The role of education in realising youths’ human capital: social philosophical analysis

O papel da educação na realização do capital humano dos jovens: análise filosófica social

El papel de la educación en la realización del capital humano de los jóvenes: análisis filosófico social

Abstract

Qualitative changes in social life affect accumulating young people’s knowledge as a basis of human capital. The article aims to explore the role of education in human capital development due to ongoing changes in modern society. The study is based on the theory of human capital explaining an economic approach to human behaviour, which highlights effects of investing in human capital on the country’s socioeconomic development. Schultz’s theoretical framework foregrounds the role of education in realising human capital and the relevant research methods such as content analysis and textual narrative synthesis. The main findings embrace opinions of philosophers from different epochs, ideas on knowledge of society in the XXI century, and the role of education described as the basis of the young population ready for socioeconomic development. The results prove the hypothesis relative to exploring the impact of education and training on the youth’s human capital.

Knowledge; Socioeconomic development; Education; Human capital; Youths

Resumo

Mudanças qualitativas na vida social afetam a acumulação de conhecimento dos jovens como base do capital humano. O artigo pretende explorar o papel da educação no desenvolvimento do capital humano devido às mudanças em curso na sociedade moderna. O estudo baseia-se na teoria do capital humano, explicando uma abordagem econômica do comportamento humano, que destaca os efeitos do investimento em capital humano no desenvolvimento socioeconômico do país. O referencial teórico de Schultz enfatiza o papel da educação na realização do capital humano e métodos de pesquisa relevantes, como a análise de conteúdo e a síntese narrativa textual. As principais conclusões abrangem opiniões de filósofos de diferentes épocas, ideias sobre o conhecimento da sociedade no século XXI e o papel da educação, descrito como a base da população jovem pronta para o desenvolvimento socioeconômico. Os resultados provam a hipótese relativa à exploração do impacto da educação e do treinamento no capital humano dos jovens.

Conhecimento; Desenvolvimento socioeconômico; Educação; Capital humano; Juventude

Resumen

Los cambios cualitativos en la vida social afectan el conocimiento acumulado de los jóvenes como base del capital humano. El artículo tiene como objetivo explorar el papel de la educación en el desarrollo del capital humano debido a los cambios en curso en la sociedad moderna. El estudio se basa en la teoría del capital humano que explica un enfoque económico del comportamiento humano, que destaca los efectos de invertir en capital humano en el desarrollo socioeconómico del país. El marco teórico de Schultz destaca el papel de la educación en la realización del capital humano y los métodos de investigación relevantes, como el análisis de contenido y la síntesis narrativa textual. Los principales hallazgos abarcan opiniones de filósofos de diferentes épocas, ideas sobre el conocimiento de la sociedad en el siglo XXI y el papel de la educación descrito como la base de la población joven lista para el desarrollo socioeconómico. Los resultados prueban la hipótesis relativa a la exploración del impacto de la educación y la capacitación en el capital humano de los jóvenes.

Conocimiento; Desarrollo socioeconómico; Educación; Capital humano; Jóvenes

1 Introduction

Modern society has been experiencing significant changes in various spheres of social life. The transformations have enabled scholars to apply a qualitatively different approach to determining a diversity of social phenomena and their role in the modern world. Changes in standards and stereotypes translate into transformation of meaningful constants and modes pertinent to human beings’ lives. The analysis of the qualitative changes as a whole suggests that their basis is associated with accumulating knowledge and outcomes of the fruitful use of this knowledge. Knowledge does not refer to a constant social phenomenon but it may be described as an organism that lives and overcomes certain vital tests of time as the country’s economy develops. According to Alfred Marshall, knowledge serves as the most powerful engine of production since it “enable[s] us to subdue Nature and force[s] her to satisfy our wants” (MARSHALL, 1920, p. 18). In this vein, knowledge assists in socioeconomic development of the country, which is based on human capital.

Human capital is knowledge, skills and competence, as well as other characteristics inherent in individuals, one of the most important forms of which is formal education. Thus, the concept of human capital refers to two definitions of education – as a resource (actually, human capital) and as a system (in which its accumulation takes place). Since human capital is understood to be the stock of abilities, knowledge, skills, motivations and competencies embodied in a person, its formation is similar to the accumulation of physical or financial capital and requires diversion of funds from current consumption in order to obtain additional income in the future. An important component of human capital is education (in all forms).

