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Educational opportunism as the traditional policy of the South Caucasian international schools

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Educational opportunism as the traditional policy of the South Caucasian international schools

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Content EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNISM AS THE TRADITIONAL POLICY OF THE
SOUTH CAUCASIAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS
by
Yelena Zakharova
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
Master of Science
(EDUCATION)
May 2004
Copyright 2004 Yelena Zakharova
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UMI Number: 1421807
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
As a fellow in the 2002-2003 Edmund S. Muskie/Freedom Support Act Graduate
Fellowship Program, funded by the United States Information Agency and sponsored by the
Open Society Institute, I would like to express my gratitude to my sponsors for the great
opportunities offered for research and study. The sixteen-month fellowship I have been
awarded made the writing of this thesis possible.
I am also extremely grateful to my professors Dr. William Rideout Jr., Dr. Nelly P.
Stromquist, and Dr. Julietta Shakhbagova for their constant and generous support throughout
the course of my studies, and to Mr. A. Kharazyan, a person who returned me the culture I
was deprived of.
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iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii
ABSTRACT iv
INTRODUCTION 1
Purposes of the Study 2
Methodology 5
Sources of Data 5
CHAPTER I: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SOUTH
CAUCASIAN INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION 7
Ethnic Composition, Religion, and Languages of the
South Caucasus 7
The Introduction of Foreign Education in the South Caucasus 9
The Russification in the South Caucasian States 19
Conclusions 23
CHAPTER II: TRANSITIONAL PERIOD:
THE POLICIES OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNISM 25
Chaos in Education: 1991- Present 25
International Schools of the South Caucasus: Different
Levels of Conformity 30
Centralization: Corruption Promotion 30
National Testing Standards: Studying for Being Tested 32
Evaluation System: Manipulating the Administration 34
Russian Language-Based Education: Conforming Nationalization 35
Religious Schools: The Safest Way to Produce New Converts 39
Main Providers of Westernization in the South Caucasian Region:
Conforming to the Political Situation 42
Teaching English in Today’s South Caucasus: Conforming to
Americao-British English 45
Overcoming the Teaching Materials Problem: Conforming to
Book Piracy 49
Hiring Staff: Conforming to the Low Level o f International Teachers 51
Conclusions 53
CONCLUSIONS 54
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iv
BIBLIOGRAPHY 56
GLOSSARY 60
APPENDICES 61
Appendix A: International Schools o f the South Caucasus 61
Appendix B: Map o f the South Caucasus 65
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V
ABSTRACT
This work represents a study in which the author analyzes how excessive
compliance in the educational sphere affects the international schools’ policies in the
South Caucasus, once a part o f the USSR and now - three independent republics
with common problems (Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan). Considering all issues
analyzed in our study (the historical background, modem challenges for education in
the region etc.), we claim that the international education o f the South Caucasus has
always been politically charged and that it still serves political interests rather than
the actual educational needs o f the region. Education there is defined by
maneuvering among various political and cultural tendencies, and aims to satisfy all
possible sides at once. The comprehension o f such opportunistic nature o f the South
Caucasian education is essential for establishing any educational enterprises there,
especially now, when foreign capital is being invested into the educational sector o f
the post Soviet space and vast amounts o f money is being spent for its improving.
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1
Introduction
In spite of the claim that education should be considered as an apolitical enterprise,
it undoubtedly is political. Education is not only nourished by various ideologies that define
educational goals in different historical periods and national contexts but also it creates
entire generations of citizens who emerge as agents of change and have the ability to modify
the system. In fact, there is no national policy without an educational ideology, and there is
no education that would not rely upon some political concept, a scale of moral values, and
goals. Even within one country, different schools may have alternative attitudes to such
ideology. It is also clear that according to their attitude, educators have either to act in the
mainstream of a political system or they Inevitably come to the necessity of struggling over
their educational purposes. At the same time, in the situation when the state itself is passing
a transitional stage of its existence, educators face another problem: how to adequately react
to all the changes that are being committed; what is more important: to maintain their
educational philosophy or to keep their clientele? Sometimes such choices become crucial,
we would say, vital to the school future, as they involve not only ideological concepts but
also material factors and decisions taken by the state authorities. Compromising can serve as
a remedy in such case; however, the process of incorporating the views and requirements of
others, being wrongly understood and implemented too broadly may create a number of
problems for schools. In our study, we will try to analyze these possible problems based on
the example of the former Soviet Union republics.
In the Soviet Union, which we find an extremely interesting field for study and
where the Communist ideology once dominated, all students were raised and educated
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2
according to the set of rules and political statements that were to be implemented in the
classroom. This tradition started in 1917 and held its leading position till 1991, when the
ideology gave way to what we would call chaos and disorientation in the education sector.
Various trends and teaching methods, textbooks, and curricula changed one another without
forming a structured system; educational ideology also fluctuated just as political influences
did. Generally speaking, the most successful ideology relied upon the idea of renovated
national identity and westernization - both at the same time - and these two main cross-
cultural concepts have created even more contradictions and hardships for the post-Soviet
education. Compromising started to indicate not the flexibility of the system but rather its
inability to maintain itself. In addition, the rigidity of the Soviet schooling, high
centralization, human and teaching resources deficiency, and corruption made the picture
more complex and solutions less possible.
Purposes of the study:
This work represents a study in which the author makes an effort to describe how
excessive compliance in the educational sphere affects the efficiency and sustainability of
the modem international schools in the South Caucasus, once a part of the USSR and now -
three independent republics with common problems. Using terms such as “excessive
compliance”, “educational opportunism”, or “educational conformity” here, we do not
interpret a compromise as a positive ability to search for common solutions and avoid
confrontation. Rather, we speak about unethical conformity to all possible sides of any
conflict and about turning education into a profitable business, when schooling relates to its
clientele only as a service provider and when school administration neglects educational
philosophy in favor of survival and material outcomes.
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We will focus on the educational policies of the South Caucasian region of the
former USSR, namely, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, and we aim to analyze the
strategies, chosen by the international educators in order to develop schooling within the
current political ideologies of this area during the past decade. Thus, we will observe the
historical background of education in the region in Chapter 1 and then shift to the Transition
Period (since 1991 until the present time) in Chapter 2, analyzing the main providers of
international education in the South Caucasus and the challenges of the schools, as well as
their policies. By choosing international (mostly private) schools, we want to emphasize
existing conflicts and show them in the most conspicuous expression. Other schools are
much more rigid and old-fashioned, thus, they are more likely to co-exist peacefully with the
existing conditions.
We consider it appropriate to analyze all the three states within the frame of the
present study because in spite of their political, religious and cultural differences, they face a
common set of problems, so that international educators and local authorities develop similar
strategies for overcoming them. Thus, we would call their educational policies “the common
educational policy of the South Caucasian international schools”. (Of course, the unique
traits of each state will be observed and mentioned as pertinent.)
One of the distinguishing characteristics of the private South Caucasian institutions
is their readiness to always comply with political authorities such as the National Ministries
of Education, as well as the educators’ desire to combine the rigid system of the Soviet past
(that produced not only still functioning curricula and teaching materials but also the cohort
of teachers and students) with modem schooling trends.
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The resources of the past, both human and teaching, cannot be excluded from the
society, on the contrary, they should be integrated into the system and contribute to new
educational policies. At the same time, it is impossible not to give up some policies,
especially today, when international schools of the South Caucasus gradually become agents
of foreign influences. The significance of such a conflict is underestimated by those who try
to establish international schooling in the region. Moreover, the new influences are not
always beneficial for the newly formed independent republics (for instance, in the case of
Islamic religious schools of Azerbaijan), so our work puts the goal to attract attention to the
possible risks of the process, as well as to the problem of schools’ “hidden curricula”, staff
recruiting problem, and teaching resources development. We will also consider several
influential cultural aspects such as bribery and nepotism, which surely are engendered by the
current political ideology and “feed” on it; yet, we would prefer to call such connection a
hidden one because official ideologies repeatedly deny it. Corruption that is widely spread
among the South Caucasian educational institutions, dictates a strategy for school principals
and administrators who would rather conform to corrupted local officials than lose their
business. Thus, generally speaking, in today’s South Caucasian region, the honest business
of educating youth necessarily employs strategies that involve corruption, such as nepotism
and bribery. As a particular example of such “compromising” teaching in the South
Caucasus, we will analyze teaching English, for this subject is currently of the greatest
demand in post-Soviet countries and supplement our analysis with various notes and
interview materials.
All above-mentioned aspects are necessary for a cultural and economic
understanding of the situation in the South Caucasian region, especially now, when foreign
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5
capital is being invested into the educational sector of the post-Soviet space and money is
being raised for its improving. Such a study may be of much importance in the United
States where educators traditionally devote a great deal of attention to comparative analyzes
of educational conditions in countries outside the U.S. In today’s changing world, education
undoubtedly represents a dynamic force that transforms humans’ lives and leads modem
societies toward a better international understanding and cooperation. Thus, we find such a
study promising and useful.
Methodology:
To describe the educational systems of the South Caucasus in their development, the
author used a comparative approach, searching for the commonalities that led to the present
time problems there. The analytical part of our work required qualitative research,
interviewing respondents of a different age in all three states, involved correspondence with
at least three most popular international schools in the region, and about ten informal talks
with the officials of the Ministries of Education in Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. The
obtained data did not always “match” the official documents and political stands. However,
even if some author’s statements may appear as non-factual speculations, they are in fact
based on a detailed analysis of the historical conditions, current political and economic
situation in the region, and the author’s five-year working experience -factors that enabled
her to overview the system from both inside (the practical level) and outside (the theoretical
level).
Sources of Data:
The most important sources of data for this study were: literature on the South
Caucasian and Russian education, general publications on education and official reports of
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the Ministries, interviews and correspondence, and the author’s personal experience as a
graduate of a typical Soviet public school and as a teacher of several international schools in
the South Caucasian region.
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Chapter I
The Development of the South Caucasian International Education
Ethnic Composition, Religion, and Languages of the Sooth Caucasus
Geographically, the area of the present study is often called “Transcaucasia”, by the
name that reflects a Russocentric prospective, or “the South Caucasus”, which we prefer.
According to Columbia Encyclopedia (2003), the South Caucasus “represents a transitional
region between Europe and Asia, extending from the Greater Caucasus to the Turkish and
Iranian borders, between the Black and Caspian Seas, and it comprises the Republics of
Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan” (p. 2400). These three states have co-existed for
centuries, neighboring each other and developing various ties. The neighboring was not
always peaceful; in spite of this, common economical interests and political threads have
been keeping the three countries together and developed cooperation (see Appendix 1).
An independent Transcaucasian Federation existed in 1917-18 and was later
dissolved into three separate republics. After the three republics were conquered by the Red
Army, the Transcaucasian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic was formed; it joined the
USSR in 1922. Since 1936, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia have functioned as separate
union republics; and only in 1991 they seceded from the USSR (Columbia Encyclopedia,
2003, p.2400).
