In the development of contemporary society it is impossible to conceive of it without the institution of the university. Since its appearance in the Middle Ages of the western world, the university has been increasing its significance in the progress of science, technology and culture of humanity.
Today, when she arrives in the so-called age of knowledge, she takes on a determining role in the destinies of peoples as never before, as they are training centers for professionals and for their contribution of new knowledge.
In our country, at the triumph of the Revolution, there were only three universities, whose access possibilities were reserved for a small minority with sufficient financial resources to pay for their studies. In these 45 years, the Cuban university has managed to consolidate its active role in society, among other reasons, by offering opportunities to all citizens to pursue higher studies, increasing and diversifying its number of institutions, which are distributed throughout the provinces. of the country, raise the quality of student training and actively link to the most pressing needs of the nation's economic, political and social development.
As our Commander in Chief has expressed, Cuba has become “the pedagogical capital of the world”, based on the profound development in the field of education that we have achieved in the last four decades and that is internationally recognized, including by many of our enemies. This development covers the entire educational system from preschool to postgraduate.
This material is aimed at the Pedagogical Preparation of the students of the different university careers. It presents some ideas about what the university is, its essential functions and its mission in the current context of our country. We consider, however, that the essential thing lies in the reflection, debate and assessment derived from their study.
1. Environment what we understand by university.
The university is a social institution that has the function of preserving, transmitting and developing the culture of a society. Culture is understood as “a set of ideas and achievements of humanity”, that is, it contemplates both the material and the spiritual; as well as the procedures to create, apply and transmit them, obtained by man in the process of social historical practice.
For this process of preservation and development of culture, society needs to train citizens who, as workers, take ownership of culture and apply it in the exercise of the profession and, in addition, enrich it through research and creation in general.
So the object of the university is to train professionals to solve problems with a creative approach.
A professional must have the following characteristics:
- He is an expert in the specific area he was trained in. He has a well-founded know-how. He solves problems from the link of knowledge, practice and research. He has a special inclination and motivation for his career. He owns and dominates through a long process of education, knowledge, skills and values that allow you to solve problems in a certain area. It is governed by an ethical code of professional action.
2. Processes that take place at the university.
To achieve their social assignment at the university, different processes are carried out, among which can be mentioned: teaching, research, extension, etc.
The teaching process is carried out through the development of the contents of the different disciplines and subjects that make up the study plan of each degree, and which encourages students to appropriate knowledge, skills and values of each profession to perform in the working world.
Research is a central process of the university, it is not possible at present to conceive of a university without research; in it the teaching process must be carried out through research. Research at the university is aimed at expanding theoretical knowledge and providing solutions to practical problems in the fields of production and services.
The university extension process aims to promote culture in the intra-university and extra-university community, to contribute to the cultural development of the population, which constitutes a social mission of the university. Through the extension, the culture that preserves and develops the university is promoted. University extension is also characterized by being an integrating and dynamic function that expresses the broader social bond of this institution.
The aforementioned processes occur interrelatedly in the university context, with the purpose of guaranteeing quality in comprehensive training for students, future professionals who will have the responsibility of promoting the country's progress from different angles.
3. The university in the current context.
The university as an educational institution is historically conditioned, that is, it responds to the demands and imperatives of a given time. The university, based on the basic processes that take place in it and that we describe in the previous section, must be aimed at social improvement, to seek viable solutions to pressing national, regional, and even global problems.
The university will be projecting itself towards the future and fulfilling its social task to the extent that it does not abstract from the historical-social contingencies in which it operates and face them critically and constructively, enhance scientific research, create new knowledge, design and implement the programs that result in the improvement of social conditions, and always consider that their function is to contribute to the happiness of man.
In 1998, the World Conference on Higher Education in the XXI century: Vision and Action was held in Paris, convened by UNESCO, in whose working document the characteristics of the contemporary world were expressed. Starting from this document and also relying on other sources, we will outline some of these characteristics, identified from the economic, cultural, scientific and educational aspects.
