Management Of The Educational Space Development Of The Arctic Region Nomadic Peoples

Abstract

Today, the Arctic civilization is in a state of crisis. The indigenous peoples of the North have largely lost their appearance and the traditional way of life. They are forced to assimilate. A special kind of regional educational space (circumpolar) is noted by the researchers. It requires a new vision of the position of the Arctic and the North in the world space and its role in the progress of society. The purpose of the research is to determine some theoretical and methodological aspects (principles and conditions) of the development of the regional educational space of indigenous peoples of the North as circumpolar through the management of a dynamic exchange of educational and enlightenment information. The authors believe that the address to education and enlightenment, as a factor restraining the processes of the Arctic civilization disintegration, is relevant. The dynamics of civilization will be successful in case of the formation of the regional educational space of the indigenous peoples of the North as a circumpolar one. The first stage of this formation is the dynamic exchange of educational and enlightenment information between different Uluses (or municipal districts) of Yakutia. The purpose of this research is to determine a number of theoretical and methodological aspects (principles and conditions) of the development of the regional educational space of indigenous peoples of the North as a circumpolar, through the management of a dynamic exchange of educational and enlightenment information between different Uluses (or municipal districts) of Yakutia.

Keywords: Circumpolar regional space of nomadic peoples

Introduction

The ancient peoples of the Earth who settled around the North Pole created a circumpolar civilization that had a set of many parameters of a survival culture in permafrost conditions and is characterized by unity of the diversity of ethnic communities. The traditional culture, folklore and languages of the nomadic peoples of the North, ethno-cultural traditions are the fundamental basis of their social and cultural identity. It is a source of originality that has deep roots in the history (Gorokhov, 1992). Philosophy, ethical norms, the system of values, ways of thinking, language, oral traditions - all these nourish and form the basis of the life of northern peoples (Hansen, 2015). The distinguishing characteristics of the "circumpolar civilization" are highlighted (Ksenofontov, 1992). The characteristics are highly dependent on the natural conditions of existence. They are in the consensual relations with the aggressive nature and in limiting the human's vital needs to a rational minimum. In addition, these characteristics are in an extremely rigid connection of an individual with the social group, ethnos. And finally, in a benevolent attitude toward others as to him/herself (Douglas, 2015; Demography of indigenous peoples; 2015).

Today, the Arctic civilization is in a state of crisis. The indigenous peoples of the North have largely lost their appearance and traditional way of life. They are forced to assimilate. The process of their displacement from traditional habitats is observed. The greatest concern is the destruction of centuries-old systems of cultural traditions, norms and values, ethnic traits of the peoples of the North, broken ties between generations, nations and ethnic groups. At the same time, we believe that today, addressing to education and enlightenment, as a factor restraining the processes of the disintegration of the Arctic civilization, is important (Exner-Pirot, 2016). This is due to the current Russian state policy in the field of education that ensures the unity of the educational space, protection and development of ethno-cultural features and traditions of peoples in the conditions of a multinational state, and due to the fact that the Arctic region has a special position in the Russian Federation.

The development of any system of education occurs in the socio-economic context of a specific administrative territory with its inherent cultural, historical, ethnocultural traditions, lifestyles, and national characteristics. Since this region is a sparsely populated area characterized by harsh climatic conditions, the longest winter and short summer, a significant permafrost zone and a small fraction of land suitable for farming - the northern near-polar region (Kennedy, 2015), the formation of an information subspace, the basis of which is the dynamic exchange of information between different Uluses or municipal districts of Yakutia, is, first of all, necessary for the formation of a holistic educational space of the region.

Problem Statement

A special kind of regional educational space (circumpolar) is recorded. It requires a new vision of the position of the Arctic and the North in the world space and its role in the progress of society. Significant in these conditions (when settlements are in hard-to-reach places) is the formation of a developing educational space with a dynamic partner network of information exchange through the interaction of its (space) subjects and the mutual transfer of educational and enlightenment information which is important for the organization of everyday educational practice. The research problem is to study the questions of development of the regional educational space of the indigenous peoples of the North as circumpolar through the management of a dynamic exchange of educational and educational information between different Uluses (or municipal districts) in Yakutia.

Reasons and problems of the unformativity of the educational space of the nomadic region with an active network of information exchange:

1.poor development of transport and information infrastructures in the region (especially in remote, difficult-to-access areas);

2.The lack of specialists supporting the use of IT and the technological development of the Internet space;

3.The lack of informational and communicative competences of participants in pedagogical processes in educational organizations, leading the nomadic way of life of local residents;

4.Low living standards and inadequate resources for the development of the information network.

The main subjects of the space are interacting group communities. The interaction of public organizations representatives and traditional educational ones is the most important among them for this space.

The formation of interrelations, the relationship of nomadic communities (as public structures) and traditional state educational organizations are most relevant today in the educational space of nomadic peoples. The interaction of these social partners is particularly important for maintaining the structural basis of the space - the partner network.

