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HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS (HEIS)
FOR CULTURE AND THE ARTS IN INTEGRATED EDUCATIONAL SPACE
I. G. Vasilyev
Lifelong education in culture and especially the arts is the most “lifelong” of all types of vocational education. Generally, it starts in the family environment prior to the entrance to regular art schools and ends when a particular specialist obtains the professional skills of the highest level provided that (among other things) the person has been continuously studying in the three-stage system of vocational education (an art school specialized in a particular field of arts, a vocational school, a higher education institution) that jhas been formed in our country for decades.
“The Development Policy for HEIs of the Russian Federation through 2015” was adopted at the International Symposium for “Higher Education Institutions for Culture and Arts in the Global Integrated Educational Space” (Moscow-Khimki, May 17th-18th, 2007).1 The symposium participants noted in their reports and summary documents the following key reasons of the problematic situation in the domestic cultural sphere: (a) economic imbalance which causes the disproportional development of information and resource elements of education in the field of culture and changes in demand for staffing in the innovation economics of the knowledge society; (b) the absence of targeted financing of research activities carried out by staffs of HEIs for culture and arts; (c) the reorganization of management systems in the institutions for culture and arts, the formation of new procedures of state and public and municipal administration, the development of nongovernmental cultural institutions; (d) the diversification of educational programs introduced at HEIs for culture and arts which is not adequately represented in the current list of specialties and fields, etc. The underestimated significance of the existing capabilities of HEIs for culture and arts as well as of their resources in the development of a new Russian national identity, and the lack of a regulatory environment specifying the training of staff in these HEIs reduce their role.
The chronic underdevelopment of material and technical resources for scientific and creative work of HEIs for culture and arts as well as the acquisition of libraries and information centers, along with outdated identification of job positions for cultural workers which does not represent the real diversity of occupations in the field of culture, are the most essential tasks
1 Order № 1244-p of the Government of the Russian Federation dated August 25,
2008
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to ensure the continuity of education in the field of culture and arts and innovation based on the fundamental and applied research within the humanities. The academic mobility program for HEIs for culture and the arts could encourage the preservation of folk arts, traditional and innovative forms of social and cultural work, and sharing management experiences between HEIs for culture and the arts under market conditions and dynamic international work of vocational education institutions, searching for new forms of collaboration between universities.
Another discussion of the integrated educational space for culture and arts was launched under the initiative of the Moscow University for Culture and the Arts on October 3rd - 10th, 2010 in Paris. The project is exclusive since it allows experts from different countries to share their educational experiences in the art field. In particular, Russia has wide practice in this sphere; however, Russia’s educational system considerably differs from the one in Europe. Therefore, having joined the Bologna process in 2003, the country’s teaching community has not still agreed whether to abandon their own traditions in favor of integration. Anyway, Ramazan Ab-dulatipov, the rector of Moscow University for Culture and Arts, made a very reserved comment on the situation in his interview with the radio station "Golos Rossii”: "The Bologna process... should be accepted by Russia primarily for Russia to join the European educational space. However, we should clearly realize that it we are also talking about the preservation of Russia’s cultural identity. This is the basic problem. It is important that we adapt to the European standards and yet retain our identity without destroying the achievements of the Russian educational system.”1
For example, musical education in Russia is characterized by the following stages: children’s music school, music college, music conservatory; the educational chain covers 16 years of continuous learning for a professional musician in Russia. "We’ve gotten accustomed to this system, professor Sergey Stadler emphasized in his interview with "Golos Rossii”, since it prepares musicians of different specialties and is designed for continuous learning. We’ve always had good results. To discontinue the learning process in musical occupations is illogical. A conductor or a composer with a Bachelor’s degree is absurd! On the other hand, we can make it possible for a person wishing to continue education after the Bachelor’s degree to pass to the graduate level without examinations. Generally, this will be lifelong education. I believe we can reach the middle ground if Rus-
1 Cultural cooperation between France and Russia. R.G. Abdulatipov’s interview. Link: http://u cawe. ru/index/php/n ewsru.
