The article touches upon the problems of modernization of higher educational system in the context of the need of cultivating humanistic values in terms of civilizational crisis and mission of classical university in educating an independent and responsible person as the basic condition of educational humanization as well. The social and philosophical analysis of cognitive bases of humanization process of higher education including world and national tendencies of educational system development is offered.
We understand the word humanization as an ability of the education as social institution to provide conscious independence got by a person in mastering space and time in his life. One can judge on the prevalence of positive (or negative) tendencies in the process of humanization of the educational system which is the main condition for the reproduction of social life in all its diversity according to the increase (or decrease) of independence degree of the subject of educational activity.
In this regard general theoretical ideas of form and content of educational process are extremely mobile and specific historical types of educational programs of this or another society remained and still remain in a condition of constant transformation. Therefore, the problem of modern Kazakhstan humanization of education, in our opinion, is to maintain and use their own positive experience in this activity taking into consideration the general vector of the development of world education within the globalization conditions in organization and structure of the educational system. Nowadays, most representatives of domestic socio-humanistic knowledge taking an interest in humanization of education agree that current system of education and, in particular, such as the element of high school, continues to carry out, first of all, social order for training of narrow experts for the social production, skilled workers implementing functionaries sought technologised system of work organization [1; 54, 55]. This leads not only to the predominance of utilitarian and pragmatic approach to learning, in which knowledge becomes an information item, a product for sale and consumption, but also to the loss of students’ own totality, to the formation of «one-dimensional man» (Marcuse), to the fragmentation of the human being as «person seldom meets himself» in modern technocratic world (Heidegger).
Currently, recognizing the objective character of widespread informative and communicative technologies, one should not stop thinking about its ambiguous influence on culture of thinking. From our point of view, human adaptation to the world of information technology is formed «mosaic» style of thinking. There is a weakening of reflective ability that leads to fragmentation of consciousness and has a negative impact on the development of the whole personality and complicates the process of self-identification. And as a result: the weakening of judgment’s ability (Kant's «lack of judgement’s ability is stupidity»), decrease of critical needs, profanity of objective and evidence-based knowledge, the promotion of sensual life’s cult, strengthening of social apathy and infantilism, spread of irrational outlooks and superstitions. All this leads to a decrease of human’s independence in choosing his relationships with the world around, to the gradual loss of the ability to be independent and responsible in perceiving and solving problems of social and personal life.
However, the main contradiction connected with tendencies said above, in our opinion, is as follows: the desire to be integrated into a new socio-technical system is due to the changes of person’s determination in the informational world. Thanks to the Internet, private life of the person expands his space that leads to mixture of norms of individual and public life. Familiarizing with virtual, network, interactive forms of the organization of social being which are distinguished by considerable acceleration of social time, allows Internet users to become more active members of civil society, to react faster to the given information on current events. This leads to the fact that, on the one hand, a person starts modeling his image according to new norms and values connected with the desire to improve his status, to achieve the most complete selfexpression, subjective welfare and quality of life. On the other hand, a person becomes an object of manipulation from financial and political groups who use the information flows for their own selfish interests, thereby depriving an ordinary individual of ability to independent thinking, understanding and responsibility. The result is a paradoxical situation: the excessive activity of a person according to his status in society, achievement of freedom of individual self-expression in the absence of perceived need for self-improvement, a growing desire to consume and get pleasure from consumption at refusal of demonstrating creative dedication in his activity; constant improvement of requirements towards social life conditions in the absence of an ability to make socially responsible decisions due to the efforts of his own thinking [2; 53].
