Democracy In The Russian School

Framed by an introductory essay by Ben Ekiof, the translated documents in this volume are crucial to understanding Russian educational reform efforts. These primary sources, based on previously unpublished statistical data and public opinion surveys, depict current conditions in Russia's schools. Reflecting the approach of the leading historian of education Edward Dneprov-now the powerful minister of education serving under Boris Yeltsin-the documents describe the radical reform philosophy and program first published in Teachers' Gazette in 1988, which now serve as the operative legislation for all secondary schools. The VNIK (Temporary Scientific Research Collective on the Schools) reform movement is a fascinating microcosm of perestroika in terms of goals, mobilization, and the complicated, painful process of implementation. This unique glimpse into Russian education in a period of turmoil will interest all those who follow Russian politics and society.

Ben Eklof is Professor of History and Education at Indiana University and Director of the Institute for the Study of Russian Education, as well as editor of Khronika: Chronicle of Education in Russia and Eurasia. Among his books are Russian Peasant Schools (1986), Soviet Briefing (1989), School and Society in Tsarist and Soviet Russia (ed., 1993), Democracy in the Russian School (ed., 1993), Russia's Great Reforms, 1855-1881 (ed.,1994), The World of the Russian Peasant (ed., 1990). Recently, he edited the two volume English language translation of Boris Mironov's acclaimed Social History of Imperial Russia, 1700-1917. Prof. Eklof continues to work on a volume on the daily life of the Russian school before the Revolution, and to publish on education in the post-Soviet era.

Democracy in the Russian School: Educational Reform Since 1984 -- Here's Wishing You Well, Comrade Minister! -- The Educational System Under Fire -- Bureaucratic Tyranny (Must Be Eliminated from the School) -- Faith in the Teacher: The Energy of Renewal for the School -- Learning to Teach -- The Yardstick of History -- Who Will Restructure the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences, and in What Direction? -- The VNIK Program -- The Fourth Reform: Polemical Notes on a History of the Present -- A Concept of General (Secondary) Education -- You Won't Get Anywhere on the Sidelines -- Vseobuch: A General Secondary Education for All --from Illusion to Reality -- Dneprov's Principles -- The Russian School: A New Era? -- One Hundred Days, and a Lifetime -- "Power Was Dumped in Our Laps": What Happens to the Former Opposition When It Ends up in the Corridors of Power -- The Opposition in Power -- The Attack on the Minister -- Decree No. 1 of the President of the Russian Federation: On Priority Measures to Promote Education -- Al'ternativa -- The State of Education in Russia Today -- The Educational System of the Russian Federation -- The Law of the Russian Federation on Education (Draft)