EDLPS
541 / SISRE 590
RUSSIAN EDUCATION
AND SOCIETY
|
Instructor:? Prof. Stephen T. Kerr |
Office:? 122 Miller Hall, |
|
Course meets: Smith 307 |
Telephone:? (206) 685-7562 |
|
Thursdays, 1:30 ? 3:20 p.m. |
E-mail:? |
|
Office hours: ?By appointment ?
(usually Weds pm and Thurs am) |
WWW:
http://faculty.washington.edu/stkerr |
|
Session |
Date |
Assignment for Session* |
Topic in Class |
|
1 |
|
--- |
Introductions
? course, students, instructor Stasis: Formative
influences from the Soviet period |
|
2 |
4/7 |
[Paper/project
proposal due] |
[No class
meeting -- AERA.] Project
proposals due |
|
3 |
4/14 |
Eklof,
2005; Holmes, 2005; Karpov & Lisovskaia, 2005; Kerr, 1994 |
Change: "The
Movement" & Russian Educational Reform, 1983-1995 |
|
4 |
4/21 |
Non-traditional
materials and sources |
[No class
meeting] [Non-traditional
materials and sources; See assignment description in syllabus] |
|
5 |
4/28 |
DaVanzo
& Grammich, 2001; Demoscope; Heleniak, 1999; Kerr, 2005; TPAA/GBC |
Destiny:? Demographics and education ? health
of, risks to, and societal influences on [NB: Judyth
Twigg presentation on Tues., 5/3] |
|
6 |
5/5 |
Kozulin selections (1990; 1998); Vygotsky
materials; Davydov, 1994 |
Ideas:? Russian educational psychology ? Vygotsky
and his school; Preschool education |
|
7 |
5/12 |
Canning,
Moock, & Heleniak, 1999; Vaillant,
2005; Peterson, 2005 |
Content:? Russian and Soviet General Education
(Grades |
|
8 |
5/19 |
Muckle, 2005; Eklof & Seregny, 2005; Zumbrunnen, 1994; TBA |
Pedagogy:? Teachers ? Their background and
preparation, and the functioning of the educational system |
|
9 |
5/26 |
Canning et al., 2004; Walker, 2007; Froumin et
al., 2003; Kerr, 2008; TBA |
Levels:? Higher and vocational-professional
education; the Bologna Process Future:? Modernizing the educational system:
Programs for the 21st century |
|
10 |
6/2 |
Final papers
due (with abstracts for class members) |
Final paper
presentations; conclusions |
*
1.? Course Rationale and Goals
??????????????? This
course provides an overview of the educational system in
??????????? Our
focus here will be not only on formal institutions of education -- the
kindergartens, schools, vocational training institutions, and universities that
citizens attend - but will include also the wider cultural and social
"surround" of non-formal education such as the public media, social
organizations, continuing education programs, and so on.? Also, since education is today inextricably
entwined with questions of social, political, intellectual, and economic
development, we will spend some time examining how these social forces
intersect around education.
??????????? A
note of caution: The political and social climate in
??????????? A
further caveat: while we will spend most of our time in the course
concentrating on developments in
2.? Course Content and Sequence
??????????? We
will begin with a brief introduction to the history of education in
??????????? Schools
do not exist in a social vacuum, and a powerful influence on
??????????? Next,
we will examine the system of education as Russian citizens experience it.? We will look at the kindergartens and
day-care centers that have long been an interest of Americans studying the
??????????? Finally,
we will look at the future and how key policy makers perceive the tasks the
schools will be expected to carry out over the coming years.?
3.? Requirements
??????????? Students
may enroll in this course either via SISRE 590, "Special Topics," or
via EDLPS 541, "Topics in Comparative Education."? Both provide 3 credits.
??????????? There
are four principal requirements for this course:?
(a)
your careful reading of the assigned materials, and your thoughtful
participation in class discussions about these;
(b)
a search for, and presentation of, non-traditional materials relating to
schools and education in
(c)
a brief oral presentation to the class on a topic of interest to you (including
a literature review related to the topic); and
(d)? a final paper or project.? These are described in more detail below.
a.?
