The Retrospect and Prospect of the Modern University Models: Russian Example

Abstract

Many higher education theorists and practitioners agree that the university system is progressively becoming ineffective. The article explores the historical retrospect and prospect of the evolution of the modern university as a social institution, the successor of the medieval university and the university of the Modern Times. Humboldt's idea of a university outlined the design of the modern European university model and became the underlying concept for the Russian higher school, which, as compared to Europe, did not have any medieval predecessor-universities. As we can see, the Humboldtian model of the university comes into conflict with the present-day cultural environment and with the processes taking place in higher education: commercialization, massification, bureaucracy, etc. These processes, together with such trends in education as globalization, informatization, cultural space networking, changing youth socialization, etc. urge the revision of the conceptual framework of the university model. The three former university models: corporate (medieval); classical (Humboldtian); modern (pedagogical) are being replaced by new models of the university of the future: the "Open (hybrid) University", the Third Generation University, the Entrepreneurial University, the Research University, etc. Great expectations are pinned on new technologies to overcome the crisis of the modern university system. However, they should not be seen as the panacea -the viewpoint adopted by some university authorities who are fast in employing IT innovations, though they are nothing but a mere tool of no inherent value. As a tool, they have their own benefits that should not gloss over their limitations.

Nuevos escenarios para la estrategia de desarrollo universitario en el espacio educativo internacional

“…The model of a classical university was substantiated by Humboldt. According to it, the university is perceived as a particular institution with cultural and educational value in itself (Gilyazova & Zamoshchanskaya, 2019). The introduction of commercial activity, or academic capitalism, into the work of any specified model of the university, as well as the managerialization, "McDonaldization" of education leads to the emergence of many other diverse models of the university, which often do not meet the requirements and status of the University in the classical sense.…”

A liberal arts and sciences education at the Russian higher school: concept, formats, benefits and limitations

“…During the Enlightenment, at European universities, the function of liberal arts as the knowledge essential for intellectual and spiritual virtues passed either to philosophy or to literature. The re-conception was institutionally entrenched by the project of Wilhelm von Humboldt's university [13] and by Cardinal Newman's reforms. This explains why arguments put forward by advocates of the liberal arts tradition are frequently borrowed from works of W. Humboldt or J. H. Newman [4; 32].…”

Uniwersytet 4.0 – mit cyfrowej akademii? Refleksja historyczno-komunikologiczna

“…Opisywana w części badawczej zmiana pozwala uznać za zadowalające zdolności organizacyjne badanych uczelni w reakcji na sytuację nadzwyczajną. Dostępne w światowym obiegu naukowym badania wskazują jednak na fakt, że współczesny uniwersytet pomimo postępu technologicznego i wdrożonych edukacji, wciąż jest zbudowany na tradycyjnym modelu zarządzania (Gilyazova i Zamoshchanskaya, 2019), co może powodować pewne ograniczenia rozwojowe. Dodatkowo analizując modele współpracy uniwersytetów z otoczeniem ukazują, iż zasadnicza modernizacja systemu edukacji, która nie idzie w parze z tworzeniem nowych miejsc pracy dla absolwentów, konkurencyjnym wynagrodzeniem za pracę i poprawę jakości życia, będzie skutkować "drenażem mózgów", co podano już w raporcie z 1992 roku (Hryniewicz, Jałowiecki i Mync, 1992).…”