Evolution of Socialist Education: From Utopian Ideals to Critical Pedagogy
Socialist education’s roots often trace back to Plato, considered a precursor to socialist and communist thought, but its more direct antecedents lie in the utopian socialism of Owen and Fourier. Owen focused on creating a new society through a social order based on community, abolition of private property, equal rights and duties, and elimination of competition. He emphasized technical education and the integration of education with productive work. Fourier similarly stressed the need for technical education and training in children from a young age, centered on “industrial education.” Marx later built upon Fourier’s work, incorporating it into his theories of industrial production. However, the foundation of socialist education lies in the theories of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels. They challenged traditional bourgeois interpretations of humanity and the world. Both Marx and Engels came from middle-class Rhineland families, born between 1818 and 1820. Ideologically aligned with the Hegelian Left, they were influenced by German philosophy, the French revolutionary movement, and the technological advancements of the English Industrial Revolution. Together, they wrote The Holy Family, analyzing the evolution of human societies through social classes and modes of production. Marx and Engels employed a practical, realistic, and critical Marxist method to study facts and advocate for societal transformation. Early Marx and Engels criticized capitalist education as “unilateral,” designed to train workers for labor and the bourgeoisie for management. The rise of large industries necessitated extensive technological preparation, leading to the emergence of technical education and manual training, integrated with general education and productive work.
Marx and Engels favored a school system where children were motivated by shared productive work and learning. The central educational theory of the Marxist era was omnilateral development – a total, complete, and comprehensive training to develop all aspects of a person equally. Marxist schools were conceived as secular, co-educational, and free, encompassing intellectual, physical, and technical education.
After the 1917 Revolution, Lenin proposed an education system that transmitted modern scientific knowledge, ensured polytechnic education, and fostered proletarian culture. These institutions were called “labor schools.”
Makarenko (1888-1939) documented his pedagogical theories and experiences in two notable works. His initial experience educating young offenders in the Gorki Colony is depicted in Pedagogical Poem, while his later work in a youth community is the subject of Flags on the Towers. Makarenko’s colonies operated as self-sustaining communities, emphasizing the social value of work and its role in serving the community. He strongly believed in the importance of work for feeling useful and contributing to society. Students spent half the day working in a factory and the other half studying. Makarenko distinguished between work and study, viewing them as interrelated but distinct activities. The primary aim of education was to form citizens needed by the Soviet Union. Makarenko was a firm but fair disciplinarian, rejecting corporal punishment in favor of what Lenin termed “conscious discipline,” which was considered necessary and educational. He was critical of traditional pedagogy and radical new school approaches, rejecting the idea that education should solely cater to the child’s needs or spontaneity. He prioritized organization, discipline, and the social and community aspects over the individual. The fundamental goal of education was to train future citizens who were active and aware members of the community, dedicated to building the new Soviet Union.
Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937) was an Italian pedagogue and Marxist thinker. He abandoned his studies to engage in politics, becoming a founding member of the Communist and Socialist parties. Imprisoned in 1926, he continued to write and reflect on education and society despite harsh conditions and limited resources. His interest in education stemmed from personal concerns (educating his own children) and broader social issues (understanding social crises, politics, and contemporary education).
Gramsci believed that culture was founded on the equality of all people. He argued that all individuals are intellectuals, though not all exercise this role in society.
He opposed both liberal and authoritarian education, advocating for a middle ground between rigid discipline and unfettered spontaneity. Gramsci envisioned a key role for the state in education, providing a unified, non-class-based school system with equal opportunities, enabling students to learn, think critically, and develop practical skills. This school would be active and creative, with teachers playing a crucial role in maintaining authority and discipline while fostering personal autonomy.
Vasile Sujomlinski (1918-1970) is considered, along with Makarenko, one of the great Soviet educators of the 20th century. After completing his teacher training, he fought in World War II, where he was wounded, and his wife was tortured and murdered by the Nazis, a deeply formative experience. “Two feelings have encouraged me and continue to encourage me: love for children and hatred for fascism.”
His originality lies in his implementation of Marxist educational principles. He did not produce a single comprehensive work; his ideas are scattered across numerous articles and books. He drew upon new school principles of paidocentrism and idealism. Sujomlinski believed that education should be based on children’s happiness, joy, play, imagination, and desires. He prioritized community development through education, not the other way around. In his school, the development of each student’s potential was fostered through joy, happiness, and freedom; a sad child was considered unable to learn effectively. Children learned through play, work, and activities within a “stress field” or climate conducive to work, driven by their own motivations, allowing them to study, research, and consult on their own initiative without imposed discipline. For Sujomlinski, the community was a means to develop communist men and women.
The works of French sociologists Bourdieu and Passeron, Reproduction and Capitalist Schooling in France by Baudelot and Establet, and the theories of Althusser, share a common thread: applying Marxist categories and methodology to analyze the school system. This school of thought, which gained significant traction, argued that schools tend to reproduce existing social inequalities. Students are often compelled to follow the trajectory of their social class, perpetuating inequality despite schools’ attempts to attribute differences to individual abilities.
The Polish educator Suchodolski focused on preparing youth for a future world, a new civilization free from exploitation, based on respect for human beings as creators and critics, and fostering active social participation and cultural development. He considered teaching the past ineffective, as it educated youth in outdated values and liabilities. Suchodolski proposed integrating general and vocational education, the social and the individual, throughout all stages of life. This new civilization would strive to develop all human capacities – intellectual, moral, and artistic – within a framework of social cooperation.