Language purification as a condition of transformation of the domestic education system

Today, in the context of withdrawal from the Bologna process, further transformations of our educational system are being carried out. The purpose of these transformations is proclaimed to be the creation of a national education system based on the accumulated experience and return to the best domestic traditions. At the same time, the proposed measures, which actually concern only the ratio of the three levels of higher education and do not address a number of sore points of the existing system, can be called “reforms” very roughly. This leads us to a broader problem - a number of key words that define the discourse within which our education is discussed are imprecise and ambiguous. And this not only prevents any agreement, but in some cases also proves to be simply harmful. A number of important words and concepts related to them are analysed in the historical context and in the context of the ongoing changes in the education system. The materials are words and concepts behind them, the criterion of selection of which is the reflection of important features of the current education system. The words are reform, competence, humanitarian component and a number of others. A comparative analysis of these words is carried out, taking into account the experience of foreign countries. It is shown that the imprecise use of the given words does not allow setting the necessary tasks clearly and, in general, introduces serious confusion in the discourse related to education. Moreover, since the selected words turn out to be profoundly interrelated in this discourse, their uncertainty increases, and, ultimately, the participants of the educational process find themselves in a situation where meaningful dialog is practically impossible. As a result of the word-by-word analysis, it is easy to demonstrate that, without clarifying the meanings of the named words and the concepts they denote, meaningful discussion of educational problems does not yield the desired consequences. It is suggested to work on purifying the language of educational discourse. This can be done through precise definitions of the used words-terms and argumentation aimed at clarifying any proclaimed goals and objectives. Only then can we achieve at least a relative common understanding and appropriate effectiveness in working together to improve our education.

reform, competence, educational service, fundamental, humanitarian component, graduate school