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A study of the significant changes in a small urban school district from 1991--2001 as perceived by educators in the city of Pereslavl -Zalessky in the Russian Federation
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A study of the significant changes in a small urban school district from 1991--2001 as perceived by educators in the city of Pereslavl -Zalessky in the Russian Federation
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Content
A STUDY OF THE SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN A SMALL URBAN
SCHOOL DISTRICT FROM 1991 - 2001 AS PERCEIVED BY
EDUCATORS IN THE CITY OF PERESLAVL-ZALESSKY
IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
by
Judith Harris Fritz
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
December 2003
Copyright 2003 Judith Harris Fritz
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UMI Number: 3133270
Copyright 2003 by
Fritz, Judith Harris
All rights reserved.
INFORMATION TO USERS
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®
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U n iversity of S o u th ern C alifo rn ia
Rossier School of E d u catio n
Los Angeles, C a lifo rn ia 90089-0031
T h is dissertation w ritte n by
via 1 - 4 cur C > S 1-n V-z.
under the discretion of h <>- Dissertation Committee,
and approved by all members of the Committee, has
been presented to and accepted by the Faculty of the
Rossier School of Education in partial fulfillm ent of the
requirements for the degree of
D octor of Education
Dissei m it
C hairperson
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Dedication
It is with pride and respect that I dedicate this study to
Alexandr Ivahknenko, Ludmila Melnikova, Maria Mischenko and the
educators in the Pereslavl-Zalessky School District who
participated in this research endeavor. This study would not
have been possible without their willingness to share their
limited resources, to open their classrooms and homes to the
researcher, and to participate in this project over an extended
period of time. They demonstrated their skills as educators;
shared their hopes, fears, accomplishments, and self-doubts as
professionals; and demonstrated their humanity and commitment to
make a better life for children during an unparalleled time in
their lives and in the history of their country.
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Acknowledgements
I wish to acknowledge: Carol Waldorf for her unstinting
encouragement and valued editorial support; Vlada Melnikova for
her sensitivity and insights and for her assistance with the
translation of research instruments and documents; Oleg Melnikov
for his assistance in gathering data on the Russian economy and
the use of his office in Pereslavl; Leon Pategorski for his
assistance with translations and sharing his perspectives as a
Russian emigre; Mayor Vladimir Sherstenov for his help and
willingness to make the researcher feel welcome in the city of
Pereslavl-Zalessky; Vanera Jouranova for her help as an
interpreter in the early stages of the study; Nancy Hoban for her
technical assistance in organizing the research data; and Yvette
del Prado for her unfailing encouragement to pursue my goals.
I am grateful to Dr. Robert Ferris for his longstanding
guidance, expertise in support of this study and wisdom in
assisting me in choosing Dr. Stuart Gothold and Dr. William
Rideout as members of my committee. Their feedback on this study
and encouragement of my future endeavors cannot be quantified.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge Jim Fritz for his
patience, generosity and understanding of my commitment to learn
and my devotion of time and energy to complete this dissertation.
iii
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Table of Contents
Dedication.............................................. ii
Acknowledgements.......................................... iii
List of Tables........................................... viii
Abstract................................................ ix
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE RESEARCH PROBLEM................1
Background of the Problem .............................. 1
Communist Ideology and the Schools...................... 11
Statement of the Problem................................ 14
Purpose of the Study.................................... 19
Importance of the Study................................ 19
Research Questions to Be Answered ...................... 21
Research Questions ..................................... 21
Assumptions............................................ 22
Delimitations .......................................... 23
Limitations............................................ 25
Definition of Terms.................................... 25
Overview of Methodology ................................ 29
CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE........................ 37
Introduction ........................................... 37
Political Leadership and Change at the National Level . . 38
Historical Trends and Key Events in Education in
the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the
Russian Federation ...................................... 51
Soviet Education ................................... 51
The Role of the Communist Party in Soviet
Life and Education.................................... 54
Ideology and Control.................................. 54
Party Membership...................................... 54
Influence of the Communist Party on Education .... 56
Political and Social Change ............................. 57
Education in the Late Soviet Era and the Russian
Federation................................................ 61
Culture Building in a Centralized System ................ 64
Soviet Russia as the Scene of a Culture-building
Culture.................................................... 66
Public Education in the Russian Federation .............. 69
The Role of the Ministry of Education...................... 67
The School as a Builder of Culture........................ 76
Educational Issues and Teacher Education ................ 79
Socio-economic Conditions.................................. 83
The Work Ethic and System of Compensation.................. 88
Communications and Technology.............................. 91
A People and Culture in Transition ...................... 97
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CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ........................ 99
Introduction ............................................ 99
Qualitative Research .................................... 99
The Researcher as Participant Observer............... 103
Key Informants and Participants...................... 105
External Validity.................................... 107
Process for Data Collection.......................... 108
Pilot Study.............................................. Ill
Preparations for the Study................................ 114
Actual Study.............................................. 115
Subjects............................................ 117
Research Design ................................... 119
Data Collection.................................... 123
Data Analysis........................................ 125
CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS...................................... 127
Scope of Research........................................ 127
Research Questions ................................. 128
Identification and Inclusion Research Subjects . . . 129
Subjects in the Case Study 1991-2001 ............... 131
Quantitative Responses to Research Question 1 ........... 133
Summary of Responses to "Ten Principles of Reform"
Surveys Part 2 - 1992, 1993, 1995 and 1996:
Significant Changes in Education in Schools or the
District............................................ 140
Summary of Pereslavl Educators' Assessment
of the Rate of Progress in Achieving Goals of the
Declaration of 1993................................. 142
Changes in School Governance and Individual
Roles in Education................................... 145
Organization of the Demographic Data and Key Events. . . . 146
Qualitative Responses to Research Questions 1
Through 4................................................. 147
Research Question 1 ................................ 147
Research Question 2 ................................ 147
Research Question 3 ................................ 148
Research Question.4 ................................ 148
Case Study Summaries..................................... 148
Case 1 - Perspectives on Changes in Education: The
Pereslavl-Zalessky School District................... 149
Governance....................................... 157
School Year and Week............................. 162
Curriculum....................................... 165
Work Week....................................... 173
Compensation..................................... 173
Statistical Data................................. 174
v
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Reform Initiatives and the Pereslavl-Zalessky
School District ................................ 175
Case 2 - The Superintendent's Perspective on Change:
Ludmila Melnikova .................................. 189
Summary of Melnikova's Responses to the
Research Questions ............................ 219
Question 1 ................................... 219
Question 2 and 3 ............................. 219
Question 4 ................................... 220
Case 3 - Teacher Perspectives on Change: Maria
Mischenko......................................... 221
Summary of Mischenko's Responses to the
Research Questions................................232
Case 4 - Director's Perspective on Change:
Alexandr Ivanovich Ivahknenko .................... 243
Summary of Ivahknenko's Responses to the
Research Questions................................2 62
Analysis of Ivakhnenko's Perspective..............263
Organization of the Interview Findings .................. 264
Summary of the Interview Findings........................264
Existing Conditions ................................ 264
Approach to Analysis................................2 67
Research Findings Questions 1 through 4..................267
Question 1 Findings - Perceived Significant
Changes............................................268
Question 2 Findings - Impact of Changes on the
Role of the Educator................................270
Question 3 Findings - The Factors That Explain Why
Educators View Some of the Perceived Changes As
Positive............................................272
Question 4 Findings - The Factors That Explain Why
Educators View Some of the Perceived Changes As
Negative............................................275
Discussion of the Findings................................ 278
CHAPTER 5 SUMMARY OF THE RESEARCH STUDY................285
Review of Purpose and Design............................285
Research Design..........................................289
Summary of the Findings..................................291
Research Question 1 ................................ 293
Research Question 2 ................................ 296
Research Question.3 ................................ 300
Research Question 4 ................................ 302
Trends Identified Based on the Findings..................306
Conclusions..............................................312
Question 1..........................................312
vi
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Question 2........................................... 313
Question 3........................................... 315
Question 4........................................... 316
Recommendations........................................... 318
Recommendations for Educators ..................... 319
Recommendations for Further Research..................320
Bibliography............................................. 323
Appendix A - Research Tools ............................ 334
Exhibits:
A-l Declaration of Pereslavl-Zalessky Educators . . . 335
A-2 (Form) Educators Assessment on Rate of Progress
In Achieving Goals of the Pereslavl-Zalessky
Educators........................................... 336
A-3 Russian Language Translation of Exhibit A-2 . . . 337
A-4 Questions for Research Study Participants
Form I .......................................... 338
A-5 Questions for Research Study Participants
Form II - Sample Inteview Guide................. 339
A-6 Russian Language Translation of Exhibit A-4
Questions for Research Study Participants
Form I I ............................................. 340
A-7 Russian Language Translation of Exhibit A-5
Questions for Research Study Participants
Form I I ............................................. 341
A-8 Findings from Qualitative Methods 1991-2001 . . . 342
Appendix B - Field Studies............................... 343
Exhibits:
B-l Log of Interviews and Field Visits to
Pereslavl-Zalessky................................... 344
B-2 Sample of Field Notes........................... 348
Appendix C - Reference Information on History and
Chronology of Key Events............................. 349
Exhibits:
C-l Chronology of Major Events in the Emergence of
the Russian Federation: 1982-2001 .............. 350
C-2 Chronology of Major Events and Cultural Trends
Related to Education in the Soviet Union and the
Russian Federation............................... 353
C-3 Definitions of Russian Terms..................... 356
C-4 Price Index for the Cost of Basic Goods ........ 358
v i i
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List of Tables
Table
Table
Table
Table
Table
Table
Table
Table
Table
Table
Table
4.1 - 1992 Rating of Ten Principles of Reform. . . 135
4.2 - 1993 Rating of Ten Principles of Reform. . . 136
4.3 - 1995 Rating of Ten Principles of Reform. . . 137
4.4 - 1996 Rating of Ten Principles of Reform. . . 139
4.5 - Cumulative Summary of Surveys for 1992,
1993, 1995 and 1996........................ 139
4.6 - Summary of Educator Ratings - Pereslavl
Declaration "Program Changes Rated as
Significant" .............................. 143
4.7 - Rates for Birth, Deaths and Infant Mortality
For the Russian Federation................ 150
4.8 - Structure of the Russian System
of Education.............................. 160
4.9 - District Programs....................... 161
1.10 - Levels of Education in the Pereslavl-
Zalessky School District.................. 162
1.11 - Organization of the School Day........... 164
v i i i
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Abstract
This study was designed to describe the innovations and
changes identified as "significant" by educators in a small
urban school district in the Russian Federation from February
1991 through November 2001. The study described the impacts
of short and long term changes following the period of
perestroika on the operation of schools and the effects of
those changes on a group of educators in the Pereslavl-
Zalessky School District, in the Yaroslavl Region.
The research employed a multiple case study design
applied to the district, one superintendent, one director
(principal) and one teacher for a total of four case studies.
The summaries of participant responses to surveys and
questionnaires provided quantifiable data. Qualitative data
derived from observations, review of documents and a series of
teacher and administrator interviews were employed to
determine factors which were perceived to have influenced the
governance of the district, management of schools and the work
of classroom teachers during the study.
Analysis of the data over time revealed patterns of
change in the educators' perceptions of themselves, their
roles and the operations of their schools. The early phase of
the study from 1991-1994 revealed a general attitude of
ix
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optimism as educators embraced their new autonomy in decision
making and content development at the district, school and
classroom level.
The study chronicles the transition of school governance
from the highly centralized system of the Soviet era to the
decentralized system of today. In 1996, the mayor of
Pereslavl assumed complete control of the district and
replaced the superintendent. The educators' attitudes of
optimism were tempered with frustration in the absence of
strong district leadership. By 1998 as new teachers entered
the school system, veteran educators began to express concern
that too much individual autonomy without effective leadership
could lead to chaos.
The participants in the study were consistent in their
expressed commitment to improve teaching and learning and
pride in their work. The educators revealed a generally
positive attitude toward their choice of career despite the
overall decline in their compensation, poor relations between
the district office and the schools and the inferior quality
of school resources.
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION TO THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
Background of the Problem
The aspirations as well as the frustrations of a society
can be reflected in a nation's schools through their
charters, governance, social norms and operational culture.
Schools can also serve to conserve valued customs, teach
norms of behavior, build community, promote ideologies, and
shape a nation (Hall and Hord 208; Heller 148). John Adams
and Thomas Jefferson saw the broader potential for a free and
public education as a means to transform a collection of
colonies into the United States of America.
The expansion of public education through 19th and 20th
century initiatives in countries around the world has been
riddled with disagreement over the extent to which national
governments sought to define and impose a single worldview
through their schools (Glenn 9; Webber 15, 46). Although
education was not an immediate priority in the early years of
the Communist regime (Glenn 1), Nikolai Lenin soon saw
education as tool to forge a new Soviet nation and create a
literate, labor-oriented society in twentieth-century Russia.
Pioneer American educator John Dewey recognized that the
Communists' aims for education focused on the needs of the
1
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party rather than the people's when he said of Soviet Russia,
"Propaganda is education and education is propaganda" (Glenn
19). The Soviet school was an effective means to inculcate
beliefs and develop the behaviors that would best serve the
socialist state. In 1934 Premier Joseph Stalin succinctly
stated his view and thus the Soviet government's policy on
the role of education "as a weapon...whose effect depends on
who holds it in his hands and who is struck with it" (Glenn
20) .
The state mandated educators to teach students to become
"good" Soviet citizens who conform to the precepts of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) (Pearson 37 9).
Marxist-Leninist ideas based on a dialectical materialist
worldview were the core content of the curriculum which
emphasized science and technical-vocational training.
Vospitanie, "upbringing" in Russian, was an integral
component of education in the Soviet schools. Each classroom
presented an opportunity to advance the party agenda and
create a new Soviet citizen. Sigmund Kracsberg in Soviet
Postmortem concurs with other experts in Soviet education
that the Communist Party's influence on education policy and
practice was absolute during the Soviet era. "The Party's
totalitarian power" was "exercised by taking decisions on all
questions of state, social, and cultural life, and putting
2
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those decisions into practice under the supervision of
millions of Party members" (Heller 83). The seven decades of
Soviet central planning, the Communist Party's control on all
aspects of life, and the government's failure to adequately
address the educational, social, and economic problems burden
the people of the fledgling Russian Federation and compound
the challenges of this nation in transition.
Elementary and secondary education in the Russian
Federation continues to be free and public as it was in the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Beginning with
the Bolshevik regime in 1917, Russian education has been
"comprehensive, coeducational and free, and over the years
these principles have been slightly eroded from time to time
but never seriously so" (Dunstan and Suddaby 1). According
to Novosti's USSR Yearbook '91, 57.8 million students
attended Soviet schools in grades one through the university
in the 1989-90 school year. There were 44.6 million students
in general education schools serving students in classes
("forms" or "grades") one through eleven. Periodically
reform initiatives were launched by the central government to
bolster the ability of the Soviet schools to meet the needs
of the state and recommit them to the goal of productive
labor (Dunstan and Suddaby 6; Frankland 108-109). For a
3
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summary of major reforms and changes in Soviet and Russian
education, see Reference C-2 in Appendix C.
In 1958, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev's attempt to
focus the schools on manual skills and create a network of
boarding schools to produce laborers rather than scholars and
professionals contributed to his loss of power (Glenn 25;
Lowenhardt 354). Concern for the quality of education for
the "proletariat" lay behind Yuri Andropuv's attempts to
reform education in 1984 (Frankland 108); the Communist's
support of this reform effort was to protect the Party's
interests rather than to improve the quality of life for the
Soviet people. Historically there were no major reform
movements from the bottom up in this monolithic educational
system.
In 1984 the Soviet Ministry of Education began what was
described as a comprehensive reform initiative to improve the
content and methods of instruction. However, in the words of
Eduard Dneprov, Minister of Education (July 1990-December
1992), this reform effort "legitimized global, disastrous
deception in the schools" because it did not address what he
viewed as the fundamental problems stemming from the CPSU's
domination of the schools (Eklof and Dneprov 49).
On March 11, 1985, Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev was
elected General Secretary of the Politburo of the Communist
4
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Party and set about to improve conditions in the Soviet Union
through a loosely defined reform initiative called
perestroika, the Russian word for "restructuring."
Perestroika coupled with glasnost, "openness," gave people
across the Soviet Union the opportunity to discuss and debate
the remedies for their nation's many economic and social
problems including the quality of education. The search for
solutions prompted questions about the past. What began as an
examination soon escalated into growing demands for reform and
rejection of the Communist Party's control of policy and
practice (Goldman 100, 101, 226; Heyman 436). People across
the Soviet empire began to openly express their views and
demonstrated their disbelief in the government's and Communist
Party's changing versions of history. "The return of history
to personal, intellectual, and political life was the start of
the great reform of the twentieth century and, whether
Gorbachev liked it or not the collapse of the last empire on
earth" (Remnick 4).
On December 25, 1991, Gorbachev the first elected
President of the Soviet Union became its last. The final days
of the Soviet Union also ended the Communist Party's control
of government policy and its domination of the education.
"The key political trend in late 1991 seemed to be the
virtual collapse of Soviet central institutions and the flow
5
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of power to the republics" that helped to propel Boris
Yeltsin to the center of Russian politics (Heyman 449). This
flow of power to the republics included control of
educational policy and governance of the schools. However,
there were no special funds, transition strategies or
meaningful support as responsibility for the schools shifted
from the central government to regional and city governments.
From June 12, 1991,to December 31, 1999, Boris Yeltsin
(1931-) headed the Russian Federation as its first president
elected by popular vote in a free and competitive election.
Yeltsin's efforts to reform the economy and education were
overshadowed by political infighting, double-digit inflation,
unemployment, organized crime, and the collapse of social
services (Nelson and Kuzes 186). The failed coup of October
1993 by conservative and Communist party members demonstrated
how fragile democracy and the rule of law were in the new
Russian nation.
Yeltsin resigned on December 31, 1999 during his
foundering second term and named Vladimir Putin as his
successor. Putin had been Yeltsin's vice-president, an
appointed rather than an elected position. Putin won the
presidency in his own right in the popular election on May 7,
2000. In his first two years in office, Putin guided economic
growth, controlled the rate of inflation, demonstrated
6
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ability to collect taxes and increased the Russians'
confidence in the government (Russian Life January/February
2002, 10). The end of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
and the subsequent flood of social, political and economic
changes in the new Russian Federation profoundly impacted the
system of education and created a monumental shift in the
broader context of this research endeavor.
This study is designed to describe what a group of
educators in a small urban school district in the Russian
Federation perceived as significant changes and the impacts
of these changes from February 1991 to November 2001. The
focus of the investigation is on one group of educators in
one district. This narrow focus should insulate the study to
some degree from national influences because the locus of
control of education has moved from the central government to
the local level. City and regional governments assumed
primary authority over the operation of public schools in
Russia by 1992 (Dnevprov Interview April 22 1992).
Throughout the fifteen republics which comprised the
former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), public
education was an integral part of the vast government
bureaucracy and, until August 1991, was controlled by the
Communist Party through the state. In his influential book
Trudovaya shkola ("The Labor School") published in 1919, P.P.
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Blonsky secured the Marxist-Leninist concept of productive
labor as the cornerstone of social development and the
central purpose of Soviet education (Dunstan 4). For most of
its seventy-year history, the Soviet system of education had
been centrally planned, state controlled, and locally
implemented to conform to the dictates of the Party (Elkof
and Dneprov 4; Kohli 227). John Muckle noted in 1990, "The
most striking change in Soviet attitudes to their education
system as perestroika gets into its stride is the tendency
towards abandonment of central control" (58).
Historically reforms in Soviet education were mandated
from above (Elkof and Dneprov 3; Webber 20, 80). It is
therefore understandable that the system of education, like
other key bulwarks of the old Soviet state, would not only be
of interest but also would be the subject of scrutiny,
question, and outright attack in the first years of the new
Russian Federation (Dunstan 36). The Soviet Ministry of
Education in Moscow under the supervision of the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) made all significant
decisions on policy and practice related to education.
Beginning in 1991, Russian educators from the local to the
national levels sought not only greater control of
pedagogical and instructional decisions but also greater
participation in making decisions related to staffing, school
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governance, and compensation. Up until then, the Party
through the Ministry of Education and its education arms in
regional centers made all policy decisions related to
textbook development, courses of study, wages, funding,
teacher certification, selection of key administrators, and
approval of appropriate instructional materials. While a few
districts and individual schools may have achieved a relative
degree of autonomy during the Soviet era, these rare
occurrences were unique in the centrally-controlled system
(Webber 36). Until 1991, the CPSU maintained the ultimate
authority for school governance. The state through the
Ministry of Education might shape the strategies but it
implemented the CPSU's policies.