Education is the process and result of mastering systematic knowledge and skills, a necessary condition for preparing a person for life and work. The purpose of education is the formation of personality, which is able to adapt to life through such qualities as independence, activity, creativity, etc. The education system is designed to meet the needs of society in the socialization of young people, in the development of socially approved behavior patterns, in the development of a certain institutionalized value system by people. Different sciences study education from their own point of view. For example, in philosophy the concept of “education” is used in the meaning of the general spiritual process of human formation and the result of this process – the spiritual image of a person. Education is explored as a cultural and historical phenomenon, a means of preserving, transferring and multiplying the accumulations of the spiritual culture of mankind, peoples, and nations. The success of an individual in education is determined, first, by how well he has managed to assimilate the dominant culture, and secondly, by the cultural capital possessed by the dominant group.

In our time in the post-Soviet countries, including in Kazakhstan, the theory of human capital has become relevant. The republics that were part of the former Soviet Union, after the collapse of the Union, were confronted with an economic crisis, political instability, and social and psychological stress. The Republic of Kazakhstan, which was part of the Soviet Union, began to revise the former concepts of the Soviet Union in order to stabilize all the state institutions (political, economic, social, educational, cultural and others). Kazakhstan revised the previous Constitution and laws of the country and formed new legislative concepts that meet the requirements of the times and their own interests. Kazakhstan has established economic, political, diplomatic, cultural relations with other countries on new principles as an independent state. In the sphere of culture, the national culture was revived and developed, the education system was revised, taking into account the education system of the developed Western countries, in the field of health care innovative methods of treatment were introduced.

For revival and development of the state, despite certain difficulties, International Scholarship “Bolashak” (“The Future”) was established on November 5, 1993 by the Decree of President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N. A. Nazarbayev. The purpose of the international scholarship is to select and finance the education at the expense of the state of talented young people at universities in the world in the specialties necessary for the development of the country (Center for International Programs of Kazakhstan (KAZAKHSTAN, 2018). Universities began to invite foreign professors and scientists at the expense of the state, which also influenced the quality of education of students, who are studying in Kazakhstan. At this time, all this has given a positive result for the state – young people can speak different languages, changed the consciousness of the people of the country, young people can participate in various startups. People in the Soviet period waited for certain instructions from the authorities, at this time the people learn to change their lives. Different factors play important roles in changing consciousness, but education is an important factor in change and development. Each graduate student and graduate, who did not enter the year of graduation, has an equal opportunity to enter a higher education institution, winning a state grant. The policy of the head of the state of Kazakhstan allows all those who wish to get an education and thereby develop the state through creative, educated, purposeful youth. The process of investing in education brings its dividends in a few years, i.e. positive results of education, health, socio-economic and political culture through competent state internal and foreign policies can be obtained.

In every society (state) there are certain problems in getting education – it is financial or social inequality. In this case, Kazakhstan has a grant system of training, i.e. the state allocates annually more than 15 thousand places for students in various specialties in the direction of bachelor, master and doctoral studies (Ministry of Education and Science, Republic of Kazakhstan) (KAZAKHSTAN, 2018). In Kazakhstan necessary initial conditions for self-realization and self-development of youth are created. The youth is a carrier of new and innovative knowledge which it brings on production and to other spheres of public life. And the volume and quality of knowledge, the new ideas grow in society first of all at the expense of young people. Youth as set of the developing persons is the most dynamic and critically conceiving part of society. They have huge social and creative potential and are capable to influence process of a humanization and the social and economic relations happening in society actively. The youth is the main carrier of the future and the main source of innovations. As a carrier of human capital of a special kind, young people are the most important resource of social reproduction. Due to its biological and social specifics, young people are a source of human capital formation in future periods of the state. The human capital of young people as a special economic, social, political, cultural category is embodied in youth as such and consists in accumulated and continuing to accumulate and form as a result of systemic investments in children, adolescents, youth, and significant characteristics of human capital – intellectual potential, professional skills, organizational and entrepreneurial abilities, health, cultural and moral potential. The human capital of young people is a special kind of human capital carried by young people, which defines certain features of this element of human capital: high ability to learn, flexibility, adaptability, mobility (both social and territorial), increased susceptibility to innovation, as well as the presence, due to its age, significant potential opportunities for the creation and further implementation of all skills. These opportunities make it possible to make the most of the human capital of young people. These features of the human capital of young people determine the prospects of innovative development of the economy and provide a basis to characterize it as a strategic resource for its development.