DUE:? Every course meeting.
EVALUATION:
On basis of completion of readings and thoughtful comprehension of them,
evidenced through discussion.?
CONTRIBUTION
TO COURSE GRADE: 5%.
b.? Non-traditional materials and sources.? The object of this exercise is to explore
what relevant materials and information on Russian education exist outside
of the traditional scholarly apparatus of books, articles, and
reports.? The aim here is to explore
current popular electronic resources such as YouTube, Flickr, Russian social
networking sites (100druzei, vkontakte, feisbuk, etc.), blogs and wikis either about or based
in Russian schools/universities.? You
might also find reports or materials from non-academic projects that have
bearing on education in Russia ? for example, the Global Business Coalition on
HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GBC) does a good deal of educational work
and has interesting resources.? Demoscope
has excellent reports on health and demographic issues.
Find at least three
sites, resources, or materials, and post their URLs on the class GoPost before
our class meeting.? Be prepared to say a
bit about: (1) How you found the site or material (how hard it was, how you
searched, etc.); (2) Your assessment of the value of the site or material (what
is says about the state of education in Russia, how interesting or useful it
is, etc.); and (3) How closely you feel the site mirrors common practices in
current e-media/social media sites in the West ? Is there a distinctive
emerging Russian/Eastern European/Central Asian ?e-media aesthetic??
DUE:? April 28
EVALUATION:? Graded, based on quality of material identified
and analysis during class presentation.
CONTRIBUTION
TO COURSE GRADE:? 20%.
c.? Oral presentation to class.? You should prepare a brief oral presentation
to the class on some aspect of Russian (or other CIS) education you find
interesting or perplexing.? The
presentation may contribute to or be a "trial run" for your final
paper, or it may deal with an unrelated topic.?
Plan to talk for no more than 10 minutes and allow time for comment and
discussion.? Your goal is to identify
questions and problems, and to familiarize yourself with the literature in the
field.
In
your oral presentation, try to do the following things:
(1)
Choose an important issue either the
topic on which you want to do your final paper, or some other topic of
interest.? In your opening remarks,
indicate why it is an important question to raise.
(2)
Indicate the current state of
knowledge--What do we know?? Here,
you should explore the current literature in the field to discover what is
known about the problem.? As part of
this, identify at least 5 other books or articles of high quality (and, if
relevant, recency) that speak in a serious way to the issue chosen.? What do the authors of those pieces
contribute to the conversation?? What are
their assumptions, biases, "taken-for-granted"s, and how do these
affect their arguments and conclusions?
(3)
Identify unresolved questions or
problems--Where are the controversies and the difficulties?? What issues are still unaddressed?? What new questions have you raised or confronted?? How do you plan to deal with those
(additional resources to be consulted, individuals or organizations to contact,
conceptual gaps to bridge)?
Plan
to bring to class a single-page outline of your presentation, with sufficient
copies for everyone in the class.? The
outline ought to include at least five references (with brief annotations) that
you have found useful.? Also post this to
the class GoPost.
DUE:? various points throughout the quarter;
sign-up at the start.
EVALUATION:
Graded, with feedback to the presenter.?
CONTRIBUTION
TO COURSE GRADE: 25%.
e? Final paper or project.? You should choose a topic related to the
issues discussed in the course, develop a significant question about the topic,
seek out evidence to answer the question, and write a paper of no more than 15
pages describing your findings.? The
paper should be presented with appropriate scholarly apparatus (references,
consistent editorial style, etc.)? APA
(American Psychological Association) style is preferred, but any other
recognized style may be substituted.
During
the last class session, we will have a general discussion about your papers,
the difficulties (conceptual, methodological, practical) you encountered in
preparing them, and the "next steps" (if any) that they suggest for
your further work.?
INITIAL PROPOSAL DUE: April 7
PAPER/PROJECT DUE:? June 2.
