Features of the formation of spiritual and moral values in the educational practice of Germany in the second half of the twentieth century

Abstract

The problem of forming spiritual and moral values in the educational practice of Germany in the second half of the twentieth century is of theoretical interest and practical value for Russian teachers in terms of using the experience accumulated by foreign colleagues in the course of reforming the national school. The hypothesis of the study was that the various forms of work practiced by teachers of the two countries – the GDR and the FRG, – during this period contributed to the formation of spiritual and moral values among the youth of the two German states. The following research methods were used: literature analysis, scientific and pedagogical interpretation of information contained in sources; comparative method; axiological method that allows to identify the positive content in the scientific subject. Main results of the study. The fundamental difference in socio-political and ideological attitudes that took place in the GDR and the FRG in 1949-1989 determined to a decisive extent the choice of forms and content of educational work carried out in educational institutions in both countries. In the GDR, there was a single comprehensive public school, which was under the full ideological and administrative control of the ruling Socialist United Party of Germany. Special attention was paid to educating the younger generation in the spirit of devotion to the ideals of socialism, rejection of religion and the values of bourgeois society. The Union of Free German Youth and the children's pioneer organization named after Ernst Telman were actively used in the process of socialist education of young people. At the same time, they actually copied the forms and methods of work of the corresponding organizations that operated in the USSR, – the Komsomol and the Lenin Pioneer organization. In Germany, on the contrary, there was a significant number of types of secondary educational institutions, many of which were non-governmental: private, Waldorf, Catholic and Evangelical, etc. Ideological education, aimed, among other things, at the assimilation of spiritual and moral values, was carried out mainly at school, in accordance with the guidelines adopted in this educational institution. The study allowed us to characterize the features of the formation of spiritual and moral values in the educational practice of Germany in the second half of the twentieth century. The significance of the results obtained is that they to a certain extent factual enrich modern Russian historical and pedagogical science. The main conclusion of the study is that in the GDR, the concept of the goal of education was inextricably linked with collective interests and orientation to the socialist ideology, while the liberal-democratic ideology in the FRG gave absolute priority to the individual over the collective. A scientifically formulated study of this approach provides a perspective for further research.