Economically there is a process of globalization of the economy due to the formation of multinational companies that control the markets and that result in job losses and endanger regional economies, generating bankruptcies, hindering the economic growth of nations, accentuating the distribution more unequal income that causes a greater polarization between rich and poor, etc.
Culturally, we are witnessing a phenomenon of globalization and internationalization of culture, as a result of the development of the media, especially television, considered the most powerful instrument of influence. Through television and the other media, a pseudo-cultural product - mass culture - is being disseminated that tries to alienate peoples from their true conditions of existence and deprive them of their identity, by calling this “global village” to unique thought.
The development of the media and the neoliberal globalization process where the blind forces of the market prevail has brought as a culmination to try to impose that mass culture characterized by its artificiality and decontextualization. If at one time the hegemonic nations of power colonized us with French, Spanish, English, American culture; Today, on the contrary, we are facing a much worse phenomenon, it wants to dominate with the culture of the market, empty of the best achievements of humanity, without a tradition in which to sustain itself. In this way, the aim is to undermine the identity of the peoples, destroy the true house of man - his culture - and thus make them vulnerable.
Scientifically, we are facing a geometric progression of scientific and technological knowledge with new information and communication technologies and biotechnologies. They offer increasing technical possibilities to face the challenges of sustainable development, however, it has become clear how difficult it is for countries that need it most to be in a position to use them in solving their problems.
Large research centers are located in developed countries, while those in developing countries do not have sufficient resources to carry out fundamental and applied research in accordance with their needs.
Educationally it is appreciated that in higher education there is a progressive massification, but at the same time there is a relative reduction in the economic, material and human resources assigned to it. The states, based on the money they invest in higher education, intervene in it imposing their rules inopportunely; However, they do not fulfill the role that is truly their responsibility when defining a clear development policy for the country and clarifying the role that higher education should play in development, among others.
On the other hand, while the problem of overcrowding should allow more equitable access, in many cases we find exclusion mechanisms.
Although it is true that raising the level of education is necessary to raise the level of development, there is an increase in the unemployment rates of university graduates.
Higher education also faces the paradox of the need to internationalize, on the one hand, and the need to contextualize, on the other, due to the cultural reasons that we mentioned earlier.
4. The foundations of a universal vision of higher education for the XXI century.
Starting from the contextual reality of the present, UNESCO has proposed a series of principles on which higher education in the 21st century must be based, with a character of universality. Some of those principles are:
- Equity, education for all. It means universal access to higher education for all those who have the skills, motivation and adequate preparation at any stage of life. Permanent education. It consists of the use of varied forms or modalities of education for all throughout their lives. Not only teach, but also educate, contribute to the realization of man in all its facets, develop them personally. Ethical function, educate in values. It consists of having an ethical function in a period of crisis of values like the one that the contemporary world is going through. The culture of peace. Esteem the respect and takes into consideration the other with their differences, their rights and duties. It involves participation, commitment, sense of responsibility, respect for commitments. Investigate the issue of peace,the factors that cause bloody conflicts, wars, violence, riots, etc. Inter-institutional collaboration. It consists of developing networks of solidarity with other higher education institutions and with other institutions of society, based on solidarity, exchange, collaboration, and not on the dominance of some over others. Quality and relevance. It expresses that higher education offers quality training, not only for its context, but is projected in a universal way and in correspondence with social needs. The unity of men and women in difference and solidarity complementarity.It consists of developing networks of solidarity with other higher education institutions and with other institutions of society, based on solidarity, exchange, collaboration, and not on the dominance of some over others. Quality and relevance. It expresses that higher education offers quality training, not only for its context, but is projected in a universal way and in correspondence with social needs. The unity of men and women in difference and solidarity complementarity.It consists of developing networks of solidarity with other higher education institutions and with other institutions of society, based on solidarity, exchange, collaboration, and not on the dominance of some over others. Quality and relevance. It expresses that higher education offers quality training, not only for its context, but is projected in a universal way and in correspondence with social needs. The unity of men and women in difference and solidarity complementarity.but it is projected in a universal way and in correspondence with social needs. The unity of men and women in difference and solidarity complementarity.but it is projected in a universal way and in correspondence with social needs. The unity of men and women in difference and solidarity complementarity.
