On April 23, Saratov State University hosted the opening of the international forum entitled Humanisation of Educational Environment: Interaction of Teachers with Families. Practicing teachers from Saratov, Moscow, Ivanov, Luhansk, and Belarus, whose research interests are related to the psychological and pedagogical peculiarities of developing a harmonious educational ecosystem, teachers and students of pedagogical courses of SSU, gathered at the university site.

The moderator of the forum, Chair of the Department of Technology Education Nikolai Sayapin introduced the participants to the discussion platforms, plenary, and breakout sessions. He recalled that the conference began its history in 2005 – during a significant period of time, stable traditions, permanent participants, and relevant research areas have appeared.

‘Surely, today, you will have the opportunity to gain new knowledge, share scientific findings with your colleagues, and develop new ideas,’ Nikolai Sayapin addressed the audience.

The participants were welcomed by Head of Priority Projects and Programmes, the chair of the forum Elena Yelina:

‘Today, I have to fulfil the instruction of Rector Alexei Chumachenko – to welcome you to such a large and important conference in every meaning and, of course, to thank the guests who have come from other cities and who will be able not only to explain their views on the issues, but also to conduct master classes for Saratov teachers with whom our university works a lot.’

Elena Yelin noted that there were several points in the issue of humanisation of modern education.

‘Today, this area concentrates on the upbringing of the children’s personality. The ones who are taught in the centre today. It is not just the children, it is you too, dear students. And there are a lot of issues here. Today, our students are attacked by a completely inhumanistic principle associated with a lack of free time and the need to fulfil their ideas. This is one of the central issues that needs to be discussed. We, teachers, have very big problems when we work with freshmen. We see an insufficient amount of knowledge in humanities. This is one of the most important problems in the humanisation of education today. We need to figure out how we can add this knowledge to our students. I hope we can do it,’ Elena Yelina said.

Acting Director of Pedagogical Institute Tatyana Firsova expressed confidence that the component of the forum would become a reliable platform for open dialogue, research of theoretical issues and practical experience for its participants.

Referring to the pedagogical heritage of Vasilii Sukhomlinskii and the concept of the Year of the Family, announced by the President of the Russian Federation, Tatyana Firsova outlined the key areas of the forum related to the development personality and the concept of the family.

‘Every year, the structure of the conference acquires new types, this year, we have strengthened cooperation with our partners and social bodies, the unification of university and school practices continues. The country leading teachers will conduct webinars and master classes, share their innovative ideas and techniques, which will undoubtedly serve as intellectual “food for the mind and for the heart”.’

The interrelation of the thematic sites of the conference with the Year of the Family was also noted in her speech by Acting Dean of the Faculty of Psychological, Pedagogical, and Special Needs Education Tanzilya Rudzinskaya. In her opinion, the important topics for discussion are the training of teachers-to-be, the search for personal resources, and methods of working with students.

Professor of the Department of Pedagogy of Primary Education and Child Artistic Development at Herzen State Pedagogical University Maria Voyushina shared her developments with the colleagues. She spoke about the role of the textbook in the dialogue between schools and families.

Director of the Shuiskii branch of Ivanovo State University Alexei Mikhailov commented on the preparation of teachers-to-be to work with the family, based on the experience of the Shuiskii branch of Ivanovo State University.

Humanities aspects in the acmeology of education (based on the material of the scientific school of Nina Kuzmina) were outlined by Professor of SPbPU Elena Lysenko.

Chair of the Department of Education Methodology, SSU, Ekaterina Alexandrova, named the key methodological basics for the developing of the parent-child community in the educational environment.

Associate Professor of the Department of Social Pedagogy and Psychology at the Institute of Pedagogy and Psychology, Moscow Pedagogical State University, Marina Chibisova presented a report on psychological counselling of parents, resources, and obstacles.

The presentation by Chair of the Department of Preschool and Primary Education of Baranavichi State University (Belarus) Natalia Dubeshko was devoted to the academic education of specialists in terms of interaction with the families of preschool children.

Elena Kireyeva, Chair of the Department of Production Technologies and Technical Creativity at LIPT, spoke about the methods of conducting master classes as a mechanism for improving the level of professional competence of future teachers of vocational training.

The forum is organised by Saratov State University, Baranavichi State University (the Republic of Belarus), and Ferghana State University (Uzbekistan).

The conference is held from April 23 to April 24 at the SSU and on-site sites. Find the full programme here.