Preliminary communication
Professional Education as the Process of Professionalization of Private Farming and Socialistic Transformation of Village
Antun Petak
; Centar za društvena istraživanja, Instituta za društvena istraživanja Sveučilišta u Zagrebu Zagreb, Tomislavov trg 21/1
Abstract
Hypothesis about the socialistic transformation of a society and man as depending on the development of productive forces, has been specified by the author in such a way that the creative productive ability of a man has been conceived labour productivity in narrower sense,as the basic productive force. In other words, the one-sided understanding of a labour force as a factor of labour productivity
in narrower sense, is not present here, but on the other hand, the quality of social and individual living on a whole, as being dependent on the human creative productive ability, has been taken into consideration. In the conditions of greater differentiation and specialization of labour, education appears as a basic determinant in the development of such productive abilities. General and professional education has a special importance for the development of productive abilities of agricultural workers. That is to say, gap between a village and a city, as one of the basic class differences, is expressed in the privileged distribution of all achievements of civilization and accordingly, in a far wider illiteracy and lower degree of education among rural, particularly agricultural, population.
Dynamics and structure of education among rural and urban, and agricultural and non-agricultural population of Yugoslavia result from the distinctly differentiated growth rates in their education. Elementary literacy has not yet become general characteristic of agricultural population but differences between agricultural and non-agricultural population have become even deeper. To be precise: an average inhabitant of a city has eight classes of elementary school and an average inhabitant of a village has four classes of elementary school or — if the coefficient of school education is taken.as a basis of comparison — at active non-agricultural workers, the coefficient is three times greater than at active agricultural and similar workers. So, there is not one considerable group of educated farmers in Yugoslavia. Education of rural children and youth is a form of their de-agrariation. The analysis has shown that the growth of the average level of school education among farmers, between the last two censuses, depended upon the social security, the degree of socio-economic and cultural development, the balance of labour reserves among rural population.
The consequence becomes expressed in the increasing differences between the real education of a contemporary Yugoslav individual farmer and increasing demands for greater qualifications imposed by technological innovations and innovations in organization, as well as by the social, cultural 'and political life. Although not long age the private farming on a family farm used to be almost untouchable primeval occpuation, that is to say, the way of living (meaning of a term »farmer «), and not special structure of united labour operations, systems of value etc. in order to achieve income (meaning of the expression »agricultural worker« as an occupation in the sense of the economic source of income), the last decade has been characterized by deep changes in the structure of labour and the way of existence of individual farmers. For instance, Yugoslav individual farming started adopting a number of bio-chemical innovations about fifties, and by the end of sixties process of mechanization started. Caused by global factors, the process of transformation of an individual farmer into a commodity producer appeared earlier. Those and other processes have brought about the autonomy of specific structures of work activities as special occupations out of the total sincretic occupation with farming, the presence of farmers in the planned social division of labour, mechanization and new organization of production, necessity for a specially organized process in achieving qualifications for such new-formed »professions « and acceptance of socio-historic rhythm in relation to the land and hours of work. The development of productive abilities of farmers has been radically provoked by socialistic conditions because emphasis is being put on work and not ownership.
Although special importance of education and professional education of farmers appears as an obvious consequence, the experience research of the rural youth in SR Croatia has shown that the autonomous functional education on individual farms and in local community is still far the most important form of their professional socialization. Global social forms of the diffusion of knowledge about the productive innovations are quite sporadic. Specialized weeklies,, that is columns in daily papers, broadcasts on radio and TV intended for a village and individual farmers may be considered the only socially-organized form of professional education. So, there is basis for the conclusion about marginalization of those forms of communications of a global society and a village through which the conceived and value suppositions in accepting productive and other innovations are spreading.
Since the self-managing socialistic development presupposes the development of all and everybody, the economic growth, and accordingly, the active participation of the producers of new values in the process of decisions about the production of social life as well af their participation in the socialization of farming, it is necessary to introduce education and professional education of farmers. Such a practice would necessarily be based on a critical-experimental educational strategy. Conceived polyfunctionally that educational process comprises integral education of a highly-productive commodity producer of the market food who wilt creatively participate in a social and cultural life. Consideration of its consequences with regard to the way of production of a social life presents possibility for such changes that would lead to autonomous socialization of agriculture. The author finally brings out the results of the research. Necessity for the professional education is primarily felt by young farmers with actual chance for a qualitative existence on rural farms. The supposition, according to which the average conscious of farmers is well aware of the necessity for their general and professional education, has to some extent been confirmed by the research.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
156164
URI
Publication date:
30.9.1976.
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