EVALUATION:
Graded.
CONTRIBUTION
TO COURSE GRADE: 50%.
If
you want to make sure your paper is returned to you, please provide a
self-addressed envelope with sufficient postage at the time you turn your paper
in to me.? Otherwise, papers may be
picked up from 122 Miller Hall at any point after the official end of the
quarter.? Unless you inform me to the
contrary, I will assume that you agree to having all papers returned via a
common file.
4.? Sources of Information and Language
Proficiency
In
a course such as this, you might have concerns about the need for proficiency
in Russian in order to use source materials and do required course work.? While a knowledge of Russian would certainly
be useful, it is by no means necessary.?
There are many sources of information available in English; these
include the monthly journal of translations, Russian Education and Society (formerly Soviet Education), as well as Current
Digest of the [Post] Soviet Press, a weekly survey of the Soviet/Russian
press that regularly carries items pertaining to Russian and Soviet
education.? Now-defunct publications such
as East-West Education and the ISRE Newsletter may be useful.? Academic journals in the field of Russian and
Post-Soviet studies (Slavic Review, Russian Review, etc.) don?t
often feature education-related articles, but may have useful book reviews.? You may also find occasional articles dealing
with Russian education in mainstream American educational journals such as American Educational Research Journal, Journal of Teacher Education, Comparative Education Review, and so
forth.?
You
should use appropriate indexes, available online via the UW library to identify
materials in English ? ERIC, PsyInfo, and SSCI (ISI) are probably the most
useful.? There are also a number of
on-line Russian resources, as well as many useful Web sites in both countries;
see separate online list.
In
Russian, you will find that the UW libraries subscribe to a few of the most
important Russian journals and newspapers that deal with education.? These include the weekly newspaper Uchitel'skaia gazeta, and such journals
as [Sovetskaia] Pedagogika; holdings
of other useful journals are more limited--Narodnoe
obrazovanie, and Doshkol'noe
vospitanie, for example.? Many
Russian educational organizations now support their own web sites and many
periodicals have free access to their archives ? see, for example, Pervoe
sentiabria and Evrika.?
Central Russian government organs also have reams of documents available
online, and some regional governments are also making strides in this
area.? Access to a good Russian search
engine helps; I mostly use Aport (http://www.aport.ru/).
Among
the non-education-specific periodicals, there are of course such newspapers as Nezavisimaia gazeta, Komsomol'skaia pravda,
Literaturnaia gazeta, and Rossiiskaia
gazeta.? Journals such as Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniia, Voprosy filosofii, and others, frequently
carry articles related to education.?
If
you are unable to locate a book or periodical, see me.? For those with Russian proficiency, I have some
issues of journals to which the UW libraries do not subscribe, as well as some back
issues.? I also have a fairly complete
collection of the publications of VNIK-"Shkola" from the late 1980s,
a number of sociological studies conducted by the
5.?
Necessary Notices:
DUE DATES:? Having assignments ready by the date due is
an essential requirement and a basic expectation of graduate study.? Failure to observe this requirement can have
dire consequences!? Grades of
"incomplete" will be given only for certifiable medical reasons or in
other extraordinary circumstances.
DISABILITY ACCOMODATIONS:? To
request academic accommodations due to a disability, please contact Disability
Resources for Students, 448 Schmitz, 206-543-8924/V, 206-543-8925/TTY, or at http://www.washington.edu/students/drs/.? If you have a letter from Disability
Resources for Students indicating you have a disability which requires academic
accommodations, please present the letter to me so we can discuss the
accommodations you might need in this class.
If you have questions or concerns about disability accommodation
do not hesitate to contact me or
PLAGIARISM:? Plagiarism,
submitting someone else's words or ideas as your own work, is a serious
academic offense. ?Cases of suspected plagiarism
will be referred to the Associate Dean for Academic Programs for adjudication. ?Possible penalties range from disciplinary
warnings to dismissal from the university. ?All students are expected to demonstrate
academic integrity at all times, and to learn what constitutes plagiarism. ?A useful definition of plagiarism can be found
at:
http://depts.washington.edu/grading/pdf/AcademicResponsibility.pdf
6.?
for
4/14
Eklof, B.? (2005)?