Despite the fact that there were 77 0 teacher training
schools and university programs graduating full classes of
teachers annually, the USSR, and now its successor nations,
suffer from "a constant shortage of teachers. Many of the
graduates find jobs in other, more desirable occupations"
(Novosti Information Agency, 1991; Melnikova 1999) . New
employment opportunities and the combined social, economic
and political ills that beset the struggling Russian nation
contribute to a nationwide shortage of teachers and school
administrators. Hyper-inflation, a high crime rate, and a
dysfunctional system for social and medical services are part
9
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of the Russian's daily life and impact the operation of
schools. Further the privatization of property, increased
religious tolerance, access to diverse sources of
information, and increased local autonomy have altered the
direction and quality of Russian education (Sutherland 28).
Neither Russian teachers nor their professional
associations had any significant influence on the course of
change in the schools until the late 1980s. From its
inception, leaders of the Soviet Union promised the people a
better tomorrow that would be achieved through a series of
comprehensive state plans and goals for the economy. These
ideological campaigns were designed to unite and sustain
people as they endured years rife with domestic hardships and
the ravages wrought by the First World War, the revolution,
civil war, and by the Great Patriotic War, as the Second
World War is known in Russia. Paradoxically while the state,
embodied in the collective, was all-important, the norms that
shaped social and political behavior through the years
centered on the glorification of the strong, wise leader.
First Lenin then Stalin, proclaimed as heroes of the state,
wielded absolute power. Stalin effectively used the Party to
as instrument of intimidation and control. The value of the
individual citizen was totally sublimated to the collective
good as defined by the Communist Party through state
10
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policies. History and the meaning of the word "truth" were
changed to meet the needs of the state and the party. It was
a common practice for editors to erase from publications the
names and images of individuals who fell out of favor. The
Party leaders' interpretations of ideology were enforced by
the government agencies and reinforced through state
instruments such as the schools and mass media.
Communist Ideology and the Schools
Shipler cites the following section of an 11th grade
history textbook as a typical example of how school
curricula, policies and practices were used to promote
communism through the educational system:
Socialist patriotism is linked with the selfless devotion
to progressive social construction, the business of
communism, with the feeling of great pride in the Soviet
people, which is building for all humanity a road to a
bright future. More than once, poets and writers have
described how a person, confronted with the face of death,
remembers the motherland, his native house, the weeping
willow or the birch. For the Soviet people, the motherland
embodies not only the sweet picture of nature. We find her
form in recollections of Pioneer meetings and Komsomol
youth; she personifies for us a unique atmosphere of
comradeship, which define the life of the Soviet
collective. The motherland and socialist construction
merge in the consciousness of the Soviet man" (Shipler
108) .
After enduring years of political authoritarianism, a
stagnating economy and personal deprivation, more and more
Russians found the promise of a better tomorrow a meager
commodity to fuel the drive for reform. Gorbachev's primary
11
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goal was to stimulate the Communist Party to reform from
within as a means of strengthening the Soviet State and
Empire. He did not intend to end the iron grip of the Party.
"Perestroika" served as the catalyst, rather than the cause,
for the already weakened Soviet Union and Communist Party to
implode upon themselves (Billington 236; Remnick 223).
Boris Yeltzin's tenure as president of the newly
independent Russian Federation began with optimism and ended
with regrets. The majority of Russian people continue to face
a world full of rapid change and uncertainty and, for many, a
decline in their standard of living (Remnick 216). Despite
the collapse of the command approach to managing the economy
and the apparent recognition of the need for fundamental
reforms, Russia's political leaders and economic experts
cannot agree on either the goals or the methods to effect
change. Boris Yeltsin ruled by presidential decree and
demonstrated disdain for political parties and consensus
building with the legislators.
The scope and depth of the needed reforms, coupled with
the fact that few Russians had first-hand experience in
working in a market-driven economy, created further obstacles
to substantive, timely reforms. While the worldview of many
Russians has changed, the majority of local and national
leaders of the new Russian Federation are still products of
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their education and life experiences in the former Soviet
Union. The Russians' worldview is influenced in varying
degrees by factors that originate in the following basic
theoretical constructs of the Marxist-Leninist ideology
according to the Ministry of Education:
1. Equality as an ideal of Utopian socialists,
2. The "historic mission" of the working class,
3. Class struggle as the driving force of progress,
4. Full employment, and
5. Economic basis of socialism which includes public
ownership of the means of production and cooperative
ownership of property.
These theoretical constructs were actualized through
widespread strategies to achieve a socialist society
characterized by:
1. Public ownership of the means of production. Two legal
forms of ownership: kolkhoz-cooperative ("collective"
under the control of a defined group) and public;
2. Highly centralized government system. State monopoly
over every sphere of the economy and public life;
3. Centralized planning;
4. Communist Party involvement in the management process
resulted in a bureaucratic command approach to
government administration;
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5. Concentration of industries and resources with state
distribution of products;
6. Financing of the "non-productive" sector (health,
education, science, culture, sports etc.) on the basis
of what was left after funding defense;
7. Politically motivated economic aid to third world
countries at the expense of domestic needs; and
8. Control over prices and wages (Ministry of Education
1992).
Leadership is shifting to new generations but those in
positions of authority are still products of the old system.
That these ideological factors continue to influence public
thinking is apparent in the content of newspaper and magazine
articles, television news programs, political debates, and in
ordinary conversations.
Statement of the Problem
The Russian people face extraordinary challenges as
they adjust to changes in their system of government and
transition to a new economy. Additionally social changes are
unfolding before them at an unprecedented rate. The
debilitating decline in the quality of health care and human
services affects the young and the old most severely. Those
over thirty readily recall the benefits and deficits that
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were part of their daily lives prior to the collapse of the
Soviet system. These challenges and the decrepit
infrastructure create a sense of "living within the wreckage
of an old and discredited system" (Heyman 452). Mustering
the will and generating the capacity to initiate reforms
within a school system in the maelstrom of complex local and
national change requires enormous commitment, energy and a
stable environment. The central challenge for the Russian
educators committed to improving teaching and learning
becomes: Can the commitment to improve the quality of
education be sustained?
By design, the Soviet Union's highly centralized
economic system had little connection to the principles of
supply and demand. The concepts of consumerism and the need
to satisfy the customer were foreign to the contemporary
Russian as either a provider or a receiver of goods or
services. Tatiana Zaslavskaya, a noted Russian economist,
drew up a list of the qualities fostered by the Soviet system
that included: poor labor discipline, indifference to the
job, bad workmanship, little understanding of work as a means
of self-realization, greed, and a "low level of morals"
(Frankland 114).
Perestroika inaugurated this time of transformation that
has enabled Russian educators to assume greater autonomy in
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their work and greater responsibility for their working
conditions, work environment and school governance. Twenty
years ago it would have been inconceivable that any Russian
professional, let alone an educator, would be able to make
decisions and assume responsibility for major aspects of his
or her work. How and to what extent Russian educators
ultimately will secure greater control of their profession
and educational practices are yet to be determined and are
not the focus of this study.
The Soviet government operated on the principle of full
employment for all that resulted in relatively flat salary
levels for most occupations regardless of the quality or
quantity of work produced. The Soviet attitude toward work
could be characterized as "very superficial, as though it
were something optional" (Frankland 107) . The socialist
system influenced the educator's work ethic and attitude of
the Russian people toward education. The Soviet system of
compensation gave no special incentive or reward to those who
had attained higher levels of education or advanced degrees.
This disregard for higher learning in determining value for
work was calculated. It was ideology translated into a
message easily understood by the mass of Russian people. For
example, truck drivers were paid more in 1992 than doctors or
teachers. This disparity in pay continues.
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The decline in social services, low wages and high
inflation test the Russian's long-held opposition to making a
profit for services. The combination of funding cuts and
hyperinflation puts state organizations such as schools in a
constant struggle to pay staff regularly. The task of
attracting and retaining new teachers is more difficult today
than it was ten years ago. Educators now earn extra income
to supplement their low wages through diverse means such as
tutoring, manual labor, and working in shops after school and
in the summer.
Parallel to the political and economic restructuring
efforts of 1991-94, city leaders and local educators across
Russia sought greater control over the governance of their
schools. Industries in many of Russia's regions indirectly
aided local reform efforts through their donations to
districts and individual schools. Such partnerships provide
these schools with financial and material resources and, in
some instances, additional rubles for compensating teachers
to supplement subsistence-level government funding.
The Russian people had no prior personal experience upon
which to base a system of teacher compensation, which
addresses the economic laws of supply and demand in a free
market economy. The flat systems of low wages and the
exhausting demands of the job placed upon the typical Russian
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teacher have created a shortage of qualified teachers.
Further, the teaching profession is not immune to the endemic
apathy that pervaded the Russian workforce of 1990. "The
official emphasis on material values, which the system was
actually incapable of gratifying but which it was claiming to
have fully satisfied, contributed to that emptiness and to
widespread cynicism" (Brzezinski 80). The school environment
of 1991 was ripe for change despite the enormous obstacles
within and beyond the domain of education. Russian schools
needed to attract and retain competent and effective teachers
and administrators throughout this period of political and
economic transformation as well as into the future. Educators
as well as other Russian workers have "lost the principle
benefits that they have enjoyed under the existing Soviet
system—namely, security of employment and stable wages
regardless of performance" with no corresponding advantages
(Brzezinski 101).
As the Russian Federation struggles to define itself,
schools could be a critical agent in the development of the
"new" Russian citizen; however without effective leadership
this is not likely. In the absence of the pervasive control
exercised by the Communist Party through the central
government, educators at the local, regional and national
levels are at odds as to the focus and direction for
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education. How this void will be filled is uncertain. The
Russian educational system could serve as a significant agent
of change through relevant educational goals, curriculum
content, instructional strategies and its staffing practices.
Knowledge of what Russian educators perceive to be
significant changes and how they respond to their impacts can
offer insights to the experiences of Russians during a
historical period of transition.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to describe the changes
that educators in a small urban school district in the
Russian Federation perceived to be significant and how these
perceived changes impacted them from February 1991 to
November 2001. This longitudinal research study uses a
multiple case study approach to identify and describe key
factors that affected the process of educational innovation
in a school district during a period of profound political,
social and economic change in Russia. The study focuses on
the perceptions of teachers, administrators and a district
superintendent.
Importance of the Study
The study will add to the body of knowledge regarding
the process for change and implementing innovations in school
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governance and education in a city school district in the
Russian Federation. This study also captures some of the
personal reflections of Russian educators as they encountered
the end of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the authority of
the Communist Party, and change in the role of the Ministry
of Education. Further, if evidence could be found which
would support the effectiveness of an innovation and explain
the major factors for its success, then these findings might
facilitate replication of effective innovations in the
Pereslavl district and in other Russian school districts.
Stephen L. Webber states in School Reform and Society in the
New Russia, "There has been relatively little qualitative
research to date on the experience of change of Russian
teachers" (114). This study will address this void. At
minimum the study will capture the perspectives of educators
living through an epochal time in Russian history.
If evidence indicates that a change or innovation in
this Russian school district had a negative result, then the
findings could help to provide data for alternative
strategies. Finally, this study offers access to the
opinions and perspectives of Russian citizens who are
educators by profession and eyewitnesses by circumstance to
the end of one of the world's most ambitious social and
political experiments. This study may yield descriptive
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information on how educators perceived the significant
changes in their school district during a unique period of
Russian history.
Research Questions to Be Answered
At its inception this study focused on reforms initiated
in the Pereslavl-Zalessky School District in the Yaroslavl
Region of the Russian Federation of the Soviet Union. In
1990, the school district initiated a change in the method of
compensating teachers. At that time, this reform was
singularly significant since the new compensation system was
tied to an assessment of individual teacher performance.
During this study, local and national events unleashed an
unprecedented series of changes that profoundly transformed
the governance of Russian schools, the course of reform, and
classroom practice (Webber 52). Therefore, events within and
beyond the schools generated new questions and increased the
number and rate of changes within the scope of this study.
Research Questions
1. What changes in the system of education from February
1991 through November 2001 did educators in the
Pereslavl-Zalessky School District of the Russian
Federation perceive as significant?
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2. How did the perceived significant changes in the
system of education impact the roles and
responsibilities of educators in the Pereslavl-Zalessky
School District of the Russian Federation?
3. What factors explain why educators view some of the
perceived significant changes in the Pereslavl-Zalessky
School District from February 1991 through November 2001
as positive?
4. What factors explain why educators view some of the
perceived significant changes in the Pereslavl-Zalessky
School District from February 1991 through November 2001
as negative?
Assumptions
The conceptual assumptions implicit in the investigation
and inherent in the formulation of the research design,
individual cases, analysis of data, and interpretation of
findings were:
1. There were Russian educators who would agree to
participate in this study.
2. Informants and respondents would provide more
information and more accurate information in the
language of their choice (Russian or English).
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3. The translations of the written and spoken word are
accurate.
4. The Russian informants and respondents were able to
speak candidly and openly without fear of negative
consequences. Candor, especially with foreigners, and
freedom from negative consequences for criticism of the
state or Party were considered the exception rather than
the norm for most Soviet citizens at the start of this
study.
5. The researcher accurately recorded nonverbal clues
relevant to respondents' comments and perceptions in the
context of the study.
6. The research design was appropriate to the purpose
of the study.
7. Multiple visits to the site by the researcher over
time would strengthen data collection and analyses
pertinent to the focus of the study.
Delimitations
The study was conducted within the following parameters:
1. The object of the study was the process and
identification of perceived changes in one school
district in Russia.
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2. The period of perceived reform in the school
district was documented from January 1991 through
November 2001.
3. The respondents were delimited to the educators who
volunteered to participate in the study.
4. The focus of the study would be sensitive to the
broader context of change in the Russian nation only to
the extent that the respondents indicated an impact.
5. This study is not designed to:
a. assess the effects of the perceived changes on
students, parents or the community;
b. compare or generalize the perceived changes in the
Pereslavl-Zalessky School District with other school
districts;
c. compare teachers or administrators from within or
between one school and another;
d. investigate another school district, the national
system of education or the system of government;
e. compare the governance and practices of the Russian
system of public education with that of another country;
or
f. generalize the findings to other Russian school
districts.
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Limitations
The following were recognized limitations of the study:
1. The district studied was not randomly selected.
2. The informants and respondents participated on a
voluntary basis and may not be representative of the
typical Russian educator.
3. There are differences between the historical,
cultural, political, linguistic and social backgrounds
of the respondents and the research investigator that
may have limited mutual understanding.
4. Respondents may have responded favorably to
questions regarding innovation because the research
investigator has worked with the district on a volunteer
basis since January of 1990 and had been acquainted with
principal and key informants since 1989.
5. Informants or respondents may have had insufficient
knowledge to accurately respond to interview or survey
questions.
6. Generalizations of conclusions about perceived
changes are limited to the population sampled and to
factors addressed in the study.
Definition of Terms
The research investigator guided the study and data and data
gathering with the informants through an agreed
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understanding of the following terms:
Change - the act, process or result of altering or modifying
Class - Russian term for level of student placement in school
and sometimes referred to as "form" in British translations;
it is comparable to the term grade, as in grade level.
Compensation - wages and benefits provided for products or
services
Culture (characteristics of)- 1) it is learned, not innate;
2) the various facets of culture are interrelated and act
upon one another; "it is shared and in effect defines the
boundaries of different groups. It is man's medium" (Hall
16) .
Curriculum - the content and methods for a course of study
Declaration of Pereslavl Educators - a list of principles
drafted and adopted by the district administration in
consultation with teachers and directors based on the
objectives for improving education listed in the Ministry of
Education's 1992 proposal for reform
Deideologization - ending state control of educational
philosophy; no one ideology, such as Marxist-Leninism, is
promoted exclusively
Democratization - give parents greater voice in children's
education
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Differentiation - end state control of schools; allow
alternative or non-state schools
Director: the chief administrator for a school who also
teaches up to 12 hours of lessons each week
Gymnasium (qymnasiya) - school program for academically
advanced students drawing from the traditions of pre-Soviet
education. Courses are based on an accelerated curriculum in
math, science, foreign language and Russian language and
literature
Humanization - greater attention on the individual learning
needs and differences; improving teacher-pupil relations. It
is one of the goals of the Ministry of Education Law on Reform
1992.
Humanitarization - greater emphasis on the humanities
subjects in the curriculum
Informant - individual who provided information through
interviews, discussions, correspondence, questionnaires, or
surveys
Innovation - the act of introducing something new to improve
a process or function
Key Informant - individual who served as an informant for the
length of the study
Lyceum (litsei) - special program based on a pre-Soviet
course of studies for upper class students focused on the
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humanities. The content may now include diverse subjects
such as computers, economics and communications. The lyceum
may be a program within a general secondary school or an
after school program.
OBLUNO (Oblastnoe upravlenie narodnogo obrazovaniya) -
regional education authority between the central and local or
city governments
Reform - to improve by alteration, correction of error, or
removal of defects; to put into a better form or condition
Region (raion) - Russia is divided into 89 administrative
regions
Salary schedule - system of paying for services based on a
graduated scale where individuals are ranked by length of
service, years of education, special training and earned
degrees and placed on steps with increasing levels of
compensation
Stavka - salary level on a schedule; also the number of
teaching or contact hours
Value - a concentration in action or artifact of human
significance and preciousness; a name given to those
concentrations of meaning in an action or a state of affairs
which fix them as good or important (Inglis 5, 11).
See Reference C-4 in Appendix C for "Definitions of Russian
Terms" used by informants in the study; the terms are in the
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form of transliterations of Russian words.
Overview of Methodology
The following steps were included in organizing and
completing the research for this study:
1. The researcher initiated the study process in July of
1990 with a request to the superintendent of the
Pereslavl-Zalessky School District to participate in the
research project and assist in the collection of data.
2. The superintendent approved the request and agreed to
provide the researcher with access to the schools and
district staff.
3. The researcher consulted with the superintendent and
district staff on possible strategies for securing
participants, gathering data and making translations.
The research design was based upon a multiple case study
approach. The sources for collecting data included one
superintendent, one teacher and one director as key
informants and selected district teachers and administrators
as respondents. Key informants were selected from a larger
group of district teachers and administrators based upon the
following criteria:
1. Minimum of seven years experience as an educator,
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2. Recommendation by at least two colleagues who named
the individual as an example of a successful,
knowledgeable teacher or administrator, and
3. Agreement of the informants to commit to participate
in a study of at least one and one half years.
In October 1990, the researcher met with the district
superintendent and reviewed the proposed research design, a
sample set of interview questions, categories of informants
and respondents, methods for data gathering, and a tentative
timeline. For the next four months, the researcher conducted
a preliminary investigation to develop background information
on the school district. This initial research focused on the
district organization and school governance in the Soviet
Union. This preliminary investigation was updated during the
study based on major changes in education in the newly formed
Russian Federation. All phases of investigation included
informal interviews with administrators and teachers, home
visits, school and classroom observations, observations and
participation by the author of the study in administrative
training sessions, planning meetings, and district and
school-level events such as graduation ceremonies and student
performances.
In February 1991, the researcher conducted a pilot test
with educators who were not intended to participate as key
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informants in the formal research study. The pilot test was
guided by a protocol that included a questionnaire for the
district administrators and two interviews each for a
director, an assistant director and two teachers. There were
items on both the interview guides and the questionnaires
that were common to teachers and administrators as well as
job-specific questions. From February through July 1991,
interview guides and survey questions were developed for
teachers and administrators. Simultaneously, the researcher
continued the review of relevant literature.
The research design, the content and format of the
surveys, and the interview guides were modified based on
feedback from the pilot study and experience gained by the
researcher. Based on the pilot study, the researcher
identified, contacted and secured the agreement of the key
informants to participate in the study. Due to the fact that
the researcher did not speak Russian fluently and the
majority of participants did not speak English, the study
design required the use of fluent speakers of both Russian
and English to serve as interpreters and translators. Two
teachers and an administrator were selected and agreed to
serve as interpreters for the study components conducted in
the district. The researcher located two individuals who
were qualified and able to serve as translators for recorded
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and printed data for the preparation and follow-up work done
in the United States. The two groups of translators reviewed
each other's work and verified the accuracy of the
translations.
Surveys were developed in both Russian and English. See
Appendix A for English and Russian language versions of the
forms used in the study. The researcher conducted interviews
in the preferred language of each participant. Interviews were
recorded through one or more of the following devices: written
notes, videotapes or audiotapes. All translations and
recorded interviews were cross-checked with native Russian
speakers who were fluent in English. The researcher used
various approaches to interviewing during the course of the
study. A formal protocol was used for the first component of
the initial interview. The concluding component of the
initial interview was designed to clarify and probe more
deeply into the responses elicited through the protocol
questions.
Subsequent interviews were based on an interview guide
format which provided respondents the opportunity to
communicate their own perceptions and focus on their own
areas of interest to a greater extent than the formal
protocol would have allowed. The interview guides provided a
framework which assured that relevant areas were addressed in
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each series of interviews and permitted the respondents the
freedom to express their views and explore related topics
according to their interests. The interview guide format
offered the respondent and the researcher the opportunities
to probe an area more deeply, to pursue emerging areas of
interest, and to maintain focus on the research questions
(Patton 283, 333).