The paradox said above finds itself in the sphere of modern education as a deuniversalization of the personality, bringing down its educational activity to the level of getting educational products and services. And as a result, there is an unjustified simplification and facilitation (optimization) of the content of educational programs, increasing the role of entertainment and game component of students’ educational activities, increase of students’ claims of the knowledge towards certification indicators by means of extortion of good and excellent marks. One can note that the number of the certified specialists having various levels of professional knowledge and skills in society increases but education level decreases, the sphere of creative activity of each person is reduced, educational possibilities in in the comprehensive development of man as a person decrease [3; 18]. In our understanding, education as process of personal formation is, first of all, awakening of interest to the purposes and meanings of his own existence, lives of other people and human society. It is of little use and even dangerous the knowledge without meaning and meaning without knowledge. In other words, a specialist without strong moral beliefs and social attitudes and fanatical follower of an idea but without particularly special and philosophical and ethical knowledge is both of no importance and even dangerous. The process of self-education is also added in the process of personal formation to the education as a social need. The independent and profound work on one’s views makes various creations of human spirit available for the personality, allows it to self-improve in the chosen field of activity getting satisfaction from an embodiment of his opportunities into reality. Genuine personality shows himself in the ability to do what others can do but much better than they do setting all people a new standard of work. Therefore, the formation of personality is impossible without finding freedom by a person to disclose his creative potential. And the meaning of the word freedom is not in its usual meaning (that is, to do what I want and wish) but in the meaning of self-developed ability to find solutions to the tasks that arise in real-life practice, that is the ability to act not only according to the known standards, stereotypes, algorithms but every time to vary individually general modes of action towards the individual unique situations [4; 232–237].
The classical university was founded on this world outlook base, that is, the association of educational subjects on the basis of free communication that means «the need of one to get information and the need of another is to tell the information already acquired by him» (L.N.Tolstoy). At classical university according to one of its ideologists Wilhelm von Humboldt, the educational process must move away from students’ narrow pragmatic professional training and see its primary purpose in their spiritual development. Besides educational tasks, the university has to carry out research tasks as well. Instead of mechanical transfer of knowledge, it is necessary to create the atmosphere of open scientific research carried out by joint efforts of students and teachers. Thus the science is already thought to be not as isolated from society life activities on accumulating and explaining the facts but as a force that drives society forward on the way of disinterested search of truth for the sake of improving the quality of human life. «As soon as sciences refuse search, Humboldt V. writes, as soon as one starts thinking that it isn't taken from spirit depth but is found by extensive collecting, all is irrevocably and forever lost and it is lost both for science and state as well. Only growing from inside and being able to penetrate into the depths of personality science transforms human character and the state, as a humanity, is nothing to do with knowledge and speeches but does with nature and human actions» [5; 32]. The university carries out its valuable and ideological function only so far as free search of truth by community of teachers and students is realized in it and free scientific research helps «finally to be aware of its own activity» (Weber M.).
However, from the first steps of its existence, the classical university faced a dilemma between upholding of the academic freedom and authorization of its educational and scientific activity by the government. This duality leads quickly to the fact that the university from the center of spiritual and academic freedom is increasingly becoming a company to release employees with their corporate ethics. Science for members of the university corporation becomes a profession, teachers turn into officials from education and for students entering the university has less to do with the desire for spiritual development, moral perfection or scientific feat, as an attempt to make a successful career in business or politics using social prestige of the university degree. Thus, the classical university is more and more absorbed or forced out by professionally oriented commercial university the activity of which doesn’t differ from the activity of usual commercial corporations. At such university the main efforts of teachers are directed to the increase of financial resources as a result of the competition for getting research grants or to attract more number of students who are able to pay for their education the cost of which is constantly growing [6; 73]. As well as any establishment, commercial university needs the effective management one of the main objectives of which is to obtain a high position in the university rating, to provide high inflow of applicants and high competitiveness of the university’s diploma. There is another contradictory situation in which the management of universities, on the one hand, seeks the development of new flexible forms of teaching, the development of special courses designed to meet various demands of students, interaction with potential employers. And, on the other hand, the system of teacher’s activity looks more and more like the activity on the educational conveyor in the conditions of highly competitive market of educational services when familiarizing of students to high cultural meanings, their spiritual and moral development are not included among the criteria for the effectiveness of the learning process [7; 21].