Culturally the three nations represent the descendants of different ethnic and
language groups. The Azerbaijani ethnic entity was formed between the 11th and 13th
centuries as a result of the arrival of Oghuz Turkish tribes and their mixing with the
population already living in the country (Curtis and associates, 1994). The Azerbaijani
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language belongs to the Oghuz group of Turkic languages. This fact, together with Islam,
engendered pan-Turkic sentiments and orientation to Turkey in the post-Soviet Azerbaijan -
a tendency that can be clearly illustrated by the striking decision adopted at the end of 1992
to declare Azerbaijani as a Turkish dialect. Even though later this decision was abolished
and the language got back its previous national status, Azerbaijani students studied the “Turk
Language” as a subject at schools in 1990s (Abdinov, 1996). The Turkic heritage links the
Azerbaijanis not only to the Turkish but also to the Central Asian nations (Uzbek, Turkmen,
etc.), and this connection is so obvious that some researchers refer to Azerbaijan as a Central
Asian state (Fairbanks, 2001).
Armenia and Georgia have closer cultural relations between each other than those
with Azerbaijan: in both countries the main religious faith is Christianity (though the points
of doctrine differ extensively); both countries developed national languages from a
combination of Indo-European and non-Indo-European language stock and use the alphabet
based on Greek. At the same time, the forces of history have formed two different national
characters and cultures that interact only to a certain degree.
One significant difference between the two counties is that Armenia possesses the
most homogeneous population in the South Caucasian region, whereas Georgia represents
more a conglomerate of several counties (lands) with quite a few minorities. Thus, the name
“Armenian” usually represents an ethnic Armenian, whereas the name “Georgian” may
represent a Georgian citizen of a Svan or Ajarian ethnic descent. Recently, these nations
have started to show the signs of ethnic separatism within the country’s borders, so that now
they prefer to be referred to as “Abkhazians”, “Svans”, or “Ajarians” rather than to be united
under the name of “Georgians” (Hunter, 1994). This process undoubtedly puts obstacles to
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modem Georgian schooling, especially in terms of language instruction, teaching history,
and curriculum design.
The Introduction of Foreign Education in the South Caucasus
The first fact that becomes obvious to everyone who describes education in the
South Caucasus from a historical prospective is that it has always had alien nature. Whether
we speak about antique Hellenic and Persian schools, or Islamic institutions, or Russian
schools, we notice how easily the outer policies had been implemented, how fast educators
adapted foreign influences and teaching principles, not being concerned about the national
identity of the education they provide. So, in this work we use the definitions such as
“Armenian”, “Azerbaijani”, or “Georgian” education, meaning the territorial affiliation of
the system rather than its principal features.
We will start the descriptive historical part of our survey with Armenia. Even though
historians of education do not possess clear records that go beyond the date of the
introduction of Christianity in 301 A.D., we can easily agree that Armenia did have “some
sort of formal education for the training of leaders among the upper strata of Armenian
society during the pagan period” (Sarafian, 1930, pp. 26-27). During this period of time,
Hellenic culture dominated in the region, so that education here was greatly influenced by
reek education. At the same time, as Suny notices, Armenians were under a great cultural
influence of the Persians with their concept of Zoroastrianism, so Zoroastrian schools existed
there too (Suny, 1994).
The Georgians went through a similar process. Like the Armenians, long before the
Georgians possessed their own alphabet and literature, they were “versed in the learning and
lore of Greek and Iranian worlds, as well, as having legends pass down by word of mouth”
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(Lang, 1966, p. 153). Ancient sources contain references to the center of higher education in
Colchis (near modem Poti), the Academy organized on the Greek model. Not only the
Georgians could study at that school but also Byzantine students came there as well. We also
find the signs of existence of Greek-Roman elementary and elementary advanced schools in
Georgia of that epoch (Lang, 1966).
The adoption of Christianity catalyzed the adoption of a new educational system, the
religious character of which aimed to prevent the national identity of the Armenians and the
Georgians against Persia. This process led to the establishment of Greek schools for leaders
as well as to the creation of schools for common folk. However, such establishment could
not have been developed without international support, so all these schools were under the
patronage of the Byzantine, the phenomenon that did not contribute much to the idea of
national identity but did contribute to the political interests of the Greek. Students who were
able to go abroad for their studies were educated in the schools of Alexandria and some at
Athens, and became the agents of western culture exactly like today’s international students
who return to the South Caucasus after getting their education at American universities.
Describing Armenian-Greek relations, Sarafian notices that upon their return home,
students who got a chance to study in Greece “proudly called themselves Athenians”
(Sarafian, 1930, p. 66). He also says, “The devotion of the Armenian students to Hellenism
was so boundless that the Persian kings, and under their urgent demand even the Armenian
princes forbade the teaching of the Greek language and culture in the confines of Major
Armenia, in the zone of the Persian influence“(Sarafian, 1930, p.71). We have to also
mention the significant statement of a Russian scholar Marr, “The Armenians and Assyrians
kept up the torch of Hellenism for a long time. The Assyrians became the victims of their
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culture, vanished and lost their identity among the Arabs. The Armenians, however, kept up
the educative role” (Marr, 1925, p. 45). We can add that not being the victims of their own
cultures, the Armenians and the Georgians survived due to their religious devotion, superb
political intuition, and cultural mimicry, and education was often used as a tool in this game.
Azerbaijan obviously represents the clearest example of cultural ambiguity in the
region. In antiquity the country was literally divided into two parts, one of which, namely,
Caucasian Albania was Christian and rather Hellenized, and the other, Atropatena, was
influenced by the Persians, thus, Zoroastrian, and so were the first schools there.
The first schools in Caucasian Albania appeared in the 5th century A.D. for the
children of nobility and clergy and were both rural and urban (Trever, 1956). These Persian
elementary schools, deberistans (“Officials Training Places”), were sampled after the
Buddhist schools of India and teaching there was provided in Pahlavi (Middle Persian)
(Guseynov, 1958). Zoroastrian Holy Book “Avesta” was the main class book at those
schools. Instruction included religious and moral teaching, physical and military training,
written and oral literacy and was provided by either clergy or military generals (Sadig,
1956). The pagan traditions were maintained.
Hellenic schools, on the contrary, started to pay more and more attention to
Christian innovative ideology, neglecting their pagan past and got more influence in the
region. Gradually, Zoroastrian schools gave way and were driven away from the educational
arena in Georgia and Armenia, and later in Azerbaijan, and the competition for the
educational dominance was not always fair. For instance, writers of the Middle Ages
mention a holocaust of Zoroastrian books took place when Georgia was converted by St.
Nino in the 4th century (Lang, 1966). ha both cases, we find that the local cultures were
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swayed by foreign schooling systems rather than they were adapting and modifying them.
We can say that in antiquity all three South Caucasian countries got but not developed two
main educational policies: Hellenic (oriented towards the classical Greek and Roman
heritage) and Zoroastrian (oriented towards the Persians). We can also suppose that a period
of political stability in the region, would lead to educational policies development here,
however, the specific condition of the South Caucasus is that it has never been a politically
stable area. Thus, local education was constantly forced to adapt alien policies -one after
another. For instance, not long after Christianity had started to take its important part in local
cultures development, Islam became another powerful political and cultural intruder in the
region.
At the end of the 7th c. the Arabs began an intense struggle against the Byzantines
over Armenia and Kartli-Iberia (Georgia) and finally made' both states a part of caliphate.
Arabs treated both Armenia and Georgia as a “single frontier province” (Curtis and
associates, 1994) but their attempts to acculturate the area failed therefore these two nations
maintained their language and religion. Armenian and Georgian clergymen did their best to
keep their nations aloof from the influence of Islam, thus, neither Arabic language nor the
system of Arabic schools rooted in the country (Oboladze, 1963). Paradoxically, this
particular success of the two cultures as a whole made local education confronting the
political dominance in the region and created obstacles for its development. At the same
time, in Azerbaijan where Islamic Arabic culture significantly modified all aspects of social
life, education developed vigorously. The country was converted to Islam in the 8th century
and united under the rale of the Caliph. Consequently, the invaders reformed the entire
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infrastructure of the new province and established the new school system of mektebs and
madrasahs based on Islamic tradition (Arnold, 1966).
Mektebs (religious elementary schools) were independently established by mullahs
(religious instructors), so they were not controlled by the government. Mullahs were paid by
parents. Besides the rote memorization of Koranic suras, some mektebs also taught history of
Islam, arithmetic, calligraphy, and some other subjects.
By the 10th century, advanced religious high schools, namely, madrasahs appeared
in Azerbaijan and some of them were famous all over the Muslim world. For instance, a
great Azerbaijani scholar Nasireddin Tusi organized a madrasah in the city of Maraga in the
13th century, and that madrasah was in fact a university; “Daru-Sh-Shifa” that existed in the
14th century' in Tebriz represented an example of medical research, treatment, and education
centre.
Madrasahs were established by the superior clergy and were sponsored from special
religious taxes. No exact conditions of admission and graduation existed at madrasahs, and
the studies lasted all year long without any vacations. Among the necessary courses students
studied Arabic (by the Koran), Persian (learning the extracts of Persian poetry that did not
contradict the Koran), sometimes medicine, mathematics, astrology and some other subjects:
for example, in Tebriz and Shamaha madrasahs teachers paid special attention to philosophy
(Arasly, 1960). We should specially mention that the Azerbaijani language was not
permitted in institutions and research centers, which practiced either Arabic (in scientific and
religious works) or Farsi (in poetry), and that it was not earlier than in 16th century that first
pieces of poetry in Azerbaijani appeared.
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Obviously, the new system was not an organic part of Azerbaijani culture, it did not
reflect the national character, and even being converted by force to Islam, the Azerbaijanis
were still pursuing their national identity. However, the factor of the common religion
successfully kept local schools aloof from any modernization. At the same time, Armenia
and Georgia with their saved identities faced centuries of Moslem dominance: the Mongol
invasion in 1236, followed by Turkish invasion and the capture of Constantinople by the
Ottoman Turks, miscellaneous military campaigns of the Iranian Shah - these political
events by no means could reinforce the local schooling system development. Instead, the
countries went through the centuries of “fragmentation and decline” (Curtis and associates,
1994) when academies were closed and the number of schools drastically decreased.
Georgian population remained, as it had been for centuries, primarily rural, so urban life was
undeveloped. From the late Middle Ages until the late 19th century the towns of Georgia
“were largely inhabited by Moslems, Armenians, and other foreigners” (Curtis and
associates, 1994) for whom education existed in the form of Muslim or Christian schools.
Among the Christian foreign influences, the most powerful one in Georgia was
Catholicism. The country was even ready to adapt it as a state religion at some point but the
decision did not get much support from Rome (Nakashidze, 1976). In the 17th century,
Catholic schools were established by European missionaries in Guria, Gory, Kutaisi, and
Tbilisi. In 1629, the first printed class book of Georgian was issued in Rome and entitled
“Iberian Alphabet” by I. Chokolashvili. Yet, the process was not so all-embracing and did
not let the missionaries develop the system. For instance, there was no universal school
curriculum for those Catholic schools, even though in the end of the 17th century four
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courses such as arithmetic, astronomy, geography, and music were required at those
institutions.
