Teacher-Student Communication in the First Third of the 20th Century (Based on the Materials of Saint-Petersburg/Leningrad Polytechnic Institute)

Abstract

The course towards modernization in the early 20th century led to an increase in the prestige of poly- technic education and the emergence of a new scientific elite. The quality of training depended, among other things, on communication between professors and students. The purpose of the article is to examine the nature of changes in communication practices between teachers and students at St. Petersburg/Leningrad Polytechnic Institute in the context of the transformation of state policy regarding engineering training in the first third of the 20th century – when turning from the Imperial to the Soviet model of education. The research methodology is grounded in social history, focusing on the study of social relationships during periods of economic and political change, as well as on individua- lized interpretations of historical sources. It is shown that both in the early 20th century and in the 1920s, technological advancements occurred against the backdrop of complex internal political processes in which students and intellectuals played active roles. Prior to the revolution, both groups advocated for societal transformation. The post-revolutionary reforms undermined the authority of the “bourgeois” professors, while students of proletarian origin involved in the Komsomol and the CPSU(b) became agents of social reform in higher education. These contradictions created tension between teachers and students. Changes in social roles affected the educational process. A comparative analysis of the case studies from the history of Saint Petersburg/Leningrad Polytechnic Institute, examined in this research, makes it possible to draw conclusions about the nature of teacher-student communication and the quality of its evolution.