The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev pointed to the possibility of removing this contradiction in his lecture «Innovative industry of science and knowledge — a strategic resource of Kazakhstan in the XXIst century» conducted at the «Nazarbayev University». Speaking of the need of higher education’s standards of the twenty-first century for our educational system, the President said that our country makes a decisive step towards innovative education that meets international standards. Summing up the experience of the advanced countries of the world, Nazarbayev N. A. drew attention to the fact that today it is people with their knowledge and skills form the basic strategic resource of the development and knowledge becomes a driving force of progress and a source of new life benefits. The post-industrial triad, that is, education, science, innovations is a bridge on which Kazakhstan will pass to new level of a stable and sustainable development. Therefore it is important to form a cult of continuous knowledge in Kazakhstan society. Addressing to the students of «Nazarbayev University» as to Kazakhstan future intellectual elite, the President of Kazakhstan emphasized that spiritual integrity is necessary in the transnational world not to lose oneself. We should not forget that the work for the benefit of the country is a sacred duty of the educated person. The education for our people has always been of a special value and the identity of the highest morality. To serve science is, first of all, to serve people, to devote the researches to the people and society. Great discoveries are the matter of pure reason and noble heart. True pleasure depends on opportunity and ability to create and unhappiness and meanness root in inability to creativity. Combining fundamental scientific advances with moral insistence to itself, Kazakhstan students will become true national elite capable to meet the challenges of time [8].
The education of such elite is impossible without maintenance and development of classical university’s traditions already in new conditions of globalizing cultural space and transnational economy as the classical university was caused to life by urgent need of people in distributing ideas of humanity in all spheres of public life, in realization of human rights on free development in existing system of public relations. Learning ideals and norms of humanity and estimating its personal importance the subject of education feels need for its realization as the potential abilities, aims at becoming an independent subject of all types of activity, free responsible creator of himself and society as well [9; 118, 119].
The participating countries of Bologna Process declared that it is the humanization of education that is becoming one of the top priorities for the European Higher Education which Kazakhstan has recently joined to. The following key principles were announced at the International Conference of European Ministers responsible for Higher Education, held in 2009. The aim of the European Higher Education Area is to provide higher education institutions with the necessary resources to continue working out all ranges of its purposes such as to train students for life as active citizens in a democratic society, to train students for their future careers and provide conditions for their personal development, to create and maintain wide advanced knowledge base and stimulate scientific researches and innovations. Defending the high value of a variety of educational systems, the state policy will fully recognize the importance of various missions of higher education beginning from training and scientific researches to participation in social unity and cultural development [10].
All students and staff of higher education institutions should be prepared to respond to the fast-changing demands of society. The rapid entry of Kazakhstan into European educational space, reforming of the national educational system in accordance with the realities of modern civilization cannot be complete without basic recognition of a priority of educational humanization over other projects of modernization of this important social sphere that clearly and precisely written in the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan «On education». In this law humanistic values are included in a number of the basic principles of state policy in the field of education among which are: availability of formation of all levels for the population taking intellectual development of psychological physiological and individual characteristics of each person into account; secular, humanistic and developing nature of education, the priority of civil and national values, human life and health, free development of personality; respect of human rights and freedoms; stimulation of personality’s education and development of person’s talent [11].
But is the cultivation of these values, its real embodiment of educational activity into practice, into specific educational programs where the leading role is played not by people themselves but by their social roles, not subjective human characteristics but objective order of things possible? Are we ready to a new form of interpersonal communication in which everyone acts as the owner of a unique spiritual inner world and respect to the person initially doesn't depend at all on his social merits and achievements but is recognition of his aprioristic importance for our society? Are we able to put «the science of conscience» said by wise Shakarim above all our knowledge? In our opinion, possible prospects of the classical university are in answers to these questions capable to stop servicing inquiries of social situation having an opportunity to advance momentary requirements of social structures and, moreover, are able to create the atmosphere of searching new ways of achievement of social and individual wellbeing preparing and growing up an initiative, creative, disinterested and responsible type of the personality. And that was actually declared in 2007 by the rectors of Kazakhstan universities having signed the Memorandum in which it is said that according to present requirements universities have to conduct research, educational and methodical activity regardless of political ideology and economic power [12].
