ИСТИНА

When analyzing the low effectiveness of schooling, those directly involved in the schooling process and 'consumers' of its outcomes, as well as researchers mainly focus on subjective reasons: teachers' insufficient pedagogical competence, as well as lack of in-depth knowledge in their respective subjects and poor communication skills; inadequate methods of knowledge presentation and acquisition; students' lack of academic motivation; mistakes in the organization of the teaching/learning process; etc. However, apart from subjective reasons there are also some fundamental causes, rooted in the society itself and reflecting the contradictions of its evolution. They include: 1) alienation of education from the student's personality; 2) declining social status of education; 3) compulsory nature of education that strips it of possible appeal; 4) contradiction between learning objectives and the significance of socialization objectives; 5) contradiction between exponentially expanding knowledge and limited «learning capacity», i.e. individuals' time and memory resources; 6) increasing competition between schools, mass media and the Internet for the right to transmit knowledge. There are some regional variations in the relevance of these causes. However, simple acknowledgement of associated fundamental contradictions would contribute to improved effectiveness of schooling through active pedagogical exploration, as well as reform of the education system as a whole. The findings and conclusions are based on experience with the Russian education system.