Features of the Modernization of Higher Education in the Mykolaiv Region in the 1980s

Abstract

Objective. The purpose of this article is to examine the features of the modernization of the higher education system in the Mykolaiv region in the 1980s in the context of the reforms of the Perestroika era and to analyze the role of regional universities in training specialists for the economic and scientific and technological development of the region.

Methods. The research is based on general scientific and specialized historical methods, including the comparative-historical, problem-chronological, structural-functional, and systems analysis approaches. These methods made it possible to trace the main directions of the transformation of higher education in the Mykolaiv region in relation to the socio-economic and political processes of the late Soviet period.

Results. The article examines the development of the higher education system in the Mykolaiv region during the 1980s, identifies the main directions of its modernization, and characterizes the specific features of regional higher education institutions. Particular attention is paid to the role of the Admiral Makarov Mykolaiv Shipbuilding Institute as a leading technical center for training engineers for the shipbuilding industry and as one of the key research centers in the south of the USSR. The study also considers the development of the Mykolaiv State Pedagogical Institute, which provided teacher training for educational institutions in the region, and outlines the formation of agricultural education.

The analysis demonstrates that the regional higher education system was characterized by a close integration of education, research, and production, which reflected the principle of the “connection between science, education, and industry.” At the same time, the study reveals a number of structural contradictions, including the limited flexibility of educational institutions, the persistence of formalism in the educational process, and the system’s restricted capacity to respond promptly to changing economic demands.

Conclusions. The study demonstrates that modernization processes in higher education in the Mykolaiv region during the 1980s unfolded within the context of all-Union reforms and socio-economic instability, which shaped their gradual and often contradictory character. At the same time, these transformations contributed to the accumulation of institutional and academic potential that later became the foundation for further educational changes following the proclamation of Ukraine’s independence. The findings of the study provide a deeper understanding of the specific features of the development of regional higher education and may serve as a basis for further research on the history of educational reforms in the late Soviet period.