Six informants each agreed to keep a journal from
January through April of 1992 in which they would record
their major activities, concerns and perceptions of the
changes in their school. The journal format offered a loose
structure for the participants to record their perceptions on
matters related to their work and the opportunity to include
comments related to other aspects of their lives during this
period of time.
The content of the participants' journals and the choice
of topics for their entries provided another source of data
for the study. During subsequent months of the study,
respondents used notes, professional logs and personal
journal entries to help refresh their memories. From July
1992-June 1993, the researcher met three times with each of
the six participants who kept journals to review their
entries and discuss their comments in more depth.
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Key informants met with the researcher for a minimum of
two interviews for each site visit to focus on the research
questions. The respondents to surveys and the participants
in small group sessions were provided the opportunity for
followup on discussions or interviews with the researcher at
their discretion.
From February 1991 to November 2001, data were collected
through interviews, observations, informal conversations and
a review of primary source documents and journals. The
researcher made 35 site visits from February 1991 through
November 2001. The researcher returned to the site in
January and April 2002 to verify the accuracy of the data and
review preliminary findings with the key informants.
The research design included provisions for
triangulation in the methods used for data collection and the
accuracy of the translations. Triangulation over time and
across subjects was addressed during the on-site visits of no
less than eight days and up to twenty-one days in length.
These on-site visits were conducted on an average of every
four months. The researcher met with the three key
informants when they each visited the United States during
the course of the study. See Exhibit B-l for summary of
interviews and visits to the field.
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The data collected through the interviews, informal
conversations, surveys and site observations were
supplemented with a review of records, documents and
artifacts from the Ministry of Education, Yaroslavl Region,
and Pereslavl-Zalessky district and schools. Data for each
of the research questions were obtained through a combination
of one or more of the various data collection methods.
Data were organized into case records based upon brief,
holistic case study summaries for the district and each key
informant. After working with the case records in the early
stages of the study, the researcher decided to organize the
study through a multiple case study approach. According to
Robert K. Yin, the multiple case study approach is often used
in the "study of school innovations" in which "innovations
occur at different sites" (52). The difference between the
single- and multiple-case study is the choice in design
research because both are included in the "case study
strategy" (Yin 52).
Reduction of the data was managed through regular
reviews and updates of the summaries. The researcher
reviewed the interview and discussion summaries with the
participants at least once every six months and the formative
case study summaries three times each year with the key
informants during the study. The researcher reviewed and
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rewrote the case studies and the preliminary findings with
the assistance of the key informants during each site visit
from January 2000 through April 2002. (See Exhibit B-l for
the Log of Interviews and Field Visits in Appendix B.) This
process of review and revision allowed the researcher to
identify emerging patterns and themes that could then be
labeled as categories.
Based on inductive analysis, the researcher looked for
patterns that cut across cases and probed for variations
between and among cases. The researcher sought evidence to
support rival and/or conflicting explanations or themes
throughout the process of analysis. This is an extended
study of an evolving process of change rather than the
analysis of an event. Conclusions and recommendations were
reached after consideration of the relevant data and included
steps to assure a match between the findings and the data.
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CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Introduction
The modern history of the Russian Federation, formerly
the Russian Soviet Socialist Federated Republic, is closely
tied to the history of the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics (USSR) from 1917 to its end. The Soviet Union
officially ended on December 26, 1991, the day after the
resignation of President Mikhail Gorbachev.
It may be argued that the origins of the end of the
Soviet Union may have begun as early as the time of its
inception. However, for the purpose of this study, the
researcher has focused on the major historical events since
1964. The ability to describe and understand a complex system
assumes an overall understanding of what is observed within a
person's social environment and political context (Patton 49).
The period of 1964 to the present represents the adult years
in the lives of the Russian educators who participated in this
study. The events of these years provide an historical
backdrop for this study and have influenced the culture and
thinking of the study's key participants whose lives have
changed dramatically since 1991. In the words of Vladimir
Putin, "He who has no regrets about the disintegration of the
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Soviet Union has no heart. He who wants to recreate the
Soviet Union has no brain" (Russian Life 2001 62) . For
information related to the broader context of this study, see
Exhibit C-l: Chronology of Major Events in the Emergence of
the Russian Federation: 1982 - 2001 and Exhibit C-3:
Demographic Information for the Russian Federation -
Rossiyskaya Federatsiya in Appendix C for an overview of key
events and trends in Soviet and Russian history.
Political Leadership and Change at the National Level
The authoritarian nature of the Soviet Union created an
environment where local and national events were dominated by
the head of the party and empire. Centralized control and
authoritarianism are dominant themes in Russian history
(Jones 117) . Moscow was the center of Soviet power and is
the capital of the new Russian Federation. According to
figures quoted by Novosti ("News"), a major Russian
television program, 80 percent of the Soviet national wealth
was centered in Moscow. The percentage is higher for the
Russian Federation; thus Moscow is the de facto center of the
Russian economy and as Moscow goes, so goes the nation. The
city of Pereslavl-Zalessky, the site of this research study,
is located 150 kilometers north of Moscow in the Yaroslavl
Region.
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Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev (1955 - 1964) had
alienated himself from the other leaders of the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) through both his methods and
the focus of his reforms (McDaniel 135). Khrushchev's
attempts to emphasize technological education for all
students were particularly unpopular with the majority of
Russians and the leaders of the CPSU (Webber 21; Lowenhardt
354). The Soviet education system had produced a literate
nation with a majority of parents who wanted their children
to find work that was more prestigious than that of laborer.
Khrushchev's miscalculation of the people's reaction to his
"reforms for education" and his failure to assess the resolve
of his political adversaries brought his rule to an end.
Leonid Brezhnev (1964 - 1982), as first Secretary of the
CPSU, emerged as first among the highest ranking members of
the CPSU who deposed Khrushchev in 1964. It is notable that
this was a peaceful transfer of power achieved through a vote
of the Party leaders. Brezhnev solidified his power base
when he assumed the position of Party General Secretary in
1966. In 1977, he became the first person to head both the
CPSU and serve as chief of state when he took the position of
Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet.
Brezhnev's policies, poor leadership, and scandal-ridden
government set the Soviet Union on a slow course of self-
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destruction (Brzezinski 40-41; Frankland 18; Kaiser 50;
Remnick 186-188). Despite initial improvements in the
standard of living, especially in the countryside, and an
appearance of local and national stability, Brezhnev's
stewardship of the Soviet Empire was marked by:
• stagnating economy and eroding industrial base
(Bialer 5; Shalin 82);
squandering human and material resources on foreign
aid, military buildup and massive, ultimately
unproductive industrial projects (Bialer 13;
Blacker 139 and 166; Kon 199; Remnick 317-319);
• plundering of the environment (Lapidus 241; Yergin
and Gustafson 14);
• suppressing political dissidents (Lapidus 192;
Shalin 82); and
• implementing ill-fated foreign and domestic policy
decisions capped by the doomed invasion of
Afghanistan (Kortunov 170 and 181; Halloway and
McFaul 195).
According to Tim McDaniel in his book The Russian Idea,
the private use of public resources based on one's political
position contributed to stability but eroded the moral
foundations of the Soviet system during Brezhnev's tenure.
"Instead, the formally illegal but almost universally
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permitted appropriation of public goods had led to black
markets, corruption, and bribery" (McDaniel 142). In the
latter part of Brezhnev's tenure, the decline in Soviet
domestic and foreign affairs accelerated as his health failed
(Bialer 18). In the years preceding his death on November
10, 1982, television coverage of Breshnev showed that he was
physically frail and barely able to function despite the
attempts of his aides to have him seen as vigorous and in
command of all aspects of Soviet life. This sham was
repeated in Boris Yeltsin's final years, but he allowed the
news media to cover his missteps as well as his successes.
From the 1950s through the 1970s the standard of living
in the Soviet Union had improved and popular attitudes
gradually became more optimistic; by the early 1980s, the
standard of living was the lowest among major industrial
nations (Heyman 420). In the words of William W. Brickman
and John T. Zepper, "In the midst of the changes in
leadership, the educational system went along with the
momentum generated by the Twenty-Sixth Communist Party
Congress of 1981" (50). From 1982 to 1985, conditions in the
Soviet Union declined further under the leadership of Yuri
Andrupov (1982-84) and Constantine Chernenko (1984-1985).
Despite Andrupov's reform efforts in the economy, education,
and limiting consumption of alcohol, his advanced age and
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failing health rendered him incapable of making significant
changes (Remnick 62). However, he did serve as a catalyst to
enable future changes. He mentored Mikhail Gorbachev and
actively promoted his career (Kaiser 52; Remnick 62).
One of Andrupov's final acts was to approve the
publication of the "draft of the reform of general and
vocational education" in January 1984 that sparked
"controlled debate in the media " (Frankland 100). Chernenko
headed the special commission that produced the draft on
education reform; he named Gorbachev as his successor to
chair the commission when he succeeded Andrupov as General
Secretary of the CPSU.
Chernenko and his cohorts in the CPSU had solidly
resisted Andrupov's attempted reforms in the economy.
Following Andrupov's death on February 9 1984, Chernenko's
ascension to the pinnacle of Soviet power underscored the
Party's determination to maintain control of all aspects of
Soviet life. Chernenko's brief presidency was marked not so
much by what he accomplished but rather by the rise of
Mikhail Gorbachev, the youngest member of the Politburo, as a
high ranking Party leader who advocated reform (Remnick 192).
Chernenko ruled for thirteen months during which he spent
most of the time in the hospital with Gorbachev serving as a
go-between for him and the other members of the Politburo
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(Roxburg 5). By the mid-1980s, the Soviet "system was
regarded by increasing numbers of people with cynicism,
contempt, and ridicule—not expressed publicly, to be sure,
but 'in the kitchen, ' where Russians could safely discuss the
important things of life" (Yergin and Gustafson 23).
Chernenko's death and Gorbachev's preeminence was the
beginning of the end of the Party's absolute dominance of the
Soviet Union.
On March 11, 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev (1985 - 1991) at
age fifty-four became Party General Secretary. He unknowingly
set in motion a chain of events that would change the course
of history for the Soviet Union and the world. David Remnick
cites Gorbachev's policies, the decades of failed central
planning and dominance by a repressive CPSU as the factors
that brought the end to the Soviet Union and its empire of
Eastern Bloc nations (371). According to McDaniel, "By the
time Gorbachev came to power in 1985, it was not clear that
anything vital remained in Soviet Communism, any institutions
or forces that could help renew the country" (148) . Drawing
on Lenin's use of the term perestroika ("restructuring"
rather than reform), Gorbachev set about to refocus and
revitalize the CPSU rather than to change the Soviet Union.
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Gorbachev's policies of openness (qlasnost) and
restructuring (perestroika) ushered in a turbulent period of
reform initiatives aimed at:
improving the economy,
redefining the role of Moscow in central planning,
• increasing agricultural and industrial productivity,
eliminating corruption in government,
• introducing elements of democracy and enhancing the
role of working people in government, and
transforming the CPSU to serve a more constructive
role in Soviet society (Kaiser 77-78).
When the first Communist Party Conference since 1941 met
in the summer of 1988, Gorbachev was criticized openly for
his policies. He then limited the Party's role in managing
the economy, secured his election as president by the Supreme
Soviet, and transferred his base of authority for running the
Soviet Union from his position as party leader to the
position of president of the country (Yergin and Gustafson
28). In March of 1989, Gorbachev created a new legislative
system with the establishment of the 2,250 member Congress of
People's Deputies. Although the CPSU was still the only
legal party, multiple candidates stood for seats in the
Congress. This reform augured the beginning of competitive
elections across the Soviet Union. Under the new system, the
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Congress selected the 542 deputies of the Supreme Soviet.
Though he had assumed the position of president in October of
1988, Gorbachev formally instituted the presidency in 1989.
The seat of power now rested with the government and
Gorbachev rather than with the CPSU (Kaiser 355).
When Gorbachev weakened the CPSU and the central
authority of Soviet Union, he created a void that would be
filled with nationalism within the fifteen republics.
According to Bill Keller, a New York Times correspondent
reporting from Moscow on July 11, 1989: "The Soviet
Communist Party is troubled by dwindling recruitment and a
steep decline in prestige, according to an unusually candid
collection of articles and letters published today in
Moscow's main party newspaper." Due to a 20 percent drop in
recruitment in 1988 the total party membership leveled out at
19.5 million members (137). Party membership was now in
decline. With the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 8,
1989, the people of the Soviet republics and the Eastern Bloc
nations accelerated the drive for independence (Hingley 214).
Russian President Boris Yeltsin with heads of the other
Soviet Republics stepped into the void left by the impotent
Soviet and CPSU to demand greater autonomy.
Despite the fact that Gorbachev's actions brought him the
admiration of people throughout the world and the award of a
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Nobel Peace Prize, his status with the Soviet people was in
decline. His administration was plagued with corruption as
well as political infighting between and among the reformers
and conservatives (Goldman 17; Kaiser 357 and 368; Remnick
108). "Gorbachev's stake on the socialist consensus, which
would unite the working people around his program, concealed
a painful truth: in fact, his reforms had no fixed social
base" (McDaniel 157). His popularity with the Russian people
can be measured by the fact that he received less than 1
percent of the vote in the June 16, 1996, election for
president of the Russian Federation. In addition to
introducing the policies of glasnost and perestroika,
Gorbachev:
• withdrew Soviet forces from Afghanistan in 1988
• introduced democratization (Yergin and Gustafson 33)
• negotiated with the United States to control nuclear
arms proliferation, and
• presided over the breakup of the Soviet empire as one
Eastern Bloc nation after another declared its
independence.
The failed coup led by government and military
conservatives in August 18 - 21, 1991 was sparked by a desire
to block the signing of the All-Union Treaty which would
raise the status of the individual Soviet Republics.
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Although Gorbachev survived the coup, his days as the head of
the Soviet Union and the Soviet Empire were numbered. On
August 24, 1991, he resigned as General Secretary of the
CPSU, disbanded its leadership and seized Party property,
thus accelerating its demise as the sole political and
ideological voice of the state. In the wake of the failed
coup, Latvia and Estonia declared their independence, as
Lithuania had done in 1990. The other republics soon declared
their independence. On December 25, 1991, millions of
Soviets watched Gorbachev's televised resignation. The Union
of Soviet Socialist Republics and its seventy-four year
experiment in socialism officially ended on December 31,
1991.
The Russian Federation became the largest of the newly
independent nations. As the first popularly-elected president
of the Russian Federation (June 12, 1991), Boris Yeltsin
emerged from the August clash between the conservative and
reform elements as the most able leader in the quest for
democratization. Through his bold actions and ability to
connect with the Russian people during the August coup,
Yeltsin was able to eclipse Gorbachev as the dominant face
and voice in the new Russian politics. Yeltsin and the
Russian people soon learned that the real work of state
building had just begun. The severe institutional voids of
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the post-Soviet era included: (1) the amorphousness of the
policy-setting machinery of government, (2) the
ineffectiveness of administrative structures, (3) conflict
over the boundaries of governmental units, (4) the
ineffectiveness of the Ministry of Education to effect and
sustain systemic reform, (5) the inadequacy of organizational
linkages between state and local governments, and (6)
principles of action or legitimacy (Colton and Legvold 51;
Lewin 249; McDaniel 173) .
Boris Yeltsin and the Russian people faced an uncertain
future made worse by runaway inflation, shortages of consumer
goods, political instability and opposition from conservative
and reactionary forces seeking to restore the command system
and regain status as a world power.
In the absence of improved living conditions, Yeltsin's
policies designed to accelerate transition from a command to
a demand economy within the vacuum created by the end of the
highly centralized government fostered unrest and uncertainty
(Colton and Legvold 51). In October of 1993 as economic and
political conditions deteriorated, the conflict between
Yeltsin and members of the representative parliament (elected
under the constitution of the former Soviet Union) erupted in
another aborted coup led by Vice President Alexander Rutskoi
and Ruslan Khasbulatov, Chairman of the Parliament. When the
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military failed to support the coup and refused to oppose the
president, Yeltsin put down the revolt, retained control of
the government and called for an immediate general election
for a new parliament and constitution. Yeltsin, with only a
"vague political mandate," determined that the "political
system must be based on dictatorial executive power"
(McDaniel 176) exercised through presidential edicts.
On December 12, 1993, the Russian people went to the
polls to vote for a new constitution and elect
representatives to the legislature from candidates from an
array of political parties. Candidates from the conservative
and reactionary parties made an unexpectedly strong showing
in the general election. This signaled deep and widespread
dissatisfaction with the Yeltsin government that had failed
to restore social services, suppress crime, stabilize the
economy or improve living conditions for the majority of
Russians (Lowenhardt 169; Krancberg 161; Nelson and Kuzes
173). Although more goods were available, few people could
afford to buy them due to low wages and pensions. Consumer
prices soared, fueled by double-digit increases in the
monthly rate of inflation (Nelson and Kuzes 95). Political
analysts postulated that the voters were expressing nostalgia
for the past and a desire for a higher standard of living.
By 1994, the Yeltsin government managed to bring the rate of
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inflation down to 5 percent each month and, at the same time,
lower the standard of living (Nelson and Kuzes 118).
According to Timothy J. Colton and Robert Legvold,
perestroika and the tumultuous events of 1989-92 have had
both positive and negative consequences (184). They cite
"competitive elections, legislatures with a mind of their
own, and an end to the Communists' dominance" as positive
outcomes and "legislative-executive infighting, fractious
parliamentary parties with shallow roots in society, and
dubious legality to vanquish the Communist party" as negative
outcomes (184) . In January 1991, the newly independent
Russian Federation was tottering on the brink of collapse
while leaders from Yeltsin to the city mayors groped for
solutions to the myriad of social, political and economic
problems. In the Yeltsin years, the marginalized local
political leaders "proceeded to connect themselves to the new
economic elite and to pillage the country in unprecedented
ways. Scandal after scandal rocked cities and regions, as
the old party nomenklatura divided up the spoils" (McDaniel
176). In the face of this rapidly changing environment,
Russia's educators were set adrift as authority and decision
making for the schools shifted unceremoniously from the
central government to the local governments.
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Historical Trends and Key Events in Education in the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics and the Russian Federation
Soviet Education
The Russian Revolution of 1917 eliminated the social
and economic barriers that had confined education to a
privileged few. The new Soviet state rejected the approach
to education of the Tsarist era and made education free,
compulsory and secular. The "old educational system made it
impossible to introduce mass education to meet the country's
growing needs in specialists and skilled workers" (Pahomov,
178). Education was an important part of the Bolshevik
strategy to build a new state grounded in the Marxist-
Leninist ideology. Stanislav Shatsky (1878-1934), Pavel
Blonsky, Anatoly Lunacharsky (1875-1933), and Lenin's wife,
Nadezhda Krupskaya (1869-1939), led the effort to build a new
system of education. These "chief architects" of Soviet
education drew on the works of leading innovators such as
John Dewey, Leo Tolstoy, Friedrich Froebel and Maria
Montessori (Pearson 37 6-37 9). During the decade following
the 1917 Revolution, education was a laboratory of
experimentation where its core ideology was developed and
traditional approaches to teaching were rejected. Love of
labor, loyalty to state and to the Communist Party, respect
for authority, preeminence of the group, and patriotism were
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the major themes of education throughout most of the Soviet
era.
Lenin promoted the central role of education in his
drive to make communism the primary social and political
force of the state. He described the kindergartens
established after the Revolution as "nurseries for the shoots
of communism" (Pearson 94). The inculcation of communist
values was still a primary goal for Soviet schools in the
late 1980s. "The moral climate has been carefully regulated
so that respect for authority in general, and for the
Communist Party in particular, could grow along with
patriotism and the collective spirit" (Pearson 94).
"According to Lenin and his colleagues, the personal
worth of citizens in the new Soviet state would be determined
by their participation in 'social production' and by the
contribution their labor made to the well-being of Soviet
society. If work was to be considered the central activity
of human life, then it would also have to become the central
focus of education" (Pearson 371). The 1920s was the decade
of the New Economic Policy (NEP) that tempered communist
ideals with pragmatism and an openness to reform that
encompassed education. Innovative methods were tried
including grading academic achievement based on group or
collective evaluations. Educational theorists such as
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Shatsky, Blonsky, Lunacharsky, and Krupskaya were given the
opportunity to put their ideas into practice during the
formative years of the Soviet Union. In many respects, early
"soviet education was among the most experimental and
'progressive' in the world" (Jones 214). In 1930 compulsory
general primary education was introduced throughout the
Soviet Union as more conventional approaches to classroom
organization, student discipline and school management were
reintroduced. Literacy reached a new high of eighty-one
percent by 1939 but Joseph Stalin's purges of university
faculties devastated higher education for years (Heyman 344).
