. The Bologna educational course, which Russia has been moving towards and for many years, corresponds to the state perceived by the advanced European powers as a worthy equal partner.
The transition to a new level and the birth of the Bologna system
With the collapse of the USSR and the transition of the Russian state to a market economy, the actions of the leadership to meet the country's internal and external needs for professionally trained personnel became more active and moved towards the creation of commercial universities. Only in this way the domestic system of higher education could compete with other representatives of the international market for the educational spectrum of services.
It should be noted that the Bologna process in Russia has practically turned the national education system upside down. Before focusing on the European system, the educational mechanism looked completely different. To ensure the quality of professionaleducation, the country approved state educational standards, first of the first, and then of the second generation. The purpose of establishing this standardization, the country's leadership considered the creation of a single educational space and the establishment of equivalent equality of documents on education with those of other developed countries.
On the harmonization of the architecture of the European higher education system
The Bologna educational process began its inception in May 1998. Then a multilateral agreement "On the harmonization of the architecture of the European system of higher education" was signed at the Sorbonne. The declaration, which later came to be considered the introduction to the Bologna Treaty, was adopted by the ministers of France, Great Britain, Italy and Germany.
Its task was to create and develop the right effective strategy for the development of a pan-European model of education. The fundamental elements of this agreement were the cyclical nature of training, the use of a credit-modular system.
Bologna Agreement
The process (Bologna it became known because the signing of the corresponding agreement took place in Bologna) of creating a new European education was aimed at harmonizing and merging the individual educational systems of each state into an integral space of higher education. June 19, 1999 is considered the date that marked this important step in the history of world education. On that day, representatives of the educational sector and ministers of more than 20 European powers agreed onsigning of the agreement, referred to after the Bologna Declaration. The 29 participating countries of the Bologna Process have left the agreement open, and at the moment other states can join the European Higher Education Area.
Implementation of the Bologna Process in Russia
As already mentioned, the educational system of post-Soviet Russia was in dire need of improvement. During the period of transition to an independent independent state, the sphere of higher education ceased to meet modern demands; even the slightest dynamics was not visible in its development. The potential of the richest internal reserve was not fully used. The reform of this sphere helped the country get rid of the ideology of Soviet totalitarianism and introduce into society the democratic process that is actively gaining momentum throughout the world.
The Bologna Treaty, signed by Russia in 2003, allowed the Russian state to join the single space of higher education in Europe. It is not surprising that with the introduction of European standards in this area, the scientific and teaching staff of the country was divided into two camps. Both opponents and supporters of the new positions appeared, but, meanwhile, changes and corresponding transformations are taking place to this day. The Bologna process of education is increasingly growing into the domestic educational system.
Continuously strengthening certain provisions of the declaration signed in Bologna contribute to the continuation of reconstructionRussian educational system with the aim of:
- bringing it into line with European public higher education systems;
- increasing the level of accessibility, popularity and democracy of universities among the local population;
- improving the competitiveness of graduates of higher educational institutions in Russia and the level of their professional training.
First shifts in higher education
The Bologna process in Russia, after a few years of operation, helped to achieve noticeable results. The main merit of this system is:
- a higher education zone was built in accordance with European standards, the main task of which is to develop the mobility of students with the prospect of employment;
- guaranteed the competitiveness of each higher education institution in the struggle for student enrollment, public funding in comparison with other educational systems;
- universities are endowed with an important role as central objects-bearers of the correct social consciousness in the course of the development of the cultural values of the peoples of Europe.
In addition, in recent years, the current ones have noticeably strengthened and are gradually gaining higher positions of the intellectual, scientific, technical and socio-cultural resource of Europe, where the Bologna process system helps to increase the prestige of each university.
Preparing Russia for the adoption of the Bologna Process
At the moment, the number of states that have adopted the Bologna Declaration continuesgrow. Today, the implementation of the Bologna process is a task for at least 50 modern states in Europe. However, it is worth paying attention to the preliminary Concept for the modernization of Russian education. This document, prepared by the Ministry of Education, was approved by the Russian government and the State Council. This document was valid until 2010.