5. The Cuban university.
Cuban higher education complies with the principles of universality raised by UNESCO and responds to the project of revolutionary society that we are building.
The Cuban revolution has always had as a premise to offer possibilities to all citizens, without discrimination of any kind, to access higher education. These possibilities have been progressively expanding as institutions of a higher nature have increased, diversified and extended to all provinces of the country.
The implementation of various study modalities, such as regular courses for meetings for workers, distance education and universalization of higher education, makes it easier for not only young people once they finish pre-university to enroll in university, but all those workers or not, they want it at any stage of life.
In our universities, not only is the individual prepared in the theoretical and practical order to work in a certain profession, but training is offered that comprehensively covers the development of the personality of the students.
When we speak of integral formation we understand that whose dimensions are the spiritual (being), the cognitive (knowing), the socio-affective (feeling), the technical-professional (knowing how to do) and the communicative (knowing how to express oneself). The Cuban university has sought an integration between knowledge, doing and being, thus attending to the multi-dimensional development of the personality. Along with the specific knowledge of a particular specialty and knowing how to operate with them in praxis, he has paid attention to humanistic-cultural training that allows students to cultivate their spirituality, develop as men and prepare morally for the exercise of the profession.
Our university is distinguished for training professionals characterized by their humanism, revolutionary vocation, solid theoretical-practical and attitudinal knowledge, as well as the development of a scientific mindset.
The training of professionals is carried out with a broad and flexible curriculum: that is, the aim is to train a professional with a broad profile, who can take on various fields of action after graduation. The curriculum emphasizes the basic contents of the profession and allows the student to have the option of choosing subjects based on their needs, tastes, and interests.
A principle that has always been followed is to offer the real possibility of university education for all, but quality education. A quality that starts from the very conception of higher education, the design and development of career curricula, the preparation of the cloisters.
The higher education centers are distributed throughout all the provinces of the national territory, including the special municipality of the Isle of Youth. They study around 94 courses in correspondence with the demands of the country's social, economic and scientific development.
The training process carried out in the Higher Education Centers is carried out through a close link with the institutions of production and services and special importance is given to the development of scientific research.
Currently, universities train professionals, essentially, through the following modalities:
to. Regular Day Courses.
b. Long distance education
c. Universalization of higher education.
Regular daytime courses.
Training by regular daytime courses is one in which the students, once they have finished high school, receive systematic and in-person training in a specific specialty, during a period of approximately 4 to 6 years. In this modality, students dedicate most of their time to teaching. The time dedicated to teaching activity and self-preparation is maximum and the student has the indispensable conditions to meet the objectives of their training. This modality is the one by which the largest number of professionals graduate.
The educational teaching process that is developed to guarantee the excellence of the professional training of the students is classified into academic, labor and investigative.
Abstract content, modeled, simulated, prevails in the academic teaching-educational process, and the teaching process is developed mainly in the form of classes and, generally, in a teaching institution.
In the teaching-educational process of a labor nature, the content is that of the activity of production and services, and the process is developed through the practical labor form and, generally, in the labor units or for the sake of solution. of the problems of those units.
In the investigative teaching-educational process, the fundamental content is inherent to the scientific-investigative activity that becomes the fundamental instrument for solving problems and is developed in the form of investigative work by students.
The ideological political work carried out with students in regular daytime courses is of utmost importance. The work of educational and political ideological leadership occurs through different dimensions or spheres of influence, which are conditioned by the content of the relationships established between these two components. The dimensions have been called curricular, university and sociopolitical extension, which work together and penetrate the fabric of all university life, constituting the curricular, the fundamental dimension of this process.
