Education

Question 1

Lenin: How did Lenin expand compulsory education?

Answer 1

• Abolished fees for primary schools
• Unified schools, made education compulsory for all children ages 8 to 17
• Abolished fees for primary schools
• By 1928, 60% of Soviet children of primary school ages were in schools.

Question 2

Lenin: How did he reduce illiteracy?

Answer 2

• Introduced education for soldier. 100% of soldiers in the Red Army could read and write by 1925.
• Set up reading groups in factories to educate workers
• Published 6.5 million textbooks, rise in the number of people able to identify letters.

Question 3

Lenin: What problems did he face?

Answer 3

• Civil War meant there was a lack of resources so unable to invest in education.
• Learning was not a priority.
• Teachers did not support the regime
• School funding was cute

Question 4

Lenin: How did he improve education for women?

Answer 4

• Women no longer needed permission to take a job or do further studies
• Reading rooms for women

Question 5

Stalin: How did Stalin use education for his own policies?

Answer 5

• Needed disciplined and literate workers

- Teachers targeted and attacked as they were associated with the government and therefore considered an enemy.

Question 6

Stalin: How did he eliminate illiteracy?

Answer 6

• Relaunched the campaign against illiteracy

- 90% of Soviet adults attended a literacy course. By the end of the Five Year Plan around 68% of people were literate.

Question 7

Stalin: What was discipline like under Stalin?

Answer 7

• Teaching methods:
  Copying Stakhanov
• Code of conduct:
  Teachers and students alike had to follow a strict set of rules
• Gender segregation
  Introduced segregation in secondary schools.

Question 8

Khrushchev: How did Khrushchev change what was taught in schools?

Answer 8

• Reintroduced polytechnic education with a focus of math and science.
• Wanted workers with more sophisticated skills for light industry.

Question 9

Khrushchev: How did he change the use of discipline?

Answer 9

Removed rules relating to sitting and standing postures in schools.

Question 10

Khrushchev: How did he improve education for women?

Answer 10

• Education was made widely available in cities for women.

- By 1960s, women made up half of the graduates.

Question 11

Brezhnev: How did Brezhnev reverse many of Khrushchev’s policies?

Answer 11

• Ended vocational training for students ages 16-19 in farms and factories
• Ended the 11 year schooling policy in favour of a gradual shift from 8 year schooling to 10 year schooling.
• Abandoned compulsory secondary education.

Question 12

Brezhnev: Were universities successful in the Soviet Union?

Answer 12

• New courses were introduced

New buildings were made to accommodate non-Russian ethnic backgrounds.

Question 13

Brezhnev: What were students numbers like?

Answer 13

Higher education grew from 1.5 million to over 5 million.

Question 14

Brezhnev: What were the courses like?

Answer 14

Introduced new courses electronics, radio, construction, agricultural chemistry and machine-building were introduced.

Question 15

Brezhnev: What were staff numbers like?

Answer 15

Academic staff increased from 87,000 to 380,000 between 1958-80.

Question 16

Brezhnev: How diverse was education?

Answer 16

Brezhnev founded 18 universities in non-Russian Soviet republics