As for the Armenians, their relations with European missionaries represent an
extremely interesting case that was elucidated in several studies, including the work of Dr.
Sarafian, who developed the most detailed study on the history of education in Armenia
from the antiquity till 1930. Unfortunately, it refers mostly to the missionary education in
Ottoman Empire (Western Armenia), thus, it does not respond our direct goals to elucidate
the issue of missionary education in the South Caucasus. At the same time, we should not
forget that after the Genocide of 1915, thousands of Turkish Armenians fled to Eastern part
of the country, with their educational backgrounds, cultural influence, and aspirations.
Therefore, we will devote some time to introduction of the missionary education in Western
Armenia, particularly, Jesuit and American Protestant institutions.
Jesuits coming to Armenia were at first well received by the people, who admired
their broad erudition and enthusiastic educational efforts. They opened schools at various
centers, such as New Julfa and Shiraz. The teachers were trained in Rome and knew the
Armenian language. Historians even know the names of the most distinguished ones:
Franciscos Rivola and Clement Galanos. However, the Jesuits’ zealous work on religious
domination with the use of bribery and extremism led to the loss of sympathy and stimulated
the long-termed straggle between the Armenians and the Roman Catholics that continued up
to 1820s. A historian of literature V. Papazian notices that, “It was expected that these
teachers and this school would begin an educational activity on a larger scale and with
greater zeal. But both the school and the printing press served religious purposes only”
(Cited by: Sarafian, 1930, p. 139).
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If Jesuits failed in their attempts to convert Armenians and educate them in a
Catholic way, American Protestants who penetrated the country in early 19th century were
much more successful. Instead of direct struggle for the religious dominance on higher
levels, they concentrated their efforts in the most fruitful field of educating masses.
Supported by the American-Armenian Diaspora, they quickly established a network of
elementary schools, colleges and higher institutions of learning all over the Western part of
the country and initiated the entire movement of popular education even in the most remote
provinces of Armenia. According to the statistics, in 1855 Armenian Protestants and
American missionaries jointly supported 44 schools, with 44 classes and 1151 pupils. They
had three theological seminaries, with 71 pupils, and even one boarding school for girls, with
25 pupils (Sarafian, 1930). Of interest is the prompt increase in the number of female
students at elementary common schools. In 1878 the statistics already indicates 208 male
students and 380 female pupils in the theological and boarding schools. Such a sharp
increase was due to modernization of the curricula and the introduction of the vernacular
Bible, made easy for common people.
The curriculum of higher Institutions of learning represented in general the
curriculum of the liberal arts colleges of New England and was designed for freshmen,
sophomores, juniors, and seniors as it still is in modem American institutions. If we follow
Sarafian’s description, we would have to name some of the distinctive features of the
American missionary contributions to Armenian education, such as popularization of
elementary education, enrichment of the curriculum, improvement of teaching methods and
teaching resources, introduction of physical activities and manual labor at school, and, of
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course, the development of female education. Sarafian notices, “Before the coming of the
American missionaries to West Armenia, women did not enjoy facilities and opportunities
for a systematic education. The American missionaries, actuated by the Christian desire to
see the women work for their individual salvation through their own efforts, opened
elementary schools for girls in various centers of Armenia. And in order to prepare women
leaders, they opened also institutions of higher learning for them. Every American college
for Armenian boys also had its separate girls’ department. The methodic training that the
Armenian girls received in these institutions was one of the causes of an awakening in the
consciousness of freedom, dignity and equal rights” among the Armenian women (Sarafian,
1930, pp. 184-185). So, we can assume that Christian missionaries continued to cater
westernization to the region in the form of religious and social values, using education as a
tool, and that this process was generally beneficial. At the same time, such improvement was
still an influence from without and more a politics-driven phenomenon than a conscious
educational policy.
In Azerbaijan, according to her state politics and orientation towards the Moslem
East the system of mektebs and madrasahs was maintained. By 1647,47 madrasahs and 600
mektebs were registered in Tebriz, and 7 madrasahs and 47 mektebs existed in Shamaha.
Teaching there was individual (Persian, national literature, and the Koran) and the duration
of learning period was unlimited (5-6 years for mektebs, 15-20 years for madrasahs).
Depending on gradual increase of either Turkish or Persian influence, education became
either more Sunnite or more Shiite (Seton-Watson, 1967).
Foreign Christian missionaries did not get religious support here; nevertheless,
orders pursued their interests, so they concentrated their efforts in the closest field, which
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was education, and opened a number of missionary schools, successful, though not very
influential. (There still remained Albanian Christian religious Hellenic education at the
cloisters of Western Azerbaijan but it would be cancelled later by Russian Tsar’s decree in
order to cease the existence of Albanian Church.)
We will return to the problem of religious missionary schools in the South Caucasus
later, analyzing the current educational strategies in the region. At this point, we would like
to proceed with the description of the period of Russification in the South Caucasian states,
and we consider this particular educational influence so important that we will highlight it as
a separate part of our survey.
The Russification in the South C aucasian States
As a result of two victorious military campaigns against the Ottoman Empire,
Russians annexed new vast territories in the late 18th early 19 centuries. The Prince
Potyomkin, an illustrious statesman of Catherine the Great, propounded the idea of forming
a new Armenian-Georgian Kingdom. A number of enthusiastic rich Armenians abroad
suggested financing the project. Even though it turned out a utopian project, the Russian
influence in the Caucasus kept growing, while the Persian and Turkish power fell to decline.
In 1800, Georgia became part of the Russian Empire. Five years later, the rebellious
leaders of Karabakh proclaimed themselves loyal subjects of the Russian tsar. The Treaty of
Gulistan (1813) and the following Treaty of Turkmenchay (1828) officially asserted the
Russian sovereignty over Eastern Armenia and Northern Azerbaijan. Western Armenia
remained under the Turkish rule, whereas Azerbaijani territories to the south of the Araks
River were still Persian. Since that time, Russification became an official policy of the
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Russian Empire in the South Caucasus, and it led to inevitable changes in the educational
system of the region (Guseynov, 1958; Seton-Watson, 1967).
Most of the “Russian” Caucasians were intelligentsia and military officers
who came to build the infrastructure of the countries and to govern them as part of
the Russian Empire. They needed to establish Russian schools for providing their
children with education. At the same time, the Russians wanted to achieve the goal
o f producing lower clerks in civic service exactly like the British did in colonized
India. Consequently, a number o f Russian schools was established in the South
Caucasus in the 19th century. (O f interest is that no military schools appeared in
Azerbaijan for local residents at that time because the Azerbaijanis were not allowed
to go into military service.)
For the first time, local elite refused to enroll their children in Russian schools.
However, political support and economic interests gradually led to Russification of the
region. Most of the research indicates that Russification guaranteed native residents as well
as their children better jobs and good interaction with Russian authorities (Alstadt, 1992;
Naumkin, 1994; Swietochowski, 1995). Therefore, the number of “Russificated” schools
increased, and more indigenous population was enrolled. Elementary schools provided basic
education; the academic secondary schools, both private and state, were similar to those of
Western Europe and prepared members of elite for well-established universities and
technological institutions of higher learning. Quotas were set for the admission of children
belonging to indigenous population. We can say that the South Caucasian education was one
more time sacrificed to the politics, and Russian schools that first appeared as international
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ones later became an inseparable part of local educational system and began to dominate,
suppressing native cultures.
In Armenia, local schools, especially seminaries existed under a great pressure: the
Russian language was a mandatory subject in all schools, and the teachers had to be the loyal
citizens of Russia. Many schools that served as the public schools for the Armenian children
were closed and later, reopened with even more restrictions: the teaching of the Armenian
history and geography, as well as that of physics, was forbidden. The Armenian Church was
strictly opposed to those strict rules, so the schools were closed one more time, and not
earlier than in 1905 were they opened again (Sarafian, 1930; Seton-Watson, 1967).
The similar situation existed in Georgia. However, there was also a difference in the
attitude to religious education in Georgia: being Orthodox Christian, Georgians did not face
as many obstacles from the Russians as did the Armenians. Therefore, the local intelligentsia
concentrated their efforts on the straggle for the right to change the curricula and to provide
education in native language because instruction in Georgian had been prohibited at public
schools for many years. Of interest is that the only higher educational institution in Georgia
was Alexander’s Teachers’ Institute that was established by the Russians and produced
“Russificated” teachers (Seton-Watson, 1967).
In Azerbaijan of the Tsarist era two main policies were implemented. The first and
more popular was the well-maintained system of the above-mentioned mektebs and
madrasahs, the second were the Russian schools. Madrasahs produced the class of
clergymen and some educated youth who could then continue their education abroad, in
Persia, Turkey, or other Islamic country because during the tsarist period no higher
institutions were allowed in Azerbaijan. In mektebs teaching continued to be extremely old-
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fashioned and learning was based on memorizing the Koran and mastering Arabic. It is easy
to conclude that such a system could not satisfy the clientele completely.
At the same time, Russian-Moslem schools (also called Russian-Tatar schools) were
very welcomed and were getting much support from the government. These schools had
advanced curriculum, exceptional Russian language training and foreign language
instruction. Thus, they were more efficient in terms of the contemporary economic needs of
the state. Moreover, the Russians supported female education, which was one of the most
disputable and progressive steps taken in Azerbaijani society of that epoch. In 1897, 155
Russian schools with 14000 students were registered, among which not fewer than 3200
students were girls. In 1901, the first Moslem school for women was created in Baku, and its
first principal was Madam G. Melikova, who herself had graduated from Tbilisi Gymnasium
of Georgia (Oboladze, 1963). Many of the educated Moslem girls became teachers, and
those of them who originated from wealthy families established new schools for girls. Some
of those schools even survived the Russian Bolsheviks invasion and later became co
educational Soviet schools.
Speaking about Azerbaijan, we should also mention the national language problem.
The national language developed at neither madrasahs nor Russian institutions of that time,
as the officially adopted script for Azerbaijani was based on Arabic alphabet that did not
reflect the indigenous phonetic system of the language that created numerous problems for
students. In 1929, Azerbaijani was transferred to the Latin script and, later, to the Cyrillic
script (1940). The process of transformation came to an end in 1992 when the government
initiated the last transition from the Cyrillic pattern back to the Latin script (Bodrogligeli,
1993). We would like to attract attention to the fact that both transitions to the Latin alphabet
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were committed during the time of political changes: in 1992, Azerbaijan got independence
and tried to fasten cultural and political ties with its western neighbor Turkey, as for the
decision of 1922, its origins are in the times of Pan-Turkic Musavatist Movement - facts that
support our idea about the political nature of changes committed in the South Caucasian
education.
The process of Russification was successfully continued in the South Caucasian
states during the Soviet era. Soon after the states had become Soviet republics, the
educational system was totally unified according to the national standards of the USSR and
Marxism-Leninism ideology was accepted as the only one possible. Unsurprisingly, we will
not find any signs of international schools here during the Soviet times. (Calling Soviet
schools “international” would be wrong as they were organically woven into all local
cultures.)
