Formation of the Leningrad Institute of Pedology and Defectology in the 20s of the XX century.

Kreitsberga Karina Andrisovna Teacher of history and social studies, Lyceum No. 273 named after L. Y. Gladysheva 196645, Russia, g. Saint Petersburg, ul. Polevaya, 35 kreuzbergakarina@gmail.com Other publications by this author

Another important component for the establishment of the Institute of Pedology and Defectology is the activity of the Froebel Society, which arose in 1871. The purpose of the organization was to promote the initial upbringing of children. He had permanent courses and a kindergarten for the pedagogical practice of students of the courses.  During the pre-revolutionary period, the pedagogical activity of the educational institution was among the organizations that train specialists in the field of preschool education. Most often, graduates of the courses became educators in the homes of wealthy families. Few people went to work in kindergartens. The complexity of the organization of collective life, the payment of such institutions, the maintenance of charitable foundations and socio-pedagogical organizations, due to the lack of another source of funding, made it difficult for the existence of the educator himself ^{[1, p. 79]}. Despite the advanced methods that students tried to teach, before the revolution, the society was not of interest from the point of view of state support. The situation changed dramatically after 1918. Members of the Frebel Society appealed to representatives of the Soviet government with the initiative to create a Pedagogical Institute of preschool education. The teaching system has already been built, focused on the current problems of the school. The status of pedagogical courses did not provide systematic funding and the opportunity to fully develop and broadcast the accumulated experience. The decision was made relatively quickly. And on September 1, 1918, the new institute began its activities ^[12]. The organization is located in the building of the I. I. Betsky Educational Home. Buildings also moved to it  The Nikolaev Orphan Institute with the property located in it ^[23]. The structure of the new university was initially built on the experience of the F. Froebel, but gradually began to focus on popular practices adopted in the educational space after the revolution. In addition to educational, professional training, it was supposed to conduct research activities, actively publish in order to educate the pedagogical community as much as possible. At the Pedagogical Institute of Preschool Education consisted of: Demonstration children's colony, boarding school No. 26, demonstration school of the 1st stage, etc. ^[15,16,17]. Similar practices with the departments of the Neuropsychiatric Academy (for example, work on the Montessori system), allowed the top management to see some parallels for the unification of all these organizations. If the staff of the Academy at the Pediatric Institute was attended, to a greater extent, by doctors and medical personnel, then in the case of the Institute of Preschool Education, statistics shift in favor of the pedagogical contingent. The interaction of these structures was necessary to achieve great results. For example, from practice  Petrograd Pedological Institute - in 1923, the order of the Department of Public Education came to all orphanages in the Central District: to check in what relation the orphanages are in relation to sexual morality, to give a report on the relationship between the sexes in the orphanage, to present what measures are being taken to eliminate excesses in sexual relations. The staff of the scientific organization needed to identify the impact of vacations on the behavior of pupils. Responsibility for everything that happens, according to the document, should be assigned to the head of the orphanage and to each teacher who leads separate groups ^{[20, p. 9]}. The following response is received by the RONO: “To the circular order on the supervision of children in sexual relations, the Paedological Institute notifies that the observations have yielded positive results, no painful phenomena have been noticed among the children of the experimental boarding school in this regard” ^{[20, p. 11]}. Specialists of the Psychoneurological Academy conducted a survey, including the situations listed above, but did not offer methodological instructions on what to do with problematic cases, which educational methods are able to help the teacher in his daily work. The Institute of Preschool Education had no such experience in experimental activities and developments in the field of studying and researching the nature of the child. Nevertheless, the goals of the charter of the institutions were similar - the education of a citizen, the improvement of society. Based on such attitudes of state policy, the question of such close attention to preschool education becomes clearer. In March 1921, the People's Commissariat of Education adopted a Regulation on the management of universities. The essence was the transfer of power in universities from the board independently chosen by professors to the one appointed by the system of People's Commissars. By 1923, the country's leadership outlines a certain course of educational policy, which increasingly affects the scientific community, providing it with more and more standard guidelines ^[11]. The initial problems of the post-revolutionary children's space were, in part, solved. The new educational paradigm sought to unify the educational space, so it was decided to reorganize some educational institutions and merge them in order to organize effective work and save money on institutions whose work does not meet expectations.

In 1921, the Institute of Social Education of a Normal and Defective Child appeared, but the institutions included in it tried to continue more independent activities until 1924, as the deadline dates of the document flow of these organizations show. In 1924, there was not just a renaming to the Institute of Pedology and Defectology, but an attempt to focus attention on the key activities of the university ^[22]. The new educational institution included a pedological, psychological-reflexological, legal department, defectological, physical education, etc. It is possible to make an assumption that, despite the period from 1921 to 1924, the Institute has not been able to establish a full and systematic work. On April 27, 1925, from A. S. Griboyedov (rector of the Institute of Pedology and Defectology) to V. V. Pokrovsky (Deputy Commissioner of the People's Commissariat of Education), a document arrives in which the rector informs the management about his illness: “I inform you, as the commissioner and chairman of the organizational five Ed. Ped. A university student who became ill with inflammation of the nerve trunks of the right hand, due to an exacerbation of chronic diseases of the II and III thoracic vertebrae. This disease keeps me bedridden.” ^{[18, p. 13]} Doctors could not name the expected terms of recovery, so on April 24, all rector's powers were transferred to Professor M. P. Bekleshov. The latter has had serious trials. The organization of the educational process, the industrial practice of students, which he could not organize, the academic performance of students, on which it was necessary to give a report, and many others. Despite all the activities of the teaching staff, the top management decides to reorganize the Institute of Pedology and Defectology. The Board of the Leningrad Institute of Pedology and Defectology receives a document stating: “On April 28 of this year (1925), it is reported that the reorganization of Leningrad Pedagogical Colleges into a Single Pedagogical University is essentially their liquidation with all the ensuing consequences” ^{[18, p. 25]}.

The formation of the Leningrad Institute of Pedology and Defectology was too long. The activity reports did not satisfy the top management. The rejection of this educational institution did not imply the rejection of all experimental practices and research used. After June 15, 1925, the institution became part of the A. I. Herzen LGPI, which continued to have a pedological department and conducted research in the field of defectology.