Quality Of Life In The Soviet Union by Horst Herlemann Shaun Murphy

Author:Horst Herlemann, Shaun Murphy [Horst Herlemann, Shaun Murphy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, General
ISBN: 9781000308815
Google: SAeiDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2019-07-11T15:56:00+00:00

Accentuation of Teacher Accountability

Obviously, the caliber of the teaching force is of fundamental significance for the quality of schooling. The length and level of teacher training, the quality of teaching facilities, and the encouragement of in-service training play a vital role, but external factors, such as the student-teacher ratio and the extent of administrative control as opposed to teacher autonomy, also influence the quality of teaching. The traditional method of assessing individual teachers with reference to the overall percentage of successful students was deemed insufficient at a time when the introduction of universal secondary education and the modernization of school curricula required a higher quality and effectiveness of teaching. The Ministry of Education's 1972 decree heralding the final phase of the process of implementing universal secondary education proposed a new instrument for evaluating teachers and called for teacher "attestation"—a periodic review of the work, qualifications, and skills of Soviet teachers.22 While the Criteria for the Evaluation of the Schools' Work focuses on the performance of the school as an organization, attestation is aimed at monitoring and influencing the achievements of individual teachers. Regular reviews of individual performance are common for other professional groups in the Soviet Union, such as research workers, university staff members, and engineers and other technical specialists.23 The extension of this screening process to the entire teaching profession was clearly designed as a shake-up operation to make teachers more responsive, both to changes brought about by educational policies and to new developments in their respective fields of specialization.

The goals of attestation were laid down in a special decree of the Council of Ministers in 1974 and in subsequent regulations for attestation procedures. They include the dissemination of progressive teaching methods and the overall enhancement of the personal responsibility of every teacher to further the quality of education and the upbringing of students, thus advancing the quality of the work of the general school. Special emphasis has been placed on controlling the ideological attitudes and political activities of teachers.24

As laid down in the regulations, every teacher, with a few exceptions, has to undergo attestation once every five years. This is carried out by a special permanent commission consisting of experienced teachers, university staff members, and representatives of the Teachers' Union and the educational administration. In accordance with the general objectives of attestation, the indicators that are reviewed include classroom performance, the adequacy of professional qualifications and teaching skills, ideological standards, participation in in-service training, and the impeccability of the personal behavior and lifestyles of teachers in accordance with the norms of communist morals.

As the main emphasis of the attestation process is to stimulate "creative initiatives," the commissions, which are organized in a three-tier structure from the regional or city level to the all-Union level, are empowered to confer special honorary titles on those who excel in their achievements. On the other hand, those whose performance is deemed insufficient can be required to enroll in higher education correspondence courses as a condition for the continuation of their contracts, and they can be dismissed as well.

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