By 1958 education from the 1st through the 8th class was
compulsory; by the 1970s education was compulsory through the
10th class in the city school districts. In the mid-1970s,
some regions added an 11th class but this was by choice and
not mandated from the center. By 1987, 117 million people,
or 90 percent of the employed population, had at least a
secondary education (Pahomov 178) . The Soviet system of
education had transformed a largely illiterate nation to one
of the best educated. From the mid-1960s to the early 1980s,
the school system was subject to "constant tinkering" from
the center, and at the same time there was a widening gap
between the needs of the economy and the type of education
provided at the secondary level (Jones 215; Webber 80).
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The Role of the Communist Party in Soviet Life and Education:
Ideology and Control
Communism based on a Marxist-Leninist doctrine and the
policies of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU)
were the dominant ideological forces in the Soviet Union from
1917 through 1991 (Heyman 289; Lewin 161). Stalin's
consolidation of power as an absolute ruler from 1933 through
his death in 1953 (Lewin 89), marked an interruption but not
an end to the CPSU's authority. The CPSU of the Soviet Union,
the only legal political party, directed all functions of
government, set economic and social policy, and supervised
the most mundane aspects of daily life (Roxburgh 63-64;
Webber 20). It controlled the nominees to its own top-level
positions through the system of nomenklatura.
Party Membership
Relatively few Soviet citizens were officially
communists. Nineteen million people, or seven percent of the
Soviet population, were CPSU members by 1986 (Frankland 187).
Party membership was strictly limited and periodic purges
suppressed its growth. No more than 30 percent of the Party
members were women, and, by 1983, "three-quarters of the
party had full secondary schooling and almost a third some
kind of university degree" (Frankland 178) . Typically, new
members were recruited from the Komsomol (Communist Youth
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League [CYL]) which was the Party's organization for
adolescents and young adults established in 1918. Membership
in the CPSU could speed career advancement in most fields.
Those without a party membership had limited career
opportunities in government, academic administration, the
military, and numerous other fields (Rywkin 43). Over 200,000
people were full-time paid employees of the Party, called
apparatchiks, who enjoyed special status and privilege for
their service to the Party.
The primary or smallest unit of the Party is the cell
(yicheyka), typically established in military units,
factories, villages, and educational institutions. Three
members were the minimum for a cell, but many were composed
of thousands. The Party held no official status in the
government. However it controlled the lives of the Soviet
citizen through its extensive powers which included the
exclusive right to nominate candidates for political
positions and to make all government appointments at the
national and local levels. Lenin declared "democratic
centralism" as the core principle of the Party indicating
that the proletariat could not influence policy but rather
must be led. Until March 1989, the Politburo, the Party's
executive committee, was equal in importance to the Soviet
government because the same man headed both. The power base
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of the CPSU steadily eroded during the 1980s. Gradually the
CPSU's total domination of the economy was viewed as an
obstacle to improving the economy (Tucker 135). "When
history was no longer an instrument of the Party, the Party
was doomed to failure" (Remnick 7). Finally its absolute
authority ended in 1991 following the aborted August 19-21
coup against Mikhail Gorbachev by conservatives in the
government and military. In early 1992, "the Constitutional
Court of Russia ruled that Communists were free to meet on a
local level but the Communist Party, as a national entity,
was illegal" (Remnick 530).
Influence of the Communist Party on Education
The influence of the CPSU dominated the Soviet
government at all levels and permeated the daily life of the
Soviet citizens. By 1990 not more than 20 percent of the
people polled indicated faith in the Party and "millions of
people were quitting the Communist Party" (Remnick 377). The
CPSU used public education as the chief instrument of
national indoctrination of the Soviet people. History and a
study of Marxist-Leninist philosophy were emphasized as a
means of inculcating within each child a sense of patriotism,
devotion to Communism and allegiance to the Soviet
government. "Communist virtues of hard work, collectivism,
and patriotism" were the core values of Soviet education
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(Pearson 131). During the Soviet era there were two national
socio-political youth organizations under the direction of
the CPSU. The All-Union Young Pioneer Organization
(Pioneers) was for children ages 10 to 14 and the All-Union
Leninist Young Communist League (Komsomol) for young people
ages 14-28. The Komsomol was a testing ground for membership
in the Communist Party. Approximately one in ten Soviet
citizens was actually a member of the CPSU (Humphrey 56).
Political and Social Change
Boris Yeltsin made a major change in the Soviet way of
life on July 23, 1991, when he banned the activities of
Communist Party cells in the work place. In one day this
bold presidential decree ended the Party's monopoly on the
lives of the Russian people. Although the Party's influence
had been in decline for many years, it is difficult to
comprehend the full extent of its influence on the Soviet way
of life. From 1917-1991, the Party shaped the attitudes of
children in the Soviet Union to produce new generations of
loyalists who would respect its role in guiding the political
destiny of the nation and appreciate its value in advancing
one's career. According to Pearson (435), "It has done this
in three distinct ways: first, through the rituals of Soviet
life; second, through children's collectives, particularly
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those associated with the Pioneer movement; and third,
through the school curriculum."
The Central Committee of the CPSU supported Yuri
Andrupov's 1984 plan for educational reform with the goal to
preserve the interests of the Party rather than to improve
the quality of teaching and learning. The word "reform" was
rarely used in the Soviet system. Central Committee and the
government decrees used only optimistic expressions to refer
to various kinds of change; they spoke in terms of "raising,"
"improving," "extending," "strengthening," and so on. The
attempt to characterize the "changes" made in April 1984 as
unique was underscored by the fact that they were called a
"reform of the general and professional school system"
(Heller 162) . With the exception of the recommendation to
lower the age for entry to school from age seven to six, the
changes were not new but rather were attempts to expand
vocational education. The Soviet leaders were reluctant to
introduce technological advances to manufacturing. In order
to increase industrial production, they sought to increase
the work force. The need for economic reforms impacted
education due to the need to fill the increasing shortage of
workers for labor-intensive modes of production. Pearson
concluded, "Since the time of Peter the Great, educational
reforms have been imposed from above, and often for the same
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reason, economic necessity" (Pearson 394). The top-down
approach to educational reform would continue through the
early Yeltsin years (Eklof and Dneprov 3; Webber 20, 80)
until the power vacuum left by the defunct Communist Party
gave local government leaders the opportunity to take
control.
In the 1980s it was becoming apparent that all was not
going according to plan within the Soviet schools. In theory,
the Soviet school system was set up to prevent early school
failure; help was given to those who faltered, including an
extensive use of 'stronger' students to tutor 'weaker' ones
on a one-to-one basis. In practice, the sparks of enthusiasm
often died due to unimaginative teaching and too much rote
learning. The curriculum for the primary grades was
intensive and difficult to adapt to individual differences
(Pearson 106; Elkof and Dneprov 164). The overall management
of the schools was consistent with the order and conformity
prescribed by the CPSU through the state. Soviet schools
appeared to be well managed, much better, for example, than
the hotels and department stores that were notorious for
their lack of service and poor quality. "A well-managed
school does not guarantee a good education, but it does
create a structure in which it is easier for all children to
learn" (Pearson 110).
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The 1984 school law was an unsuccessful attempt to shore
up the Party's influence. Instead according to Heller (162),
it revealed the Soviet leaders' dreams and "intention to
enter the twenty-first century back to front, totally cut off
from everything new that might destroy the entropy of the
Soviet system and the total power of the Party." Heller
concluded that there was one strategic goal for Soviet
education in 1984: "The unchanging foundation of the
Communist upbringing of pupils is the development in them of
a Marxist-Leninist outlook on the world" (Heller 163).
Pravda, the official newspaper of the Party and thus the
Soviet Union, was an effective means of getting the message
to the Russian people that the schools were to devote
"special attention to inculcating in people a sense of the
need to work." It follows that the school not only must
"teach a trade: before all else, it must instill a sense of
the need to work wherever the Party or the government
decrees. Thus two tasks—training as a Communist and the
acquisition of a trade—merge" (Heller 164). To seek a change
in the system of schooling was an implied attack on an
instrument of the Party. "Any discussion of the moral
failure of communism had to pose not only an ideological
challenge but also a potential threat to the existing
structure of power" (Brzezinski 81).
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The Communist Party of the Russian Federation was
organized in February 1993 as the successor of the CPSU. It
claimed "500,000 members and won 64 seats in the party list
vote for the State Duma in December 1993" (Lapidus 263). The
Communist Party of the Russian Federation is now one party
among many and has no authority over the educational policy
or the governance of Russian schools.
Education in the Late Soviet Era and the Russian Federation
In 1991, 400,000 students completed college programs and
50,000 completed university programs. While an increasing
number of students sought to attend college or a university
to gain a more desirable occupation, the majority of jobs to
which they were directed did not require higher education.
"As a result, apparently, young people entered the labor
force reluctantly, performed their work in a less than
satisfactory way, and moved constantly from job to job"
(Jones 215). After completing basic secondary school
(approximate equivalent of 9th grade in the United States):
• 55 percent of the students go on to general secondary
school with 30 percent of this number continuing on to
higher educational institutions.
• 35 percent enter vocational training institutions.
• 15 percent combine work and study in the evening.
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Russian educators face tremendous obstacles to reform.
According to the Ministry of Education, the main problems
facing Russia's schools are:
• shortage of schools (in 21,531 schools 4,696,626
students study in 2 (22 percent) or 3 (0.4 percent)
shifts;
• 10 percent shortage of teachers that is expected grow
as teachers retire or leave the schools for better
paying jobs;
• decline in the number of teacher candidates;
• most curriculum materials are obsolete; and
• inadequate provision of hardware; only 12,000 schools
have computers.
A uniform system of education was important to the
Soviet system. The Soviet laws related to education have
shaped Russian education. The Soviet Union's Constitution of
1977 and other laws guaranteed:
• equal rights of all citizens to education,
• universal secondary and vocational schooling,
• national and public character of all training and
educational establishments,
• free schooling from primary to higher education,
• unity of schooling and upbringing, and
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• correlation of training and education with life, work
and social practice (Pahomov 17 9).
Soviets referred to their system of education as
democratic because it was universal; the term "democratic"
did not imply that the people had a voice in school
governance or that individual children warranted special
consideration. In 1987 teacher innovators established a
Congress of Teachers which called for greater democratization
in the educational system and "for treating children as
'personalities' with feelings to be respected" (Pearson 393).
This declaration by the teachers constituted a public
position to change traditional thinking toward education as
well as a new use for the term "democratization." Viktor
Bolotov, Deputy Minister of Education, wrote in 1994:
State educational policy is in search of a balance
between two seemingly contradictory functions. The
sphere of education has to be an instrument of state
policy and serve to secure the national interests of
Russia. The sphere of education has to perform a
service function, securing the interests of the child,
family, community, etc. The latter function has been
non-existent during the last 70 years of Russian history
(Webber 36).
By the end of 2001 there were many changes in the educational
practices and methods that began at the local level rather
than the national level. However, these school level efforts
were often short lived or cosmetic rather than systemic
improvements in the process of teaching and learning.
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Culture Building in a Centralized System
There are many different meanings for the concept of
"culture." Culture is what a society thinks, perhaps most of
the time, and what it does, almost always. In living the
culture, individuals can approximate valued behaviors but
there will be differences between practice and ideals.
Understanding what constitutes the thinking behind behaviors
or failures to act within cultural units such as a nation, a
community, an organization or a family group, is a complex
undertaking. In Leadership and Culture in Social Movements,
Robert Tucker says a society's culture, "is its customary,
socially transmitted way of life, comprising both prevailing
practices, or 'real culture patterns', and prevailing norms,
beliefs, and values, or 'ideal culture patterns.' In any
particular society at any given time, there will be greater
or lesser discrepancies between real and ideal patterns,
between the ways most people regularly behave and the ways
they believe one ought to behave" (17).
Culture is transmitted from parent to child, from one
generation to the next through a formal and informal means of
socialization. Education is a formalized means of inducting
the young into the culture by training, feedback and
experience. The Soviet government and CPSU created a system
of education to socialize the citizens to be "builders" of
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socialism. Vospitanie (upbringing) was the method to
inculcate Soviet youth with the Marxist-Leninist ideology
that unified curriculum content and teaching practices.
Soviet socialism provided the framework for the core beliefs
which fostered the cultural patterns and the sustaining myth
at the center of an authoritarian system to educate children
to become the "new Soviet" citizen.
In the formative years of the Soviet Union, Leon Trotsky
believed that the best aspects of the Russian culture should
be appropriated and shaped to the purposes of the CPSU
(Inglis 78). Twentieth century Russia is a story of profound
transformation and transition. According to Lenin, socialism
was but a phase to the ultimate goal of communism. Mass
literacy and technical knowledge were key to transforming the
largely rural, peasant population into a nation of workers.
Lenin outlined his belief in the importance of education in
his speech on October 2, 1920, to the Third All-Russia
Congress of the Communist Youth League, (Komsomol). Lenin
told them that the Komsomol was to become a "teaching
organization" because to build communism you had to "learn
communism" and "only a precise knowledge and transformation
of the culture created by the entire development of mankind
will enable us to create a proletarian culture" (Tucker 45).
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Soviet Russia as the Scene of a Culture-building Culture
In the early years of Soviet education, the Russian
schools of the 1920s were considered among the most
innovative in the world in the areas of methodology and self
management (Heller 148) . Most teachers and much of the
content were carryovers from the tsarist era. By the 1930s,
Communist ideology was the dominant focus of curriculum
content in Soviet schools. Soviet pedagogy stressed
prescribed formulas implemented in a teacher dominated,
highly structured classroom. The Soviet Union was an
authoritarian state built on the premise that centralized
planning and control by the Party in the decision making
process was the only approach to governance. "Lenin had long
before discovered the way to resolve political, social and
cultural problems: the Party would rule, direct, and
supervise everything" (Heller 43). Lenin sought to combine
socialism and centralized planning.
Under Joseph Stalin as General Secretary of the
Communist Party, the schools were transformed from Lenin's
"transmission belts" of party rule to a tool to maintain
Stalin's absolute power (Tucker 48). According to
economists, there are significant problems with centralized
planning because "the national economy is such a complex
system that it is impossible to envisage all its mechanisms,
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to take into account all of the factors involved and foresee
the results" (Heller 4 6). The advent of technology has
accelerated the rate of change within world markets which now
require even greater speed in response time for strategies
particularized to specific areas within national and
international economies. Highly centralized planning and
decision making which relied upon outdated communication and
transportation systems minimized the impact of the individual
as well as the nation in dealing with changing markets and
global competition.
For decades there had been so little flexibility or
perceived need for change in the Soviet education system that
the timetables for progress through the curriculum were
replicated in schools all across the country. Soviet
students studied the same material, used essentially the same
texts, and followed the same schedule with respect to the
number of minutes allotted per class and the numbers of hours
per subject per year. However, there were differences in
style and emphasis due to variations in school staffs. The
director set "the tone of the school as much in the Soviet
Union as he or she does in the West" (Pearson 93). Soviet
schools resembled one another in certain fundamental ways.
Educational research and planning for all of the Soviet
republics were centered in Moscow. This was especially true
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with respect to the ways in which the Soviets tried to
socialize children by structuring their behavior and shaping
their attitudes through vospitanniye, the process of "moral
upbringing" (Dunstan 81).
While it is difficult for an outsider to fully
understand the perspectives of someone who is the product of
the Soviet system, Heller (32) states:
It is not hard to imagine the effect of 'education' and
'reeducation' upon the Soviet citizen who is exposed from
the day he is born to brainwashing, and is bombarded all
day, every day, with all sorts of propaganda and
persuasion. This intensive treatment of human mentality
is especially effective because it is (was) carried out
in the closed territory of a country cut off from the
rest of the world by a strictly guarded frontier.
The absolute control of information and the isolation of the
people have ended because television brings images from
around the world into Russian homes. "Glasnost became
especially evident on television, with the release to
international screens of lavish antique footage showing
collectivization, labour camps and other pioneering
achievements of the Soviet past" (Hingley 210). According to
Daniel Yergin control of television will be crucial for
Russian politics because "the universal presence of
television, has set the stage for American-style politics on
the national level—that is, politics focused on
personalities, images, and populist slogans rather than
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parties" (124). The telephone, fax and email give Russians
access to information and a means to communicate comparable
to people in the western nations. Novosti, the Russian
television news program reported that 12 million Russian
citizens traveled abroad for private reasons in 1999.
Private travel and exposure to other cultures can't help but
impact the worldview of these travelers.
The single most important goal of Soviet education was
to meet the needs of the CPSU in the service to the state.
"In the Soviet Union, the needs of a command economy
administered from Moscow have long made short shrift of the
needs of individual children in all parts of the Soviet Union
for a flexible, nourishing environment in which to develop"
(Pearson 372). Khrushchev's ill-conceived and politically
disastrous efforts in 1958 to intensify the focus on labor
education and manual skills were in conflict with the
expectations of parents and the growing interest among
educators on developmental education (Glenn 23; Jones 215;
Pearson 387; Webber 21). Leaders in the Party and education
were growing more remote and failed to recognize the needs
and interests of the Soviet people.
Public Education in the Russian Federation
As the final months of the Soviet Union drew to a close,
some educators recognized that meaningful reform would
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require a long-term commitment and sustained effort.
According to an article in the Teacher's Newspaper
(Uchitel'skaya qazeta),"The path to real diversity and
pluralism [ . . . ] in the system of education is likely to be
long. We took the first step a year ago when the moldering
monolith of state schooling finally collapsed, and from its
remains there began to rise the first gymnasia and lycees"
(Uchitel1skaya qazeta, 1990, no. 38, 3). The principle task
facing the school system in the mid-1980s was to develop an
awareness in young people of the need to work. To carry out
this task—a surprising one in a state born of a proletarian
revolution and ruled by a party of the working class—the CPSU
authority was absolute. Schools were bound by law to "ensure
a close interconnection between studying the fundamentals of
the sciences and the direct participation of the
schoolchildren in systematic, organized, feasible, socially
useful and productive labor" (Heller 163).
Shaping the values and character of the citizen through
Vospitanniye, the process of moral "upbringing," was an
important role of Soviet education. The education system was
a "force for Soviet unity "by imposing uniform values through
the standardized curriculum from kindergarten up" (Pearson
414). Each republic has its own ministry of education and
"could make some adjustments to the curriculum to fit local
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needs, most subjects, except language and literature, had the
same content wherever they were taught" (Pearson 414) . Both
the State and the people valued education. The shared belief
that a good education makes a positive difference in one's
life carried over from the Soviet era to the new Russia.
According to the Ministry of Education of the Russian
Federation, the main goals of comprehensive education
institutions are as follows:
• providing favorable conditions for mental, moral,
emotional and physical development of students;
• developing a scientific world outlook; and
ensuring students' mastery of a system of knowledge
on nature, society, man and his activities and
acquiring necessary skills.
In the 1991-92 school year there were 66,679 comprehensive
secondary schools in Russia with enrollments totaling
19,929,693 students and employing 1,464,829 teachers.
Seventy percent of the students entered school at age 7 to
begin a ten-year course of study. Thirty percent complete an
eleven-year program with 10 percent entering school at age
seven and 20 percent entering at age six. General education
includes:
• primary or elementary school - three years if the
student begins at age seven or four years if the
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student begins at age six
• basic secondary school - five years
general secondary school - two years (Ministry of
Education)
Current national figures are difficult to obtain and verify
due to the decentralization of responsibilities and
insufficient resources for data collection and analysis for
education. There is general agreement that enrollments have
declined due to the drop in the birth rate and the estimated
one million children who do not attend school at all.
By the late 1980s, the state monopoly on education ended
as the government sanctioned private schools. The first
private schools, called by some as "beacons of change," were
officially sanctioned in 1987 (Webber 38). There were 85
registered private schools in 1991 and 540 in 1997.
According to the state plan for education, the private
schools were eligible for technical assistance from the
Ministry of Education. Except in isolated instances, the
private schools receive no help from the Ministry or funding
from the government (Ministry of Education).
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The Role of the Ministry of Education
of the Russian Federation
The shift in Russian education from 1991 to 1992 was
profound (Elkof and Dneprov 93; Webber 57). The CPSU's
official dominance of education as well as all other spheres
of government ended in August 1991. Based on the
"democratization of the society and the decentralization of
management," the organizational plan for the Ministry of
Education of the new Russian Federation adopted in 1992
outlined the following roles and responsibilities:
• Pre-school through secondary school programs are
provided financial and technical assistance through
the Ministry. Except for teacher training, higher
education is not within the jurisdiction of the
Ministry.
Local boards of education and administrations have
primary authority; "education management bodies of
districts, towns and city areas can be created by the
decision of local government bodies."
• Five major units of responsibility within the
Ministry included:
1) Work with regions: advisory services and
coordination of regional activities in the field of
education development; assisting local
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administrations in working out national and
regional strategies and programs; training
management staff and "acquainting them with
innovative techniques" to be introduced as per
local plans;
2) Science and alternative schools: responsibility
for "working out the strategy of renewing the
content of education on the base of practice-
oriented research." Provide information and
strategies related to new models of school,
educational standards and students' assessment, and
extra-curricular education. Support is to be
provided special schools and private schools.
