Anglo-Saxon traditions in the system of education: university autonomy and academic freedom

The characteristic of the Russian education system reforms in the late 20th and early 21st centuries was AngloSaxon pedagogical traditions borrowing into the Russian education. One of the key traditions of the American education system is considered to be its autonomy from state control and academic freedom. Today, national education is facing new challenges, which requires a critical reflection of the previous period in order to create a system that meets the requirements of modern Russian society. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the historical and socio-cultural factors that influenced the development of the tradition in American education, as well as to evaluate its functioning in the Russian educational context. The research methods include content analysis of works by well-known historians and experts in the field of education. This allows us to define the principles of university autonomy, identify the strengths and weaknesses of the tradition, and assess its functioning in the modern academic framework. The historical analysis is employed to identify the social and cultural conditions that contributed to the making of the tradition within American society. An analysis of the development of educational autonomy from legal perspective serves to highlight the relative nature of this concept in contemporary US education. Thus, the establishment of communities in the American colonies prior to the establishment of centralized government gave rise to the tradition of autonomy and self-governance. The aforementioned factor was pivotal in the evolution of university autonomy, whereas the tolerance towards religious diversity resulted in the emergence of academic freedom. However, the government continues to play an influential regulatory role in the nation’s educational sector, implementing policies that govern educational institutions. This dynamic consequently blurs the notion of university autonomy. Some scholars refer to recurring cases when university administrations employ the concept of academic freedom as a means of exerting pressure on teachers who are deemed to be at odds, which suggests the need to develop mechanisms of control by society. This research can be used for further study of issues related to university autonomy, academic freedom, and the borrowing of Anglo-Saxon pedagogical traditions in the Russian educational context.

Anglo-Saxon tradition in education, autonomy of educational institutions, academic freedom, Russian education system, American education system, borrowing of educational traditions