Terra sebv s acta mvsei sabesiensi s

The Establishment and Development of Rural Schools in Russia (19

th

-21

st

 Centuries) 

 

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1. The idea of school management that involves parents and where 

the interests of rural communities are taken to consideration; 

2. The idea of extracurricular education for the cultural development 

of the public; 

3. The idea of rural schools as social and cultural institutions, rather 

than existing exclusively for teaching; 

4. The idea of taking national and regional characteristics into account 

in the management of schools; 

5. The idea (of S. S. Uvarov) of using national character (“Orthodoxy, 

Autocracy, Nationality”) as the basis for nurturing “useful and effective 

tools of government” upon which the government-run education system 

can rest; 

6. The idea (of G. N. Volkov) of education with a national character, 

taking on specific local features of each ethnic education system; 

7. The idea of education based on national traditions and the creation 

of the field of ethnopedagogy (also by Volkov) and related technologies for 

ethnocultural education. 

These ideas can be seen in practice in the development of rural 

schooling even today. For example, the Russian State program for 

“Development of Education 2013-2020” states that Russian education 

should assist the consolidation of Russian society through facilitating the 

creation and implementation of new and entertaining educational programs. 

In addition, the document states that most rural schools should serve 

sociocultural functions as well as educational ones. 

Today, rural schools are the same as city schools in many aspects: 

teachers and students have access to computer technology, use the Internet, 

participate in and win various educational and professional competitions, 

and so on. But at the same time, the rural school has its own unique 

characteristics determined by the nature of the rural society in which it is 

situation, and first and foremost of these influences is existence of 

traditional culture. There is great potential for rural schools to use this 

factor in their educational processes. 

Specific differences in rural schools include the smaller number of 

staff, staffing instability, and a more significant potential for consolidation 

compared to city schools; there are also issues of poor material and 

technical resources, the remoteness of the school from cultural centres and 

institutions. Specific social differences in rural school arise from poorly 

developed social infrastructure, isolation and remoteness from other 

populated areas or regional centres. The social and educational environment 

of a rural school generally involves several villages, often separated from 

each other, which creates difficulties with regards to transportation and 

organisation of extracurricular activities. Rural schools are obliged to react 

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V. J. Arestova 

 

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in a quick and timely manner to constantly emerging social problems among 

their children. Taken together, this creates the necessity for schools to 

perform not only educational, but also social and cultural functions. 

Sociocultural functions of rural schools should facilitate: 

- The creation of conditions for self-realisation of not only students, 

but their families (youth and adults) in various aspects of life, including 

education, labour, culture, etc., thus facilitating the development of the 

cultural and educational environment of the village; 

- Interaction with the community, while continuing to play a leading 

role in consolidating the efforts of social educational institutions (museums, 

community centres, vocational colleges, etc.) and facilitating the 

achievement of socially valuable results from activities; 

- The revival of folk traditions and rural customs (art, aesthetic, 

ecological, labour, etc.). 

All of these are extremely important conditions for the successful 

socialisation of children and the development of the micro-environment 

and community that facilitates the well-being of individuals. 

It is important to remember, in discussing the social function of the 

rural school, that its presence plays a crucial role in the existence and well-

being of the village itself. The school acts as an organising body in the 

village, protecting the healthy relationship between family and local 

community. 

The social and educational benefits of ethnocultural education for 

rural children include: 

- Assimilation of the cultural and intellectual traditions of their 

community, including moral values and special cultural and historical forms 

of interaction between people in that community; 

- The possibility of choosing and creating a personal trajectory of self-

development and self-realisation, taking personal interests into 

consideration; 

- Realisation of the cultural uniqueness of other nations and 

ethnicities, of the cultural diversity of the region, the mother country and 

the world. 

The educational and social benefits for teachers include: 

- Professional development, social activity, cooperation with 

colleagues; 

- Implementation of new educational technologies at school and in 

extracurricular activities. 

The positive effects on the quality of educational processes include: 

- The renewal of educational content, the development of new 

academic and pedagogical techniques, and the creation of diversity 

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