3) Vocational training: guidance and coordination
in improving vocational, specialized secondary and
teacher education programs.
4) Social protection: provide legal support in
development of a system of education, social and
health "protection of children and educators, as
well as protection of handicapped children, etc.
It is these departments that under unstable economy
should provide normal conditions for children's
study and leisure and retain teachers at schools."
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5) Economy: provide logistical support in
financing education and constructing school
facilities, as well as "establishing new
relationships between economy and education. At
the state level this implies working out flexible
tax policy which would promote investments in
education, developing the system of sponsorship and
providing favorable financing of educational
institutions by local authorities." (Ministry of
Education Document 1992)
The Ministry of Education maintains some authority over
school funding and continues to provide overall goals for
education. However, its role has weakened significantly as
its responsibilities narrowed and its funds were severely
reduced. The thrust of "change has been to transform the
ministry from a controlling and directing function to one of
coordination" (Webber 57).
Eduard Dneprov, a long time advocate of educational
reform, was appointed Minister of Education in July 1990. He
was forced to resign in December 1992 due to his inability to
work with both members of the legislature and the educational
establishment. Evgenii Tkachenko who was considered more
"conciliatory" than Dneprov replaced him; Tkachenko's role
was rendered marginal when the Ministry of Education merged
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with State Committee on Higher Education in the summer of
1996 (Webber 56). The "new" Ministry of General and
Professional Education now guides the effort of the regional
departments of education to develop content standards and
design competency tests for students. The local city
governments have assumed responsibility for school finance,
governance and the construction and repair of facilities.
The School as a Builder of Culture
Schools by their very nature conserve and transmit the
knowledge and skills as determined by those responsible for
the content; these skills and knowledge typically reflect a
community's customs and norms of behavior. A school system
can serve as an isolate of cultural analysis because it
promotes a body of knowledge, traditions, norms of behavior,
and beliefs through an organization of people who have
defined roles and responsibilities (Malinowski 160).
According to David Shipler, "In any society, schools convey
the mainstream values, and Soviet schools were among the
slowest institutions to adjust to the upheaval of ideas at
the beginning of the Gorbachev era. The pattern of
authority, the interplay between collective conformity and
individualism, the sloganeering, the power of declaration
over reality—all these possessed an immense durability in the
face of the country's gradual awakening" (436). Despite the
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heavy emphasis on Communist ideology and limited resources,
Soviet education is credited with the emergence of a middle
class and, in general, a literate population skilled in
mathematics and knowledgeable in science. Soviet Russia
created an "urban, secular, middle-class, engineering
oriented culture" (Yergin and Gustafson 206). The new
Soviet middle class became an important force in the advance
of change and the emergence of Russian nationalism. Today it
is at the forefront of the formation of the capitalist
economy.
Although the primary role of the Soviet school was to
focus on knowledge, skills and habits, or ZUNY (Znaniya,
Umeniya, Navyki), education was the tool to shape the Soviet
citizen. The "basic 3 R's" were supplemented by what might
be called the "three P's—politics, party and patriotism"
(Shipler 98). Defining political orientation was "an
integral part of the diet as well, like bread with meals, and
while it does not appear to detract from the seriousness of
learning the lean scholastic skills, it makes an ample
contribution to the stout convictions by which Russians view
themselves and the world" (Shipler 98). Russian educators
who seek reform are trying to change a system embedded in the
Soviet past. Today Russian educational theorists, teachers
and directors are themselves products of the Soviet system of
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education and culture building. These products of the Soviet
system continue to enjoy the greatest influence on the future
of Russian education.
Chroniclers of Soviet education generally agree with
Shipler's analysis of the core values of Soviet educational
ideology. He concludes that: "It is the inflated regard for
country that stands as the centerpiece of all that can be
called political in Soviet education [ . . . ] students may be
immersed in detailed studies of the history of the Communist
Party, of the principles of class struggle and
internationalism as seen through the ideological amalgam that
the Russians call Marxism-Leninism. But ultimately the power
of these ideas to move Soviet citizens lies in their
patriotic content, in their association with the adoration of
country" (Shipler 106). These themes are apparent in the
Soviet era textbooks and teachers' guides many of which are
still in use today. Russian educators maintain the tradition
of creating a "red corner" in a classroom or hallway to honor
those who served in the Second World War (Great Patriotic
War) and celebrate Russian customs.
Evidence provided by the Ministry of Education and
independent studies indicate the "existence of a widespread
perception of crisis in education" related to issues of
"falling standards, the increasing material problems of the
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schools, and the perennial teacher shortage" (Webber 32).
Inadequate funding for education and gaps in leadership
contribute to widespread shortages in textbooks, neglect of
facilities, limited access to technology and computers, and
conflicts in management and policy-making.
Educational Issues and Teacher Education
The overall quality and academic achievement of Russian
schools continue to be uneven as they were in the Soviet
Union (Shipler 97) and in other countries. Anthony Jones in
"Problems in the Schools" summarizes findings from an
extensive public-opinion poll conducted in major urban
centers in Russia in November 1988. The poll revealed that
72.6 percent of the teachers polled indicated they thought
the schools were in "deep crisis" and needed "fundamental
restructuring" and approximately one-third of the parents
responding were not satisfied with their children's school
with 20 percent wanting to transfer their children to another
school. One-fourth of the teachers were actively looking for
work outside of teaching; 80-90 percent of the teachers
reported they were "dissatisfied" with a number of employment
issues; and 80 percent indicated that their own level of
education was "inadequate" (218). Other studies in the 1990s
reveal similar patterns of dissatisfaction, perceptions that
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schools are in "crisis" (Webber 32), and concerns for the
future of students, teachers and education.
Reform initiatives in education during the late 1980s
and through the 1990s have become more localized with less
adherence to the "official approach to teaching" since the
1930s that put "curriculum and mechanics of teaching at the
center of classroom activities (Jones 219). Traditionally
teachers were ignored as a source for practical knowledge of
life in the classroom and as informants on needed reforms
(Elkof and Dneprov 51; Webber 80). Educational theorists and
teachers who had deviated from the official approach
gradually gained acceptance for a child-centered approach.
They sought to make teaching and learning a cooperative
enterprise between teacher and student. This movement
paralleled the decline and ultimate end to the CPSU's control
of the state in 1991. Although individual teachers continue
to have somewhat limited influence in their own schools
(Webber 83), perestroika and glasnost opened the debate on
education to teachers and offered them a voice in the process
of reform.
In the late 1980s, The Ministry of Education began to
informally promote differentiation, deideologization,
democratization, humanitarization and humanization as
strategies to reform education. The Ministry formalized its
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endorsement of these concepts in the 1992 Law on Education.
Although the Ministry directed its efforts to give local
educators more control, to support strategies to restructure
the schools, and to turn "the face of the school toward the
child" (Elkof and Dneprov 81), the results of these efforts
have been mixed at best. The Ministry of Education supported
decentralization of authority to the local levels but opposed
transferring the responsibility for funding with the "warning
that this could lead to the collapse of the entire
educational network" (Webber 157). Decentralization brought
welcome changes and unanticipated consequences. School
districts, city governments and regional education
administrations were ill prepared to take on increased
responsibilities for funding in the midst of hyperinflation
and enormous changes at the local and national levels.
Generally Russia's urban schools are considered superior
to the village schools. A government study in 1985 reported
that three-fourths of Russia's schools were rural and "54
percent of all teachers and 42 percent of all pupils" were in
village schools (Jones 218). If the condition of facilities
and the level of resources are considered poor for urban
schools, then the village schools are in a disastrous state.
The Ministry of Education reported in 1992 that there had
been little or no improvement in providing electricity,
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toilets and running water to thousands of rural schools
across the nation including those within an hour's drive of
Moscow. Teachers in urban and rural schools across Russia
continue to suffer not only from a lack of resources and poor
facilities within the schools but also from low wages, a lack
of prestige, and insufficient housing (Sutherland 15).
Teacher training and reeducation are an integral
variable in the relative success of the school. The
Teachers' Journal (Uchitel'skaya Gazeta) reported in 1978
that so many of the high school graduates admitted to
pedagogical institutes were so poorly prepared "that these
future teachers had to spend the first two semesters or more
learning how to write grammatically" (Shipler 97). There is
no evidence that this situation has improved. Due to low
salaries and heavy workloads for teachers, it is more
difficult to attract and retain competent and effective
teachers today. With but a few exceptions, the quality and
number of candidates have steadily declined in Russia's
institutions for teacher preparation.
Teacher education is conducted through institutions of
advanced studies that include:
• 2 pedagogical universities (21,000 students)
• 93 teacher training institutes (437,000 students)
89 teacher re-training institutes (60,000 students)
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In 1991, 105,000 students enrolled in teacher training
programs with 79,000 graduating. Forty-five percent of the
teachers receiving degrees specialized in science, a 5
percent decrease since 1989. Current figures vary but all
indicate a drastic decline in the number of teacher
candidates (Webber 154). The Ministry of Education reported
in 1991 that the chief problems of teacher training programs
were:
• a lack of facilities for conducting training (there
were 7 square meters of floor space per student which
was 40 percent of the government standards);
a shortage of student housing (75 percent can be
accommodated primarily through hostels);
• a shortage of computers and other equipment;
• student grants or stipends, if available, were lower
than subsistence wages;
• a 20 percent shortage of teacher training program
instructors; and
• a 50 percent shortage of service personnel to support
programs.
Socio-economic Conditions
To achieve a fuller understanding of the condition of
Russian education, one must be aware of the major issues of
Russian society. "In all industrial nations, education seems
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to be a magnet for the social problems of the entire society"
(Jones 213). Like the former Soviet Union, Russia has the
highest percentage of women in the workforce of any
industrial nation. Shortages of consumer products, demanding
household responsibilities, child care, long hours of work
and standing in queues, combine to pose a formidable
challenge to the Russian woman as she attempts to manage a
family and work outside the home. On the average, a Russian
woman spends three times as much time doing household duties
as does a Russian man and an average of 40.5 hours per week
in addition to her work outside the home (Pravotorov 115).
The Soviet government brought the majority of women into
the workplace to work shoulder to shoulder with men.
According to Marxist theory, a better relationship between
people should have followed. "With men and women being
equal, marriages should have become happier and more
productive, but this was not the case" (Pearson 129).
Further, the traditional Russian stereotypes of the strong,
powerful male and the sensitive, emotional female have held
surprisingly firm for the past seventy years.
Brezhnev initiated reforms in family leave, maternity
benefits and childcare. By 1981, these reforms contributed
to an increase in the birthrate that had been declining
throughout the 1970s. This trend began to reverse in 198 5
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when there were 16.6 births per one thousand people. By 1995
there were 9.6 births per one thousand people (Webber 72).
According to the statistics in the July/August 2000 issue of
Russian Life magazine, since 1991, the number of children in
Russia has declined by 15.7 percent. Only one in five
children is born healthy and one in ten primary school
children is healthy (9). By the end of the century the
impact of the decline in the birthrate was compounded when
the death rates exceeded the birthrates across Russia. By
2000, the decline in birthrates helped to alleviate the
teacher shortage by reducing the number of school aged
children. See Exhibit C-3 in Appendix C for demographic data
including a summary of births and deaths.
Gorbachev continued to support reforms in family policy
through increases in childcare leave and subsidies for large
single-parent families. Social policy issues focused on the
enhanced role of the family in the upbringing of children,
the low birthrate of Russians compared with other ethnic or
national groups in the Soviet republics, and the distribution
of government allowances to families according to the number
of children. Russia's economic problems and the demands on
its limited revenues have negatively impacted the quality and
availability of social and health services from 1991 to the
present.
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In an effort to increase the workforce after the Second
World War, the Soviet government banned abortions through
1955. The ban was lifted as people attempted to limit family
size in order to deal with housing shortages and to maintain
a minimum standard of living. Russian women have limited
options for birth control. Today the abortion rate is 2.5
for every live birth which is the highest in the world
(Juviler 200). One of every three Russian marriages ends in
divorce. Shortages in medicine, qualified personnel, medical
equipment and poor diet combine to create chronic problems in
health maintenance and care. Fear of placing young children
in child care centers, thus exposing them to additional
health risks, adds to the burdens of the working mother.
Schools are often closed in the winter months as a means of
limiting the impact and spread of flu (greep) because medical
treatment is generally unavailable. This problem is
compounded because there are not enough substitute teachers
to cover for those who are ill.
In the first twenty-seven months following the Russian
government's decontrol of prices in 1992, the index of
consumer prices increased by 245 times and real income
decreased by one half. February of 1994 marked a
particularly low point for the Russian consumers when prices
for goods equaled or exceeded world prices while the average
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monthly salary for a Russian was $114. See Exhibit C-5 for
Cost of Living information in Appendix C. The Russian ruble
collapsed in August of 1998; paradoxically, this boosted the
market for locally produced goods when prices for imported
goods were prohibitively expensive (Montaigne 8).
By fall of 2001, food prices had stabilized and the rate
of inflation had slowed. An estimated 20 million Russians
live below the current poverty line of $31 per person a month
(Montaigne 9). The legacy of the Soviet system weighs heavily
on the new Russian Federation. According to information
provided in 1992 by the Ministry of Education, the social
ills attributable to the Soviet government and CPSU's
economic policies were:
• poor work ethic,
• alcoholism and drunkenness,
• absenteeism, and
• pilfering.
The CPSU's stewardship of the Soviet government created a
dual reality (Hingley 210; McDaniel 14; Shipler 304). Ostensibly
the government was devoted to improving conditions for the
worker. Although the CPSU controlled every aspect of Soviet life
including issuing internal passports, determining the choice of
professions, restricting where one could live or work, mandating
quotas for productivity, and controlling the media, it could not
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prevent its decline. The CPSU's distrust in the citizen's
commitment to work, ability to think and loyalty to the state
ultimately led to its downfall.
The Work Ethic and System of Compensation
The Soviet approach to government revealed a belief that
without control and compulsion by the Party, people will not
work. "The measures taken by the Party under whose
leadership the Soviet economic model was created have led
inevitably to the demoralization of labor" (Heller 141).
Leon Trotsky, an early architect of the Soviet state,
concluded, "As a rule a man tries to avoid work." Sixty years
later, it was evident that the state's position on labor had
not significantly evolved when Premier Constatin Chernenko
said "To labor is laborious, and that's all there is to say"
(Heller 126). The policy of a right to work, the low wages,
and the absence of consumer goods created a breeding ground
for apathy, absenteeism, and an underground economy based on
barter (Hosking 386; Yergin and Gustafson 209). "They pretend
to pay us, and we pretend to work," was a common saying among
Soviet citizens who found themselves in jobs without apparent
value, challenge or material reward (Hosking 386). The gap
grew ever wider between the ideology and practice. People
depended on their wits and the goodwill of their friends much
more than they did on fixed procedures and routines (McDaniel
88
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39). Daily the people were forced by circumstance to
compromise themselves and their beliefs in order to survive.
Russians often spoke of needing a face for their public life
and another for their private life.
Despite the fact that the Soviet government sought to
increase the number of workers in the industrial sector
through education reforms and incentives, "manual labor
finally lost its attraction and prestige" (Heller 126).
Each year more students urged on by their parents sought
college degrees as interest in jobs in the labor sector
declined. Laborers, as well as most parents, generally
wanted their children to have better jobs than they
themselves had (Frankland 111).
Better jobs as measured in terms of the quality of
working conditions rather than compensation required an
advanced degree. As government funding for research and
technical institutes is cut, there is a growing surplus of
well-educated people who are under-employed. The Russian
government and the regional governments now charge tuition
for the more prestigious universities and institutes.
Tuition and the rising cost of living have made a college or
university education difficult or beyond reach for increasing
numbers of general secondary school graduates.
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Fueled by shortages of consumer goods, hyperinflation,
and an overall decline in the standard of living, the
fundamental distrust of the free market approach to wages and
prices slowed the transition to decentralization. Faced with
the knowledge that "prices went unchanged for a century at a
time in the Russia of old" (Solzhenitsyn 37) and the economic
chaos of the Yeltsin years, ordinary citizens as well as
politicians grew more vocal in their criticism. The erosion
in the quality of social services and the loss of privileges
fostered in many Russians, especially pensioners, nostalgia
for the security and stability of the Soviet era (Kon 199;
Shalin 41; Silverman and Yanowitch 22). There was comfort in
believing that everyone suffered equally and no one was
making a profit from the labors of others. "Workers have
internalized the worst features of egalitarianism and are
suspicious of reforms designed to reward performance"
(Brzezinski 97). The demand for people who could work
effectively in the new market economy turned the old wage
structures upside down. Thus changes in the structure of
teacher compensation in the context of the Russian school
system are notable.
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Communications and Technology
The centrally controlled media and educational system
were "complex interlocking cultural institutions"
(Manlinowski 76) for shaping the shared beliefs to sustain
the commitment of the Soviet people. Party leaders used
censorship to control information, reinforce the CPSU
ideology and rewrite history to fit the needs of the moment.
"The Communist Party maintained tight control over
definitions of historical truth and interpretations of
current reality, even as Soviet literature increasingly
portrayed a reality at odds with such interpretations and as
young people gained more and more access to alternative
sources of information" (Eklof and Dneprov 4). It is
impossible for an outsider to fully understand the degree of
censorship practiced by the Soviet regimes and its impact on
generations of Russians. Censorship was most severe and
most effective under Joseph Stalin from 1929 to 1953; all
aspects of information, including the content of school
textbooks and children's books, were tightly controlled.
Routinely history books were rewritten and photographs
retouched or edited to fit the CPSU's needs and its changing
interpretations of "fact" (King 7). With his 1956 speech in
which he denounced Joseph Stalin for his "crimes," Nikita
Khrushev started a long, slow process that led to glasnost
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thirty years later. Gorbachev's reforms resulted in greater
freedom for the press and public access to books and other
publications from within and beyond the Russian borders.
These reforms have had a profound impact on Russian
society. During the attempted coup in August 1991, Izvestia
reporters argued with their editor that Boris Yeltsin's
written appeal to the people to resist the coup must appear
in their newspaper. The August 19 edition of Izvestia
appeared twenty hours late "on the streets of Moscow and in
every city and village of the Soviet Union. The Emergency
Committee's proclamations blared out from page one.
Yeltsin's appeal to resist the coup was on page two" (Remnick
471). It is significant that Yeltsin's appeal was in the
paper. Despite occasional attempts by Vladimir Putin's
government to restrain the media, today there are many
independent newspapers that are limited more by the
availability of paper and the cost of production than the
authority of a government censor.
The Soviet government was able to use radio to
communicate with the people in even the most extreme
situations. Soviet era apartment buildings are wired so that
in the event of a power failure the radios built into kitchen
walls continue to work even if the lights will not. Radio
was especially effective because the message could be
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carefully controlled. Not so with television because the
images conveyed both intended and unintended messages.
"Among all nationalities, it is television that has
claimed first place in the provision of information about
'culture,' broadly conceived" (Mickiewicz 26). The
government of the Russian Federation still has influence on
television and radio media because it is still their primary
source of funding. This too is changing in the fledgling
capitalist economy. Where there had been one television
channel, Novosti, run by the state and controlled by the
Party, there are now at least eight channels supported by a
combination of state funds and commercial advertising
(reklama).
The Soviet government made advances in technology in its
own interests. The introduction of satellite technology in
television broadcasting resulted in a reorganization that
"abolished the intermediate link between the local studios
and the center and resulted in a greater degree of
centralization and coordination by the Party" (Mickiewicz
27). Commercial advertising is now common but insufficient
to provide independence from the government's support. In
early 1994, radio and television stations averaged less than
100 minutes per day of commercially supported advertising
time (Novosti News, 1994). The media is still dependent on
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government funding which, in turn, maintains a strong
influence on the operations of the media. During the
attempted coup in October 1993, the Yeltsin government used
its influence to suppress coverage and limit the opposition's
access to radio and television broadcasts.
More people in Russia have a television set in their
homes than have telephones. There was one telephone for
every ten people in the Soviet Union in 1982 (Heller, 1988).
This situation has improved with the introduction of cell
phones. "Over 93 percent of the Soviet population watch
television; the audience for prime-time national-television
programming runs between 150 and 200 million" (Mickiewicz
25). Millions of Soviet citizens watched the televised
sessions of the Congress of People's Deputies with interest
and disdain; the nightly news signaled a time for people to
gather in front of the set to learn the news of the nation.
No newspaper, no film, book, or play had ever had such an
immediate political effect on the people of the Soviet Union
as television (Remnick 221).
Television "has introduced people to cultures and habits
other than their own; it has internationalized them; it has
brought people who would otherwise have been isolated into
touch with current events in the 'entire world'" (Mickiewicz
26). Television undermined the "protection" of the Iron
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Curtain to protect youth from Western culture. In Rebuilding
Russia, Alexandr Solshenitsyn asserted that the iron curtain
didn't reach the bottom and allowed seepage of self-indulgent
and squalid "popular mass culture" to corrupt the Russian
people.