Education plays an important role in the human capital of young people. Many ordinary people understand education as a passive and formal process of accumulation of knowledge, as a result of which you can get a diploma or certificate. The process of education in the modern world should not be understood as a passive process of accumulation of knowledge; in the learning process, our personality is formed by motivational abilities, will power to achieve certain goals, entrepreneurial skills, communication skills, dedication, creativity in solving various problems, the development of competitive quality that implements in full. In today’s world, to be educated or a certified specialist means to be competitive in all senses.

During the formation of the classical theory of human capital, the term “educated” meant “literate”. In today’s world, we understand that if a person is “educated”, but cannot apply their knowledge in the process of solving various kinds, we can safely say that this person is not fully educated. Because an educated person in the modern sense is a qualitatively accumulated knowledge, having creative thinking, interested in a healthy body and spirit, implementing his ideas through diligence. Unfortunately, the educational system in many countries of the world does not teach students to be independent, determined, creative, motivated, strong spirit in the future. In General, in the educational environment formed a future worker, who is disciplined (that is, to respect and obey the government), punctual, “responsible” to their work (BOWLES; GINTIS, 2011).

The state itself should be interested in the human capital of young people and create certain conditions for this. Youth policy, socio-economic programs, democratic and high-quality educational system, accessible medicine, spiritual culture should be developed, and only then can we expect positive results in the future. It has already been said that investing in young people is a long – term and complex process, but it gives a positive result to the strategy of the state.

2 Literature review

The term “human capital” first appeared in the works of Theodor Schultz, an economist who was interested in the difficult situation of the underdeveloped countries. Schultz stated that improving the welfare of poor people depended not on land, technology or their efforts, but rather on knowledge. It can be argued that all human resources and abilities are either inborn or acquired. Each person is born with an individual complex of genes, which determines his innate human potential. The person acquires valuable qualities that can be strengthened by the corresponding investments; we call human capital. “By investing in themselves, people can enlarge the range of choice available to them. It is one way free men can enhance their welfare” (SCHULTZ, 1961, p. 2). The ideas of Theodor Schultz were developed in the works of Gary Becker, who justified the effectiveness of investments in human capital from the point of view of economics. According to G. Becker, human capital is everyone’s stock of knowledge, skills, and motivations. Investment in it can be the cost of education, the accumulation of professional experience, health protection, geographical mobility, information retrieval. “These investments improve qualification, knowledge or health and therefore promotes increase in monetary or natural income” (BEСKER, 2003, p. 39).

The continuer of the works of T. Schultz and G. Becker L. Thurow gives the following definition: “Human capital is the ability of people to produce goods and services” (THUROW, 1983, p. 178-179). In his works, L. Thurow substantiated the forms and methods of investing in people in different directions. He came to the conclusion that “human capital is a whole collection of assets, rather than a single asset”. In his opinion, the individual has many different talents, skills, individual types of knowledge and information. And although some assets can complement each other, they cannot be used simultaneously. As L. Thurow points out, life “is the most valuable asset of human capital” (THUROW, 1983, p. 178-179). In this regard, each individual, realizing the highest human need for a happy life, is objectively interested in such investments that would support his creative potential throughout active labor and social activity.

Today, “Western science offers the following definitions of human capital, presented in historical retrospect:

• William Petty – “the cost of the whole population”;

• Adam Smith – “knowledge, skills and abilities that are owned by the employee”;

• J. Mill – “acquired abilities, acting only as means and realized only through labor”;

• L. Thurow – “the individual’s ability to produce goods, productive abilities, talents and knowledge”;

• D. Begg – “the stock of professional experience accumulated by the employee, the value for potential growth of incomes in the future” and other definitions” (MAVRINA, 2008, p. 11).

