[1] Russian political science consists of various interdependent communities: those that specialise in political science education, production of scientific expert knowledge, mass (journalistic) information about politics and public administration. Lecturers in political science take a special place in this pluralistic structure and perform a fundamentally essential function. Teaching of political science in institutions of higher education defines the human resources of all branches of Russian political science and creates conditions for the future development of this area of knowledge and practical activity.
[2] The traditional Russian system of education is characterised by a high level of centralised control in the field of education and development of common education standards at state level. This existing praxis provides both advantages and disadvantages: on the one hand, it secures the unity of the education area, the control of education quality; on the other hand, it restricts the autonomy and initiative of the educational community and sometimes ignores special conditions of teaching political science at one university or another, or in one region or another. Contemporary history of the Russian education system is contradictory: it tried to put higher education under tight state control and experienced extreme forms of uncontrolled growth of independent structures and educational programs which often led to the decline in quality and even profanation in education and in the field of political sciences in particular. A reasonable balance of these beginnings is the involvement of the education and research community into the development of state standards as well as cooperation between administrators and the professional community.
[3] An important step towards this balance was the foundation of the Educational and Methodological Association for Classical University Education in Russia (EMA). In accordance with the statute of the EMA, the Association is a state and public organisation in the system of higher and postgraduate classical university education in the Russian Federation. The main tasks of the Educational and Methodological Association are: participation in the development of drafts of state educational standards in classical university education and of exemplary curricula; coordination of the activities of the scientific-educational community at classical universities, representatives of other institutions of higher education, establishments and organisations in order to secure quality and development of the content of the higher and postgraduate classical university education; elaboration of suggestions on the structure of higher and postgraduate professional education within the framework of its competence and on the content of main educational programs; examination of educational and methodological documentation of universities on the programs of higher professional education during their licensing, recommendation of the best study materials (correspondingly classified) for a general usage.
[4] The EMA was founded by the federal (central) management body of higher professional education – The Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation on the ground of leading universities, first of all, the Moscow M. V. Lomonosov State University which provides highly qualified scientific-educational staff, a modern education basis and implements educational programs in most specialisations of higher and postgraduate university education. Members of the Educational and Methodological Association are representatives of classical state universities in Russia (rectors, deans, holders of chairs and other scientific-educational employees of Russian state universities) who work on a voluntary basis. By the decision of the members’ majority of the EMA Council, representatives of specialised and non-governmental universities in Russia interested in modernisation of the education of the graduates in university disciplines or specialisations can also become members of the Association. The EMA can invite representatives of foreign universities and foreign legal persons for cooperation.
[5] The established EMA structure consists of 19 educational and methodological councils (EMC) in groups akin to the specialisations and disciplines. These subdivisions are granted the rights of the EMC concerning improvement of methodological supply of scientific and educational process.
[6] The main educational and methodological organisation in Russia, whose members are also political scientists, has a definite specific character: it operates as the Educational and Methodological Council on Philosophy, Political Science and Religion Studies (EMC). The reason lies in the peculiar development of Russian political science. At the beginning of the 1990s chairs of political science mainly appeared at faculties of philosophy or history. The Faculty of Philosophy at the Moscow M.V. Lomonosov State University was no exception (alongside the department of philosophy, the department of political science and religion studies appeared). The structure of educational and methodological councils in classical university education was shaped according to the structure of the faculties. Therefore, the Faculty of Philosophy began to coordinate the educational and methodological work in three disciplines at the same time.
[7] This structure of the EMC is without doubt, an advantage to the Council: associate philosophers who are members of the EMC, and the chairman of the Council V. V. Mironov who is the Dean of the the Faculty of Philosophy at the Moscow M. V. Lomonosov State University, have contributed to the high scientific and methodological level of educational and methodological materials and the evaluation of training aids. Certainly, experts in scientific methodology, logic, cognitive theory and intellectual history would strengthen structures of a similar kind. The EMC and the Faculty of Philosophy have played a determinant role in the development of standards in political science contributing to the sustainable development of political science as an educational and scientific discipline in Russia.
[8] At the same time, the development of political science in the last 15 years and the establishment of a great number of educational structures in political science, have provided conditions for new forms of integration of the political science community. There are new independent structures which have actively joined the process of development of standards in the political science of a new generation. For example, there is a group which was founded by the National Foundation on Staff Training or a body established at the State University – the Higher School of Economics. A demand has emerged for the coordination of the projects of independent groups of political scientists, creation of a new forum to discuss educational problems of political science in circumstances where the educational system is undergoing reform.
[9] The development of the identity of lecturers in political science has gained particular importance with regard to far-reaching changes in the Russian system of education and complicated problems connected with the integration of the country into the Bologna process. The threat that departments of the The Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation would single-handedly decide on specific issues of teaching political science, forced the community to move to a new organisational level.
[10] The development of political science structures in Russian regions – Saint Petersburg, Kazan, the Volga region, in the South of Russia and others – made it necessary to involve regional political scientists more extensively into the process of defining the main directions of educational and methodological work at federal level. Potent chairs of political science appeared not only in classical universities, but also in specialised and non-governmental universities, therefore, it was necessary to involve different educational structures into the EMC activity.
[11] An essential component of the educational and methodological framework was the establishment of relations between the scientific-educational community and potential employers. While working out the standards in political science the contact with governmental, public and commercial structures was urgent in order to safeguard competitiveness within political education.