Television inadvertently provided citizens access to
worlds beyond the carefully guarded Soviet borders. For
example, video footage of the race riots in the United States
in the early 1970s were broadcast to the Soviet people with
the message that the American people behaved as lawless mobs.
The vivid, powerful visual message was that the "mobs" were
well dressed by Soviet standards and were looting stores full
of products. The Soviet citizens who waited years to buy a
car looked at the footage of American cities and saw many
cars parked on the streets. It was apparent that the looted
shops in even the poorest of neighborhoods had full shelves
of consumer products. The unintended messages were powerful
for the Soviet citizens whose consumer needs were a low
priority for their government. Igor Kirillov, a prominent
television news figure of the 1970s and 80s stated that the
"system survived as long as it did thanks to the ideological
service of the Communist Party and television. It was a kind
of mass hypnosis" (Remnick 144). However, television also
served to bring images of the world beyond the Soviet borders
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into Russian homes. Further, Ellen Mickiewicz underscores
the importance of television and other mass media in
glasnost. In her article "Ethnic Differentiation and
Political Communication" she states, "In contradistinction to
the media campaigns of the past, under Gorbachev, the media
were actually to provide the motor force for thoroughgoing
institutional change and structural reform" (24).
Until the two-week televised coverage of the Soviet
Parliament in the summer of 1990, the inner workings of the
government had been a mystery beyond the realm of everyday
life. This aura of mystery added to its hold on the people
(Remnick 223). Soviet citizens saw history in the making
when delegates questioned, then denounced officials about the
state support for their private dachas and special privileges
for Party favorites. Local television news reported in the
summer of 1990 the public protests when a shop in the city of
Yaroslavl failed to sell video recorders on the day promised.
Hundreds of people gathered in the streets in front of the
store to make their dissatisfaction known; these were people
whose way of life had included tolerance for standing in long
lines to buy shoes. For the first time, Russian candidates
for Parliament used television interviews and advertising
strategies in the weeks prior to the December 12, 1993
elections.
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A People and Culture in Transition
According to Tatiana Zaslavskaia, a highly regarded
Russian sociologist, "As workers' education grows and their
range of interests broadens, they strive to become more
autonomous in their work, to participate actively in
decision-making and to realize their full creative potential"
(Graham 314). The "switch from an industrial society to one
based on information technology" meant that the Party would
lose its monopoly over people's time and information, and
"its legitimacy as a regime" (Heller 134). The dilemma was
how to achieve economic and military parity with the United
States while a middle class emerged with a growing demand for
consumer goods and a improved standard of living. The
leaders could not foresee the negative consequences for their
abiding commitment to the status quo. Paradoxically, the
champions of the ideology of the dialectical nature of
history were entrenched against change at every level.
According to Evgeny Velikov, of the Academy of Science,
"ordinary people in the Soviet Union had no need of personal
computers, since they would have access to a sufficient
number of publicly owned ones" (Heller 135). The lack of
resources for education was evident when the computer
technology program for teachers ("Fundamentals of Informatics
and Computer Technology") was introduced in 1985. Many of the
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60,000 teachers trained were taught in courses without
computers (Pearson 396), and few would ever have access to a
computer following the training. The Soviet Union "was ill-
equipped to take advantage of the technological changes that
were driving growth in the West" (Yergin and Gustafson 22).
This failure to see that a computer literate workforce would
be an economic advantage in competitive global markets
further eroded the Soviet Union's position as world power.
Technology education and the regular use of computers in
schools will continue to be the exceptions until there is a
major shift in Russia's national priorities.
Public interest and the national commitment to improving
education have waned in the first decade of the Russian
Federation. Rather than speak of a national education
system, Russia, for now, is a nation of loosely linked school
systems.
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CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This study was designed as a qualitative investigation
using ethnography as its primary approach to inquiry. The
qualitative data were supplemented by quantitative data to
respond to the four research questions of this study. The
research questions address the significant changes and their
impacts as perceived by a group of educators in a small urban
school district in the Russian Federation from 1991 through
2001.
Qualitative Research
In this study, the term qualitative research refers to
methodology that uses the words of the informants and
respondents to produce descriptive data. The use of
qualitative methods enabled the researcher to record the
participants' perceptions of their experiences in the school
district in the context of major national events, which, in
turn, enabled the researcher to develop analytical,
conceptual and categorical components to interpret the data.
The multiple-case study approach was useful to provide
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greater depth of understanding of the units of study in their
context and holistically in a unique period of time (Patton
54) .
The researcher chose the case study method of
qualitative inquiry and used Yin's definition of the case
study as a guide: "A case study is an empirical inquiry
that:
investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its
real-life context; when
• the boundaries between the phenomenon and context are
not clearly evident; and in which
• multiple sources of evidence are used" (23).
According to Yin, the multiple case study differs from
the single-case design primarily in the research design (52).
He states that the multiple-case study is "often considered
more compelling, and the overall study is therefore regarded
as more robust" (Yin 52). The qualitative approach provided
the researcher with methodology for making observations in
the field, for reviewing artifacts and documents from the
field and for recording responses and comments of the
educators who participated in the study. The data provided
by these participants revealed how they perceived their
personal and professional experiences and key events in their
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school district within the broader context of a country and
culture in epochal transition.
The overall objective of the study was to discover the
meaning of the experiences related to the research questions
that were both unique and common to the participants. The
local and national context of the study changed significantly
during the first year of data gathering and analysis so that
a larger question emerged from the investigation of the
initial research questions. The study was organized into
four case studies within the context of the Pereslavl school
district. Rather than the reform process within the school
district, the scope of the study was narrowed to focus on the
structure and essence of experience of the change phenomenon
for the three key informants (a superintendent, a director
and a teacher) and a sampling of teachers and administrators.
According to Michael Quinn Patton (69) "what is important to
know is what people experience and how they interpret the
world. This is the subject matter, the focus, of
phenomenological inquiry" (69-70). The use of key informants
allowed the researcher insight concerning units "not directly
observed" (Platt 28) and enabled the researcher to gather
data with their assistance. The case study method of
qualitative inquiry offers an approach that provides a
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comparative understanding of a different social setting from
that of the researcher (Patton 42). The individual
informants provided a "window on the community" of the
Pereslavl-Zalessky school district as the local setting of
the study (Ragin 14).
Use of the qualitative approach as the primary method of
research offers an ethnographic accounting that assists the
investigator to understand how people function within social
systems through the interpretation of descriptive
information. In the words of Walter R. Borg and Meredith D.
Gall, "Qualitative methods are probably the best means we
have for discovering these local meanings" (407).
Qualitative research "seeks to describe and explain the world
as those in the world interpret it" (Merriam 170) . The
social system in this investigation is the school district of
Pereslavl-Zalessky within the broader context of the newly
established Russian Federation. According to Wilson, "the
social scientist cannot understand human behavior without
understanding the framework within which the subjects
interpret their thoughts, feelings, and actions" (249). The
length of this study is significant. The extended field
research within this particular context was important in
determining perspectives, patterns, and meanings over time
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(Yin 119) due to the rapidly changing environment both within
the district and the Russian nation. The timing of the study
was unique.
As noted by Patton, "At times, and for certain programs,
long-term fieldwork is essential" (214) . The study began in
1991, the final year of the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics, and was completed in 2001 as the first decade of
the new Russian Federation came to an end. The researcher in
this study had established a professional relationship with
the key informants, as defined by Patton (263), through a
teacher and student exchange program between the Pereslavl
school district and the Cupertino Union School District in
Cupertino, California. This professional relationship
provided a foundation of trust and access to information
necessary for the study.
The Researcher as Participant Observer
As a result of an exchange program for Soviet and
American teachers and students, the researcher was among the
first foreign educators permitted to meet with individual
teachers, directors and students in Pereslavl. The
researcher was invited by the superintendent to work with the
directors to develop their leadership and management skills.
Prior to the study, the researcher made four visits to the
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site from April 1989 to March 1991 (See Exhibit B-l: Log of
Site Visits and Interviews of Key Informants in Appendix B).
These visits established trust and opened access to district
staff as participants in the study. According to Douglas
Harper, it is important for the researcher to understand the
"point of view of the subjects of the study" (139) and build
"successful relationships" to gain the cooperation of the
subjects of the study (150). The researcher became a
participant observer in the professional development program
for the Pereslavl district administrators by assuming the
role of professional development adviser and facilitator from
1990 through the end of 1995.
The work with the administrators assisted the researcher
to identify individuals who could offer insights from diverse
perspectives within the Pereslavl school district and who
could also assist in the search to understand the emerging
issues and patterns of change throughout the investigation.
The researcher's site visits; observations in the district
office, schools and classrooms; meetings with staff; and
professional development activities for directors gave the
investigator an opportunities to better understand the
participants' work within its context (Borg and Gall 391; Van
Maanen 21-22). The researcher's ability to serve as "the
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instrument in qualitative inquiry" (Patton 472) was improved
through the informal and professional interactions in the
field. The subsequent fieldwork was a long social process
informed by an ongoing review of literature and
reinterpretation of data in view of new information and
understandings over time (Van Maanen 118).
Key Informants and Participants
This study offered the participants an opportunity to
express their personal experiences and perceptions during a
time of profound change in their lives, their district and
their nation. The study design allowed the participants to
tell their own histories in their own language, speaking with
a person with whom they had shared prior experiences and, by
all accounts, a positive professional relationship (Van
Maanen, 95). Key elements of the study design were based on
Goetz and LeCompte's recommendations that the researcher
should:
1) live among participants and collect data for long
periods of time, 2) use the participant-observer role to
develop and analyze data collected on site, 3) use
informant interviews, and 4) regularly review the data
and "self-monitor" the process (221).
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These essential elements to data gathering and analysis
continued as important attributes of the researcher's and
respondents' respective roles and relationships throughout
the study. The data collected are an articulation of
participants' perceptions and the investigator's observations
of the changes in the district within a broader
sociopolitical context (Van Maanen 136). The product of the
research was thus jointly authored with the participants.
The initial research questions focused the study on
gathering data to develop an understanding of the phenomenon
of educational change within the context of the Pereslavl-
Zalessky school district. The study was refocused from the
process of change to what was considered "significant change"
as perceived by the superintendent, a director and a teacher
as key informants. The design of the more narrowly focused
study was critical in achieving the highest degree of
validity and trustworthiness possible. The rigor of the
design or internal validity served to address the critical
questions of 1) Do the findings capture what is really there?
2) Would another researcher following the same design develop
data to yield the same findings?" (Merriam 9) The role and
judgment of the researcher were guided by the study's design,
which informed the choice of next steps as data emerged and
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were collected, analyzed and interpreted. This process was
central to the design and determination to proceed with an
extended study.
External Validity
The design for the study provided the greatest degree of
transferability for external validity and consistency for
reliability achievable within this context and the
constraints of an ethnographic study (Merriam 171) . The
revolutionary change in the dissolution of the Soviet Union
and the emergence of the Russian Federation constituted a
study of "novel scope" which cannot be truly replicated
(White 85). The preparation, training and skill of the
researcher were critical to the success of the design,
implementation and validity of the study. The researcher is
a trained and experienced interviewer and observer whose
professional background in education includes eight years as
a human resources administrator. The researcher's ability to
build a long-term relationship with the superintendent and
district staff gives evidence of the researcher's ability to
establish and maintain personal trust, professional
confidence and appreciation for the study with the
participants (Harper 149).
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In their article "Problems of Reliability and Validity
in Ethnographic Research," Margaret LeCompte and Judith Goetz
stress that the nature of ethnographic study presents
enormous challenges in replicating the study when used to
record a process of change in the context of unique
phenomena. It is impossible to achieve reliability in the
traditional sense because of the emergent design of a
qualitative case study. According to LeCompte and Goetz,
"the ethnographic process also is personalistic: no
ethnographer works just like another" (36). The key factor
is the dependability or consistency of the results obtained
based on the researcher's ability to articulate a design and
establish a record of what was done (Borg and Gall 406).
This study may approach rather than achieve external
reliability (LeCompte and Goetz 37). The study's design,
methods and strategies for analysis should result in findings
that are what Merriam refers to as "consistent" and
"dependable" (172).
Process for Data Collection
The data collected provide only a snapshot of the
participants and the district at particular moments. The 35
site visits and additional meetings with two informants during
their trips to the United States provided time samples of
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intensive fieldwork (Borg and Gall 403) on an average of 10
days every four months throughout the study. (See Exhibit B-l
Log of Interviews and Field Visits to Pereslavl-Zalessky in
Appendix B.) The researcher as participant observer in the
professional development workshops for administrators
contributes to the unique character of the study and advances
the need for data collection and analysis to be clearly
recorded (Borg and Gall 406). It is to be expected that an
outsider would get similar results given the same data based
on the design, methodology and implementation of this study.
The external validity or extent to which the results
are generalizable is based on assumptions of equivalency
between sample and population within a specified level of
confidence. The unique historical period and context of the
study require a goal of comparability and translatability
rather than generalization (LeCompte and Goetz 34).
The researcher as participant observer recognized what
Borg and Gall referred to in their book Educational Research
as "experimenter effect" (404) and concurred that it posed a
threat to external validity. Further, the biases or changes
in the researcher can influence the findings due to the
subjective nature of observation and interview strategies as
primary methods of data-collection. Through the design,
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implementation and methodology it is to be expected that an
outsider would get the same results given the same data. The
researcher chose to use the process of analytic induction as
a means of identifying patterns across cases and minimizing
the impact of "continuous variables" (Borg and Gall 405).
According to Yin (43), external validity is given less
priority in the case study because its purpose is to
understand the particular phenomenon of study in depth,
giving weight to local conditions. What one learns in a
particular situation will help to interpret data and to make
transfers to later situations. In this study
generalizability is ultimately what the reader is able to
learn and to transfer to other settings (Walton 126). The
findings are heuristic in nature because they should
illuminate the reader's understanding of the phenomenon while
attempting to retain the essence of the people within the
experiences described (Patton 71).
Borg and Gall (407) recommend the five key questions
cited by F. Erickson, S. Florio and J. Buschman in Field Work
in Educational Research as important to educational research
and assert that qualitative methods are the best means to
answer them:
1. What's happening in this field setting?
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2. What do the happenings mean to the people involved
in them?
3. What do the people have to know in order to be able
to what they do in the setting?
4. How does what is happening here relate to what is
happening in the wider social context of the setting?
5. How does the organization of what is happening here
differ from that found in other places and times? (407) .
This study seeks to investigate, record and articulate
the significant events and changes in the professional lives
of educators over an extended period. As Matthew Miles and
A. B. Huberman state, "the most important research questions
will become clear only later on" (27). Through the
examination of a specific instance, through discovery rather
than verification, the researcher obtained data that revealed
patterns and working hypotheses that generated additional
questions and required a more extensive study. The
experiences and perceptions of the participants in the study
may be of great interest to other Russian educators as well
as to those who are interested in the thoughts and behaviors
of people living and working through a unique period of
history.
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Pilot Study
The pilot was designed to test the viability of a case
study approach, identify strategies for gathering data and
determine the availability of informants and respondents for
the actual study. The researcher used the pilot study to
test survey methods, interview guides and logistical
procedures for scheduling and conducting interviews. The
pilot study ended with an assessment and determination of the
most effective strategies to collect, translate and analyze
data.
The pilot study participants were chosen based on the
following criteria: they were Russian educators with three
years' experience in their current positions; they had no
direct relationship with the researcher; they agreed
voluntarily to participate in the pilot; and they were
available during the time of pilot study.
The researcher contacted the participants through the
superintendent with the assistance of the district office
staff to schedule appointments for the individual interviews.
The researcher is fluent only in English; therefore a
translator was required to assist in gathering and
translating data. The researcher and superintendent
identified a foreign language teacher who was judged fluent
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in Russian and English to serve as interpreter. The judgment
of two other fluent English-speaking Russians, one of whom is
a professional translator, was used to validate the
qualifications of the interpreter.
The interviewer provided the participants with an oral
summary of the purpose of the study, the reason for the pilot
study, the objectives and formats for the interview and
subsequent survey, and the roles of the participants and
researcher. The dates, locations and times of the interviews
were determined by the mutual availability of the pilot study
participants, the interpreter and the researcher. Each
interview was conducted through the Russian/English
interpreter with the participants speaking in Russian and the
researcher speaking in English. The interview procedures
encouraged the participant, interpreter and researcher to ask
for clarification or repetition to record the responses to
questions and elaborating comments as accurately as possible.
Due to the formative nature of the case study design,
the survey questions and interview guide used in the pilot
study included sample items rather than all of the questions
that were posed to the subjects during the course of the
study (Patton 61). The researcher asked additional questions
for clarification and elaboration of the participants'
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responses during the course of the interviews. Each of the
pilot study participants agreed to have their interviews
recorded by the researcher's handwritten notes in combination
with videotape or audiotape. The videotape also provided the
researcher with feedback to assess the quality of the
interview strategies. The researcher used this information to
improve techniques in subsequent interviews. Video taping
was used extensively in the pilot study but not in the actual
study as it presented additional tasks that did not add value
to the data collection. The willingness of the participants
to have their comments recorded was significant because the
researcher was an American in a Soviet city school district.
The pilot study was conducted from February through July
1991.
Preparations for the Study
The Pereslavl-Zalessky School District was chosen as the
site of the study because the researcher's experiences from
April 1989 through January 1990 indicated that it "would
yield the most information and have the greatest impact on
the development of knowledge" (Patton 174). During the
period of July 1990 through July 1991, the researcher
collected background data on the organization and operation
of the school district through structured and unstructured
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interviews and discussions with the superintendent,
administrators, teachers, and students in the district. A
review and discussion of primary documents with an
interpreter and observations in schools and the district
office supplemented the data. The researcher also gained
understanding of the daily lives of the participants by
living in their homes and sharing social experiences.
Actual Study
The pilot study demonstrated the need to narrow the
number of participants to key informants who are
representative of the district staff positions and who are
"nontypical in that they have more knowledge, better
communications skills, or perspectives different from other
group members" (Borg and Gall 398). The three key informants
selected for the study were: Ludmila Melnikova, district
superintendent, Alexandr Ivakhnenko, director of the School
for Defektology, and Maria Mischenko, teacher of English at
School #7.
The study design required a larger group of respondents
who would be asked to complete questionnaires and participate
in focus groups as a means of testing the perceptions of the
key informants against those of other members of the district
staff (Patton 467). Periodic surveys were planned to check
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the perceptions of the three key informants with a broader
sample of the district staff. The interview design was
changed to a series of interviews and observations with each
of the informants during site visits for no less than one
week three times each year.
The design of each set of interviews used an interview
guide format with an open-ended question based on the
responses of the individual participant. The comments of the
participants generated additional related questions driven by
their responses or events in the context of the study. The
use of an interview guide provided assurance that specific
issues or concepts would be addressed in each of the
interviews in accordance with the design. The interview
summaries were reviewed with the key informants to identify
patterns across time, to utilize their insights, and to
record their perceptions as data emerged.
The researcher discontinued audio and video recordings
because these methods proved cumbersome and provided inferior
data when compared with the interviews based on the
handwritten records. The use of the equipment changed the
dynamics of the interview and tended to distract the
participants. The researcher's handwritten notes were
transcribed and reviewed with the informants to identify and
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correct errors or omissions. As the study progressed, the
ability of the researcher and the key informants to
communicate effectively eliminated the need for an
interpreter for the interviews and informal discussions.
Interviews were scheduled at different times of the day
to accommodate individual schedules and were conducted in
schools and informal settings such as private homes. The
interview guide was simplified to encourage informants to
elaborate on their responses. Interviews were scheduled with
sufficient time between sessions for the researcher to review
the notes and reflect on the data. The three to four month
intervals between sets of interviews offered the informants
an opportunity to identify and describe new changes as they
reviewed the interview summaries with the researcher.
Heeding Patton's conclusion that "the validity,
meaningfulness, and insights generated from qualitative
inquiry have more to do with the information-richness of the
cases selected and the observational/analytical capabilities
of the researcher than with sample size" (Patton 185), the
researcher focused on three key informants.
Subjects
The data collection included one superintendent, one
director and one teacher as key informants. The key
117
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informants were selected as "extreme or deviant case" (Patton
169) samples due to their roles and unique characteristics
that are more fully described in the case studies in Chapter
IV.
District teachers and administrators served as
respondents. Respondents and informants were selected from a
larger group of district teachers and administrators based
upon the following criteria:
1. a minimum of seven years experience as an educator;
2. recommendations from at least two colleagues who
named the individual as an example of a successful,
knowledgeable teacher or administrator; and
3. agreement of the informants to participate in a
study of at least one year in length.