Another group of the theory of human capital (BOWLES; GINTIS, 2011), who affirm the weaknesses of this theory, in that an important component of human capital formation (education) cannot be a locomotive of state development. Because educated, but without the necessary support, the individual cannot be realized. But in this case, it can speak of an overt and covert corruption system in the state itself. In this state, power and material values are in the hands of certain groups or individuals. Therefore, we can safely say that, despite numerous studies of human capital, the theory is still relative to modern requirements of the principles of economic, political, social institutions of developed and developing countries. Accordingly, the theory of human capital needs to modernize the theory in accordance with the innovative tendencies of the present in the sphere of politics, economics, sociality, culture, media, etc. As already noted, education is a key part of the human capital of youth. To begin with, we will determine the importance of education in human life, and what constitutes education. In fact, education is a multi-level system, functioning in basic and interrelated forms:

• As a process of accumulation and formation of knowledge in a person involved in a particular link of education;

• As a process of changing social consciousness;

• As a factor of socialization of the individual and its education (in a changing society through knowledge, a person can make rational decisions to some extent)

• As a kind of phenomenology of personal consciousness (thanks to the knowledge a person improves and develops to achieve certain goals in life).

Education, being the most important element of the social system, is called upon to develop human capital. In the depths of this system, ideas, ideals, ideological positions are formed. This is the area of the formation of hopes and hopes, on the basis of which socially significant and positive behavior of people is formed, as a result of which the most important aspect of the construction of society and its institutions is taking place. This system largely determines the fate of individuals. Education, therefore, is a system for designing the future.

Education is the process and result of the assimilation of systematized knowledge and skills, a necessary condition for the preparation of a person for life and work. “The education system is designed to meet the needs of society in the socialization of young people, in the development of socially approved behavior patterns, in the development of a certain institutionalized value system by people”. Different sciences study education from their own point of view. In philosophy, the concept of “education” is used in the meaning of the general spiritual process of human formation and the result of this process – the spiritual image of a person.

Education has all signs of social institute. Education represents the social subsystem having the structure. As her basic elements it is possible to allocate teaching and educational institutions as the social organizations, social communities (teachers and pupils), and educational process as a type of sociocultural activity.

It should be noted that the youth is most susceptible to various forming and training influences and is most mobile in change of the social status. It performs special social functions in the state and society, the most important of them: inheritance of the reached level and ensuring continuity of ways of development of society and state, formation of an image of the future and performance of function of social reproduction; ensuring innovative potential of development of economy, its high-tech industries, educations, sciences and cultures. The younger generation is the most perspective component of human resources of society.

Human capital is heterogeneous in its structure. Its main elements are: health capital, labor capital, intellectual capital, organizational and entrepreneurial capital, cultural and moral capital. All terms need to invest and develop in parallel quality. Becker’s theory of human capital allowed considering continuous education as the main factor of human capital formation as a set of accumulated professional knowledge, skills, which are expressed in diplomas and certificates. Continuing education is also analyzed as a factor of modernization and maintenance of human capital at the proper level, which allows a person not only to occupy certain status positions, but also to remain competitive in the changing economic conditions.

3 Methods

The methodological basis of the article is a systematic approach based on the consideration of a complex object as an integral set of elements in the totality of relations and relations between them. Transformation in life inside and outside the state has certain factors of influence on the quality of obtaining knowledge. A conscious young citizen will form quality qualities in himself, develop his abilities, form a stress-resistance in himself and motivate himself in achieving his goals.

In general, despite some differences between the theorists of human capital on the understanding of the main directions of investment in human capital, the obvious is the need to make this process systematic. At the same time, systematically can be laid down and reflected in the “vital world of youth”. In the process of evolution of the “vital world”, experience is differentiated, which leads to the allocation of structures related to the objective, social and subjective worlds, which allows us to adjust the development strategies of human capital.

The problem of the educational space in the new conditions of a knowledge-based society makes one think about what seemed obvious before: systems that ensure the social adaptation of a person (primarily the education system) do not have time to adapt to the growth of information volumes, to a change in its structure and functions. The previous guidelines aimed at transferring and assimilating the finished knowledge lose their significance due to the fact that they cannot create a student/student a situation of success in a constantly changing world.