Distance education.
Distance Education is a form of study in which the teaching-learning process can be developed without having to systematically attend a classroom and with a distant teacher. This enables access to education for broad masses of the population, of different ages and sex, as well as being geographically dispersed and who for different reasons cannot attend face-to-face education. Communication between teachers and students is achieved through printed materials with the necessary information on the planning and organization of the course, guides and methodologically prepared texts for autonomous learning, mechanical and electrical means of communication, self-study and tutorial organization (Morales Guzmán, 2000).
Distance education requires high motivation on the part of students, who must plan their independent study and develop study methods that guarantee adequate learning. The separation in space and time that occurs between teachers and students in distance education does not exclude face-to-face activities, without this implying that the teacher becomes responsible for student performance.
Distance education began to develop in Cuba in the 1979-1980 academic year, when this educational modality reached a great international boom. Through it, the revolution's aspiration to expand the necessary possibilities for the people to reach the highest educational levels is met.
This teaching is based on independent work as a method and self-preparation as a form, since it has as its fundamental support the written didactic materials, which over time have been experimentally incorporated other auxiliary means such as video, radio, the audiocassette, etc., without considering until now the direct contact with the teacher.
With the distance education modality, the capacities of higher education centers were increased to accommodate future pre-university and technological graduations, given the limited capacities of higher education centers, an alternative was sought to expand the capacities of regular courses for workers in such a way that they allow the entrance to higher education of all those who have the required academic level or who can obtain it prospectively. At the same time, it was pursued not to limit the interest of workers and other sectors of the population to start or continue higher level studies, an issue that was a demand of the workers in its XIV Workers Congress.
The application of the created model guaranteed the following:
- Access to higher education for all who wish without other limitations than having passed the previous academic level. Optimization in the use of existing facilities, and maximum use of available teachers. Offer various career options that could enroll Residents across the country, without interfering with their work activities and in which the intensity of the study corresponded to their intellectual possibilities and their availability of time. Maintain rigor and demand in evaluations to guarantee the academic quality of the graduate.
The creation and development of Distance Education has been based on the use of written material as the fundamental means of learning, with its own characteristics in our country, since it is based on the bibliography prepared for the Regular Courses, accompanied by the analytical program of each subject, thereby achieving rationality in editing and publishing.
However, other written teaching materials were used which, based on the use of these texts, provided a series of guidelines that allow students to organize the study of the subject, interrelate it with others, self-evaluate, etc.
Even when it is not regulated, distance education in Cuba foresees a minimum teacher-student relationship, even if indirectly, as in the case of the aforementioned teaching materials. But as the possibilities are greater, the figure of the tutor will increase. This will help the student in their learning process through orientation of study methods, the order and selection of the subjects to be examined, the bibliography to use, provide an overview of the subject in the context of the career study plan, clarify doubts, etc.
The distance education modality in Cuba is currently applied in the following careers: Law, History, Scientific-Technical Information and Library Science, Accounting and Finance, Economics and Sociocultural Studies.
They use the same study plan and the texts of the regular daytime courses.
This teaching in Cuba is characterized, in addition, because there is no limit to complete the studies, there are no time limits to examine a subject until it is approved, in each course up to 24 subjects can be enrolled. The evaluation of the subjects is carried out by means of a final exam, in the facilities of the university, in non-working hours, during three periods a year. The completion of the studies is done through a state exam.
Through this modality and in all the courses that are attended, more than two thousand students from all over the country have completed their studies, indicating that there has been an acceptable correspondence between the different elements that intervene in the teaching-learning process.
The universalization of higher education.
The universalization of the university was an aspiration raised by our Commander-in-Chief from the very beginning of the revolutionary triumph and which has now become a reality. This means giving a real opportunity to all the people to study, achieve a university education, to the extent that society has resources.