Two of the three who were selected as key informants
served in their respective positions as a director and a
teacher for the entire study. The third key informant left
the position of superintendent in February 1996 and continued
as a key informant to the end. Individuals who possessed
special knowledge related to the context for the phenomenon
of study were interviewed two or more times as part of the
case study design. These individuals included Eduard
Dneprov, Minister of Education for the Russian Federation
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(interviews March 19 and April 22, 1991) and Vera Rubykova,
Deputy Chief of Schools for the Yaroslavl Region (multiple
interviews from 1990 through 2001). They were not asked to
respond to surveys nor were they included as primary
participants in the study.
Research Design
The research questions determined the use of a multiple
case study for the design of the research project. The
purpose of the study defined the design choices (Borg and
Gall 385; Patton 88). The district and each district
educator who served as key informant were a unit of study.
The design limited the number of units and offered data that
could be examined across a number of variables including job
classification. The multiple case study design provided
triangulation in the methods used for data collection, the
accuracy of the translations and the identification of
emerging patterns (Borg and Gall 393; Patton 4 64).
Triangulation over time and across subjects was addressed
through "time samplings" (Patton 168) to review of data and
preliminary findings with the participants during the 35 site
visits from February 1991 through November 2001.
The researcher used the review of literature to develop
an understanding of the system of education, societal issues
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and historical events that formed the context of study.
Patton emphasizes that the understanding of the whole
cultural system in ethnographic fieldwork is important (215).
With this in mind, the researcher embarked on a course to
better understand the context of the study through direct
experiences in the field coupled with readings in the culture
and history of Russia. The review of literature focused
primarily on changes in Russian education from 1917 through
2000, but also included the major political, social and
economic factors that shaped the broader context for the
study.
The researcher selected the interview technique as the
primary tool within the case study model to address the
research questions. The purpose of interviewing according to
Patton, "is to find out what is on someone else's mind"
(278). Interviewing is an effective method to understand what
people think and how they behave in their "ordinary work
activities" (Van Maanen 56). Interviewing provides both
structured and open-ended techniques for probing a person's
perceptions of motives, causes, consequences, and future
implications of events or particular phenomena.
Surveys and questionnaires provide additional data as
well as an alternative means of probing or verifying the data
120
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yielded through interviews and observations. The surveys and
questionnaires were developed with the assistance of a
bilingual translator to assure clarity and accuracy. The
pilot study provided feedback on the structure, content and
procedures related to the interview process, collecting and
recording data, and using written data collection
instruments. Yin cautions that despite the problem of
multiple changes in a single variable, "the ability to trace
changes over time is a major strength of case studies—are not
limited to cross-sectional or static assessments of a
particular situation" (116). The time frame and structure of
the research study allowed for the emergence of new
information that could be analyzed for its significance as a
possible line of new inquiry.
The data collected through the interviews, surveys and
site observations were supplemented by a review of district
and school records, documents and artifacts with the
assistance of translators. Data for each of the research
questions were obtained through a combination of two or more
of the various data collection methods. Data were organized
into case records based upon brief, holistic case study
summaries for the district and each key informant. Reduction
of the data was managed through an initial review of the data
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collected and the formative case study summaries. This
process enabled the researcher to identify emerging patterns
and themes that could then be labeled as categories for later
analysis.
Based on inductive analysis, the researcher looked for
patterns that cut across cases, identified emerging themes
according to the frequency of a response and probed for
variations between cases. The researcher sought evidence to
support rival or conflicting explanations and themes
throughout the process of analysis. Conclusions and
recommendations were developed after consideration of the
relevant data and through steps taken to assure a nexus
between the findings and the data. The researcher reviewed
the drafts of each case study with the key informants and
used their comments as an additional source of data in
completing the final report.
The reliability of conclusions was addressed in the use
of the database generated through the research process and in
the use of triangulation in research strategies. Construct
validity was based on the use of multiple sources of
information from the key informants and survey respondents;
use of a pilot study to assess the design, data-collection
process and instruments; and the establishment of a chain of
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evidence (Yin 42). Internal validity was based on the use of
key informants and multiple respondents who were interviewed
and observed in action over an extended period of time. As
recommended by Borg and Gall, the researcher used
triangulation throughout the study as an important method to
demonstrate validity and open up new viewpoints about the
topic under investigation (397). Consistent with Yin's
recommendation (42), the key informants and the researcher
periodically discussed data collected during each visit to
the site. They reviewed and commented on the preliminary
report of findings in January and April of 2002 and assisted
in clarifying key points in the drafting of the findings and
recommendations.
Data Collection
A case study file was established for the district, the
participants and each of the three key informants. Each
individual was selected following a preliminary interview in
which the researcher outlined the planned scope and purpose of
the study. Upon agreement between the researcher and each
individual participating in the study, the researcher
scheduled formal observations and interviews during each site
visit. In the early stages of the study, participants were
interviewed individually based on an interview guide (See
1 2 3
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sample in the Appendix). Despite the allowance for breaks
between interviews, there were several occasions when formal
interviews ran beyond the scheduled time. When the next
person arrived, the interview typically developed into a group
discussion that continued until the researcher determined it
was appropriate to end the session. These impromptu
discussions provided the participants an opportunity to
elaborate upon prior questions and responses while eliciting
the reactions of their colleagues. The next person scheduled
was then interviewed with an adjustment to the schedule and
interview questions. Each visit to the site included no less
than two structured interviews and multiple observations as
well as informal conversations with each of the three key
informants in their homes and in their workplaces. The
researcher included regular opportunities during each site
visit for the key informants to give feedback throughout the
study (Patton 267). (See Exhibit B-l: Log of Interviews and
Field Visits to Pereslavl-Zalessky.) In the course of the
study, there were numerous instances when two of the key
informants met with the researcher and engaged in an informal
conversation related to the study questions.
Written notes were reviewed as soon as possible
following an interview session and transcribed with multiple
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copies filed for reference. Upon the researcher's return to
the United States, the written data were compared with other
data sources such as videotapes, tape recordings and
photographs. A translator was used as needed to assure
accuracy of the data. These data were then added to the case
study database. New and follow-up questions for interviews
and printed instruments were developed for subsequent site
visits. As the study progressed, the researcher participated
in informal conversations and social activities with study
participants in their home, school and community settings to
augment the structured interviews and observations. Parallel
to this process, the researcher continued the review of the
literature and background research.
Data Analysis
Data were analyzed following each set of interviews for
a site visit and reviewed at two-month intervals throughout
the study. The organization and maintenance of the case
study database provided a manageable format for the purpose
of analysis. The use of the data base review process
assisted the researcher in identifying and analyzing emerging
patterns as well as in determining areas for further
investigation. The purpose of the data analysis and
maintenance of a database was to assure a clear and traceable
1 2 5
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chain of evidence from the research questions to the findings
and from the findings to the research questions (Yin 84). In
addition to the documentary evidence, case files and field
notes, the researcher used the N4 Classic software program as
a tool to organize the data, identify cross-case patterns and
themes, and assemble the relevant data for the final report.
The preliminary findings were reviewed and critiqued by
the key informants as a method of analytical triangulation to
better assure the "accuracy, fairness, and validity" (Patton
468) of the findings. This process enabled the key
informants to continue their participation to the end of the
research project and contribute to the final recommendations.
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CHAPTER 4
FINDINGS
Scope of Research
The purpose of this study is to describe the changes that
a group of educators in a small urban school district in the
Russian Federation perceived to be significant and the impact
of these changes from February 1991 to November 2001. This
research study uses a multiple case study approach to identify
and describe key factors that affected the process of
educational innovation in a school district during a period of
profound political, social and economic change in Russian.
This longitudinal study reports what the educators said
in surveys, interviews, and informal conversations and what
they did as observed in professional and social settings both
public and private. The researcher was a participant observer
as explained in Chapter 3. The scope of the study is limited
to educators who volunteered to participate in the
investigation of the changes in one small urban school
district. The change of superintendents in 1996 did not
interfere with the study or require any modification in the
research questions. Despite the fact that access to
information related to the district as a whole became more
difficult to obtain after the dismissal of superintendent
1 2 7
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Melnikova in March 1996, the researcher continued to have full
access to the key informants and information pertaining to
individual schools.
The study focuses on the perceptions of teachers,
administrators and a district superintendent. The data in
this chapter were collected and analyzed with the techniques
described in Chapter 3. These data address the research
questions that guided the study.
Research Questions
Four research questions provided the basis of this study.
Research question 1 was answered through surveys conducted
with small groups of educators, observations, and individual
interviews. Research questions 2, 3, and 4 were answered
through case studies of the district, one superintendent, one
teacher and one director. The researcher determined that the
chronology of events and the history of each major subject
were essential to understanding the context of responses to
each of the research questions. Therefore, research questions
1, 2, 3, and 4 were addressed in qualitative terms within each
of the case summaries.
The four research questions are:
1. What changes in the system of education from February
1991 through November 2001 did educators in the
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Pereslavl-Zalessky School District of the Russian
Federation perceive as significant?
2. How did the perceived significant changes in the
system of education impact the roles and
responsibilities of educators in the Pereslavl-Zalessky
School District of the Russian Federation?
3. What factors explain why educators view some of the
perceived significant changes in the Pereslavl-Zalessky
School District from February 1991 through November 2001
as positive?
4. What factors explain why educators view some of the
perceived significant changes in the Pereslavl-Zalessky
School District from February 1991 through November 2001
as negative?
The responses to these four questions and the case study
summaries of the district and three educators are presented in
this chapter.
Identification and Inclusion of Research Subjects
The data collection included one superintendent, one
director and one teacher as key informants. The key
informants were selected as "extreme or deviant case" (Patton
169) samples due to their roles and unique characteristics
that are more fully described in the case studies 2 through
4.
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District teachers and administrators served as
respondents. For the purpose of the study, participants
needed to have sufficient experience as educators within the
district so that they could make informed judgements as to
what constituted a "significant" change. Respondents and
informants were selected from a larger group of district
teachers and administrators based upon the following
criteria:
1. a minimum of seven years experience as an educator,
2. recommendations by at least two colleagues who named
the individual as an example of a successful,
knowledgeable teacher or administrator, and
3. agreement of the informants to participate in a study
of at least one year in length.
Two of the three who were selected as key informants
served in their respective positions as a teacher (Case Study
3) and a director (Case Study 4) for the entire study. The
third key informant (Case Study 2) left the position of
superintendent in March 1996 and continued as a key informant
to the end. Individuals who possessed special knowledge
related to the context for the phenomenon of study were
interviewed two or more times as part of the case study
design. These individuals included Eduard Dneprov, Minister
of Education for the Russian Federation (interviews March 19
1 30
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and April 22, 1991) and Vera Rubykova, Deputy Chief of
Schools for the Yaroslavl Region (multiple interviews from
1990 through 2001). They were not asked to respond to
surveys nor were they included as primary participants in the
study.
Quantitative data were collected from district educators
who responded to written surveys and participated in focus
group discussions from 1991 through 1995. Qualitative data
were collected through multiple interviews with the
individuals listed below. These data were augmented by the
researcher's onsite observations which were conducted a
minimum of three times per year during the study. Alexandr
Ivakhnenko, Ludmila Melnikova and Maria Mischenko served as
key informants throughout the study. The schedule of their
interviews is included in Exhibit B-l: Log of Interviews and
Field Visits in Appendix B.
Subjects in the Case Study 1991-2001
The key informants are:
1. Ludmila Melnikova - former superintendent, director
and teacher in the Pereslavl School District.
2. Alexandr Ivakhnenko - Director (principal or head
teacher) for the Special School for Defektology for
Pereslavl District; this school also serves villages in
the Yaroslavl Region.
1 3 1
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3. Maria Mischenko - English language teacher at School
#7 and interpreter. She is a mentor for district
teachers of English.
The following individuals provided two or more
interviews.
1. Tatiana Apalnova - Assistant Director and teacher at
School #6.
2. Eduard Dneprov - Minister of Education, Russian
Federation (1990-1992)
3. Luba Durynina - Director, teacher and former school
inspector for district.
4. Vasiliy Galubchik - organized and taught humanities
at School #7 with his wife Nellie; headed the Lyceum
1995-1997. They left Pereslavl and education in 1998.
5. Venera Jourayeva - speech therapist, English
language translator for school district
6. Tatiana Kiseleva - Director, teacher and former
assistant director School #7
7. Galina Ladochhkina - Teacher of Russian literature
School #7, moved to a village and is now in Moscow.
8. Vera Rybakova - head of education for the Yaroslavl
Region. She retired in 1999.
9. Rima Vasilieva - art teacher at School #7. She
retired but is now teaching due to financial need.
1 3 2
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10. Valentina Vavitsina - Director, teacher and former
head of Pereslavl Komsomol; she is retired.
It is noteworthy that from the outset of the study during
the Soviet era participants in the interviews and the subjects
of the case studies agreed to have their names cited in the
study rather than remain anonymous. Some respondents to the
surveys chose the option of remaining anonymous which is not
significant.
Quantitative Responses to Research Question 1
Quantitative data responding to research question 1 (on
changes perceived as significant) were gathered through
surveys used with district educators who participated in a
professional development program. The majority of these
educators were administrators. The survey was conducted in
1992, 1993, 1994 and 1996. Respondents participated in from
one to all four of the surveys. The roles and the
responsibilities of some of the respondents changed during the
five-year period that the survey was conducted.
District educators were asked: Part 1) to rate the degree
of importance to them of the Ministry of Education's Ten
Principles of Reform and Part 2) to cite the "most significant
change" in their school or the district that "improves
education." The data collected for Part 1 are presented for
each year in Tables 4.1 through 4.4 and are summarized in
1 33
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Table 4.5. These tables follow. The summary of responses to
Part 2 of the survey is presented in the Summary of Response
to "Ten Principles of Reform" Surveys Part 2 - 1992, 1993,
1995 and 1996 on page 140.
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Table 4.1 - 1992 Rating of Ten Principles of Reform
Summary of Responses
Part 1: The Russian Ministry of Education has adopted the Ten
Principles of Reform for Education listed below. Please rate
each one according to a scale of 1 - 5 based on:
1 - unimportant, 2 - little importance, 3 - important, 4 -
very important, 5 - absolutely essential.
Number of Respondents 21 (8 directors, 6 assistant
directors, 5 district office administrators and 2 teachers)
Date: November 11, 1992
Rating
12 3 No Response
1. Democratization
2. Multisystems
3. Regionalization
4. Cultural Identity
5. Alternative Schools
1 4 5 10 1
(4.76%) (19.04%) (23.8%) (47.61%) (4.76%)
2 9 4 5 1
(9.52%) (42.85%) (19.04%) (23.8%) (4.76%)
3 13 1 2 2
(14.28%)(61.9%) (4.76%) (9.52%) (9.52%)
7 5 9
(33.33%) (23.8%) (42.85%)
7 1
6. Humanization
7. Humanitarianism
!. Differentiation
9. Active learning
10. Openness
(9.52%) (19.04%) (33.33%) (4.76%) (14.28%) (19.04%)
1 4 10 5 1
(4.76%)(19.04%)(47.61%)(23.8%) (4.76%)
1 1 5 5 3 6
(4.76%) (4.76%) (23.8%) (23.8%) (14.8%) (28.57%)
1 6 3 9 2
(4.76%) (28.57%) (14.28%) (42.85%) (9.52%)
1 2 8 6 3 1
(4.76%) (9.52%) (38.09%) (28.57%) (14.28%) (4.76%)
1 4 5 7 4
(4.76%) (19.04%) (23.8%) (33.33%) (19.04%)
135
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Table 4.2 - 1993 Rating of Ten Principles of Reform
Summary of Responses
Part 1: The Russian Ministry of Education has adopted the Ten
Principles of Reform for Education listed below. Please rate
each one according to a scale of 1 - 5 based on:
1 - unimportant, 2 - little importance, 3 - important, 4 -
very important, 5 - absolutely essential.
Number of Respondents 17 (6 directors, 5 assistant
directors, 4 district office administrators and 2 teachers)
Date: June 3, 1993
Rating
___________________________1_________ 2_______3________ 4_______ 5 No Response
1. Democratization 4 5 6 2
(23.52%) (29.41%) (35.29%) (11.76%)
2. Multisystems 1 3 2 6 4 1
(5.88%) (17.64%) (11.76%) (35.29%) (23.52%) (5.88%)
3. Regionalization 1 4 4 3 1 4
(5.88%) (23.52%) (23.52%) (17.64%) (5.88%) (23.52%)
4. Cultural Identity 2 5 10
(11.76%) (29.41%) (58.82%)
5. Alternative 3 9 4 1
Schools (17.64%) (52.94%) (23.52%) (5.88%)
6. Humanization 2 3 7 5
(11.76%) (17.64) (41.17) (29.41%)
7. Humanitarianism 2 1 6 3 1 4
(11.76%) (5.88%) (35.29%) (17.64%) (5.88%) (23.52%)
8. Differentiation 1 4 8 3 1
(5.88%) (23.52%) (47.05%) (17.64%) (5.88%)
9. Active learning 2 10 3 1 1
(11.76%) (58.82%) (17.64%) (5.88%) (5.88%)
10. Openness 1 3 6 4 2 1
(5.88%) (17.64%) (35.29%) (23.52%) (11.76%) (5.88%)
136
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Table 4.3 - 1995 Rating of Ten Principles of Reform
Summary of Responses
Part 1: The Russian Ministry of Education has adopted the Ten
Principles of Reform for Education listed below. Please rate
each one according to a scale of 1 - 5 based on:
1 - unimportant, 2 - little importance, 3 - important, 4 -
very important, 5 - absolutely essential.
Number of Respondents 19 (7 directors, 7 assistant
directors, 4 district office administrators and 1 teacher)
Date: July 10, 1995
Rating
___________________________1_________ 2_________3_______4_______ 5 No Response
1. Democratization 2 7 5 5
(10.52%) (36.84%) (26.31%) (26.31%)
2. Multisystems 2 3 8 3 2 1
(10.52%) (15.78%) (42.1%) (15.78%) (10.52%) (5.26%)
3. Regionalization 3 4 4 3 1 4
(15.78%) (21.05%) (21.05%) (15.78%) (5.26%) (21.05%)
4. Cultural Identity 1 7 8 3
(5.26%) (36.84%) (42.1%) (15.78%)
5. Alternative 2 9 4 1 1 2
Schools (10.52%) (47.36%) (21.05%) (5.26%) (5.26%) (10.52%)
6. Humanization 2 4 8 5
(10.52%) (21.05%) (42.1%) (26.31%)
7. Humanitarianism 3 7 4 5
(15.78%) (36.84%) (21.05%) (26.31%)
8. Differentiation 2 1 8 4 2 2
(10.52%) (5.26%) (42.1%) (21.05%)(10.52%) (10.52%)
9. Active learning 3 7 3 2 4
(15.78%) (36.84%) (15.78%) (10.52%) (21.05%)
10. Openness 2 2 8 4 3
(10.52%) (10.52%) (42.1%) (21.05%) (15.78%)
137
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Table 4.4 - 1996 Rating of Ten Principles of Reform
Summary of Responses
Part 1: The Russian Ministry of Education has adopted the Ten
Principles of Reform for Education listed below. Please rate
each one according to a scale of 1 - 5 based on:
1 - unimportant, 2 - little importance, 3 - important, 4 -
very important, 5 - absolutely essential.
Number of Respondents 18 (7 directors, 7 assistant
directors, 3 district office administrators and 1 teachers)
Date: January 24, 1996
Rating
___________________________1________ 2________3________4________5______ No Response
1. Democratization 1
(5.55%)
2. Multisystems 1
(5.55%)
3. Regionalization 2
(11.11%)
4. Cultural Identity 4
(22.22%)
5. Alternative 1
Schools (5.55%)
6. Humanization 1
(5.55%)
7. Humanitarianism 5
(27.77%)
8. Differentiation
9. Active learning
10. Openness
138
2 6 3 6
(11.11%) (33.33%) (16.66%) (33.33%)
(22.22%) (50.%) (16.66%) (5.55%)
13 2
(72.22%) (11.11%)
1
(5.55%)
11 3
(61.11%) (16.66%)
(44.44%)(16.66%) (11.11%) (5.55%) (16.66%)
10
(22.22%) (55.55%) (16.66%)
9 3 1
(50.%) (16.66%) (5.55%)
(27.77%) (44.44%) (16.66%) (11.11%)
3 10 4 1
(16.66%) (55.55%) (22.22%) (5.55%)
3 7 5
(16.66%) (38.88%) (27.77%) (16.66%)
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Table 4.5 Cumulative Summary of Survey for 1992, 1993, 1995 and 1996
Ten Principles of Reform
Part 1: The Russian Ministry of Education has adopted the Ten Principles
of Reform for Education listed below. Please rate each one according to
a scale of 1 - 5 based on: 1 - unimportant, 2 - little importance, 3 -
important, 4 - very important, 5 - absolutely essential.
Number of Respondents 75 Cumulative total of respondents who
participated from one year to all four years of the survey. Includes
teachers, directors, assistant directors and district office
administrators. Two assistant directors and one district office
administrator who participated in 1992 are now school directors.