The concept of “education” is rooted in medieval mysticism, becoming a key idea of the Enlightenment, and in the XIX century is the basis for the formation of the humanities. German thinker of the XVIII century I. Herder for the first time gives a fundamental definition of the concept of education. In his interpretation, education is “the growth of humanity” with the goal of reaching a time when the whole human race will be bound “by a single chain of brotherly tradition”. Later I. Kant and G. Hegel, relying on the established humanistic tradition, will identify education with culture and interpret it as a specific way of forming and transforming one’s natural inclinations and opportunities (KANT, 2017, p. 43-45; HEGEL, 1989, p. 12-16). Thus, in classical philosophy, the general essence of human education boils down to the fact that man makes himself in all respects a spiritual being.

We meet further development of a concept of education at H.-G. Gadamer, who opposed an education ratio with accumulation of experience or with formation of a world outlook. In the horizon of hermeneutical tradition the thinker represents education as “understanding about going life formation”. In educational space the general sense of proportion and distances seeking for rise over by itself is kind of put. In such formulation of education as “general feeling” the echo of metaphysical tradition of an explanation and understanding of the social and cultural phenomena is still heard (GADAMER, 1988, p. 51)

Today education is the main support of modern society, as society enters the era called post-industrial, and culture-in the era of post-modern, changing the status of the most important element of the education system – knowledge. This trend is manifested in the works of J.-F. Lyotard. The French philosopher believes that modern information-technological changes have a significant impact on the nature of knowledge and the possibilities of the educational process as a channel of information transfer (LYOTARD, 1998, p. 16-17). The old principle that knowledge was inseparable from the formation of the mind and even from the personality itself is gradually becoming a thing of the past. Now knowledge is increasingly produced in order to be sold, and consumed in order to gain value in a new product. In other words, both in the case of production (science) and in the case of consumption (education), knowledge ceases to be an end in itself; it becomes the main productive force.

During an information era the question of knowledge more than ever becomes a question of management and organization. From here the problem of judgment of borders and the maintenance of a concept of “educational space” follows. That is understood as the “place” existing in society where sets of relations and communications occur, where special activities of various systems (state, public and mixed) for the development of the individual and his socialization are subjectively set. Substantially educational space includes not only social institutes, social communications, but also all continuums of the vital worlds of participants of educational process. At the same time in life experience of each individual the individual educational space is internally formed. The educational space is a segment of social and spiritual space where various institutes and organizations interact directly or indirectly and impact the formations of a historically adequate subject, determining processes and building an influencing set of special educational institutes and levels. In this sense the educational space can be presented in two values which, in our opinion, can be trusted: the system limited to scientific knowledge and the sociocultural association in general.

P. Drucker, who for the first time proposed to view the modern information society as a “knowledge based society”, believes that effectiveness in modern educational space can be expressed through three aspects: first – directly the knowledge acquired in the learning process; second - the student’s ability to enter the world as an active citizen and economic subject; third - the development of the individual in the post-educational space and his participation in the cultural life of society (DRUCKER, 2007, p. 125). Unfortunately, it is not yet possible to even get close to measuring this problem. Of course, the previous assumption that the student is raw material that requires processing, or the material that you need to work on, is gradually becoming a thing of the past. Today, the view of a student or schoolchild as the equal participant in the educational process clearly wins. The task of the teacher is to find the strengths of the acquiring knowledge and make them work, rather than look for the deficiencies to be rectified. It follows that the school and universities need a clear definition of their mission; they should focus on the quality of activities and performance, and not only on the strict observance of rules and restrictions.

The above reasoning allows highlighting a problem of the organization of educational space in the society founded on knowledge. Formally she is presented by two aspects: social and philosophical. From the sociological point of view education is a part of the process of socialization. Though schools and higher education institutions are intended for transfer of knowledge; with all evidence, it is possible to consider that in them also other vital lessons are learned. Thus, education is defined as a formal process on the basis of which society imparts knowledge and skills, values and norms from one person or group to another. Thanks to education cultural values remain and are transferred from one generation to the following. At the same time, it promotes the social changes happening in connection with the introduction of new information and technological methods and the revaluation of the existing knowledge.

