As a place to learn, to “brush up” on subjects previously studied, or to further one’s education, a school in a dream may indicate inadequacy, especially if related to unpleasant early school experiences. If the dreamer is a teacher, the dream may symbolize authority. In some esoteric groups it is said that during sleep the soul attends classes “on the inner planes” (in the spiritual realm), so that dreams about being in a classroom would be interpreted as reflecting this type of “spiritual learning” experience. (See also Class, Seminar).
(in Russian, uchilishche), a type of educational institution. In the USSR there are schools of various levels and specializations. They include vocational schools and such specialized secondary schools as teacher-training schools, medical schools, and art schools. Higher educational institutions are also sometimes called schools, for example, higher military schools and the N. E. Bauman Moscow Higher Technical School. In prerevolutionary Russia, general-educational institutions were also called schools, for example, higher elementary schools, Realschule, and district schools.
in art, a trend represented by a group of students and followers of some artist, for example, the Venetsianov school, or by a group of artists who share similar creative principles and work in a similar style, such as the Stroganov school of icon painting. The term is also applied to the painting and sculpture of a city or region when the works in question date from a specific period and are stylistically distinguishable as a group, for example, the Bolognese school. The term may be extended to refer to the art of an entire country, for example, the Flemish school.
an institution for the organized education, instruction, and upbringing of the rising generation, as well as adults and young workers.
Schools may be classified according to who organizes them and where they get their funds as state, municipal (local-government), or private; private schools are supported by social or religious organizations or by private individuals. Depending on their course of instruction, schools may be classified as general or vocational (specialized); the level of education offered may be primary, incomplete secondary, secondary, or higher. With respect to religion, schools may be secular or sectarian. They may be classified according to the students’ sex as boys’ (men’s), girls’ (women’s), or coeducational. The aims, tasks, and nature of schools depend on the society’s level of development and its class structure.
The first schools originated in the countries and states of the ancient East, such as Babylonia, Assyria, Egypt, and India. They included temple schools for priests, palace schools for the education of the aristocracy, and schools for scribes, who were needed in administrative and economic management. In the classical world, the school was a highly important part of the Spartan, Athenian, and Roman systems of upbringing (seeSPARTAN UPBRINGING; GREECE, ANCIENT: Education; and ROME, ANCIENT: Education).
In the feudal period, schools in the East developed under the influence of the dominant religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam—and served the interests of the feudal lords. In India, for example, schools were attached to large temples and were intended mainly for the children of Brahmans and Kshatriyas. In addition to reading and writing, instruction was given in the sacred books, epic poems, mythology, grammar, literature, history, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, and medicine. The children of the lesser landowners were taught reading, writing, and arithmetic in their local language at “communal” Hindu schools attached to rural temples. At Buddhist monasteries in the East there were, in addition to primary and secondary schools, higher theological schools, at which religious subjects and such sciences as mathematics and astronomy were taught. In Muslim regions and countries there were maktabs (Muslim primary schools) and madrasas (Muslim secondary and higher schools).
In medieval Western Europe the Catholic Church established a monopoly over education, and all schools came under the control and ideological direction of the church. Beginning in the fifth century, elementary parish schools for boys were created at some churches, monastic schools were established at monasteries, and bishop’s schools, also known as cathedral or episcopal schools, were founded in episcopal sees. The growth of the medieval cities was accompanied, in the 12th century, by the founding of the first universities. In the 13th and 14th centuries, to provide an alternative to the church schools, craft and guild schools were opened, which evolved into municipal schools in the 15th and 16th centuries. As the system of church schools developed, new schools were established for the children of secular feudal lords, such as the aristocratic grammar and public schools in England, the Ritterakademien in Germany, and the classical Gymnasiums in Germany and other countries (seeCLASSICAL EDUCATION). The children of the townspeople studied at burgher schools, Realschulen, trade schools, and technical schools.
With the rise of capitalism in Western Europe, the social-estate school became the class, bourgeois school, in which, as V. I. Lenin pointed out, “education is organised in one and the same way, and is equally accessible to all the wealthy” (Poln. sobr. soch., 5th ed., vol. 2, p. 476). In developed capitalist countries, laws were passed in the 19th century to establish universal compulsory primary education for children of both sexes, and schools were declared uniform and secular. In practice, this legislation was never fully implemented. In addition to classical secondary schools, Realschulen and vocational schools continued to be established; these schools met the needs of the bourgeoisie for trained personnel in trade and industry (seeREALSCHULE EDUCATION). The natural sciences were gradually added to the curricula of the classical schools.
Schools in the colonized countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America served the interests of the ruling classes of the respective mother countries, notably Spain, Great Britain, and France. The need for auxiliary personnel from the indigenous (“aboriginal”) population that would be loyal to the colonialists made it necessary to establish a variety of schools for the “coloreds” with instruction in the language of the mother country. In addition to primary schools, these included a small number of advanced primary schools; secondary schools, such as secondary grammar schools, colleges, collèges, and Iycées; and higher educational institutions, including universities. Instruction was given in the language of the respective mother country.