Conclusions
To conclude this chapter, we can say that the entire geographic location of the South
Caucasian states at a major commercial crossroads and among several powerful neighbors
has provided both advantages and disadvantages through some 25 centuries of the
educational development in the region. Schooling there has been influenced by various
foreign political ideologies brought to the country by the sequent number of conquerors such
as Persians, Arabs, and Russians. Simultaneously, this area became an arena of religious
competition between the Islamic world and Christendom.
On the one hand, these events constantly delivered new school policies to the South
Caucasus and created a wide spectrum of options for educators, whose flexibility and ability
to compromise helped bringing alien cultural achievements onto the orbit of the local
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Indigenous cultures. The nations have been exposed to several foreign languages and
religious dogmas, teacher and student exchange provided broad intercultural relations,
consequently, arts and sciences developed. On the other hand, such excessive flexibility of
the system affected the educational policies that had been developing in an attempt to
maintain the national identity, at the same time, conforming to almost every outer influence,
adopting a number of culturally insensitive educational strategies, and changing the language
of instruction and academic standards according to contemporary political priorities. In the
conditions of a constant unrest In the region, such opportunistic approach has not led to the
development of a well-structured system and left the South Caucasian education unprotected
vis-a-vis cultural intruders of the present time.
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Chapter II
Transitional Period: the Policies of Educational Opportunism
In this chapter we will analyze how political changes affected the educational
systems of the former Soviet Republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia and introduce
the main international providers of education in the region. We will also try to explain how
the tradition of educational opportunism continues in new circumstances and what
challenges it creates for international educators. As a specific example, we will analyze
English language instruction. Finally, we will try to develop some recommendations for
overcoming the existing problems in order to improve the quality of education in the South
Caucasian area.
Chaos in Education: 1991- Present
From the start of Soviet power in 1917, some of the economic and political policies
implemented in the USSR were innovative among the nations of Europe of that time. The
early documents of the Soviet government and the Communist Party proclaimed free
education at all levels for all students. There were to be no private schools. Teaching could
be conducted In the native language, and financial support could be given to those who
studied. Consequently, Marxism-Leninism theories “legitimized the distinctive educational
policies designed to transform the Czarist system” (Holmes, 1995). Soviet ideology and
educational policy had a great impact on the three republics. First of all, the system was
highly centralized and totally controlled by the head office in Moscow (i.e., the Ministry of
Education of the Soviet Union); textbooks were unified, and the concept of national identity
of the Armenians, Azerbaijanis, and Georgians was neglected in favor of a new national
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identity - the USSR citizenship (Reports of the Ministry of Education of Armenia, 1993-
2003; Reports of the Ministry of Education of Azerbaijan, 1993-2003; Reports of the
Ministry of Education of Georgia, 1993-2003).
Secondly, Soviet ideology prevented differentiation by school type. As Holmes
notices, “Almost all pupils, whatever their expectations, were required to attend the same
kind of school during the period of compulsory education. This principle was continued once
secondary education for all became a practical possibility. The difficulties many pupils faced
when they were expected to complete a program of studies originally designed for a selected
few were increased by the encyclopedic curriculum inherited from Western Europe”
(Holmes, 1995, p. 35). This remark was true for Soviet Russia, and it was even truer for
Soviet Transcaucasia, because most of the Armenians, Azerbaijanis, and Georgians had to
study Russian as their second language in Russian schools, so that the curriculum based on
Russian cultural background and the realities of Russian life created many a difficulty for
them.
To meet examination requirements, pupils were expected to memorize all the facts,
which were sometimes irrelevant to the subject and, often, boring. In such a situation the role
of cram-ciasses and private tutoring increased, and later (in 1970s) this process resulted in
corrupting the entire educational system. Nevertheless, the majority of students in all tree
republics graduated from 10-year public schools and continued their higher education either
in their native capital cities or in Russia. Of interest is a fact that Georgians used to possess
the greatest number of citizens with high-school diplomas in the USSR.
Literacy was estimated as almost total, and rates among males and females were
almost equal. Although Soviet statistics were likely to falsify the real figures and replace
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them with the higher ones, we have nothing to do but admit that these high literacy rates
were no exaggeration (Reports of the Ministry of Education of Armenia, 1993-2003 Reports
of the Ministry of Education of Azerbaijan, 1993-2003; Reports of the Ministry of Education
of Georgia, 1993-2003).
It is obvious that the political approach in education dominated in the region during
the Soviet era, and that the nations of the South Caucasus simply conformed to the alien
influence once again. Educational improvements were so impressive that the entire attempt
to “Russificate” the South Caucasus looked like an achievement in the light of new political
conditions. In fact, the indigenous cultures were forced to accept the policies that led to
assimilation, and we can predict that it would have been a fast and all-embracing process if
the system had not fallen apart.
The breakup of the Soviet Union presented a whole set of problems to Caucasian
leaders. The economic crisis and political instability created educated unemployment and
child labor, massive emigration, and regular electric power cut-outs. In the early 1990s,
Georgia was living through the invasion of Russian military troops to Tbilisi as well as local
conflicts in Ajaria and Abkhazia. Its economic conditions were extremely poor and brain-
drain just worsened the situation (Goldenberg, 1994; Gleason, 1997).
Azerbaijan and Armenia, in addition to their economic problems, have been
involved into a long-termed friction between each other since 1988. This conflict created
more than a million of refugees and displaced persons from each side. Whereas Armenian
refugees were mainly constituted by urban population, the Azerbaijanis who fled to their
fatherland from the occupied territories were represented by farmers. Ironically, many of the
fugitive Armenians had to move to the rural areas, whereas Azerbaijani escapees settled in
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the capital of Azerbaijan (Baku) and its suburbs. Their children, who were provided neither
with primitive stationary supplies nor books, might have not been able to speak their
“mother tongue”; yet, they had to be educated somehow. In addition, the economic blockade
isolated Armenia from its main energy donors and this led to the acute electricity supplies
problem throughout the country. Consequently, the main priority for the people was to heat
their homes and feed their children, not to educate them. Of course, the schools were
functioning and classes were held (not regularly though). However, the quality of education
lowered significantly (Herzig, 1999; interviews and observations, 1991-1997).
Most of our respondents, young people from all three republics, indicate that during
the period of 1990-1995 their school studies nearly collapsed: classes were not held in a
proper way, Russian tracks were under the constant threat of shut-offs1 , and the most
prestigious schools of the capital cities experienced severe staff deficiency. For instance, the
majority of teachers and administrative staff at the Russian schools of Baku were constituted
by Jewish, or Russians, or Armenians. About the time when the Armenians had to flee from
Azerbaijan for their lives, most of the Jews repatriated to Israel and the Russians started their
moving to Russia in large numbers, expecting that nationalism would displace them too,
sooner or later. Thus, the acute teacher shortage started to significantly hinder local
education (Herzig, 1999; interviews and observations, 1993-1997).
1 In the South Caucasian republics a “track” (sector) represents a department at a school where
students are enrolled according to the language of instruction. There are national (Armenian,
Azerbaijani, or Georgian), Russian, and sometimes international (English language-based) tracks.
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Armenia and Georgia went through a similar sad experience. In the early 90s,
classes that used to have 30-35 students of all nationalities shrank to almost homogeneous
groups of 15-17. Hiring new teaching staff became a constant and unsolvable problem. New
teachers were local institutions alumni and possessed either literally bought diplomas or at
least very limited skills and working experience. Teacher trainings were completely
forgotten for a while, as Moscow was no longer the center. The new center was supposed to
be the capital city of each state (either Yerevan, or Baku, or Tbilisi), so that textbook
publishing, teacher trainings, and curricula design became local officials’ responsibilities.
However, local governments had neither materials nor human resources to perform such a
task. Announcing new “independent educational policies and academic standards” (Reports
of the Ministry of Education of Armenia, 1993-2003; Reports of the Ministry of Education
of Azerbaijan, 1993-2003; Reports of the Ministry of Education of Georgia, 1993-2003) they
were in fact doing all three of the following: maintaining the Soviet era resources, copying
new Russian policies and standards, and searching for some foreign policies and standards to
adopt. We will analyze these policies one by one to show how international schools of
today’s South Caucasus try to conform to the existing conditions.
International Schools of the South Caucasus: Different Levels of Conformity.
1. Centralization: Corruption Promotion
Speaking about problems actual for today’s South Caucasian international schools,
we have to classify them either as general educational issues or as specific issues, the
solution of which depends on how efficient the office of each international institution is.
Among the general negative issues we consider strict centralization as one of the most
significant problems for today’s South Caucasian education.
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Normally, in the country where the existing center cannot be responsible for
education, decentralization might serve as a remedy for the sector, enabling schools to
develop their own resources and curricula. Of course, there is always the risk that standards
will become too vague or that the developed curricula will be simply poor, nevertheless, we
do view partial decentralization as a relief for educators of the former Soviet republics.
Controlling the general issues, the Ministries could give schools certain freedoms in
curriculum design and school management. However, not being able to manage the
education sector properly, the National Ministries still tend to control everything. Any
institution, whether public or private, has to develop its curriculum and testing system
according to the national standards and these criteria are all-embracing. Thus, there is no
opportunity for international educators to take a creative approach and to design policies that
would be organically integrating both national and international standards. Frequent
inspections of schools seek to discover all possible educational innovations, for example,
changes in the standard curriculum or even minor deviations, such as uniform abolishment,
and these innovations are almost always criticized simply because they are alien. All
schools’ databases are checked on a regular basis in order to prevent teaching a “wrong”
topic on a “wrong” day, and all teachers are obliged to keep registers in which all tiny details
of holding their classes are to be written down.
Ironically, the more progressive a school is, the bigger problems it has in dealing
with the Ministries’ officials. These progressive schools are all private because here the
administration has to respond the demands of the society and maintain flexible relations
between the school and parents who would like to have a particular curriculum or even
subjects. The entire existence of private schools depends on how successful their relations
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with the society are; by the same token, the Ministry of Education has the legitimate power
to shut down a school in a couple of days, not paying any attention to parents’ complaints,
therefore, any private school places itself in a very ambiguous position as soon as it is
established. Consequently, no institution will get decent enrollment rates, unless its
administration proves that it is able to regulate the relations with the Ministry of Education.
Different schools have the same strategies in overcoming this problem. The most obvious
decision is to bribe the Ministry. It is not a secret that corruption rooted in the South
Caucasian educational sector as soon as the sector itself was created (http://www.soros.org).
It did not have such a profound influence on the society during the Soviet times just
because the inspections from Moscow were unlikely to be bribed. However, the political
activity of the last decade led to acute economic problems, thus, public attitude to bribing
became more tolerant, and it resulted in almost total corruption in educational sphere
(Gleason, 1997).
In addition to bribing, some schools practice “vague curricula” that permits to
interpret their educational philosophy in mutually satisfying ways. And all schools try to
have a connection within the Ministries, so that they are aware of the coming inspections
beforehand and have enough time to organize their papers and fix the registers. The most
acute problem of education in the South Caucasian states can be well illustrated by some
examples from the Armenian, Azerbaijani, and Georgian national language teaching
experiences.
