Herzen University

The State Russian Herzen Pedagogical University is one of the biggest Russian Universities located at Saint Petersburg. Currently, it operates 20 faculties and more than 100 departments. Embroidered in its structure are the Institute of pre-University courses, Institute of qualification upgrade and pedagogical research center. The University is named after Russian writer and thinker Alexander Herzen.

History of the University

The University considers OldStyleDate|13 May|1797|2 May as its birthday. On that day Emperor Paul I of Russia gave an independent status to the Saint Petersburg foundling house established by Ivan Betskoy and put it under the patronage of Empress Maria Feodorovna. The Imperial Foundling House eventually developed into the modern Pedagogical University [http://www.herzen.spb.ru/index.phtml?id=2600] .

Betskoy's humanistic ideas rendered the basic principles to the foundling house. The strong pedagogical traditions and consistency in education were passed from one generation to another and were finally inheritated by The State Russian Herzen Pedagogical University. The foundling house was based in a unique architectural complex - the palaces of the earl Kirill Razumovsky and Aleksey Grigorievich Bobrinsky (current location: Moyka, 42, Saint-Petersburg, Russia)The Emperor Foundling House developed as a complex educational establishment carrying progressive ideas of upbringing and based upon charity and patronage. The foundling house was mainly given to destitude and deprived children: foundling orphans, disabled kids, kids from misalliance marriages. Besides being an educational establishment, that was a center for children care: the foundling house had an operating hospital, the village districts first time ever saw a system of free pediatrician help.

The foundling house put the basics of women's pedagogical education across the country. In 1837 "The women's foundling institute" was established on the basis of the House's higher classes. (since 1885 - Nicholas' foundling house.) Its graduates got the specialty of a tutor, music and dancing pedagogue, French language teacher. The vast experience of Nicholas' foundling house gave rise to the establishment of the first pedagogical higher education body - The women's pedagogical Institute. (1903)

Concerned with the foundling house is the onset of Russian applied correctional pedagogy. In 1806 in the structure of The house there appeared a new unit - a college for the deaf - the first in Russia educational establishment for disabled kids. It is here that the first Russian pedagogues for the deaf children were educated and their first works on the subject were created.

In 1864 was created a pedagogical seminary for countryside students of the foundling house who were to become the teachers of public schools and colleges. In 1868 was established a women's college that granted specialisations of a fully-trained nurse, village school and kindergarten children. This set the basement for Russian pre-school education. During these years kindergartens for children care were set up in the district of the foundling house. The graduates of the House successfully worked in the new establishments for children. In the Mariininsky department, reorganised foundling house, worked famous pedagogues M. V. Chistyakov, the editor-in-chief of "Children's magazine" and the author of numerous books for children, and V. A. Zolotov, an active adherent of "sound method" of teaching reading and writing and an author to many textbooks for public colleges. K. D. Ushinsky's pedagogical ideas rendered immense influence on restructuring the departments of the foundling house. Thanks in no small part to the work of Mariininsky department and its foundling house the pace of pedagogical education in Saint-Petersburg in the beginning of the 20th century took an unusual course. A whole system of establishments dealng with a range of questions concerning birth, pre-school, elementary, high-school and higher education and correctional pedagogics was set, giving rise to multilevel structure - a prototype of the prospective unyversity.

In 1918 the consolidation process of Mariinsky department and foundling house-related establishments started. In the same year The Women's Pedagogical University was renamed into The First Pedagogical Institute; based on the Teachers' Board The Second Pedagogical Institute was established. On the 17th October, 1918 The Third Pedagogical Institute was created. In 1918 the foundling house-related establishments were reorganized into Pre-school education Institute and Social Education Institute - the first higher education facilities in Russia that specialized in pre-school and primary school education and defectology. In the period 1922-1925 The First, Second, Third Pedagogical Universities, Pre-school education Institute, Social Education Institute and Psychoneurological Institute were merged. The united establishment was named The State Leningrad Herzen Pedagogical Institute (after the Russian philosopher and thinker Alexander Herzen).

Over time this has been the workspace for outstanding scientists, academisians and professors. Many of them initiated worldwide known scientific schools, made a valuable input in development of Russian science: botanist Komarov V. L. (who later came to become the President of Russian Academy of Sciences) and Skazkin F. D., zoologist Knipovich N. M., physicists Kurchatov I. V. and Hvolson O. D., geographers Semenov-Tjan-Shanskij V. P., Shokalskii U. M. and Sochava V. B., geologists Fersman A. S. and Ginzberg A. S., physiologists Orbeli L. A. and Bykov K. M., mathematician Fihtengoltz G. M., historians Tarle E. V., Struve V. V., Grekov B. D., pedagogues Pinkevich A. M. and Soroka-Rosinskii V. N., psychlogists Rubinstein S. L., Anan'ev B. G, and Vygotskii L. S.,Poet Alexander Kushner also graduated here.

External links

* [http://www.herzen.spb.ru/en/ Official site]