For systematic implementation of value education in educational institutions, the national programme "Values Development in Estonian Society 2009-2013" (Ministry of Education and Research 2009) was prepared in Estonia. However, it was launched only in 2010, and the authors intended to ascertain the values of the heads of preschool child…

In this paper, we develop a multi-level comparative approach to analyse Trends in International Mathematics and Science Survey (TIMSS) and Programme of International Student Achievement (PISA) mathematics results for a country, Russia, where the two tests provide contradictory information about students' relative performance. Russian students do…

In order to reach far in the work for sustainable development, communication in foreign languages prior to strategic decisions is required from international partners. In this communication English has become the lingua franca. Even though the use of EFL (English as a foreign language) is widely spread, it is clear that in some geographical…

This paper seeks to situate Estonian language use and policy within the emerging field of critical language policy and planning (CLPP) by investigating the discourses that frame linguistic behaviour. This done by way of an analysis of a series of interviews carried out with key actors in language policy in Estonia. The discourses framing language…

Catalan and Estonian can be considered "medium-sized" languages with some key common features that allow us to analyze the evolution of the two cases comparatively. Firstly, other formerly hegemonic languages (Spanish and Russian, respectively) have historically minoritized them. Secondly, the political equilibrium has now changed in…

In the framework of the internationalization and globalization of higher education and competition for international students, the paper examines how language policy in higher education shapes the provision of study programs in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. It concludes that study programs in the Baltic states mostly follow the convention of a…

Ethnic identification is closely tied to language. Society's appreciation of one's first language and the opportunity to use it may help strengthen ethnic identification. This research examined the relationship between ethnic identifications and school language and investigated other factors that potentially impact language-minority students'…

Subjective ethno-linguistic vitality expresses a group's perception of its own ability to act as a distinctive collective entity in intergroup encounters. Although subjective vitality questionnaires have proved to be reliable instruments of measurement, there has been criticism that they underestimate actual vitality (see Yagmur, this issue). A…

This study takes an experimental approach to "lingua receptiva" (LaRa), a communication mode in which interlocutors each use their own--different--native language. In contrast to previous work on LaRa, this study investigates the phenomenon in genetically unrelated languages. Native speakers of Estonian and Russian were engaged in a…

In this paper, we try to unravel some of the unintended and intended academic effects associated with post-Soviet educational reforms by focusing on three cases: Estonia, Latvia and Russia. We have chosen this comparison because a unique "natural experiment" in the three countries allows us to compare the changing academic performance on…

After the re-establishment of independent Estonian statehood in 1991, Russian lost its privileges as the dominant and official language in Estonia, and Estonian continued as the only official language. This paper attempts to map the position of a Russian-speaking teacher within the sociological categories of power and language, based on the…

This volume includes two sections of the 2019 NORDSCI international conference proceedings: (1) Education and Educational Research; and (2) Language and Linguistics. Education and Educational Research includes 11 papers covering scientific topics in the full spectrum of education, including history, sociology and economy of education, educational…

Based on appreciative inquiry and threshold concepts from an intercultural learning perspective, the article makes insights into the constructivist social learning practice of Estonian language learning amongst Russian-speaking teachers in Estonia. The application of educational action research methodology, more specifically that of Bridget…

This article analyzes qualitative data obtained from focus groups with students learning in schools with a majority and minority language of instruction from Estonia, Latvia, Romania, and Slovakia. The focus groups were developed within the framework of the project "Divided Education, Divided Citizens?" conducted by the Network of…

The focus of the current article is language testing in the context of citizenship and asylum in Estonia, a country that regained independence in 1991. Estonian as the single official language of the country (according to the new language legislation laws) and a new political system have caused changes in use of and attitudes toward Estonian among…