In Azerbaijan of the Soviet past no special attention was paid to teaching the
national language because the public demand was low: spoken language was spread in the
form of some slang, in which Azerbaijani was mixed up with Russian. At the same time, all
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prestigious jobs required Russian for communication, all databases were held in Russian,
and the public attitude towards Azerbaijani was neglectful (Abdinov, 1996). Since the time
of independence (1991), public policy changed and the number of hours for teaching the
Azerbaijani language and literature at schools was significantly increased. At the same time,
no adequate teaching materials were added to such policy (Rilea, 1998). We find the same
situation in Armenia and Georgia.
Today, private international schools are obliged to provide the required amount of
the native language instruction, simultaneously attempting to fulfill the goal of having
English as the main language for teaching. Moreover, classes in Russian cannot be canceled
because Russian is still the language for communication for both students and teachers. In
addition, there is always at least one more foreign language that is to be taught according to
parents’ desire (for instance, Spanish in TISA, French in QIS-Yerevan and QSI-Tbilisi) (see
Appendix 2). In such a situation, students must have at least ten hours of English, three hours
of their “mother-tongue”, three hours of Russian, and one hour of Spanish/French per week.
In order to squeeze all those courses into the calendar plans, administration usually indicates
them as “electives”; naturally, foreign students omit Russian and the national language,
whereas local students prefer to study all languages. As a result, they have poor knowledge
of all those languages.
2. National Testing Standards: Studying fo r Being Tested
Another example is the conflict between national testing standards and the public
demand for education. On graduating from high school, students prepare to take the
nationwide exams - an effort that gives them a chance to enter local universities. This
chance is especially important for those who cannot afford studying abroad and among them,
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especially for males because otherwise they must go in for military service. Military service
is mandatory in ali three republics; moreover, the Azerbaijani and the Armenian armies are
currently engaged in the war against each other, whereas the Georgian army is often
involved in pacifying internal outbursts of various ethnic groups. Therefore, we can easily
claim that there are not so many people willing to join the arniy. (By the way, military
absenteeism is one of the reasons for joining religious sects and schools in the South
Caucasus.) Thus, passing the national exams is extremely important for students and their
parents, for it guarantees at least four years of civil life. After the students get their
bachelor’s degrees, they start another pursuit for getting into master’s program in order to
“deserve” two more years of “peace”. Finally, getting a Ph.D. guarantees them “the way out”
for good; thus, we should call the local Ministries of Defense “the main promoters of
education in the South Caucasus”.
Parents concerned with their children’s future want to be sure that the materials
taught in private schools are the materials that will be included in the nationwide tests, so
they demand that international schools add those data into their lesson plans. That these facts
can be old-fashioned or include ambiguous historical information is of no importance - of
importance is to drill them and perform well at the test - exactly as it used to be during the
Soviet regime.
International educators understand that they have to conform to the National
Test Committee; therefore, they organize after-school cram-classes where students
just memorize the data required for the test .Yet, during the regular classes they try to
implement their international curriculum. The disadvantage o f such policy can be
well illustrated by the amount o f reading assignments that students are required to
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complete in grade 11. In addition to reading World Literature textbook, they have to
analyze classical British/American Literature for their language classes, as well as
old-fashioned pieces from the Soviet Literature course - just for the nationwide
multiple choice test. There is no need to explain why students abandon analytical
reading in favor of “diagonal reading”, as they call it. Some teachers simply retell
students the content of some books, and students take notes. Another strategy is to
include the same works in both English Literature and World Literature courses. The
disadvantages of such solutions are quite explicit.
3. Evaluation System: Manipulating the Administration
The student evaluation system at international schools is conformist too. As we
already mentioned above, most international students confess that the hardest part of their
school studies is to adapt to new teaching techniques and to achieve high academic
performance, studying most subjects in English. At the same time, those who are adaptable
or experienced enough find it easier to study at an “American” school. Students usually have
fewer home assignments (sometimes they have none), their classes are shorter than those of
regular public schools, and finally, the instruction is “softer”: teachers tend to “nurse” their
pupils, knowing the possible consequences of conflicting with their parents (interviews and
observations, 1997-2003).
This partly happens because international providers simply lower the academic
standards, being assertive that the indigenous population cannot handle real American level
of quality in education. Local authorities agree on that too, explaining that “this generation
has lower academic performance a priori”, in reality, they are simply afraid to lose their
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clientele because for such a small enterprise as a private school, each tuition-payer is
precious. On the surface, they always have an American slogan about “all good
students, among which some are just better”. In fact, students often have better
knowledge and richer background than they are thought of, they just quickly adapt to
the existing conditions and try to manipulate even the administration, so that
everyday school life turns into a kind of game among teachers, students, parents and
school managers — and everyone is aware of it, except that the rales are tacit. We
would call it a kind o f educational management that was developed at private schools
of the South Caucasus and which would hardly come to existence in the U.S. or the
U.K. This policy can be illustrated with an example that clearly shows how vague
the international standards become when they are being implemented on the national
South Caucasian grounds.
An international school’s principal, who was unwilling to fail the students in the end
of the year, ended up with introducing an additional grade E (“marginal”) between D and F
(which had already existed before). Both American and local instructors had to fail only
those who fell under 40 per cent, and the students (of whom no one was finally failed as they
all got 45-55 per cent) even found it “more logical to have an E grade between D and F”. It
is still unknown, how this grading conflict had been settled between the local administration
of the school and its British supervisors. Probably, they too agreed on the “initial lower
academic performance” of students - as the British also depend on the tuition payments.
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4. Russian Language-Based Education: Conforming Nationalization
As it was already mentioned above, Russian schooling appeared as an international
element when Russification started in the South Caucasus and it successfully proceeded
during the Soviet Era. Gradually, it became the organic and inseparable part of the local
education system, and was not considered “international” any longer.
In the beginning of the transitional period, when nationalistic governments came to
power in all three republics, Russian schools were considered “politically incorrect”
enterprises. Political ties with Russia were damaged, and in spite of the actual needs of the
society, Russian schooling declined. The reaction of the society to such policy was strictly
negative: for a number of reasons Russian schools (as well as Russian tracks) still remained
in great demand as well as Russian language-based education in general.
Firstly, we should keep It in mind that generations of the South Caucasians were
educated in Russian, so that now the whole cohort of students and their parents know
Russian better than their own language. (Under “knowing the mother tongue” we understand
not only the ability to communicate on the most common level but also the ability to read
and comprehend scholastic literature and express their ideas in written form.) Many of our
respondents, who graduated from Russian schools, admitted that writing an essay in their
native language would be a challenging task for them to perform in terms of spelling and
vocabulary. Most of them have Russian-speaking parents and would prefer to see their
children in the Russian track, as it would be just easier for them to help children in their
studies (interviews and observations, 1993-2003).
Secondly, we should think about the economic efficiency of the Russian language-
based education. Facing unemployment and severe economic conditions of their home
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countries, many interviewed parents still consider an option for their children to go to Russia
(mostly Moscow and Saint Petersburg, more rarely to Astrakhan, Rostov, and some other
cities) for getting a higher education, or at least, to be enrolled in the Russian track of some
local higher educational institution, so that they would have wider options for the future.
These are usually middle-class people, who are culturally oriented to Russia and who believe
that a Russian degree is worthier and more recognizable outside or even within the republic
than a local diploma. Here we can also include the Russian speaking minorities in all three
republics, as they usually do not look forward to living in the South Caucasus and try to send
out their children to their historical homelands such as Russia or Ukraine (Kolstoe, 1995).
For some parents it is simply the money issue: supporting a child in Moscow where many
Caucasians have relatives might seem much cheaper and safer than sending him (or
especially her) abroad. Last but .not least important is the fact that the Russian schools/tracks
are as a rale much better equipped with teaching resources and professionals than their
national counterparts. We can illustrate it with a rather fresh example.
In Baku elementary schools, Azerbaijani track students of grade 1 should be able to
count up to 20 and read syllables. At the same time, their Russian-speaking peers will be
able to count up to hundred and read words. Although these higher standards are not
mandatory for the Russian track, such practice is regular and it attracts more clientele. The
gap between academic standards inevitably leads to Russification maintenance, and even
though local educational authorities appeal to patriotism and national identity development
quite often, so far, they prefer to enroll their own children in the Russian tracks.
Currently, nearly 560 Russian schools operate in the South Caucasian region. The
smallest number of Russian schools is found in Armenia (four), and these schools are
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37
maintained for the minorities who constitute about 3 per cent o f the population. A
special law prohibits ethnic Armenians from studying at those schools. Recently,
some first signs of relieving the anti-Russian education tendency appeared. For
instance, 47 Armenian schools have resumed teaching Russian as a foreign language
(13 of them are located in Yerevan) (Press Service, Armenian Embassy in Russia,
Nezavisimaya Gazeta, 2000; UNESCO Statistical Year Book, 2002). However, it is
obvious that the Russian schools in Armenia are much more disadvantaged
institutions now than they used to be.
In Azerbaijan, where the percentage of Russian speaking minorities is about 2.1 per
cent, 125,000 students study at the Russian schools (13 per cent of the total number of
students); the total number of bilingual schools is 379, and the statistics show that this
number decreased slightly more than twice since 1989 (http://vvww.rusedina.org).
Georgia has some 120,000 of Russian-speaking citizens. The number of the Russian
schools here has decreased from 214 in 1997 to 177 in 2002, and the Georgian track is
present in 63 of the existing schools (Press Service, Georgian Embassy in Russia,
Nezavisimaya Gazeta, 2000; UNESCO Statistical Year Book, 2002). Russian education here
has almost no support from the National Ministry.
Thus, we can say that, along with a few relative anti-Russian tendencies in
education, at the current transitional stage in the South Caucasus, Russian schools appear as
international schools (as it used to be at the pre-Soviet times) of a new shape and deliver to
the minorities and to the indigenous middle-class population. Their main challenge is to co
exist within the current political mainstream and to be able to get additional resources from
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the metropolis. This makes the administration of the Russian schools double-deal
and bribe the National Ministry in order to continue efficient Russian policies
implementation. Some schools emphasize that they use Russian curriculum,
textbooks, and stand by the Russian Federation academic standards, simultaneously
trying to provide enough hours of the native language instruction, proper national
history and geography instruction, and using other appeals in order to attract their
clientele and not to irritate the Ministries, such as, for example, organizing somewhat
exceptional conditions for the local elite’s children enrolled in those schools.
5. Religious Schools: The Safest Way to Produce New Converts
A relatively smaller part of the modem international South Caucasian education is
composed of religious schools - Christian and Moslem. As it was already stated above,
Armenia and Georgia are the two states in the South Caucasus that have an impressively
long tradition of Christianity. Azerbaijanis, even though they used to be Christian and were
converted into Islam in 8 A.D. by force, are now devoted Moslems of the Shia branch. So,
speaking about the religious education in three republics, we have to keep it in mind that
Christian schooling that comes to Azerbaijan represents an alien group here, whereas in
Armenia and Georgia it is nothing but a different branch of the same faith.
