This article sheds light on a paradox in the Soviet educational landscape: the development of specialised foreign-language schools in the context of a purported egalitarian society. These schools endured, and even thrived, through the collapse of the Soviet Union. First, a historical overview for Soviet-era development of specialised-school…

This article examines uniform standardized history education in Russia. It focuses primarily on the process of designing unified national history textbooks in 2013-2017, and also examines the educational reform that followed this process, along with the role of Russian society in the formulation of the textbook's content. The new…

This essay compares and contrasts the educational movements of three nations--the United States, Mexico, and the Soviet Union--established according to Eurocentric cultural values. In each country, mass education was undertaken to help produce an assimilative national culture during formative periods characterized by instability. In two of these…

The teaching research system was established after the founding of New China in emulation of the Soviet Union for the purpose of learning, research and teaching management, with the aim of promoting improvement in the caliber of primary and secondary school teaching and guaranteeing the quality of education. The system played an important role in…

Historical empathy is a critical aspect of history and social science education that has its roots in the inquiry-based education movements of the twentieth century. Although the term "historical empathy" is not specifically mentioned in most history curriculum documents in the United States, dozens of "new social studies"…

This paper is a part of a three-year study, "Internationalisation and reform of secondary schooling in Kazakhstan", jointly conducted by an international team of UK- and Kazakhstan-based researchers in 2012-2014. The study was conceived as a mechanism to support education reform in the country. This was achieved through reconstructing…

Whereas Russian universities have mostly adopted the paradigm of internationalization in higher education that is now widespread in Europe and worldwide, the internationalization of schools in Russia is more complex and ambiguous. This article addresses the questions about the main characteristics of the internationalization of schools in Russia…

This paper discusses two current problems of concern to educational planners in the U.S.S.R. and describes the approaches being taken to address them. One major objective of Soviet educational planners is to greatly expand the percentage of students receiving a complete secondary education. This will require considerable expansion and…

Soviet education's purpose is to improve its population's skills and technical ability in order to strengthen the country's economic and military power. Soviet teachers enjoy higher status than their U.S. counterparts, but are paid less than the average skilled worker. Despite "glasnost," educational "perestroika"…

Provides a history of educational reform efforts since the early 1900s as they have been fueled by the economic needs of the Soviet command economy. (JDH)

Examines how Estonian history was taught in Estonia before 1940, how it changed after the Soviet takeover, and how history instruction has been reorganized since 1988. Reveals that new textbooks will explore the Soviet destruction of Estonian social, economic, and cultural life. Looks ahead to the future of Estonia and history teaching. (SG)

From 1773-94, the Educational Commission of Poland and Lithuania reorganized teacher preparation, reformed the curriculum, secularized education, and related the curriculum to the agricultural and economic needs of society. (Author/DW)

Discussion about education for the working class emphasizes improvements in vocational and technical education and presents recommendations for future changes. (ND)

Describes how the reform of the traditional Soviet school system gradually developed into a movement for a comprehensive reorganization (Perestrojka) and democratization of the educational system. Discusses demands for school autonomy and a new pedagogical thinking based on child-centeredness and partnership. (GEA)

Describes the efforts in the USSR since 1984 to develop universal vocational education. Discusses the motivation for this goal and notes that this changeover in education constitutes a major socio-economic task. Links vocational training with general secondary education, reviews the need for modernization of vocational education, and provides…