[12] New principles of consolidation among political scientists were shaped in a special context of political development in Russia. Among lecturers, a responsible approach towards the understanding of national and state interests in the country took shape not only in such strategically important fields as education, but also in the area of conceptual ground in state policy.
[13] Under theses conditions, the EMC and the Department of Political Science of the Faculty of Philosophy at the MSU started working on the development of a new form of integration of the political science community. The important role in this process was played by the holder of the Chair of World and Russian Politics of the Faculty, Professor V.I. Kovalenko. Under his leadership and with the assistance of the Dean of the Faculty V.V. Mironov a project on establishment of the National Collegium of Political Science Lecturers started in 2005.
[14] This organisation had to comply with the following principles:
[15] On the ground of these principles the Collegium was initially founded as an educational and methodological commission of the EMC. Afterwards, however, agreements between the National Collegium of Lecturers in Political Science and the Russian Political Science Association as well as the Scientific-Methodological Council of Political Science (SMC) within the The Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation (this body regulates teaching in political science in specialised higher educational institutions) were signed. On the basis of these agreements the Collegium became a common body for the EMA, the RPSA and the SMC. All state institutions of higher education independent of their departmental subordination which are nationally accredited and implement essential educational programs in political science disciplines and specialisations have become members of this organisation with full voting status. According to the decision of the Council, Russian institutions of higher education without national accreditation can also become members of the Collegium. Universities of other countries which implement programs in political science can become associated members with full voting status.
[16] The representation of regional political science structures is laid down in the organisational structure of the Collegium. According to its statutory documents, one of the co-chairmen of the organisation is a representative of the university which will be the host of the next Collegium meeting. Thus, the work of the Collegium is organised in accordance with the principle of a “nomad centre”: every strong regional structure has the opportunity to become central in the political science community at a given time.
[17] An important character of the Association is the essential role played in it not only by the classical universities but also by the specialised institutions of higher education. First of all, these are academies of public administration (Russian, Volgograd Academy of Public Administration and North-Caucasus Academy of Public Administration) and such universities as the Moscow State University of Railway Engineering (MIIT), the Kazan State University, the Finance Academy under the Government of the Russian Federation and others.
[18] The cooperation with governmental and corporate structures was implemented at the management level of the bodies of the Collegium and in its praxis. The President of theNational Collegium of Lecturers in Political Science is also the Vice-Speaker of the State Duma O. V. Morozov. One of the latest events of the Collegium (in the City of Sergiev Posad) was carried out under the auspices of the President of the OAO “Russian Railways” V.I. Yakunin. During the session of the Collegium in Kazan, political scientists held a meeting with the Chairman of the State Council of the Republic of Tatarstan F. K. Mukhametshin. The board session of the National Collegium of Lecturers in Political Science will be organised with support of the Mayor of the City, S.A. Bozhenov, in September 2008.
[19] The National Collegium of Lecturers in Political Science participates in the organisation of scientific events which are held, as a rule, parallel to the meetings of its managing bodies. Such conferences as “Conflicts and Cooperation in the North Caucasus”, “Values of Civil Society in Modern Russia”, “Transport Communications in Russia’s Geopolitical Strategy”, etc. were organised with the active assistance of the Collegium. It pays special attention to the introduction of innovative methods in the teaching process. In this regard, one should mention the achievements of such universities as the Kazan State University (methods of acmeological trainings by Prof. T. T. Sidelnikova), the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (innovative structure of education in political science developed under the guidance of the university’s pro-rector Prof. N.S. Kirabaev).
[20] The main tasks of the Collegium are to elaborate suggestions concerning the structure and content of the main educational programs in the field of political science, to develop and evaluate the educational and methodological documentation. With this aim, the Collegium should focus on the problems of the development of the state educational standard of the third generation in political science. These problems were the centre of discussion during the board session of the National Collegium of Lecturers in Political Science in Saratov (June 2006), Goryachiy Klyuch (September 2006) and Kazan (June 2007).
[21] Special attention should be paid to the conference in Sergiev Pasad (March 2008) during which the problems of teaching political science at the specialised universities in Russia were discussed. Professors of the Moscow State University of Railway Engineering (MIIT) A.A. Gorbunov and B. I. Kretov as well as representatives of other universities of transport communications, defined a series of questions which cause concern amongst political scientists because of the fact that political science in these universities is supposed to be excluded from the list of obligatory disciplines in the system of higher education. The most important recommendations of the extended board session of the National Collegium of Lecturers in Political Science on this problem, include “profiling” of political science education at the specialised universities according to the state policy in the field represented by the university (for example, transportation, energy, economic, social, ecological policy, etc.). The lecturers in political science at all universities of the country can provide civil and public education of students, thereby fulfilling an irreplaceable function. The development of the political science community should move towards establishment of steady forums of “specialised” political scientists who could consolidate and maintain their attitudes on this ground.
[22] Besides widening of the organisational structure, development prospects of the Collegium are seen in the implementation of joint educational projects, the development of the network information basis of the Collegium. It is necessary to accomplish the development of the state standard, to prepare model programs on the acquisition of qualifications which will be defined by the standard. The Collegium is willing to broaden international cooperation: the consolidated community of Russian political scientists can and must be an essential part of European and international networks of education in political sciences.
published July 2008