The concept was the fundamental direction of the sovereign policy in the educational sphere, despite the fact that it did not contain the slightest hint of the Bologna Declaration or any other document of the process. Meanwhile, comparing the texts of the Concept and the provisions contained in the Bologna process, it will not be easy to find significant differences.
Just as higher education is appreciated in the Bologna process, the Concept notes the importance of recognizing that education is an integral factor in the formation of the newest level of the economy and social order. In fact, such a document is quite capable of competing with other educational foreign systems.
Description of the previous Concept
Recognizing the ability of the Russian education system to compete with the education structures of advanced countries, the Concept speaks of the need for the broadest support from society, as well as socio-economic policy, the return of the proper level of responsibility of the state, its important role in the educational sphere.
The drafting of the Concept for the modernization of Russian higher education has become preparatorystage in the process of the entry of the Russian state into the Bologna system. Despite the fact that at that time this was not the main task of the document, it became a certain prologue to the country's entry into a new path in the educational sphere. Among the important guidelines facing the heads of the relevant departments, it is worth mentioning the developed models of federal state educational standards for the qualification levels "Bachelor", "Master", concerning the range of technical and technological speci alties.
Compared to the states that signed the Bologna Agreement in 1999, Russia had a more advantageous position for itself. Turning to the documents of the Bologna process only at the beginning of the 21st century, Russia already had the opportunity to take note of the experience of European countries. In addition, the basic principles of training, systems of cooperation and control mechanism over the implementation of the process were long established and even passed the stages of testing.
To join the ranks of advanced states with the Bologna system of education, Russia was prompted by the need to organize an appropriate mechanism for confident competition with European, established to "automatism" educational ways.
Positive change
Thanks to Russia's entry into the common European educational space, graduates of domestic universities receive bachelor's, specialist's and master's degrees. All countries of the Bologna process recognized such documents as a single sample confirming the receipt of higher education, includingand Diploma Supplement adopted by the Council of Europe and UNESCO. Thus, graduates of Russian universities are given the opportunity to become full members of academic mobility programs.
Characteristic features of the Bologna system in Russia
From the fundamental points and provisions that the Bologna process brought to the Russian educational system, there are several:
- dividing the higher education system into two levels: undergraduate and graduate (4-5 years of training is required to obtain a bachelor's degree; masters study 1-2 years);
- inclusion in the curricula of the structure of hourly credits, which are a set of lectures, seminars and independent work of the student (only after completing the program for each discipline, designed for a certain number of hours, you can move on to the next course of study);
- assessment of the qualitative component of the acquired knowledge according to world standardized schemes;
- opportunity to continuously continue studying at almost any European university in case, for example, of moving from Russia;
- focusing attention on issues of the pan-European level and promoting their study.
Student benefits
It follows that graduates of Russian universities will receive diplomas of education, not only confirming their qualifications in their native country, but will also be quoted among employers throughout Europe. In turn, foreign students have great chances to find a job here. Besides,the most successful students will be given the opportunity to study for a semester or a year at universities abroad through distinctive mobility programs. It was also possible to change the chosen speci alty during the transition, for example, from a bachelor's degree to a master's degree.
Among the advantages of the directly educational process, it is worth mentioning the accumulative system of discipline credits, it will allow them to be used to accelerate the acquisition of a second higher education or in-depth study of a priority foreign language, both within the walls of the university and in other countries.
Conclusion
The development of the Bologna process was largely predetermined by the conditions of general reforms that affected almost all vital spheres of the Russian state. The formation of an established model of the educational system was significantly complicated by the differences between two such dissimilar cultures of higher education education: domestic and European. Discrepancies could be observed in everything: in the duration of training, qualification components, areas of special training. Differences could be easily noticed even in the way the educational process was organized.
The Bologna Treaty, which introduced fundamental changes in the educational system of Russia, implied a transition to a two-level system of higher education from a single-level one. Prior to the signing of the agreement, universities taught students continuously for 5 years. Certified and highly qualified professionals were trained on the basis of the developededucational program. Her disciplinary approach implied the choice of a specific unit of measure for the work of students and teachers, which was the academic hour. The calculation of the required amount of teaching load underlies the educational programs of higher education.