Research Questions

The existing system of education of the Arctic territories does not meet the modern requirements for the development of a multinational and multicultural Russian society. The analysis of the pedagogical literature allowed us to assume that the modernization of the education of the northern nomadic peoples will be successful in the conditions of the development of the regional educational space of the indigenous peoples of the North as circumpolar through a dynamic exchange of educational and enlightenment information between different Uluses (or municipal districts) of Yakutia.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the research is to determine some theoretical and methodological aspects (principles and conditions) of the development of the regional educational space of indigenous peoples of the North as circumpolar through the management of a dynamic exchange of educational and enlightenment information between different Uluses (or municipal districts) of Yakutia.

Research Methods

Theoretical: analysis of philosophical, pedagogical, socio-educational and methodological literature; analogy, systematization of experience in designing the development of educational organizations; methods for assessing the results of socio-cultural phenomena, forecasting the near future processes, etc. Empirical: observation; questioning; expert assessments; conversations with the leaders of schools and management of regional education; experimental work in region rural schools; introduction of the results into pedagogical practice.

Findings

First of all, we should underline the mission of the community in such a region. Communities in the narrow sense of the word are the oldest forms of social organization of the population, conditioned by the need for survival - which required at least a minimum of resources and necessary products. At an early stage in the development of civilization people had to form large communities of people for joint farming (Nakazawa, Sorensen, Matsuura, DeHass, 2014).

At the same time, they were united in clan communities by the most natural way- consanguinity. This community of relatives performed joint farming. At the early stages of development it was engaged in joint hunting. And then – in gathering, cattle breeding and/or agriculture (Berger, Johnston & Oskineegish, 2016).

Communities, in a broad sense, are viewed as any communities of people connected with each other historically. Members of the community may be associated with a place of birth or belonging to a particular ethnic group. Such a group of people is called a Diaspora if they live outside of the historical homeland. Communal connection of people can be determined by the place of residence (urban and rural community, located on the territory with certain characteristics), belonging of members of the community to a certain confession (confessional), and similar professional activity (professional). They are united, among other things, by ancient customs, which can lead to serious personal and social conflicts if they are ignored (Leskisenoja & Uusiautti, 2017).

Nomadic community, for example, historically carried out the distribution of pastures and was engaged in organizing mutual assistance to each member of the community during natural disasters, the murrain of personal livestock from disease. The nomadic communities created a strict system of security, which not only protected members of the community, but also ensured the safety of livestock (Dashibalov, 2003).

A special kind of a clan community is house or family community. The clan community consists of a large family. There can be three to five generations of relatives at the same time in it. The organizers of joint work in the community were elders. Gradually cattle breeding and agriculture became the basis of the joint economy of the community and the importance of its experienced members grew. The elders began to enjoy increasing authority. They headed religious communities and military militia (Dawson, Levy, 2016).

The specificity of the current socio-economic situation, dating back to the first post-Soviet decade, requires a change of ideas about the structure and mechanisms of the educational space development (Exner-Pirot, 2016). Today, the implementation of sociocultural, psychological, pedagogical principles and methods of interaction of traditional educational organizations and communities in the arctic space in practice is accompanied by the formation of a regional network of interacting social partners and further regional educational space. The informational space is the most complex component of this educational space. At the same time, each educational organization retains its own space (or a system).

The combination of the positions and principles of the activities of the educational organization and the community is a difficult task. According to the position of J. Dewey, school and community should form an integral whole. Only in this case it is possible to create a specific educational organization of a single informational, educational, upbringing space together with partners.

J. Dewey believes that the communal principles of life contribute to the immersion of a person in a certain activity, awareness (sensation) of its importance for its development and his/her its active participation in this direction. Proceeding from this, it is necessary to turn school into a small community according to a specific (for nomadic people) pattern (patterns) for given territory. To achieve this, it is necessary, above all, to link the educational and upbringing activity of school with a similar activity outside school. There should be built multiple, multilevel links between community and school. Otherwise school will be, in a certain sense, isolated from educational activity, from building the life path of a pupil, a graduate. It is possible to formulate the following task: to revive lost forms of interaction of individuals on personal basis; the ability to create a sense of individual and community self-awareness, information security, stability, confidence in community support; to prevent conflict and disorder. In modern conditions, the community helps to create conditions for the socialization of a child in the family, at school, helping them learning how to act at the community, in a team (Lukin, 2012). The modern community does not solve problems for a person, but only helps to sort them out. The role of the family is complemented by forms of family education at the place of residence. The importance of this context in the education of the younger generation is determined by the most important indicator - the "level of joy" in the educational organization (McLean, 2017).