The problem of education consists in that an individual who is in the course of mastering a set of the systematized knowledge and related skills and abilities has joined a set of the cultural values dominating in his society. Education in the context of philosophy is a spiritual shape of the person which develops under the influence of the moral and cultural wealth which is proper of his cultural circle. It is a process and result of assimilation by the person of skills, abilities and theoretical knowledge. In the process of education, people not only gain a certain amount of knowledge, but also form the welfare activity during life.

The value of knowledge increases if it is transmitted, replicated and used, and vice versa; if knowledge is not used, its value decreases, sometimes to zero. In innovative societies, the demand for knowledge will initiate a constant requalification. Today the diploma is a confirmation, first of all, of social qualification. It is possible that the diplomas will expire in order to meet the constant need for new competencies. Education throughout life can be a response to increasing instability in employment and occupation. It should develop a person’s ability to change a specialty during life, and adapt it to social and economic changes. The ability to innovate, the dynamics of cognition becomes a priority in successful development in a society as a whole.

An important aspect of the changed needs in education and vocational training is a short “life cycle” of knowledge, skills and professions. It is the “life cycle” that dictates the need for continuous education and regular updating of individual abilities, increasing qualifications. Continuous education implies the renewal of knowledge and education that are necessary to increase the level of individual qualifications and in order to keep up with the introduction of new products and services.

It is assumed that education performs several functions based on its role:

• Education as a mechanism of reproducing the nation’s historical health;

• Education as a means of reproducing and developing culture in addition to human quality in culture;

• Education as the primary principle of reproducing the human resources potential of science as well as science itself;

• Education as the main form of existence in the changing world typical of the last third of the XX century;

• Education as the most important mechanism of social quality circulation: from a person’s quality to the quality of life via the quality of education, culture, ecological environment, and production, and from it again to the human quality; here the social function of education lies in implementing the law of advanced development of human quality, the quality of social intelligence and the education system in society, and the basic law of human civilisation;

• Education as the basis of the country’s national security.

All the functions of education are interrelated and can perform in diverse variations. This is explained by the fact that education is a complex socioeconomic organism that also functions as a unity of its four qualities: education as a value, process, system, and result. It should be noted that education prepares a young individual for the complexities of the modern world, provides him with freedom of the intellectual, professional, and social choice. The challenges that the youths will face in the future have an educational and cultural dimension. The young population’s level of education is one of the indicators characterising the nation’s well-being.

4 Results and discussion

All important components play a significant role in the theory of the human capital of youth. But it is necessary to recognize qualitatively the active way and important role that the accumulated knowledge plays in youth life. Thanks to knowledge (knowledge in the specialty, knowledge of psychology of the relation, knowledge in the sphere of economy, policy, history of the country and other types of knowledge), the youth acquires knowledge and skills that are necessary for a self-realization and self-development and also for the development of the state. Because educational process changes outlook on life, consciousness is formed in a context to requirements of the present, the culture of a thought is formed, shown innovative tendencies in development, etc. In this case, it should be taken into account the development of consciousness of the individual, desire to achieve definite purposes in life and to look for motivations for this purpose. If there are not these qualities in the person, then speaking about the human capital as essence in the person isn’t necessary. The human capital isn’t congenital essence; on the contrary, it is a formed process in human life. The youth shouldn’t be content with the small accumulated knowledge, in principle each person is in a continuous process of education as modern life is mobile changing its essence also rapidly.

The human capital of young people is a special kind of human capital, which is borne by young people and determines certain features: high learning, flexibility, adaptability, mobility (both social and territorial), increased susceptibility to innovation, and significant potential opportunities for the formation and further implementation of all skills. This makes it possible to use the human capital of youth for the longest period of time. The ability of future labor resources to independently master the national wealth of each state depends on the health, education, upbringing, vocational training, culture and civic maturity of today’s youth.

Returning to the functions of higher education institutions, it must be pointed out that

higher education institutions should give the graduate certain skills and create qualities for further development:

Metacognitive skills – global awareness, active way of thinking, locus of control (property of the individual to assess their abilities, influence the course of events);

Metacognitive regulation – self-regulation, planning the course of action;

Metacognitive reflection – self-esteem, relationship management, stress resistance (KRYUCHKOVA, 2000, p. 56-58).

