On the pivotal basis of the educational paradigm of the 21st century
Authors:   RUDN University, Mukhin Mikhail I. ,   Research Institute of the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation
Published: May 2021

Relevance. The modern world is special. Our country is not an exception. The domestic education has also become different. Besides, it is obvious that reliance only on the conventional theoretical and methodological principles does not always lead to the desired result. In this regard, the issue of changing the educational paradigm is becoming more acute. The goal-oriented functional basis of such paradigm can be humanization, since it is a solid foundation for the harmonious development of a person, the growth of his/her essential forces and abilities at the new historical stage of social evolution. The research problem is the following: Earthlings are faced with the daunting problem of building optimal relationships between a human and a human, a human and the society. This challenge impels pedagogical science and educational practice to search for foundations that will contribute to resolving the contradictions between separateness and wholeness, isolation and unity, chaos and harmony. The aim of the study is to reveal the essence of humanization as the pivotal basis of the educational paradigm corresponding to the peculiarities of the social evolution in the 21st century. The research methodology consists in the conceptual provisions of humanistic pedagogy, anthropological and learner-centered. The specific methodological tools involved the principles of historicism, integrity, consistency, movement from the general to the particular and unique. The study also considered content-structural, activity-based, sociocultural and system-functional principles. The research methods comprised the study of monographic and scientific-methodical works, educational practice, along with their analysis, identification of special phenomena at the new stage of historical development, substantiation of the findings and interpretation of the suggested ideas. Results and discussion. The article gives a brief review of creating educational paradigms at different stages of social evolution, reveals their essence and identifies groups of principles covering various aspects of school’s functioning. It is emphasized that the implementation of these principles will ensure the humanization of training and nurturing. The paper also defines the key characteristics of the pedagogical process, designed in accordance with the conceptual provisions of the humanistic paradigm, outlines the main sets of interrelated tasks facing the education of the 21st century and substantiates the idea that humanism is the pivotal basis for the educational paradigm of the present century. The most discussed aspects of the problem are practice-oriented issues related to developing the content of humanistic education which would contribute to the formation of the basic humanistic worldview of students. Conclusion. The presented work reveals, generalizes and interprets the ideas of the humanistic tradition that underlie the educational paradigm of the 21st century. Among the leading development trends of the modern education, humanization is proved to be its cornerstone, corresponding to the peculiarities of social evolution at the current historical stage.