In 2007–2009, the implementation of three-year regional comprehensive programs of education modernization started in 31 federal subjects of Russia as part of the National Priority Program “Education”. This article reviews the outcomes of the regions participating in the project for developing networks between education institutions. These networks are meant to help provide students with a quality education irrespectively of where they live. The diffi culties recently experienced by the majority of Russia’s federal regions are analyzed. The progress of the regions in fulfi lling the new requirements for the functioning of education networks is evaluated. The requirements are concerned with assuring the students’ psychological and physical safety, and with providing students with a comfortable learning environment. This includes an increase in the percentage of students enrolled in schools that off er a modern level of quality. Particular attention is given to providing senior students with the choice of specifi c curricula and individualized educational trajectories. These are based on the variability of educational programs, and this can be done via the network of education institutions, making use of the cooperation and integration of the education resources of the region.

Trends Shaping Education. 2008. Edition. Center for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI). OECD. 

This article deals with the method of Socio-cultural Situation (SCS) Analysis. This method is used to design development strategies and models of school education in districts and cities. Four classic types of SCS are determined: “a school in a cultural center”, “a school in a former cultural center”, “a school in a potential cultural center”, “a school in a cultural desert”. A number of intermediate complex SCS are described: “a socio-cultural break”, “an unidentifi ed pedagogical object”, “a rural school, a center of socio-economic initiatives”, etc. Diff erent types of situations require diff erent strategies for education development: traditional school strategies linked to the changes in the socio-cultural environment or to the revival of local cultural and historical traditions, strategies of communal education, innovative strategies, and socio-educational strategies. The article presents a technique of diagnostics and analysis of the SCS of a given school or a municipal education system. A variety of types and categories of developing education systems is described. This provides a cultural fi eld for the analysis and design of a particular school education model in a given region.

Salmi J. The growing accountability agenda: Progress or mixed blessing? // Higher education management and policy. Vol. 21. Iss. 1: Journal of the programme on institutional management in higher education.

Among the factors that contributed to the good performance of Russian students in PIRLS and PISA (international comparative studies of education quality), considerable prominence is given to conditions unrelated to schools (the social context of the school; the family’s education potential, etc.). The question naturally arises: what is (or what can be) the school’s input in students’ achievements? If Russia’s success in PIRLS is largely attributed to reading policies in students’ homes, is it true that teaching strategies employed by elementary school teachers do not aff ect reading skills? The aim of this research is to study the role of the school in forming reading skills in elementary schoolchildren. The conclusions of the article are considered by the authors as hypotheses.

The principal models of transition from school to university are considered in the context of requirements set before students by universities. Four educational systems: the American, the British, the Scandinavian and the Continental European diff er in their centralization, selectiveness, and accessibility. A centralized educational system presupposes uniform national education standards established by the state, while under a decentralized system universities have the right to independently formulate their policies concerning student admission and entrance examinations. The selectivity of higher education is refl ected in the entrance examinations and criteria that determine eligibility to obtain higher education. The accessibility of higher education depends on its price and, correspondingly, on the ability of the students to bear the expenses of tuition.

This article considers the international context of quality issues in higher education, as well as those specifi c to Russia. The author describes the main reasons for quality issues to become more relevant (the decline of the welfare state, the spread and internationalization of higher education). A universal system of quality control is considered to be the most widely spread solution to the problem. The article presents results of 24 interviews with Russian university teachers. It is shown that, in Russia, state initiatives in the domain of transparency and accountability of universities are interpreted by the subjects of the reform mostly as further strengthening of the authoritarian power of the state, rather than the introduction of market rules. This confusion is likely due to the similarity of external appearances of both intentions: they both lead to the strengthening of control over universities.

Education during the Economic Crisis. Meeting of the Russian Public Council on Education Development, March 16, 2009, HSE

In Russia, a transition is underway to results-oriented management and budgeting. One of its signifi cant components is the development of indicators of eff ectiveness and effi ciency of government bodies and government-managed organizations. International practice demonstrates that the degree of satisfaction of customers is an important indicator of the eff ectiveness of central and local government bodies. In numerous countries, data of sociological surveys in particular are extensively used in education management. The article presents the results of a survey conducted by the HSE jointly with the Levada Center. The survey was conducted at the request of the Federal Education Agency. On the whole, the Russian education system received suffi ciently high scores from a representative sample of its customers, the Russian population. On the other hand, the respondents negatively evaluated the measures taken by the authorities towards the education system. The next stages of the project are scheduled to include the polling of heads of enterprises and organizations.

This article analyzes the development of student self-governance in Soviet and Russian universities in 1987–2007. The author suggests dividing this development into three stages: the Komsomol stage (1987–1991), the trade union stage (1990–2006), and the diversifi ed stage (since 2005). This article is the fi rst to publish data from an opinion poll carried out among St. Petersburg students in December, 2007. The poll concerned the social activity, development of student governance, and student participation in the management of universities. Information from this poll is compared to data obtained in opinion surveys of students carried out in 1987. The results of this analysis allow the author to draw conclusions about crucial diff erences in the motivation to participate in self-governance among the generation of the 1980s and among modern students.

On the basis of statistical data on applicants and interviews with those responsible for admissions at the Udmurt university, the authors discover and analyze a discrepancy between the level of competition at the stages of application and of admission to the university. The authors call this phenomenon pseudo-competition. This article discusses the main factors contributing to this situation: the growing popularity of higher education, the demographic decrease, the introduction of Unifi ed State Exams, the possibility for prospective students to simultaneously apply to several programs, etc. Under these conditions, a regional university needs to develop a new education policy, based on increased attention to the quality of education and on innovative forms of interaction with all social institutions of modern society.

This article considers a controversial and diffi cult period in the history of Russia’s oldest art school, currently called the I.E. Repin Institute of Sculpture, Painting, and Architecture. The author mostly draws on previously unpublished archive materials, which until now were little used in art studies. This allows her to more fully evaluate the stages of development of the Russian academic education in arts in the fi rst half of the 20th century.

It is well known that French ideas on the reform of education infl uenced the development of pedagogical theory in Russia in the late 19th — early 20th century. However, in order to correctly assess the extent and signifi cance of this phenomenon, it is necessary to investigate the specifi c conditions that brought about the intense contact in the pedagogical sphere between the two countries. This article discusses the primary channels, directions and character of the infl uence of French ideas on Russian pedagogical thought.

The author analyzes the positions of the People’s Comissariat of Education of Soviet Russia (the Bolshevik Education Ministry) and of the Public Education Ministry of Kolchak’s government during the Civil War in Russia. These positions are analyzed in the context of their connection with the pre-revolution period of development of pedagogical thought in Russia. The study of the history of education in this country sheds light on certain tendencies in the development of education in Russia, and allows the author to examine the history of the school in a more complete and panoramic manner. In addition, this analysis sets reference points for modern educational policies.

Review of the book: Konstantinovsky D.L. Inequality and Education: A Sociological Study of the Commencement of Russian Youth (1960s — early 2000s). Moscow: Center of Social Prognostication, 2008.