Philosophy of Education as a Social Development Factor: World Trends and Prospects for Russia

The author analyzes the correlation between the development of society and philosophy of education. The goal of this article is to demonstrate that social development is more clearly shaped when the process of education is given an appropriate philosophy, which means the presence of a sense-making and goal-setting strategy (paradigm, “religion”) of the evolution of society. The example of a number of the world's leading countries confirms the value of such correlation. Even when in a crisis, these countries adapt to the modern world's dynamics (globalization, informatization, etc.) with higher speed if they possess an adequate education philosophy. These leading countries’ philosophy of education is underlain by the thesis: the quality of education defines the quality of life. This outcome can be achieved by drawing on such values as freedom, creativity, partnership, and trust. World university rankings show that the most successful universities aim at achieving this outcome and rely on these basic values regardless of all the modern transformations. The author comes to the conclusion that Russia, represented by its leaders and its government, should, given its desire to join the ranks of the world's leading countries, should instate substantial indicators of quality of life for its citizens, as well as strive to generate an education philosophy of similar nature and actively introduce it in the process of education in the first place.