1.4c How successful was the Soviet government's attempts to improve the provision of education? Flashcards
Who was the first man in control of education under the Bolsheviks?
Lunachevsky
What was the aim of Lunachevsky in 1917?
To provide free, compulsory education for everyone
Why did Lunachevsky fail in trying to provide free education for all?
Lack of funding and resources
Under Lunachevsky, there was 1 pencil for every __ children
1 pencil for every 60 children
How big were class sizes under Lunachevsky?
40+
Why did rural areas benefit in terms of education under Lunachevsky in the mid-1920s?
Deportation of teachers in the Great Purge
Number of children in education:
- 1929 - __ million
- 1931 - __ million
Number of children in education:
- 1929 - 14 million
- 1931 - 20 million
During the 1930s, what type of people did education get extended to?
Children of ‘Alien Social Elements’ (e.g. bourgeoisie)
In 1934, how many years of primary and secondary education was there?
Primary - 4 years
Secondary - 3 years
In 1927, what was the average child’s school attendance in years?
2.77
What were the 3 options at the end of secondary education in 1934?
- 2/3 more years of education
- Vocational programme
- Work
In the 1980s, what was the education place difference between boys and girls
About the same but female attendance declined later on
In the 1980s, what happened to most schools?
They specialised
How was the inequality between ethnicities an obstacle to expansion of education?
Religious traditions were ingrained and hard to change so a lot of Muslim girls weren’t allowed to go to school
How was the attitudes towards education an obstacle to expansion of education?
Many rural communities felt education was a waste of time because they didn’t need the skills
What were Rabfak?
Schools set up after the Russian revolution to teach basic literacy and numeracy skills to adults
Who set up Rabfaks?
Khrushchev
By 1964, how many people used Rabfaks?
2 million
How did the government deal with uneducated adults other than Rabfaks?
Diplomas and Degrees
What quota was introduced in 1929 to widen participation in higher education?
70% of university places were reserved for for those of working-class origin
How successful was the quota where 70% of university places were reserved for for those of working-class origin?
It was only reached once and there was a 70% dropout rate
In what year was the quota for 70% of university places being reserved for for those of working-class origin abolished?
1935
In 1964, how many people were studying higher education part time?
half a million
What did Khrushchev introduce that was dropped the very same year?
All graduates had to spend 2 years working in a position directed by the government ‘to meet the nation’s needs’
By the early 1980s, ___ of people were involved in some sort of education
1/3
In the last years of the Tsarist regime, what was the illiteracy rate?
65%
In 1959, what percentage of the urban population were illiterate?
9.9%
In 1959, what percentage of the rural population were illiterate?
98%
What were ‘Liquidation Points’?
Where people could take basic training literacy courses
How many people used ‘Liquidation Points’ between 1920 and 1926?
5 million
What did all the soldiers in the Red Army have to attend?
Literacy classes
What was the name of the magazine sold by the Literacy League?
Down with illiteracy
__ million out of 17 million illiterates were women
14 million
In 1939 and 1959, what was the urban literacy rate?
1939 - 94%
1959 - 99%
How did an increase in literacy rates improve production?
Allowed more people to work in more roles
How did an increase in literacy rates improve the government’s hold on people? (2)
- Allowed them to better understand propaganda
- Reduced the hold of religion and superstition
Why were there such dramatic changes in the figures of those who were literate? (2)
- Being literate was defined as something as easy as being able to write your own name
- Education was made very available to those who wanted it
How did education allow the government to increase their hold on people?
Indoctrinated support for the Communist regime
Define Russification
Bringing a sense of unity to different ethnic groups in the name of Russia
How did Socialism have an effect on the system of education in place? (2)
- Tests abolished
- Classrooms renamed ‘Laboratories of learning’
How did people react to the new system of education? (2)
- Opposition from parents who wanted formal qualifications
- Authority of teachers declined as they started being dismissed by their own classes
How did the system of education change during the Cultural Revolution and the Great Retreat? (3)
- Exams reintroduced
- Authority given to teachers
- Compulsory pigtails for girls
What was the new system based on during the Cultural Revolution and the Great Retreat?
Anton Makarenko’s ‘Pedagogical Poem’ that stressed traditional dicipline
How effective was the new system of education under Lenin and Stalin?
Not very, they had to revert back to the original system due to the lack of teacher’s authority
What was the focus of Khrushchev’s changes to education?
Made it more vocational
Why were Khrushchev’s changes to education’s rejected by the party?
They saw them as restricting the availability of academic education for their own children
Which leader dropped the most drastic changes to education?
Brezhnev
Whose ideas were science in schools based upon and why is this significant?
Trofim Lysenko - his ideas on plant genetics were wrong
Whose approval did the history curriculum require before being taught?
Stalin
What was the name of the 1938 History textbook?
‘History of the all-Union Communist party’
What event caused a hurried rewriting of the History curriculum in 1956 and subsequent cancellation of exams?
Khrushchev’s De-Stalinisation
What happened to the history curriculum after De-Stalinisation?
Any favourable mention of Stalin was removed
What were history textbooks like under Brezhnev?
There was no mention of Stalin
What were all students required to learn? (2)
- Russian
- Marxist-Leninist Theory
What language was Russian taught in for ethnic minorities?
Their native language
How were schools that taught in Russian seen as oppose to schools that weren’t?
Better
Why were literary works in other languages rarely taught?
Out of fear of developing nationalist sentiment
What could be found in most kindergartens?
Shrines of ‘Uncle Lenin’
What do surveys show about Marxist-Leninist Theory lessons?
It was the most boring part of the curriculum
How were boys and girls treated differently in education?
They weren’t except for when they were separated during WW2
How did the students have authority in their classes?
Each class had an elected representative whose job it was to inform the teacher of ant misbehaviour
