New trends in the history of childhood, education and school institutions in post-communist Russia (1986-2012)

The aim of this article is to present the main research trends in the history of childhood, education and school institutions, published in Russia from the middle of the 1980s to the present. Recent works on these topics adopt new theories and methodologies, which entail new delimitations of disciplinary borders and new ways of defining the objects of research. First of all, the history of pedagogical thought and educational institutions is marked by the abandonment of Marxist theory and by the elaboration of a new conception called «pedagogical anthropology», enabling a thorough examination of the complexity of personality and educational practices. Secondly, scholars have recently revived Russian and Soviet School history, by investigating its different role under the Tsarist autocracy and the Soviet regime. According to new research, the Soviet reforms were conceived in order to teach citizens new values – not only to build social classes and workers for the development of the planned economy, as pointed out by Socialist historiography. Thirdly, the history of childhood has been re-written on the basis of the history of everyday life and of interdisciplinary approaches. This has made it possible to examine not only the «discovery» of childhood in Russia, but also to understand the ambiguous use of representations of childhood in Soviet propaganda under Stalin, which concealed the tragedy of homeless children and their presence in the Gulags. Finally, the history of social pedagogy contributes to the revision of the pedagogical theory of the most famous Soviet pedagogue – A.S. Makarenko (1888-1939) – in the social rehabilitation of juvenile offenders. The history of youth movements also represents a new trend aiming at analysing the continuity between the Scouts and the Communist Pioneers as well as its very important role in the political socialization and active participation in the defence of the Fatherland during WWII.