A teacher acquires new functions. A teacher does not limit him/herself to the school life according to a previously approved plan, but motivates pupils to take part in project activities, in regional and local projects. The task of a teacher is to create the conditions for the participation of pupils in partnership with their parents in the projects of school partners for the creation of various clubs, public organizations and centers for managing information flows, primarily ensuring remote communication with people with disabilities and elderly people. (Forbes, 2013). It is equally important to create conditions for a constructive dialogue between authorities and communities, which in world practice is seen as an effective mechanism for preserving and developing regional space (Näkkäläjärvi, 2016). A special place can be occupied by projects in the information space, social networks with the advertisement of a healthy lifestyle, caring for younger children, broadcasting of national and ethnocultural traditions of nomadic peoples. Specialists from Finland have positive experience in this area (Newman, 2015). The relationship between the level of support for ethno-cultural traditions and the health of the population is at the center of modern research (Klokov, 2016). A significant place in the interaction between the educational organization and the community is occupied by projects related to crime control, alcoholism, drug addiction; consulting projects in the Internet space with difficult families. The questions of vocational guidance and vocational education are no less important (Huuki & Juutilainen, 2016).

The following activities are among the various forms of interaction between the educational organization and the community: the creation of community schools, nomadic schools based on the desire of each school to translate value orientations, striving to realize the functions of protecting each individual, the microculture of their territory, and the development of their environment. This is not about the formalized belonging to the inhabitants of a certain territory, but about creating a certain non-formal circle of people's communication, understanding the linguistic and information features of this circle, assuming responsibility for the fate of the community, for its members. The following values are formed at such schools: their mentality, their own holidays, their own educational guarding niche, capable of smoothing out feelings of insecurity and loneliness in the formalized space of a modern state school.

There is another aspect of the research of the issue we are examining in modern science: specific educational excursions to the region for teachers and students (Sannikova, 2016). Such experience of staying in such an unusual space makes it possible to look from a different perspective, more realistically at the problems of the development of the region information space, to establish meaningful links.

As a result of the research, the forms of interaction between the community and the traditional educational organization are examined. Also, the principles and conditions for managing the informational interaction of the representatives of nomadic communities and traditional educational organizations in the region have been revealed. Note that the role of the information exchange network is changing. Its mission is not in the accessible translation - the presentation of this or that information, but in designing the field of choice by any person of the information they need in a specific socio-economic, sociocultural situation; building relationships with another entity on its basis and creating modern informational, educational and upbringing space.

Conclusion

As a result of the research, the following are defined as management principles for the creation and development of the information space of the Arctic region territories:

- The principle of socio-historical conditioning. According to this principle, the information, reflecting the relationship of interacting subjects and contained in the Arctic region information space, is a resource for the development of the individual. It must also broadcast ideals, values, convictions, socially significant norms of relationships;

- The principle of nature sensitiveness. On the basis of this principle the content of information should take into account the leading type of activity of a child (myth-creative, craft, research, design) for different age categories of information space subjects. In this regard, the exchange of information is carried out through joint myth-making, workshop technology, and laboratory and project activities.

Thus, one can say that the role of the information exchange network is changing. Its mission is not in an accessible broadcasting and the presentation of any information but in designing the field of choice by any person of the information they need in a specific socio-economic and sociocultural situation. It is in building relationships with another entity on its basis and creating a modern informational, educational, and upbringing space.

- The principle of social consistency. While creating the space of the people’s (peoples’) traditions and customs, this principle presumes the need of taking into account the following: the national characteristics, the characteristics surrounding the child from childhood and passed from generation to generation including features of character, actions, behavior, natural features, influence of the region people and residents.

- the principle of pedagogical integrity, which presupposes the existence of unity of values, norms of behavior in families, in the community and in the state educational organization, which is regulated by relations in the information space of the region;

- The principle of prioritizing the family position, which allows us to consider the family as an institution of upbringing and socialization of the individual. The following are being formed within this institution: values, ideals, norms of behavior and communication, attitude to nature, people, and family, work;

- The principle of humanistic orientation of the information space value orientations. The prevalence in the basis of the activity of the space subjects of the humanistic values: kindness, honesty, responsibility, diligence, mercy, etc.;

- the principle of the space openness, providing the emergence of new space subjects, the formation of new relationships with them, the free exchange of information inside and outside the space;

- the principle of development of the individual subjectivity, associated with the active position of the participant in the information interaction with respect to reality, values and norms of space, the formation of one's own position based not on knowledge, but on socio-cultural experience of an individual. This experience manifests itself in the abilities, needs, and readiness of a person for a particular activity;

- the principle of individual social activity, presupposing the active use of all information received and socio-cultural experience formed in the processes of transformation of the surrounding reality.

Conditions for managing the development of the information exchange network of the nomadic peoples of the Arctic region educational space:

- Organization of network interaction of educational organizations and nomadic communities of the region (Nakazawa, Sorensen, Matsuura & DeHass, 2014);

- Creation of a positive, personally meaningful content of interaction between educational organizations and nomadic communities in the region (Healy, 2017);

- Formation of information competencies both for children and adults (Lukin, 2012; Veletsianos, Doering, Henrickso, 2015);

- Modernization of the educational infrastructure of the region (community schools, nomadic educational organizations, public security organizations, etc.).

The obtained results can be used to build strategic plans for the development of information exchange networks in the educational space as circumpolar in the education and enlightenment systems of the North of the whole world space.

Acknowledgments

The research is carried out within the framework of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research grant No. 18-013-00435.

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