At the same time, however promising this commonality would be, there is no reason
for Christian (mainly American) missionaries to consider their job less challenging in
Armenia and Georgia. Local Apostolic and Orthodox Churches that have developed in very
specific conditions and in a constant straggle against Catholics and Protestants will not give
up easily and by no means let the religious “intruders” dominate in the area, even though the
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local governments welcome various religious denominations due to their political interests.
We can illustrate our statement, mentioning the events of 1995 in Yerevan, where
“Jehovah’s Witnesses” centers were violated and some local converts were even imprisoned
(Pleshakov, 1995). Similar actions took place against Protestant sects in Tbilisi in 2000, and
we claim that such vandalism was of no doubt provoked by the local religious leaders
(http://www.hrw.org/russian/world/2002/0902__warsaw.php). In such a situation it is obvious
that both Christian and Moslem preachers will tom to education sector as to a natural
compromise and the safest way to produce new converts.
We would like to attract some special attention to Azerbaijani religious schools as
this issue may provide a useful study case for foreign educators and analytics. In Azerbaijan
we find three major types of religious schools: Christian missionary schools; Islamic schools
(predominantly Iranian); and secular Turkish lyceums, the curricula of which include some
religious activities. The government is most tolerant of this third type of schools, and the
reason for such an attitude is that foreign religious propaganda is forbidden in the country.
The most welcomed Turkish lyceums are usually well-equipped and provided with
qualified teaching staff; textbooks and other materials are shipped from Turkey, which saves
time and money. These features make them very popular among the middle class and even
the elite. During the official meeting dedicated to graduation in Turkish schools in
Azerbaijan that was held in Baku on May 28, 1999, the director of the Turkish technical
college Ozkan Aleman reported that “17 Turkish educational institutions operate in
Azerbaijan (lyceums, colleges, language courses and one university), where 1,970 students
are receiving education” (Akman, 1999). The graduates from those institutions entered “US,
Japanese, Russian and Chinese schools; of interest is the fact that 99% of the graduates were
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40
admitted to higher schools at their first attempt” (Akman, 1999}. However, there is an
obvious disadvantage in Turkish schooling, which lies in the sphere of the national
educational philosophy of the Turkish. In all Turkish schools the idea of pan-Turkism is
delivered to students on a regular basis, so that they get a very narrow political and cultural
scope. Such attitude hardly contributes to the aims of nowadays education that emphasizes
the importance of broadening horizons and getting a wide world outlook - an approach
which is of no priority for Turkish educators. There is a well-known story about a successful
Turkish lyceum that was shut down after the inspection from the Ministry of Education
discovered that all students at the lyceum were supposed to leam Atatutk’s biography,
exactly as they would leam Lenin’s biography 20 or 30 years ago.
Parents who send their children to those Turkish schools may be quite prosperous
but they either do not want to spend much money on American private schools, or they
indeed believe that Turkish educational system is the most appropriate choice for the
Azerbaijanis because of its Turkic tradition and the Westernized approaches to teaching.
They are usually happy to know that their children are going to know at least two foreign
languages when they graduate and a certificate, which will allow them to enter a Turkish
university.
Iranian Islamic schools are not officially recognized by the Azerbaijani government;
however, many of them do exist in the areas boarding Iran, such as Lankaran. The
government tries to get rid of these schools partly because of the low quality of teaching at
those schools, partly because they consider such institutions the breeding factories for
terrorists. We have no facts or evidences to prove this official point of view; however, it is
obvious that the traditional Islamic concept of “permitted knowledge” cannot respond the
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41
needs of the modem society. Moreover, female education is neglected in those schools
according to the Islamic view that a woman is supposed to know values and traditions rather
than, for example, math and science (Howland, 1999). Of interest is the fact that if Christian
schools do appear in Azerbaijan and produce converts here, there are no such believers in
Armenia and Georgia who would adopt Islam. There are no Islamic denominations there;
both countries possess the number of Sunday schools that belong to various Christian sects
and there is also the School of Salvation Army in Tbilisi that operates on the regular
conditions of this organization (.Nezavisimaya Gazeta, 2000). Christian missions are aware
of the inclination of the local residents’ religious conservatism, thus, they try not only to
organize their own institutions but also to penetrate all available international schools where
they can teach English and simultaneously preach, not looking suspicious. Generally
speaking, the practice, shows that the most successful religious activists in the South
Caucasus are those who make religious propaganda tacit and use education as a tool for
producing converts, simultaneously denying their religious aims.
6. Main Providers o f Westernization in the South Caucasian Region: Conforming to
the Political Situation
The most competitive branch of international education in the South Caucasus is, of
course, represented by American, Canadian, and British schools. Unlike Russia, both the
U.S. and the U.K. are neither geographically nor culturally close to the South Caucasus. Yet,
they have always tried to dominate in the region, due to its resources and promising location,
and it has been especially true for the “Land of Fires” - Azerbaijan. Being a region rich of
oil, lying in the crossroads of all trade routes, Azerbaijan attracted the attention of the British
in the XIX century. In the struggle for economic dominance, the U.K. was in a more
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42
favorable position than the U.S. due to its European location and the traditional European
orientation of the old Caucasian elite. However, the British were not able to control the
territory due to the Russians’ take-over, so, after the latter ones had left the country, several
British oil companies started in Azerbaijan and tried to create not only economic but also
cultural ties with the people of the country (Fairbanks, 2001, among others).
Of course, North Americans could not have stayed aloof from such a promising area
of interest as the South Caucasus (and particularly oil-rich Azerbaijan), so that not long after
the republics got their independence, they came to the region to compete with the British for
dominance (Swietochowski, 1995). In this competition, cultural establishments took an
important part, so, besides creating various business enterprises, Westerners (mostly
English-speaking parties) came to the South Caucasus as international education agencies
(for instance, the Open Society Institute), oil sector supported institutions (the International
School of Azerbaijan), non-profit private schools (Quality Schools International), and
missionary schools (“Jehovah’s Witnesses” Sunday Schools, “Salvation Army” School,
among others) (see Appendix 2).
Whatever their founders are, all such schools provide the policy that we would call
“the policy of Westernization” of students. As soon as a child discovers the first American
artifacts at the kindergarten or starts being exposed to the language, he or she gets under the
influence of the Western world. Over time, students are westernized through the curricular
and extra-curricular activities as well as through everyday communication. Here we come to
a very interesting point. Like Russian institutions, Western international schools also have to
satisfy the requirements from different actors: government officials with their concept of the
“nationally sensitive” curriculum, parents, and sponsors. At the same time, the Western type
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43
of education is politically up-to-date, whereas the Russian schools are viewed as post
colonial, thus, inappropriate ones. Consequently, Western schools get more understanding
and more tolerance from the Ministries, especially from those officials who have already
transferred their children from the Russian track to the international track (considering the
level of corruption in the three states, we can assume that they are the ones who can afford
paying the tuition.)
As we said, in comparison to the Russian schools, Western schools are much more
expensive, thus, more elitist. (Only missionary schools are usually free.) The curriculum of
such schools always includes several non-typical subjects and a long list of extra-curriculum
activities - a feature that alone makes the teaching process quite different from that of the
Russian schools. In general, it is more practice-oriented, livelier, and more challenging for
teachers. At the same time, it is less challenging for students in terms of gaining theoretical
knowledge.
If we admit that international private schools are usually well equipped with
teaching resources, then English language-based institutions will undoubtedly be on top of
all schools. The Russian schools try to organize their libraries and science laboratories in the
same way but they by no means can compete with the American international schools in the
number of donations and shipments (see Appendix 2).
Staff policy is an important issue too. Normally, each international school has an
administration that includes both local authorities and foreigners. Very often a local principal
is responsible for making connections and dealing with the National Ministry, whereas a
foreigner who can start as an instructor of English gradually accumulates several additional
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44
responsibilities, such as extra-curricular activities development, English department
management, textbook shipments, etc.
As for hiring teachers, the Russian tracks can afford employing the best ones:
a local teacher should be extremely good and experienced in order to be hired by
such institution. In English language-based institutions, on the contrary, experience
in overseas teaching experience and mere knowledge of English makes a person “a
professional teacher”. Very often such institutions simply employ spouses o f the
officials and international employees who work In the region by contract.
So, we can say that the South Caucasian Western schools have two disadvantageous
features, which are high tuition and weak faculty hiring policy and, of course, only the
former feature prevents the Western schools from prevailing over the Russian schools in the
region. We can predict that future economic growth will enable more and more local
residents to afford private Western education. However, as we repeatedly state, every South
Caucasian enterprise without an exception is tied to politics. Therefore, the main risk appears
in the sphere of political interests and undertows that can change so promptly that a school
will have no chance to adapt. A single person on top who claims that “Westernization” is not
the way the country should follow can ruin the whole system of the international education
there. Educators understand it clearly, so that they avoid long-termed projects and prefer not
to guarantee much to their clientele.
Undoubtedly, intensive English teaching can be considered the most conspicuous
feature that differentiates Western schools from any other. Normally, the U.S and the
Canadian institutions hire only native-speakers for English language instruction provision,
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whereas the Russian schools rely upon non-native teachers. Taking into consideration all
above-mentioned about the principles of American staff policy, we must admit that such a
choice is not always necessarily bad. We plan to analyze the actual problem of English
language teaching in our separate review.
7. Teaching English in Today’ s South Caucasus: Conforming to American-British
English
Even though English has been learned and taught here alongside with German and
French for the last two centuries, the Caucasian aristocracy (who mainly followed the
Russian elite) preferred French as their second language.
Our older Armenian and Georgian middle-class respondents, who were asked to
compare two languages indicated French as a “more pleasant and delicate” language than
English. At the same time, the younger ones who definitely prefer English (in its American
version) still envy the older generation who can speak French. “It has charm” (about
French), “English is a business language” (with a somewhat negative connotation) - such
statements are not rare among the young Armenians and Georgians. As for the Azerbaijanis,
they do not demonstrate such a tendency, probably because British influence has a longer
tradition there. At the same time, among our respondents there was not a single one who
would deprive his/her children from learning English. Generally speaking, whatever their
cultural orientation is, today’s South Caucasians agree that the practical necessity of learning
English is crucial (interviews, 2000-2003).
