The People's Universities of the USSR - (Contributions to the Study of Education) by David Currie Lee (Hardcover)

About the Book

Although it has been a major priority of the Soviet government since 1917, when the Bolsheviks initiated a mass literacy campaign, adult education in the USSR has received comparatively little attention from Western scholars. This book is the first Western account of the people's universities--the decentralized, nonformal arms of the vast Soviet system of continuing education. Based on the only on-site studies thus far conducted by a Westerner, it focuses on the ideological, institutional, and pedagogical dimensions of the system and assesses its goals, methods, and achievements in terms of both educational values and the larger objectives of Soviet society.

Lee first provides an overview of theories of Soviet continuing education and looks at people's universities in the context of Soviet adult education as a whole. He traces the origins and development of people's universities between 1896 and 1968 and examines the goals and curriculum of the system. The next chapter deals with structural and administrative organization together with teacher training, teaching methods, and student evaluation procedures. Following a case study of the People's University of Culture at Leningrad, the author explores the linkages between people's universities and other institutions--both educational and political--and analyzes the impact of these connections and their significance for the future of the universities. He presents detailed statistics on the development of people's universities and a bibliography that includes Soviet archival materials not previously available to Western scholars. Lee's book explores a new area of scholarship of interest to Soviet specialists while giving an unusually clear picture of how particular political and economic aims continue to shape Soviet institutions.

Book Synopsis

Although it has been a major priority of the Soviet government since 1917, when the Bolsheviks initiated a mass literacy campaign, adult education in the USSR has received comparatively little attention from Western scholars. This book is the first Western account of the people's universities--the decentralized, nonformal arms of the vast Soviet system of continuing education. Based on the only on-site studies thus far conducted by a Westerner, it focuses on the ideological, institutional, and pedagogical dimensions of the system and assesses its goals, methods, and achievements in terms of both educational values and the larger objectives of Soviet society.

Lee first provides an overview of theories of Soviet continuing education and looks at people's universities in the context of Soviet adult education as a whole. He traces the origins and development of people's universities between 1896 and 1968 and examines the goals and curriculum of the system. The next chapter deals with structural and administrative organization together with teacher training, teaching methods, and student evaluation procedures. Following a case study of the People's University of Culture at Leningrad, the author explores the linkages between people's universities and other institutions--both educational and political--and analyzes the impact of these connections and their significance for the future of the universities. He presents detailed statistics on the development of people's universities and a bibliography that includes Soviet archival materials not previously available to Western scholars. Lee's book explores a new area of scholarship of interest to Soviet specialists while giving an unusually clear picture of how particular political and economic aims continue to shape Soviet institutions.

Review Quotes

?David Currie Lee examines in his interesting study the origins and development of people's universities since 1896, their goals and numerous profiles, their organization and links with other societal institutions. He also devotes one chapter to a more detailed description of the work undertaken by the People's University of Culture at the Gor'kii Palace of Culture in Leningrad.?-The Slavonic and East European Review

?David Lee's book is of interest to all who study Russian and Soviet education, as up to now no full-scale analysis of people's universities has appeared in the West. Wisely, the author himself considers his work "a preliminary study, which leaves to future researchers the tasks of verifying and clarifying the information...and adding further depth and substance'.?-International Journal of Lifelong Education

?This is a useful study of Russian and, especially, Soviet continuing education from 1896 to the present. The author has made use of the existing Soviet literature on the subject and conducted research and oral interviews in the USSR. He discusses in detail the origins, administration, and organization of the people's universities and how they are connected with other institutions of Soviet society. The subject is an important one, for soviet local leaders and volunteer societies have been remarkably successful at involving a large proportion of the Soviet population in adult and continuing education.?-Journal of Baltic Studies

"David Currie Lee examines in his interesting study the origins and development of people's universities since 1896, their goals and numerous profiles, their organization and links with other societal institutions. He also devotes one chapter to a more detailed description of the work undertaken by the People's University of Culture at the Gor'kii Palace of Culture in Leningrad."-The Slavonic and East European Review

"David Lee's book is of interest to all who study Russian and Soviet education, as up to now no full-scale analysis of people's universities has appeared in the West. Wisely, the author himself considers his work "a preliminary study, which leaves to future researchers the tasks of verifying and clarifying the information...and adding further depth and substance'."-International Journal of Lifelong Education

"This is a useful study of Russian and, especially, Soviet continuing education from 1896 to the present. The author has made use of the existing Soviet literature on the subject and conducted research and oral interviews in the USSR. He discusses in detail the origins, administration, and organization of the people's universities and how they are connected with other institutions of Soviet society. The subject is an important one, for soviet local leaders and volunteer societies have been remarkably successful at involving a large proportion of the Soviet population in adult and continuing education."-Journal of Baltic Studies

About the Author

DAVID CURRIE LEE is coordinator of the Asian Studies Program at Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Massachusetts.