Introduction.? In Eklof, B.,
Holmes, L., & Kaplan, V.? Educational
reform in post-Soviet
Holmes, L.? (2005).?
Schools and schooling under Stalin, 1931-1953.? In Eklof, B., Holmes, L., & Kaplan,
V.? Educational reform in post-Soviet
Karpov, V.,
& Lisovskaia, E.? (2005).? Educational change in a time of social
revolution.? In Eklof, B., Holmes, L.,
& Kaplan, V.? Educational reform
in post-Soviet
Kerr, S.? (1994).?
Diversification in Russian education.?
(1994.)? In T. Jones (Ed.), Education
and society in the new
for 4/21
Non-traditional
materials exercise ? see description in syllabus.
for 4/28
DaVanzo, J.,
& Grammich, C.? (2001).? Dire demographics: Population trends in
the
http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1273/
Demoscope Weekly (in Russian)
at:?
Heleniak,
T.? (1995).? Dramatic population trends in countries of
the FSU.? Transition Newsletter ?
World Bank.? Available at:
http://www.worldbank.org/html/prddr/trans/so95/oct-ar1.htm
Kerr. S.? (2005).?
Demographic change and the fate of
Global Business Coalition
on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GBC)?
Site at:?
http://www.gbcimpact.org/moscow
for 5/5
Excerpts from:
Kozulin, A.? (1998). ?Psychological tools: A sociocultural
approach to education.?
Kozulin, A.? (1990).?
Vygotsky's psychology: A biography of ideas. ?
Lev Vygotsky.? Wikipedia entry at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Vygotsky
Vygotsky
Resources.? At:
http://opendistancelearning.pbworks.com/w/page/12951402/Vygotsky-Resources
Davydov, V. V. ?(1995, April).?
The influence of L. S. Vygotsky on education theory, research, and
practice.? Educational Researcher, 24(3) 12-21.
for 5/12
Canning, M., Moock,
P., & Heleniak, T. ?(1999).? Reforming education in the regions of
Peterson,
N.? (2005)? Teaching literature in the new Russian
school.? In Eklof, B.,
Holmes, L., & Kaplan, V.? Educational
reform in post-Soviet
Vaillant,
J.? (2005).? Civic education in a changing Russia.? In Eklof, B., Holmes, L., & Kaplan,
V.? Educational reform in post-Soviet
for 5/19
Muckle, J.? (2005).?
The conduct of lessons in the Russian school.? In Eklof, B., Holmes, L., & Kaplan,
V.? Educational reform in post-Soviet
Eklof,
B., & Seregny, S.? Teachers in
Russia:? State, community and
profession.? In Eklof, B.,
Holmes, L., & Kaplan, V.? Educational
reform in post-Soviet
Zumbrunnen,
C.? (1994).? The Organizational-Activity Game as a
method of collaborative planning and problem solving in the former
http://www.fondgp.ru/lib/int/12
for 5/26
Canning, M., et
al.? (2004).? The modernization of education in
http://194.84.38.65/files/esw_files/Edu_Modernization_Education_Russia_PN_eng.pdf
Froumin,
http://194.84.38.65/files/esw_files/elearning_policy_eng.pdf
Kerr, S.? (2008).?
Results of the E-Learning Support Project.? (Draft).?
World Bank.
Walker, C.? (2007).?
Navigating a ?zombie? system: Youth transitions from vocational
education in post-Soviet
UW Library
e-reserves site:
https://eres.lib.washington.edu/eres/coursepage.aspx?cid=8801&page=docs
UW Catalyst
sites:
Go-Post:? https://catalyst.uw.edu/gopost/board/stkerr/21470/
Collect-It (Drop
Box):?
STK