Based on the above requirements in universities, it can be argued that the basic and most promising element of human capital is the human capital of young people. It is he who will determine the quality of human capital of the working age of the state in subsequent decades. Human capital is heterogeneous in its structure. Its main elements are: health capital, labor capital, intellectual capital, organizational and entrepreneurial capital, cultural and moral capital. All the terms must be formed in parallel. The development of the state economy is determined not only by the qualification of the producing force, but also by their educational level, the general level of culture, which affect the ability of the producing force (person) to find optimal solutions for scientific, technical and organizational problems. A person cannot fully realize himself if this is hampered by his state of health. All components should develop in parallel and qualitatively.

Education, which plays an important role in the life of every young individual, is associated with training and enlightenment. Education, which presents a set of knowledge gained by special training, is a social subsystem that has its own structure. The basic elements of the social subsystem embrace teaching and educational institutions as social organisations and social communities, and the educational process is then a type of sociocultural activity. Young people guided by the social norm obtain their own objective status in a certain sphere of sociocultural activity and perform a set of social roles. The social norm expresses the measure that assists in establishing the standard of young people’s behaviour so that their activities are assessed and sanctions are determined. In fact, social norms enable the choice of role behaviour and a way of how it can be measured: with encouragement or censure. The norms organise and regulate people’s activity and their relationship within the framework of a single social institution.

Investment in education is not only an important method to increase the country’s human capital and improve the prospects for socioeconomic development but it also has its own value. In this vein, education broadens young people’s horizons, provides them with opportunities for personal fulfilment, and contributes to their material well-being and healthy lifestyle. It should be noted that human capital is a special form of capital. Human abilities, knowledge, skills, and experience are a personal property of each young person; however, under the conditions of the market economy, they can be considered as an asset that generates a regular income. Education as the basis of society plays a crucial role in the development of the quality of human capital. Education is not only a social and structural “elevator” that provides vertical social mobility for young people but also a form of reproducing value-normative patterns and the cultural and political elites supporting them. Education is also the main social institution that regulates the life of young individuals in addition to transmission of knowledge and “identities”.

5 Conclusion

The human capital of young people is the basic and most promising element of human capital. It is he who will determine the quality of human capital of working age in subsequent decades. Human capital is heterogeneous in its structure. Its main elements are: health capital, labor capital, intellectual capital, organizational and entrepreneurial capital, cultural and moral capital. All the terms must be formed in parallel. The development of the state economy is determined not only by the qualification of the producing force, but also by their educational level, the general level of culture, which affect the ability of the producing force (person) to find optimal solutions for scientific, technical and organizational problems. A person cannot fully realize himself if this is hampered by his state of health.

The human capital of young people is a special kind of human capital, which is borne by young people, which determines certain features of this element of human capital: high learning, flexibility, adaptability, mobility (both social and territorial), increased susceptibility to innovation, and significant potential opportunities for the formation and further implementation of all skills. This makes it possible to use the human capital of youth for the longest period of time. The ability of future labor resources to independently master the national wealth of each state depends on the health, education, upbringing, vocational training, culture and civic maturity of today’s youth.

Human capital is the source of new ideas and projects. At this time, the innovative approach to human capital is a new approach to the classical theory of human capital.

An important trend in social development is the recognition of the dominant role of education in socio-economic progress and the formation of human capital that can contribute to this progress. Hence the emergence of new approaches to education as the basis for the formation of a modern worker – human capital. The economic product of the educational system is the production of the country’s human capital. As a consequence, the importance of education is a theoretically grounded and practically proven phenomenon. It is absolutely clear that the introduction of modern information technologies, the development of communications and transport, the improvement of management of various organizations and enterprises. Knowledge, in fact, is a dynamic, rapidly developing system, whose growth in modern conditions is faster than the growth of any other system. According to A. Marshall (1920, p. 18) “Knowledge is our most powerful engine of production; it enables us to subdue Nature and force her to satisfy our wants”.

Therefore, in many developed countries, education becomes a priority in public policy. The international community views the state of the education system as an important indicator of the level of development of the state’s economy. Education is viewed, on the one hand, as the most important source of freedom embodying the desire for satisfaction and eminence of the individual, and on the other hand as a democratic source of power over society. This enables the individual to assert himself in the modern society through the possession of knowledge.

References

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Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  Jul-Sep 2018

History

• Received
  13 Apr 2018
• Accepted
  18 Apr 2018