Chapter 3: Principles of Education in The School

Abstract

Education [obrazovanie] is a complex and many-sided concept. It is based on the objective requirements of social development. Education is viewed from a different perspective in pedagogical theory and in everyday practice. When we speak of various levels of education, we use such terms as primary, secondary, and higher education. When we discuss the content and character of education, we refer to general, polytechnical and vocational education. But when we clarify the specialization of education, we introduce such concepts as technical, agricultural, medical, pedagogical [teacher training] education, etc. In some cases, these concepts differ substantially while in others they coincide to a certain degree. All youth receive an eight-year general education in the general education polytechnical labor school. Secondary education may be completed in the upper grades of the [ten-year] general education school. Secondary education may also be pursued in vocational-technical schools and secondary specialized educational institutions, which give pupils a general education and, at the same time, enable them to master a given specialty. Higher specialized education based on general secondary education is offered in higher educational institutions. The term vocational education is used at present primarily to describe education offered by vocational-technical schools.