House of Education Workers

a cultural-educational institution in the USSR that conducts work among teachers and workers of pedagogical educational institutions and preschool, extracurricular, and other institutions of the public education system. Houses of education workers were established by a decree of the Council of People’s Commissars, signed by V. I. Lenin on Apr. 25, 1921. They are under the authority of the central committee of the trade union of workers in education, higher educational institutions, and scientific institutions. From 1934 through 1956 they were called teachers’ houses. (Some still retain this name today.) In the USSR (1970) there are 348 houses of education workers.

Houses of education workers assist education workers in raising ideological-political levels and professional qualifications, expanding scholarly knowledge, and perfecting pedagogical skills. They systematically arrange exhibitions on special themes; lectures and reports; meetings of young teachers with honored teachers, production innovators, and people in the sciences, literature, and the arts; literary and musical evenings; and screenings of films. Under the auspices of many houses of education workers, public universities are operated, and hobby clubs and amateur performing groups have been created.