The purpose of universalization is related to the massive elevation of the cultural level of the population, with the promotion of their spiritual wealth, with the achievement of a fuller life fostered by knowledge, since, as Fidel pointed out, “reaching the highest levels of Knowledge is, without a doubt, the highest satisfaction that any citizen can find ”. So the universalization process is linked to the different programs within the battle of ideas that our country is currently fighting.
Its ultimate aim is not to train professionals to insert them in production and services, but rather cultivation, the multidimensional enrichment of the personality of our people. Hence, a tractor driver, while still being a tractor driver, can acquire a higher level of education; The question is not to limit anyone, so that everyone can have a university career, for their personal good and also for the good of society. To the extent that ignorance is banished and high cultural levels are achieved, man will be freer, socially more dignified objectives can be achieved.
With the universalization of higher education, a new pedagogical model is reached that facilitates vocational training from a different conception of university. The traditional university institution, as a high educational center to which one receives vocational training, gives way to higher education that takes advantage of the potential existing in the municipalities to contribute to the university training of its citizens.
Currently, this endeavor is possible because Cuba has highly qualified professionals in each territory formed by the Revolution, who are working in industries, laboratories, research centers, schools, agricultural plans, etc. And all this can be used to train new professionals of a higher level. As progress is made in the development of the curricula of this training modality, more professionals will be required to join the pedagogical work in the municipalities.
Currently there are 732 municipal university headquarters (SUM). The careers studied in them are: Law, Psychology, Social Communication, Sociocultural Studies, Sociology, History, Library Science and Information Sciences and Computer Engineering.
The sources of income to the SUM are the graduates of social workers, emerging teachers, Assignment Álvaro Reynoso, Comprehensive Course for Youth, Art instructors and cadres of political and mass organizations, among others. Students periodically attend SUM classes / meetings where they obtain information, exchange, answer questions, receive methodological guidance, etc.
The figure of the tutor is of utmost importance in the universalization of higher education, as it is the figure who, with due preparation and experience, is in charge of directing, in a more systematic way, the training of each professional. Training in the universalization process requires that students develop great autonomy in their learning.
Conclusions:
• The university is an institution without which it is impossible to conceive modern society for its contribution to the development of new knowledge, its impact on the culture of society and the training of professionals capable of solving the problems that arise in the historical social practice of the man.
• The Cuban university is consistent with the principles of universality of higher education proposed by UNESCO and, at the same time, responds to the historical social conditions and the social project of our country.
• The Cuban university has been strengthening its prestige in the comprehensive training of professionals, which is internationally recognized. These professionals have a training that allows them to creatively face the problems of production and services.
• The Cuban university is in constant improvement, looking for alternatives that increasingly guarantee access to higher education for all, the improvement of its management and the quality training of its graduates.
Bibliography
Álvarez de Sayas, Carlos (1997): The School in life. Havana. Editorial Academia.
(1995): The University as a social institution ”. Santiago de Cuba. Center for Higher Education Studies "Manuel F. Gran".
Cárdenas, José María; Maryaan Asno and Omar Rodríguez (Compilers) (1999): Reflections on education in Latin America. Venezuela. Gran Mariscal Ayacucho Foundation.
Colombres, Adolfo (2001): The civilizing emergency of Our America. Havana. Center for Research and Development of Cuban Culture Juan Marinello.
Ministry of Higher Education (2001): The role of the university in the current battle of ideas: Projects. VITaller Nacional de Trabajo Político Ideológico. Havana. EMPSES. 2001.
Morales Guzmán, Migdio (2000): 20 years of distance education in central Cuba. “Marta Abreu” Central University of Las Villas.
Morales, Víctor (1998): On the relationships between transdisciplinarity, specialization, university and advanced education. Venezuela. First Conference of the UCV Transdisciplinarity Project.
Pansza, Margarita (1990): "The University as a theoretical problem". In: Pancza, Margarita (1990): Pedagogy and curriculum. Mexico. Gernika editions.
UNESCO (1998): Higher Education in the XXI century: Vision and Action. Paris. UNESCO.