Not long after the Soviet Union breakdown, American companies inevitably
penetrated the region alongside with the British ones, and they provided their local
employees not only with job positions and higher salaries but also with language courses,
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modem tapes, visual aids and instructors. Moreover, most officials traveled with
their families, so they gradually came to an idea to establish co-educational day-time
schools in the host countries. This demand attracted American teachers o f English,
pirate textbooks distributors, and those “new rich” among the local population who
were enthusiastic about enrolling their children in international tracks. In this
situation, the position of the local teachers of English became very dramatic. During
the Soviet times all English teachers were trained to hold classes in British English;
American English was considered an “unacceptable dialect”, and there were no
American textbooks or tapes available in the country. Facing the new conditions, the
teachers now have to re-train themselves according to the American version because
this type is in greater demand. Today, American English is associated in people’s
minds with another “bigger brother”, the U.S., with its ideas of democracy and equal
opportunities for all; the idea of “cool” American English is supported by movies
and other artifacts among the youth (Shakhbagova, 1982). Being aware o f that,
teachers fight for international trainings, upgrade their vocabulary and try to adapt
their pronunciation according to the American version of English. Ironically, the
oldest, thus, the most experienced instructors lose in this struggle because, as a rule,
they have already reached the level o f their “fossilization”, whereas the young and
less experienced teachers are more flexible. Moreover, they are sometimes just
luckier to be initially trained in American English (some o f them even abroad). As
for the textbooks, the general tendency is to rely upon American manuals even in
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47
British institutions because these books are cheaper and usually come in sets.
Consequently, teachers can possess their teacher’s guides together with textbooks
and notebooks, the fact that makes them sure about what they should do in class and
how to professionally diversify the material. American textbooks usually have handy
grammar appendixes as well as complete test sets. Finally, the design of American
textbooks is usually so “transparent” that among the local teachers there is an
opinion that “even an idiot can teach by an American textbook”. On the one hand,
even though all mentioned above characterizes American textbooks as very helpful
in class, and more recommended, we cannot deny that they have a serious
disadvantage too. Here we speak particularly about teaching reading through
“phonics”, the methodology that gradually replaces traditional British transcription
and presents English alphabet in such a way that students remember not the rules for
reading the sound-types but only separate patterns. As a result, most o f them have
poor reading skills in the future. Pronunciation is also a “suffering area” because not
many teachers have enough skills to teach two separate types; more often they teach
language in a mixture o f both. They speak British English, teaching by American
books and tapes and this disorients students significantly. Finally, we should mention
a vocabulary issue that might be successfully solved in a school with a clear
language teaching policy but in an international institution where teachers are both
British and American, and so are textbooks and aids, such ambiguity makes students
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48
work in two directions in order to master the language. In the school where the
author used to teach herself, pupils o f grade 3, who came in the beginning o f the
school year to take the placement test “successfully failed” its vocabulary building
part because they did not recognize the correct answers in the multiple choice work
sheets: they were vainly scanning the choices for the word “vest” under the picture
of a “waistcoat” and for the word “track” under the picture o f a “lorry”. There is no
need to say that the listening section also gave them hard time because they could not
even focus properly on “the artificial intonations o f those old ladies” as one o f the
girls confessed later (interviews and observations, 2001). The placement test by all
means had to be held in British English (according to the School’s profile), but the
administration was not able to provide students with a British teacher, so an American
instructor taught them all previous year, using her own resources and this created the
difference. To solve the problem at last, the “wrong” questions were simply excluded from
the test.
Examples like the one mentioned above, were not rare in the South Caucasian
international schools during the recent years; however this situation has begun to improve as
schools get more professional administrators and they avoid the possible risks of such
confusion. At the same time, the most obvious reason for this kind of educational
opportunism is the lack of human resources, thus, the problem will be solved not earlier than
the labor market gets enough well-trained teachers.
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8. Overcoming the Teaching Materials Problem: Conforming to Book Piracy
Whatever the teaching goals of a school are, all international institutions face
acute problems equipping their schools with all the necessary resources. The first
(and the main) problem in this sphere is related to the lack o f books and other
teaching materials. As international schools are usually sponsored and get money
from students’ tuition, this problem is usually solvable (see Appendix 2). In the cases
of TISA and QSI these are shipments from the U.S., Australia, and Canada; for
Russian international schools, books and tapes are sent from Russia; Turkish and
Iranian educators of Azerbaijan are provided with the materials from Islamic centers;
Armenian institutions rely upon the diasporas’ donations; Christian missionaries in
all three states get their books from the denominations that support them in the area.
The missionaries’ shipments are carefully checked at the local customhouses, and
there have been cases when all books were confiscated by governmental officials due
to the religious content of those books.
An American woman who teaches at one of the South Caucasian international
schools told me about the simple strategy that lets the missionaries spread the Word not only
among conservative Armenians or Georgians but even among Moslems. Religious
denominations often distribute very thoroughly prepared books (usually English readers for
the elementary school level) in which one would never find words like “God”, “Jesus” or
“Christianity”. However, the content is absolutely Christian and even the pictures of angelic
children in those books support the same Christian values and beliefs. The rest of Christian
instruction can be easily provided orally, and the local officials will have nothing to
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complain about: facing the acute deficiency of books, schools can be only thankful to
donations like this (interviews, 2002).
To overcome the book deficiency problem and to make it a profitable business,
school administration usually engages in the widely spread practice of ordering only one set
of books. The staff then photocopies it, using school resources and sells the copies to
students. Copyright has nothing to do with international education in the South Caucasus.
Alongside with donations and oversees shipments, piracy contributes to the South Caucasian
education a lot. The main providers of pirate English textbooks (as well as maps and other
teaching resources) are Iran and Arabic countries, particularly Dubai where textbooks are
comparatively cheap, so many people make their living on bringing those books to the South
Caucasus, reprinting them, and merchandizing at the black market, which is in fact not that
“black”, as one can purchase the pirate textbooks of the medium quality at all central
bookstores. The vast amounts of copied teaching resources that have appeared in the country
after 1991 indicated the reaction of the market to educational needs. Modem American
books, reprinted or just photocopied, became available for a common customer whose
children otherwise might not have a chance to get a textbook at all. This is especially true for
teaching English because the renewed official curriculum requires teaching English from
grade 1, and even traditional public schools now offer additional hours of the English
language instruction in order to increase their enrollment rates and in spite of the scarce book
provision. Foreign teachers too participate in this illegal book distribution, some because of
their material involvement and other because of their life philosophy. As one American
teacher confessed, “if he did not have a textbook to teach, he would steal it” (interview,
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51
2000). Thus, we can claim that international education in the region develops so vigorously
due to several obviously negative factors such as book piracy and copyright skirting.
9. Hiring Staff: Conforming to the Unqualified International Teachers
Describing the current problems of the South Caucasian international schools, we
cannot avoid the problem of teacher distribution and performance. As it was mentioned
above, in the Soviet past teachers were trained according to the standards of the Soviet
Union that were rather high. During the last decade local teachers lost their opportunity to
attend trainings and conferences in Russia, to publish their works in Russian magazines, and
generally speaking to benefit from being part of a well-organized educational system.
However, during the last ten years other opportunities appeared for those teachers who
would like to upgrade their skills and gain modem educational approaches to teaching. Now
they can participate in various trainings abroad or take an active part in the projects
developed by the international schools in the country.
In spite of this, many teachers feel left alone with their problems and there are some
specific reasons for that. First of all, most of these trainings and activities are held in
English, and not many teachers know the language well enough to benefit from their foreign
colleagues’ experience. Moreover, some of the suggested decisions and plans are not real for
those who teach in outskirts of the capital cities and rural areas because schools there have
neither basic equipment or developed libraries, nor enthusiastic staff who would focus their
efforts on repairing the situation.
Secondly, not all subjects get adequate attention from foreign educators’ side, and
that depends not only on how well they are informed about the current educational issues in
the three states but also on the policy of the state that those trainers represent - the policy of
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the U.S. For example, it is obvious that in Azerbaijan, the U.S. officials concentrate their
interests mainly in the oii sector, whereas in Armenia and Georgia energy crisis and business
development will be the areas of a priority. Therefore, in the South Caucasus, the “burning
issues” will be reflected in numerous trainings on environmental education, basics of
economics, science, and English held by the American instructors. At the same time, such
areas as art, literature, or music are almost totally neglected at the present time. Finally, since
most international projects are either profitable or they give an opportunity to study abroad,
corruption and nepotism emerge, and this creates unhealthy competition among teachers.
For the main international providers of education in the South Caucasian teachers’
performance and qualification has a specific aspect. There is no need for them to worry that
local teachers hired in those institutions will have poor teaching skills or old-fashioned
approaches. On .the contrary, foreign teachers are the ones who create most problems for
international schools. This happens because their qualification often does not comply with
the standards required for teaching. If a local teacher should pass training in addition to
his/her superb recommendations and long-termed experience to get a chance to teach at an
international school, a foreign citizen should know English in order to get the same position.
Being a native speaker is such a big advantage in the parents’ and administration’s opinion
that British and American citizens sometimes teach subjects that do not relate to what they
used to do in their home country. The students and parents interviewed by me told ridiculous
stories about mountain-climbers who taught English grammar, artists who taught math, and
housewives who taught geography (interviews and personal observations, 1997-2002).
Ironically, all these stories and experiences cannot change the public opinion that foreign
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teachers are a priori better than their local colleagues and make the school administration
provide proper monitoring and testing for international teachers.
Conclusions
To conclude this part of our work, we can say that teaching at international private
schools of the South Caucasus is obviously carried out at three levels: an official level that
should satisfy the National Ministries of Education, a second level that lets them satisfy the
needs of parents and students, and even a third level on which the actual educational
philosophy of each particular school should be implemented. Considering all the above-
mentioned facts, we can say that in the chaotic situation produced by the Soviet Union
breakdown, local authorities are searching for all possible ways to overcome the educational
crisis in their states and vigorously adapt foreign policies, which leads to
international education promotion and foreign capital investments. International
education is inevitably more economically efficient and it broadens students’ cultural
horizons significantly. At the same time, being so pervasive by nature, such cultural
influences cannot be properly monitored by the authorities, especially in the
conditions of constantly changing political priorities. Thus, the authorities usually
substitute sporadic inspections, pressure, and compromise for real monitoring. Such
practices do not improve international teaching in the region; rather they enable
various opportunistic strategies that international schools exploit in order to survive.
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Conclusions
International schooling in the South Caucasian states has a long-termed tradition and
the location of the region contributes to the diversity of international schools found here.
Since the times of antiquity, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia had to straggle in order to
protect their national identities, and the educational sector was undoubtedly an arena of
constant exertion. Schooling there was also closely tied to religious development, so we can
say that churches and missionary denominations contributed to it significantly. At the same
time, under the conditions of constant political unrest, the schools of the South Caucasus
developed a number of conformist strategies that on the one hand, helped them co-exist with
the political environment but, on the other hand, did not allow them to prepare an efficient
educational system of their own.
The disadvantages of such quality of the system became especially obvious in the
times of Transition when the republics got their independence. Being unable to develop their
own strategies, the authorities tamed to all possible foreign educational influences. These
new actors willingly brought their educational policies, interests, and religious affiliations
with them. Underneath, all those ideas reflected the political ideologies of their states:
Russian educators with their post-colonial Russification maintenance, Americans with the
concept of Westernization, and Moslem preachers - all these agents pursued - and will
continue to pursue the goals of the political dominance in the area. At the same time, being
dependant on the local authorities as well as on general political fluctuation in the region,
international educators prefer to continue traditional opportunistic policies that enable them
to exist in the South Caucasus and interact with the society. We claim that education is of no
priority for most of them; rather, they wish to stay as agents of acculturation (at best) or
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simply to maintain their business. A question emerging in such a situation is whether the
local authorities really wish to implement the concept of the “progressive South Caucasian
education”. The answer is obviously “No”. Educational conformism with its corruption
promotion, piracy maintenance, hiring unqualified teachers, modifying curricula and
evaluation system, and, as a consequence, deceiving their clientele is a poor policy; however,
it is the only policy acceptable there because it creates an illusion of progress in the
educational sector, simultaneously “leaving all screws in their places” and letting particular
persons gain capitals and reputation. One can possibly ask, if there are any honest
international educators in the South Caucasus today. We admit that some of them do start
their enterprises quite honestly. However, as soon as they take the first steps forward, their
efforts face such counteracting and rigidity together with general instability and the lack of
public opinion that educators choose conformism as the only possible strategy. After all, the
international educators are just temporary visitors here.