The institutions established by the colonial powers trained future overseers and civil servants, as well as soldiers and junior officers for the “colored troops.” Students included the children of the local aristocracy and bourgeoisie; the sons of tribal chiefs attended closed privileged schools. The rise of national liberation movements hastened the establishment of higher educational institutions; India, for example, had 18 universities before World War II. The schools were, however, strictly controlled by the colonial powers. The bulk of the indigenous population remained illiterate. This harsh legacy of colonialism is being overcome in the countries that have achieved independence.
Before the October Revolution of 1917 the emergence of the first schools and the development of school systems among the peoples who make up the USSR were determined by the particular historical features of the development of these peoples. In Armenia and Georgia, information on the first schools dates from the fourth century and in Azerbaijan from the fifth century. In Middle Asia and Azerbaijan, Muslim maktabs and madrasas were established beginning in the seventh century and remained unrivaled until the October Revolution.
The chronicles do not provide a complete picture of schools in Kievan Rus’, which were established between the tenth and 13th centuries at monasteries, in parishes, and at the courts of princes. The beresto writings of the 11th–15th centuries contain information on the methods used to teach reading and writing, and they show that literacy in ancient Rus’ extended to the feudal aristocracy, the clergy, and the townspeople, as well as to the posadskie liudi (urban merchants and artisans) and other merchants and artisans.
In prerevolutionary Russia various primary schools existed for the broad masses. The wealthy classes educated their children at Gymnasiums, Realschulen, commercial schools, and higher educational institutions, including universities. Elements of the system of social estates were preserved in the school system, notably in the restricted educational institutions for the nobility: the cadet corps, the Iycées, the Corps of Pages, and the institutes for wellborn girls. In addition, the educational system did not provide for a transition from the primary (public) schools to the Gymnasiums. Entry into schools was subject to national and religious restrictions.
The church was charged with inculcating loyal sentiments and piety in the youth. In addition to special schools for training the clergy, the Synod directly controlled the system of literacy schools, parochial schools, and eparchial schools. Religion was a compulsory subject in all schools. The level of literacy in Russia lagged behind that in the developed capitalist countries, and illiteracy was prevalent among the working people. Lenin noted in 1913 that “four-fifths of the rising generation are doomed to illiteracy by the feudal state system of Russia” (ibid., vol. 23, p. 127).
Schools in the USSR and other socialist countries. After the October Revolution of 1917, schools were declared public and open to all, irrespective of social status or nationality. Coeducational instruction was introduced in 1918. Schools were separated from the church and became state controlled and secular. The goal of the schools, as stated in the Program of the RCP(B) of 1919, was to “educate a generation that will be capable of fully establishing communism” and to produce well-rounded and harmoniously developed individuals with firm communist beliefs. The structure, curricula, and organization of Soviet schools undergo changes as socialist society develops and as science and culture advance, but they rest on principles that remain constant.
General-education schools train their students for labor and provide a polytechnical education (seeSECONDARY GENERAL-EDUCATION SCHOOL and POLYTECHNICAL EDUCATION). In addition to vocational training, specialized secondary educational institutions offer a general education. Instruction is free at all types of schools, and at such institutions as boarding schools and vocational-technical institutions some students are maintained at state expense. Students at specialized secondary educational institutions and higher educational institutions receive government stipends (seeHIGHER EDUCATION).
The school system is uniform, and the various types of schools represent a continuous series, so that a student may advance from the primary to the highest level. The children of each nationality of the USSR have the right to be taught in their native language. Universal primary education was made compulsory in 1934, and universal eight-year education in 1962. By 1976 the transition to universal secondary education had essentially been completed.
The other socialist countries have looked to the USSR as a model for building an educational system; at the same time, they have taken into account their own specific historical conditions and national characteristics. The socialist countries conform to a common pattern in the construction of a new society and the education of well-rounded individuals capable of becoming builders of socialism and communism. The schools of the socialist countries operate according to uniform principles, although they may be of different types and may have different designations and structures; in addition, the length of instruction and the level of compulsory universal education may vary.
Schools in modern capitalist countries. An aspect of the general crisis of capitalism is the educational crisis in bourgeois countries, which is manifested in their inability to restructure the educational system to meet the needs of industrial development. The bourgeois school system, whose goals remain unchanged, seeks to create for the bourgeoisie “useful servants, able to create profits for it without disturbing it” (Lenin, ibid., vol. 41, p. 303).
State appropriations for education in the capitalist countries are not sufficient to operate a school system in a proper fashion. In several countries, such as Great Britain, the USA, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, and Japan, secondary schools are becoming more widespread, and measures are being taken to reorganize the school system, its curricula and instructional methods, and its management. Existing legislation on universal compulsory education for the poorest strata of the population is not being implemented, however, because of widespread unemployment and racial and national discrimination; equal secondary education is not universally available. Subtle methods for preserving class inequalities, reflected in the material being taught and in the quality of instruction, exist in schools of various types. There are also sophisticated ways of selecting by class the students who will advance to the higher educational levels and who will specialize in prestigious areas of study; this selection is accomplished through the track system, the existence of expensive private schools, and special tests.
(Schools are also discussed in the sections on education and cultural affairs in the articles on Union republics, autonomous republics, and foreign countries.)
P. I. KULIKOV