State policy of the Soviet government in the 1920s in the field of public education: Analysis of practices and decisions in the context of a change in the pedagogical paradigm and political and ideological reformation in the country of the Soviets

The authors of the article focus on the educational practices of Soviet pedagogy in the 1920s, implemented during a shift in pedagogical paradigms and the construction of a new educational space for the Soviet state. Their aim was to conduct a historical analysis of domestic practices of transforming pedagogical postulates and ideas, examining how the Soviet government, for historical reasons, built a completely different model of public education in the 1920s within the context of an emerging fundamentally "new statehood" and ideological paradigm. The novelty of the work lies in its detailed examination of the Soviet government's implementation of an interdisciplinary, comprehensive approach to education during this period of overarching pedagogical change. The authors illustrate this through the case of a social studies course, introduced in 1921 to replace the subject of history. They provide a thorough historical analysis of both the restructuring and changes in the educational content of the period and the educational practices employed. The research revealed that the primary direction in the development of the labor school during the 1920s was the integration (synthesis) of educational material, which was given a "life-problem" emphasis by the Soviet authorities. The content of each subject was seen as subordinate to the general goals of the educational and upbringing process. This led to supplementing vertical integration (subject columns) with horizontal integration (leading comprehensive themes), resulting in individual disciplines losing their autonomous status and an overemphasis on studying contemporary issues over past events - a trend demonstrated using the Social Science discipline as an example. The analysis of the development of the school network in the Central Black Earth Region during this period showed that, in practice, comprehensive learning based on the State Academic Council's programs and the implementation of innovative and experimental methodologies led to numerous difficulties and contradictions. For teachers in public schools, operating under conditions of revolutionary intolerance, directive pressure to fulfill the social mandate, and financial instability, this policy of the People's Commissariat for Education (Narkompros) became an overwhelming burden. The creators of the comprehensive programs largely overestimated children's capabilities, expecting from them research initiative and a drive for independent knowledge acquisition, while students themselves primarily wanted to learn to read and write. The article draws conclusions regarding the substantive aspects of practices for the comprehensive structuring of educational material within the space of Soviet education and pedagogy in the 1920s. This is considered in terms of their innovative component and the experience of interdisciplinary connections, set against the backdrop of the overarching pedagogical paradigm shift, as well as the reform and construction of an entirely new system of public education in the country during this period. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

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