Considering all issues analyzed in our study, we can say that the international
education in the South Caucasus is politically charged and serves more political interests
than the actual educational needs of the region. Its opportunistic nature has been developing
for ages and this is how it will be likely to continue, unless the national policy changes, and
those new changes include not hypocritical proclamations and political slogans but the
actions of citizens who are really concerned with their country’s future.
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Akman, Ozkan. (1999). The speech at the official meeting dedicated to graduation in
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Beman.
Armenian Embassy in Russia. (2002). Press Service. Nezavisimaya Gazeta, #130 (2192) July
15,2000
Arnold, Sir Thomas W. (1966). The Caliphate. New York: Barnes and Noble, Inc.
Bodrogligeli, Andras. (1993). The Question ofAlphabet Reform for the Turkic Republics.
Azerbaijan International (1.3) September, 1993.
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Fairbanks, Charles and others. (2001). Strategic Assessment of Central Eurasia. SAIS.
Georgian Embassy in Russia. (2002). Press Service. Nezavisimaya Gazeta, #130 (2192) July
15, 2000
Gleason, Gregory. (1997). The Central Asian States: Discovering Independence. Westview
Press.
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Disorder. London/New Jersey: Zed Books Ltd.
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Affairs.
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Publishing House.
History of Azerbaijani Literature (1960). Arasly E. (ed.), Baku: Academy of Sciences
Publishing House.
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57
Holmes, Brian. (1995). Russian Education: Tradition and Transmission. New York &
London: Garland Publishing Inc.
Hunter, Sfaireen T.(1994). The Transcaucasus in Transition. The Center for Strategic and
International Studies, Washington D.C.
Kolstoe, Paul. (1995). Russians in the Former Soviet Republics. London: Hurst & Company.
Lang, David Marshall. (1966). The Georgians. London: Thames and Hudson.
Marr, N. (1925). The Armenian Culture. Paris: Publication of the Armenian Students
Nakashidze, V.B. (1976). History of Georgian Kingdom. Tbilisi: Academy of Sciences
Publishing House.
Naumkin, V. (1994). Central Asia and Transcaucasia: Ethnicity and Conflict. Greenwood
Press.
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Pleshakov Y. (1995). The Bartholomew’ s Nights o f Yerevan. Moskovskie Novosti. July 23,
1995.
Religious Fundamentalists and the Human Rights o f Women. (1999). Howland, Courtney W.
(ed.), Palgrave MacMillan.
Reports o f the Ministry o f Education o f Azerbaijan. (1991-2003).
Reports o f the Ministry o f Education o f Armenia. (1991-2003).
Reports o f the Ministry o f Education o f Georgia. (1991-2003).
Rilea, Lilia Artemon. (1998). Education and Language Policies in Moldova and Azerbaijan:
Soviet and Post-Soviet Period. Master’s Thesis, USC.
Seton-Watson, Hugh. (1967). The Russian Empire 1801-1917: Oxford History o f Modern
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58
Shakhbagova, J. (1982). Varieties of English Pronunciation. Moscow: “Visshaya Shkola”.
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The author also used interviews and personal observations, obtained for the years 1997-
2002, as well as the WWW resources:
http://www.siaz.narod.ru/bos/eng/bos__eng.htm (BOS)
http://www.hrw.org/russian/world/2002/0902_warsaw.php (Human Rights Watch Report,
September 12,2002)
http://www.qsi.org (QSI)
http://www.rasedina.org (Resources on Russian language-based education)
http://www.soros.org (Soros Foundation)
http://geo.ya.com/travelimages/az-maps.html (The map of the South Caucasus)
http://www.tisa.az/the.htm (TISA)
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59
Glossary
1. Educational Opportunism (Conformism), schools’ policies of conforming to the
existing political and economical conditions on the expense of educational philosophy
implementation and actual educational needs.
2. International Schools of the South Caucasus, schools that promote foreign educational
ideology and provide certificates valid outside the South Caucasus.
3. Russification, the state policy of coercive imposition of Russian linguistic and
educational dominance at the expense of the indigenous languages and cultures.
Its final goal was assimilation of ethnic minorities under the Tsarist and later — Communist
rule.
4. South Caucasus (Transcaucasia), the, a transitional region between Europe and Asia,
extending from the Greater Caucasus to the Turkish and Iranian borders, between the Black
and Caspian Seas; it comprises the Republics of Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.
5. Zoroastrianism, religion founded by Zoroaster, a Persian prophet, but with many later
accretions.
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60
APPENDIX A: INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS
In order to augment our analysis of Western schooling in the South Caucasus with
concrete examples, we will provide some information on Quality Schools International
(QSI) that established its branches in all three republics, the International School of
Azerbaijan (TISA), and Baku Oxford School.
Quality Schools International (QSI)
The Quality Schools International has been founded as an independent,
coeducational day school in order to provide “a quality education in the English language for
expatriates living in the international community” (http://www.qsi.org).
The first such school was founded in 1971 and served diplomatic, development, and
business families. Currently, the School has 25 branches in 20 countries, including all three
South Caucasian states (Its Azerbaijani branch bears the name of “Baku International
School”.) The School offers an outcome-based educational program for students of all
nationalities, beginning at the age of 3 through the age of 13. (The QSI- Yerevan also
provides high-school instruction.) The school branches were founded In 1994 in Baku and a
year later in Yerevan and Tbilisi and axe governed by the Board of Directors of Quality
Schools International, the membership of which is formed as set forth in the Bylaws of
Quality Schools International.
The QSI’s curriculum is similar to that of the U.S. public and private schools.
Classes are small and the student/teacher ratio is 9/1, which allows for individual assistance
in all areas. Instruction is held in English. Russian, Georgian, and French are taught as
foreign languages. Choral music, drama and various sports are offered as optional courses.
In addition to its scholastic goals, the school endeavors to provide its students with
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61
knowledge of the country they live in. Students in the secondary program are enrolled in the
University of Nebraska independent program if they meet specific language standards.
QSI mostly employs foreign citizens and its regular income derives from regular day
school tuition. Annual tuition rates are as follows: 3-4-year-olds - about $6,000 and 5 year-
olds through high school - more than $12,000. Considering the existing level of poverty in
the South Caucasian states, we can assume that QSI represents an elite institution in terms of
money expenses and that the majority of students there are constituted by foreigners.
The International School of Azerbaijan (TISA)
In 1996, the Azerbaijan International Operating Company (AIOC) contracted the
European Council of International Schools (ECIS) to establish and operate the International
School of Azerbaijan (TISA). The school opened in September of that year with classes for
students aged 5 to 13 years (USA: Kindergarten-Grade 8, UK: Years 1-9.) The school adds
one grade per year since 1999, resulting in a foil Grades K-12 operation in the 2002/2003
school year. The school was supposed to be sponsored for an initial two-year period after
which time it was expected to run independently. However, it looks like the school still
needs material support from ECIS, which represents the largest and oldest association of
international schools in the world. ECIS joins more than 400 member schools worldwide, so
it has recruited the staff, established the curriculum and obtained the educational equipment
and materials. TISA is extremely well resourced with the best of educational material
brought from the U.S.A, the U.K., and Australia. As the official site declares, TISA offers a
“fully integrated curriculum which aims to provide a stimulating educational environment
for learning for all international students” (http://www.tisa.az/the.htm). Ail subjects are
taught in English. The needs of those students who come from and may be returning to the
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62
U.S., the U.K., or other European national educational systems have been a key factor in the
planning and choice of the curriculum and the recruitment of facility.
The provision of a foreign language course was under review and it was expected
that TISA would offer Spanish as the main foreign language. However, this did not happen
probably because the administration of the school was willing to leave it as an optional
course. Not only Spanish but also other languages can be taught in TISA in the form of
electives. All TISA students are given the opportunity to study the language and culture of
the host country, Azerbaijan.
A program of extra-curricular activities is provided with a variety of different
activities on offer, including sports, drama, computer club, newsletter and art. The program
changes periodically to offer students a wider variety. TISA is also developing close links
with the International Women's Club and their fund-raising efforts for charity and students
are encouraged to participate in these events (http://www.tisa.az/the.htm).
Baku Oxford School (BOS)
BOS is another International school that got most recognition in terms of its
achievements, reputation and enrollment rates.
It was founded in 1998 under the patronizing of International Education Centre
“Gunar” Ltd and “Odlar Yurdu University”, recognized by Oxford Language Centre, UK,
and the Ministry of Education of Azerbaijan Republic. The official language of study is
English, however, some subjects are taught In Russian and Azerbaijani; the second foreign
language is French. Enrollment age is 5 years old and in 2002 it reached as many as 400
students. Total number of years of study is 12. Students are able to receive the following
qualifications: Certificate of Oxford Language Centre (according to their level), International
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63
General Certificate of Secondary Education (IB or IGCSE), and Azerbaijan Republic
Certificate of Secondary Education.
Among the subjects provided are some unique ones that are not included in any
other Azerbaijani curriculum such as history of Baku, basics of Latin, world culture, human
rights, oratory skills, drama, photography, and yoga. The school has its own art studio where
the pupils’ works are continually on display. Many of these works have been presented at art
exhibitions in the USA, Japan, Switzerland, and other countries.
The curriculum is somewhat similar to its Russian analogues as BOS has strong ties
with Moscow, so regular supplies of textbooks and equipment from Russia let the school
obtain a leading position in the educational market. Moreover, Baku Oxford School in
cooperation with the Open Learning Centre (the U.K.) offers a 2-year program to students
who want to obtain a British Certificate of Secondary Education in Azerbaijan. This program
is controlled by the British Council in Azerbaijan and is called IGCSE (International General
Certificate of Secondary Education.). The school also offers A-Level courses in different
fields. Supported by the British Council this qualification enables students to enter
universities in the U.K. (http://www.siaz.narod.ru/bos/eng/bos_eng.htm).
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64
APPENDIX B: THE SOUTH CAUCASUS
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Asset Metadata

Creator Zakharova, Yelena (author)

Core Title Educational opportunism as the traditional policy of the South Caucasian international schools

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Master of Science

Degree Program Education

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag education, bilingual and multicultural,education, curriculum and instruction,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Rideout, William M. (committee chair), Shakbagova, Julietta (committee member), Stromquist, Nelly (committee member)

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