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sian HEIs need the Bologna process so much.”1 However, the Bologna process is not a law which, as is well known, is the same for all. The principal institutions of the country were given the possibility to choose.
The achievements of the professional musical education system adopted in Russia are widely recognized in the world. The high level of musicians’ training in Russian schools is the result of promotion and development of traditional practice, including educational program contents and the continuity of different stages in musical education: (a) multi-staged system of music schools; (b) successive methods of vocational and music training; (c) combined professional and fundamental music education.
This develops a strong successive relation between three structural links: a primary musical school, a specialized secondary school, and a HEI, each of them being an important stage of the whole process of vocational training: a school — a college — a HEI. Consequently, in view of available primary musical education, students’ vocational guidance and the system of continuous selection by the student body of music colleges and HEIs is formed.
The Russian system of multi-level training was formed in the 20s of the 20th century when all music-oriented schools were divided into music schools of three levels: first level (schools), second level (music colleges) and third level (conservatories).2 The educational model including aims, objectives, forms, methods, means of instruction and control, and the learning environment was formed for each level of education. Finally, musicians with secondary vocational music education, basic professional knowledge and skills, considerable experience in concert training and public recitals, who are often the winners of Russian and international contests enter HEIs with majors in music. Under these conditions, the task of the HEI is to improve vocational training and to educate highlyqualified professionals (that is exactly how the learning problems in HEIs are formulated by teachers on major specialties). The range of specialties increases at first for the secondary
1 Quotation: Елена Андрусенко, Наталья Викторова. Творческие вузы в Болонском процессе. Link: http://rus.ruvr.ru/2010/09/30.
2 The school-college-HEI system close to the modern one was formed in 1922, primarily as the generalization of practical experience in music education schools (5 conservatories, 25 music colleges and 25 music classes), and, secondly, as the work product of a very special distinguished committee of marked musicians. This committee included Ippoli-tov-Ivanov, Igumnov, Goldenweiser, Gnesin, Yaworsky, Kozolupov, etc. The principles formulated by Yavorsky in 1921 were not incidental, and the first music college curriculums for 1922—1927 created with his direct participation are yet in effect at the current stage of the country’s music education development. Notably, many aspects of musicians’ training lost today are still relevant and meaningful.
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vocational education (singing, music theory), then for the HEI level (opera and symphony conducting, music composition, musical sound engineering, music studies). The highest level of the musician’s education is postgraduate studies in creative and performing occupations.
Our country has an exclusive, well-developed network of children’s music schools including children’s music and art schools (over 6,000), music colleges (over 200), and specialized music schools (over 20) which gradually implement the vocational training of young musicians, and music-oriented HEIs. Fundamental and vocational training are simultaneously carried out as parts of the learning process. As early as within the primary education level, unlike in many American and European private schools and music lessons, the learning process is not limited to just playing a musical instrument. A set of problems is solved at the school level: general musical training (music theory, music literature), ear training development, and training of skills for playing a musical instrument.
Another feature of the musician’s training is the absolute priority of the practical knowledge over the theoretical one. The only field with theoretical training of crucial importance is the education of musicologists in HEIs and teachers of music theory (history of music) at colleges. Otherwise, the learning process is primarily carried out in the class as the development of individual skills in the musical art field. Thus, the volume of the student’s independent work is many times greater than the number of hours of inclass learning, which is also essential.1
Through many decades of its existence, the sector of vocational musical education has gained unique experience at training musicians. It is hard to imagine that it is possible to reform vocational music education and improve the musicians’ training quality at different education levels without regard to their specific character and the established traditions of music education. In these circumstances, the task of principal vocational schools is to preserve a highly skilled tradition of music studies, learning and performance, as well as current academic and creative capabilities. The Draft Law on Education published in 2010 provoked a new wave of debates in the wider educational environment.
1 Казурова А.С. Проблемы государственного образовательного стандарта высшего профессионального музыкального образования: опыт и перспективы. — М.: Исследовательский центр проблем качества подготовки специалистов. М., 2005. — p. 93
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