Интеллектуальный потенциал населения: теоретико-методологические основы исследования

Abstract

The article considers the theoretical and methodological framework for the research into the population's intellectual potential. The presented materials show that this category is the subject of interdisciplinary studies, including philosophy, psychology, sociology, pedagogics, economics. One of the important conclusions drawn from the analysis of the essence of intellectual potential is the conclusion that the actual level of intelligence is the result of its development. It means that certain efforts on the part of such social institutions like family, education, government, promote not only the formation of smart people, but also the implementation of their potential intellectual capabilities in the production, creation of cultural values, society management, education, etc. when using this approach, the intellect ceases to be just a research object of related disciplines, but it acquires social dimension and becomes a socio-economic category. The basic theories, concepts and approaches, used in its study, were analyzed. The theory of human capital was given a most thorough consideration, because, according to this theory, the income of a person is earned by knowledge, abilities and skills, i.e. the essence of intellectual properties of an individual. The article provides the author's definition of the intellectual potential of the population, which brings to the fore the following elements necessary for the understanding of this category: relation to socio- economic development, factors in the formation of the characteristic, including the need for training (reproduction) of intelligent people, the psychological aspect (abilities), the carriers of intellectual potential are not ignored, because it is an attribute of the population. The article identifies methodological approaches to the estimation of the population's intellectual potential, describes the applied procedures and research methods. The authors propose methodological approaches to the monitoring of the population's intellectual potential as an indicator of innovation development of the society and the efficiency of public administration.