In essence education aims not only to train a specialist but to create personality, that is, the person capable to think independently and orient in the world around, free from the dogmas, able to distinguish private and universal values, highly moral and politically mature. Perhaps we have difficulties in our economic and social relations because we have lost or have not acquired moral and spiritual reference point. And that’s why it is nonsense to talk about culture of the person, nation and state without such reference point. The reason of defects of modern educational system is found not in the individual in itself, but in the form of social relations, in the form of social division of labor which spoils a person, brings up one-sidedly and therefore has to be improved. People are envious, evil, stupid and untalented not because they were created by the nature. It is necessary to make circumstances human. The real humanity is a revolutionary change of social relations and it’s the construction of such society which will reveal talent, universality of each person, his moral perfection, ability to disinterested creation of good and beauty.
The calling, appointment and task of each person are to develop his own abilities. All our life is solving problems. It is necessary to bring up the ability to solve problems by oneself instead of giving ready advices. Only by attaching to logic of fight, logic of the solution of tasks you will be able to bring up the ability to think creatively, to find new and not to be afraid of it. It is necessary that growth of material resources would have been constantly accompanied by the increase of moral and cultural level of people. People will assert themselves owing to the wealth of their personality, to the treasures of world culture but not to the possession of things. The task is to create a person capable to consume by increasing welfare of people, that is, to acquaint everyone to inherent values of culture. To master cultural values creatively is able only that person who works creatively and develops spiritual and material culture at the same time. Creative activity is a freedom, a condition of worthy and happy human life and a key principle of his all-around development [13; 161–163].
Dreams of a complete, universal person were expressed long ago, as Abdildin Zh.M. states, but society, unfortunately, still creates conditions for formation of «partial», unilateral, one-sided individual turned into a small screw, into an obedient mechanism. However, to solve its many problems modern society really needs all-around, integrated personality. Creative and interesting work is not only for elite, «gifted» people. Everyone can develop his abilities freely, to assert and realize himself as a personality. Each certain person thinks so far as he becomes a social successor of material and spiritual culture of previous generations. Only in society the child joins culture and learns to think. The leading principle of creative and productive thinking is the ability to put problems, to maintain tension of contradictions and to find ways of its solving. The ability to think should be brought up since the childhood. The problem of education is one of the fundamental problems of formation and development of personality. Education begins from the process where science has begun itself, that is, from asking questions, problems and clarifying conflict situations. After all, known isn’t learned yet. Only when the child passes the way of forming scientific truth and when he enters the busy world of search and problems, he will get the concept of the learning subject. Then there will be no need to train your memory and forcibly place some knowledge into your head.
The concept «incapable pupil» disappears. It is true that the ability to think can't be «presented» in the form of ready rules for all occasions. But references to the natural inability to think is only an excuse of teacher’s false unwillingness to create conditions in which such ability would be born and formed. Such position doesn’t accord with the concept of scientific and dialectical concept of thinking. Perspective installation of training is not specialized schools. Every healthy child can master the objective world of culture, develop his ability to think, create a truly human mind [13; 173, 174].
But it will become possible only if the principle allowing every member of society the ability to independent mastering universal, active way of interrelation with world around and allowing each person to become the active participant of modern social transformations will be realized at all levels of social practice. For this purpose it is necessary to go on absolutely another on quality subjective paradigmatic level of social self-organization at which possibility of use by someone and someone, even under the guise of so-called state needs, as object or means will be minimized. It is in these conditions when the role and traditional mission of education on providing more the best in comparison with the present, future as well as character and quality of training of graduators of any stage and level of new educational system changes. The order for training the person with universal abilities to activity will come in place of the order to train the graduator with strictly fixed set of abilities.
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