Date Summarized: August 10, 1999
Rating
1 2 3 4 5 No
Response
1. Democratization 1
(1.33%)
5
(6.66%)
21
(28%)
18
(24.%)
27
(36%)
3
(4%)
2. Multisystems 4
(5.33%)
12
(16%)
28
(37.33%)
16
(21.33%)
12
(16%)
3
(4%)
3. Regionalization 4
(5.33%)
13
(17.33%)
34
(45.33%)
9
(12%)
4
(5.33%)
11
(14.66%)
4 . Cultural Identity 1
(1.33%)
20
(26.66%
29
) (38.66%)
25
(33.33%;)
5. Alternative 5
Schools (6.66%)
24
(32%)
23
(30.66%)
8
(10.66%)
6
1 (8%)
9
(12%)
6. Humanization 5
(6.66%)
12
(16%)
29
(38.66%)
25
(33.33%;
4
) (5.33%)
7 . Humanitarianism 6
(8%)
14
(18.66%)
24
(32%)
16
(21.33%)
5
(6.66%)
10
(13.33%)
8. Differentiation 3
(4%)
2
(2.66%)
23
(30.66%)
23
(30.66%)
17
(22.66%)
7
(9.33%)
9. Active learning 1
(1.33%)
10
(13.33%)
35
(46.66%)
16
(21.33%)
7
(9.33%)
6
(8%)
10. Openness 4
(5.33%)
12
(16%)
26
(34.66%)
20
(26.66%)
6
(8%)
7
(9.33%)
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Summary of Responses to "Ten Principles of Reform" Surveys
Part 2 - 1992, 1993, 1995 and 1996: Significant Changes in
Education in Schools or the District
The following summarizes the responses to Part 2 of the
survey form presented as Exhibit A-2 in Appendix A. The 7 5
surveys were collected from November 11, 1992 through January
24, 1996. The majority of the respondents were school
administrators who participated in two or more of the surveys.
Eighteen of the surveys did not have answers to one or both of
the questions in Part 2.
The summary statements below are a paraphrase of the
respondents' comments. The number in the parentheses indicates
the frequency of an "item" mentioned. Respondents were free
to list as many changes as they wished. Although there is
some overlap between them, the responses have been grouped by
the following broad categories:
1) Independence and role in decision-making
2) Decentralization
3) Differentiation
4) Compensation
5) Resources
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Survey Question 1 - What do you think is the most significant
change in your school or the district that improves education?
Category 1 Independence and role in decision-making:
1.1 Teachers can choose textbooks, materials for their
classroom. (36 times)
1.2 School staff now has voice related to choices in
curriculum and design of the courses of study; increased
ability to make changes in school program. (31 times)
1.3 Choice of teaching methods; teachers actively
involved in process; use of creative methods. (29
times)
1.4 The director and staff determine schedule of
classes. (19 times)
Category 2 Decentralization:
2.1 Less "dictate" from above; change in role of region
and central authorities. (7 times)
2.2 Democracy of education law. (9 times)
Category 3 Differentiation:
3.1 Different schools or programs for special students.
(21 times)
Category 4 Compensation:
4.1 Salary schedule for teachers - this item was listed
as a "significant change" on 17 of the surveys in 1992
but not in any survey thereafter.
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Category 5 Resources:
5.1 Use new and/or teacher developed materials. (15 times)
Survey Question 2. Is there any obstacle to improving
education in your school or the district?
No response fell within categories 1-3.
Category 4 Compensation:
4.1 Money problems (staff salaries low; no money for school
repairs) (19 times)
Category 5 Resources:
5.1 Not enough or outdated texts, poor materials (33 times)
5.2 Not enough time. (13 times)
5.3 Teacher and substitute shortage which creates added work
and limits flexibility. (8 times)
Summary of Pereslavl Educators' Assessment of the Rate of
Progress in Achieving Goals of the Declaration of 1993
Superintendent Melnikova guided the development and
adoption of the "Declaration of Pereslavl-Zalessky Educators
in 1993" (Exhibit A-l in Appendix A). As a part of a series
of professional development workshops in the summer of 1994,
the staff focused on assessing their progress for the prior
school year.
Twenty-one district administrators (directors, assistant
directors, and district office staff) and two teachers
completed the questionnaire provided in Russian (Form A-3) in
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Appendix A. See Form A-2 for the English version of the form.
The "questionnaire" is flawed as a tool for quantitative
measure but it was helpful as a guide to further
investigation. The researcher with the input of the educators
used the summary of their responses to identify the items on
which they could "informally" agree were the top priorities.
Their rankings served to focus small group discussions and an
individual assignment in a workshop on instructional
leadership.
Table 4.6 Summary of Educator Ratings - Pereslavl Declaration
"Program Changes Rated as Significant" for 1993-94
Conducted and discussed responses on July 12, 1994.
1 9 2 - progress 19 (90.47 percent)
2 5 3 - little progress 17 (80.95 percent)
3 7 3 - little progress 15 (71.14 percent)
4 4 and 10 3 - little progress 8 (38.1 percent each)
5 12 2 - progress 7 (33.33 percent)
Of the respondents:
• Nineteen ranked item 9 (demonstrate their literacy in
mathematics, language, culture and technologies) as their
first priority; they rated their progress in the 1993-94
school year as "2" (progress).
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• Seventeen ranked item 5 (demonstrate individual and social
ethics) as their second priority; they rated their progress
in the 1993-94 school year as "3" (little progress).
• Fifteen ranked item 7 (demonstrate critical thinking, have
problem solving skills in all spheres of life) as their
third priority and rated their progress in the 1993-94
school year as "3" (little progress).
• Eight ranked item 4 (are lifelong learners) and eight rated
item 10 (have skills and knowledge in communication) as the
fourth priority; they ranked their progress in the 1993-94
school year as "3" (little progress).
• Seven ranked item 12 (are acquainted with different
professions and trades) as the fifth priority; they rated
their progress in the 1993-94 school year as "2"
(progress).
The following summarizes the respondents' comments on
the importance and quality of the goals (Sample of remarks
from the large group discussion on July 12, 1994.):
1) "The goals are very important [ . . . ] not certain how my
school and all teachers are doing on all items." 2) "Not all
students are exposed to activities for all of these goals.
We need to be clear." 3) "Maybe should we begin with some,
not all (goals)?" 4) "All goals very nice but some not only
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for schools, family too." 5) "I (teacher) did not see all
these, discussion helps to understand."
Respondents' comments on the quality of the goal statements:
1) "It is now clear that our thoughts were nice ideas but
difficult to see how we progress." 2) "Impossible to rate, I
just took a guess with my heart, not my head." 3) "How can
we measure progress?" 4) "I not sure how all these good
words fit with work in every day of the school. How
practical?"
Changes in School Governance and Individual Roles of
Educators
The educators who participated in the surveys (Tables
4.1 through 4.4) acknowledged that the shift in authority and
policy-making for the schools from the central government to
the regional and local governments was significant. In the
discussion of the survey in 1992, participants spoke of the
"freedom from the lessons of ideology" and that "socialist
philosophy" is no longer "weighing down the teacher". The
participants then focused on the role of the educator in this
changing environment.
The written comments and discussions related to the survey
items indicated that the respondents saw important changes in
the role of teachers and administrators as a result of the
process of decentralization. Their comments were riddled
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with phrases such as: "now we are free to choose [ . . . ] make our
own decisions," "schools can plan programs, make own
curriculum," "I am independent," "teachers actively involved
in process" and "school have a right to devise curriculum."
This discussion provided a "readiness" experience for
the educators to review the district plan and to write goals
and objectives for 1994-95 school year. For the purpose of
the study, the use of the survey forms and discussion groups
informed the formative design of the project. The researcher
determined that the qualitative approach in the context of
the district would yield more and richer data through the
interview, group discussion and observation process for the
remainder of the study.
Organization of the Demographic Data and Key Events
Due to factors related to the size of the sample, the
timing of surveys, the range of responses and the nature of
the research, no causal relationships were sought nor intended
in the design of the study. However, within the data gathered
through surveys and the review of documents there were
descriptive items that would relate to data gathered through
interviews and observations in the field.
The demographic data and the chronology of key events in
the district are included in Case Summary 1 - Perspectives on
Changes in Education: The Pereslavl-Zalessky School District.
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Political, social and economic events in the Soviet Union and
subsequently the Russian Federation shaped the culture of the
people. These events were, to a varying degree, factors in
the larger context of the study. Therefore, chronologies of
significant events in the education and the history of the
Soviet Union and Russian Federation are included in Appendix
C.
Qualitative Responses to Research Questions 1 through 4
Comments related to the research questions and direct
responses to the questions are contained in each of the four
case studies and at the end of this chapter in the Summary of
the Interview Findings.
Research Question 1:
The three key informants and all other informants
interviewed a minimum of two times responded to research
question 1 related to perceived significant changes in a
school or the district.
Research Question 2:
The three key informants and all other informants
interviewed a minimum of two times responded to research
question 2 related to how perceived significant changes in a
school or the district impacted their roles or
responsibilities.
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Research Question 3:
The three key informants and all other informants
interviewed a minimum of two times provided data to respond to
research question 3 related to what factors explain why some
perceived significant changes are viewed as positive.
Research Question 4:
The three key informants and all other informants
interviewed a minimum of two times provided data to respond to
research question 4 related to what factors explain why some
perceived significant changes are viewed as negative.
Case Study Summaries
The three key informants and the informants interviewed
contributed to the following four case study summaries:
Case 1 - Pereslavl-Zalessky School District;
Case 2 - Ludmila Melnikova, Superintendent 1985 to 1996;
Case 3 - Maria Mischenko, English Language Teacher, School
#7; and
Case 4 - Alexandr Ivahknenko, Director of the Special
School of Defektology (school for educable mentally
retarded).
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Case Study 1 - Perspectives on Changes in Education: The
Pereslavl-Zalessky School District
The study focused on the school district in the city of
Pereslavl-Zalessky (Pereslavl) located 150 kilometers north of
Moscow in the Yaroslavl Region (Oblast) of the Russian
Federation. The population of Pereslavl is 44,500 and has
remained relatively stable for the past ten years. According
to city records, Pereslavl''s death rate roughly equals the
birthrate. The key demographic characteristics of the city
are relatively similar to those of the nation. According to
Fen Montainge in his article "Russia Rising," the life
expectancy for a Russian man has fallen from a peak of 65
years in 1984 to a low of 59 years in 2001; this is fifteen
years below the life expectancy of an American man (24) . See
page 150 for Table 4.7: Rates for Births, Deaths and Infant
Mortality for the Russian Federation. This short life
expectancy coupled with the drop in birthrate results in one
of the fastest shrinking national populations on earth.
Russia's population in 2001 was 145 million; it is projected
to fall to 137 million by 2025 and to 128 million by 2050
(Montaigne 24).
Pereslavl was founded in 1152 AD and is revered as one
of Russia's oldest cities. It together with the nearby
cities of Moscow, Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Sergei Posad, and
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Table 4.7 Rates for Births, Deaths and Infant Mortality for the Russian
Federation
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 2001
Life Expectancy at
Birth
Men (years)
Women (years) 63.8
74.3
63.5
74 .3
62.0
73.8
58.9
71.9 57.3
71.1
62 .12
72 .83
Death Rate (per
1,000 inhabitants) 11.2 11.4 12 .2 14.5 15.7 13.85
Infant Mortality
(per 1,000 live
births 17. 4 17 .8 18.0 19.9 18 . 6 20.5
(C entral Intelligence Agency http: //www. cia. gov/cia .publications/factbook/geos/rs. html; Silverm an and
Yanow itch 26 from Goskomstat data)
L /l
O
Rostov form the "golden ring" of historic sites. Pereslavl
is a popular destination for Russian tourists and for
prosperous Muscovites who have dachas, second homes, there.
Located on Lake Pleshcheyevo where Tsar Peter the Great
tested his mock fleet, Pereslavl is the site of five active
Russian Orthodox churches, three inactive monasteries and a
former convent. Art and historical museums are now located
in the inactive monasteries and convent which are open to
the public throughout the year.
In addition to many informal interactions, the
researcher spoke with Vladimir Shesternyov, Mayor of
Pereslavl from 1992-1996, in ten formal meetings during the
study. He was consistently gracious, professional and spoke
proudly of his city during and after his tenure as mayor.
Upon his return from a 1992 trip to Germany and France to
cultivate business for Pereslavl, he agreed to an interview.
When asked about his impressions of Paris, he replied in all
seriousness, "Pereslavl is much more beautiful." He was
very interested in the district efforts to improve
education. School Superintendent Melnikova reported that he
was open to problem solving and supported creative
strategies to make the most of limited resources. He was
particularly helpful when he encouraged the factory
directors to sponsor schools located near their plants. When
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basic commodities were in short supply, he, as a supporter
of President Boris Yeltsin, secured a donation of tons of
sugar to stock the shelves of Pereslavl's shops prior to the
April 25, 1993 national referendum on Yeltin's economic
reforms.
In 1991 and 1992, the teachers and directors who
participated in interviews and small-group discussions
typically referred to themselves as "optimists." By 1993
the realities of inflation, shortages of basic goods and
political bickering in Moscow were taking their toll on the
people. Although they generally continued to refer to their
work with their students and colleagues in very positive
terms, the general tone of their comments and conversations
on daily life and national politics was turning negative. A
teacher commented at the time, "my students were very
excited about politics and the changes in our government.
Now they want to turn it off like a bad television program.
It is all talk, talk, talk leading to nothing better"
(Mischenko February 14, 1993). By 1995, teachers and
students were no longer eager to discuss politics. English
teacher Maria Mischenko said "students used to find
politics very interesting but today they are absolutely not
interested. I can understand this because most adults are
not interested" (October 30, 1995).
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The city hall is located on the Red Square at the
center of the Pereslavl in a building that had been the
headquarters for the local city board (soviet) during the
Soviet era. The city board functioned as an advisory body
of up to 80 elected representatives who were by law
professionals rather than laborers. The exclusion of
laborers from the city board was often described as "one of
the paradoxes of our socialist system of workers." Ten
members of the city board were paid a salary, assigned
offices, and were supported by an average of 60 full-time
staff. The board was vested with oversight of city
operations, and the board president advised the mayor.
Following the unsuccessful coup attempt by members of the
Russian legislature in October 1993, Boris Yeltsin limited
the role of the legislative arm of the government at all
levels including the city boards.
Mayor Vladimir Shesternyov, like mayors across Russia,
moved quickly to take advantage of this opportunity to seize
the resources of the Pereslavl city board. Shesternyov
ordered the city board to vacate the building because he
wanted to move the city administration from a small, very
old building to this larger, more modern one and
"streamline" city operations. Eugeny Melnik, who later
defeated Shesternyov in the March 1996 election for mayor,
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was the president of the city board at the time of its
eviction in the October 1993.
The city is now responsible for the school district and
the superintendent reports to the mayor. Prior to 1996, the
head of education for the Yaroslavl Region appointed the
district superintendent in consultation with the mayor. The
superintendent is considered a department head and serves as
a member of the mayor's council. As of 1996, people of all
occupations are eligible to be elected to the ten-member
city board. The board's oversight role has been eliminated
because the mayor now also serves as the board president.
There are eleven schools to serve the students in
classes one through ten or eleven, one residential school
(internat) for students who are orphans or lack a stable home
environment and the School of Defektology, a residential
school for educable mentally retarded students from across the
Yaroslavl region. The majority of Pereslavl's graduates
complete the tenth class because only schools #4 and #7 offer
an eleventh class. Few schools in Russia offer an eleven-year
program which is considered a "reform." The enrollments and
staff for the preschool programs for children five years and
younger are not included in this study because responsibility
for these programs has changed several times since 1991.
Local companies, private organizations and the district have
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been responsible for the preschools that serve children from
the city and neighboring villages. From 1991 through 2001,
the enrollment for the eleven district schools has dropped
from 6,147 to 5,840 due in large part to the decline in the
birthrate and to an increase in the number of dropouts after
the ninth class. Figures for the rate of dropouts are not
available for the district but respondents report their
concern for what they believe is an increase in dropouts based
on their experiences. Since 1991, the number of children in
Russia has declined by 15.7% and the average number of births
per woman has decreased from 2.14 to 1.3 (Russian Life 9).
The district employs 535 teachers in the first through
eleventh classes. According to district staff, the average
class size for the district has increased from 24 to 31
students since 1995 despite the decline in enrollment. This
increase is due to the shortage of teachers needed to replace
those who have resigned, retired or died. The ongoing teacher
shortage has been alleviated, in part, by teachers who have
continued to work or returned to work past the normal
retirement age of 55 for women and 60 for men. Many teachers
must continue working because the pensions amount to very
little due to inflation.
Rima Vasilieva, a former art teacher at the Gymnasiya in
School #7, said, "I was looking forward to my pension after so
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many years of such pleasant work with the children, but I
found it was impossible for me to live. I had no choice but
to return to work." Vasilieva was known throughout the city
for her creative work with the students. She had devoted many
hours to the student art gallery she created in School #7
before she retired. Vasilieva fondly recalls the field trips
she used to take with her students during the Soviet era when
the price of train travel and overnight accommodations were
very inexpensive for student groups. She took her homeroom
classes to museums in Moscow, Yaroslavl and Leningrad (St.
Petersberg). After her return to work from her retirement,
she limits her extra responsibilities at school. She no longer
plans field trips because the cost is prohibitive and the
school's art gallery is now more of a museum that displays the
work of former students.
Many teachers also have assumed more teaching hours to
make up for the staff shortages since 1995 and to supplement
their base salaries with the small, but valued, extra pay.
Alexandr Ivakhnenko, Director of the Special School for
Defektology, is the only male among the sixty administrators
in the district. The teaching staff is 84.7% female and
15.3% male. Fewer and fewer men are choosing education as a
career citing the poor wages and unreasonable workload
(Webber 8). The feminization (feminizatsiya), or female
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dominance in the number of educators, has been a concern
since the 1940s when the number of male educators fell below
the number of female educators and has never equaled what it
had been before the war (Dneprov Interview April 1992).
There are twenty sites for educational programs in the
district. In addition to the general education program sites,
there are nine kindergarten programs in sites in or near to
factories, large apartment complexes and some around the city.
The number and location of kindergarten programs are adjusted
each year to accommodate the enrollment, funding constraints
and concentration of preschool children. The district has no
responsibility for the one private school opened in 1995 by
the Russian Orthodox Church.
Governance
The 1992 Law on Education set in motion the process of
decentralization which transferred authority for program
decisions and responsibility for funding schools from the
central to the local governments in the Russian Federation.
This was an uneven process at best and resulted in gaps in
leadership, confusion in determining accountability and a
decline in funding. During the 1990s the district, region and
city governments across Russia engaged in a struggle to define
their respective roles. By the late 1990s, the organizational
structure of the Russian school system was similar to the old
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Soviet system but the "distribution of responsibility between
the levels is considerably different" (Webber 61). See page
160 for Table 4.8 for the structure of the Russian system of
education and Table 4.9 on page 161 for the district
organization.
The student population is almost all native Russian and
ethnically homogeneous. All instruction is in Russian.
German, French and English are taught as foreign languages.
English is the most popular foreign language program in the
district. Students are from the city and the nearby villages.
The Yaroslavl Department of Education has education units that
serve students in the villages that are far from city school
districts. The School for Defektology and the Internat are
regional programs designed to serve students from service
areas that extend well beyond the district boundaries.
Students begin school in the first class, or grade level,
at age six. Each child is placed in a homeroom class and
assigned to a teacher who works with the students from the
fourth class through high school. This strategy is a carryover
from the Soviet era. The homeroom teacher role is designed to
ensure that at least one adult knows a group of children in
depth and that the children form a cohesive unit of peers.
According to Maria Mischenko, an English teacher at the
Gymnasiya (School #7), she agreed to extra duty as a homeroom
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teacher for no additional pay because "the woman who called
herself a teacher was just awful. The students had no manners
and could not behave." Mischenko says the homeroom teacher
program is only as good as the teacher. Most of the homeroom
teachers have little to do with direct teaching. The
elementary, basic secondary and general secondary programs
share the same building and are the responsibility of one
director but have different daily and weekly schedules.
The requirement that all children attend school for a
minimum of nine years (devyatiletka) began in the Soviet era.
Superintendent Melnikova introduced the eleven-year program
(odeenatstatiletka) to the Pereslavl schools in 1990. This is
the preferred program across Russia when sufficient staff,
facilities and funding are available. A student obtains a
nepolnoye sredneye obrazovaniye education upon completing the
9th class and a polynoye sredneye obrazovaniye education upon
completion of the 11th class.
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Table 4.8 Structure of the Russian System of Education
Federal Level
Government of the Russian Federation
Ministry of General and Professional Education
of the Russian Federation*
Collegium of the Ministry of Education
Regional Levels
Regional - Republican-Territorial Educational Administration
(Regional = Oblastnoe upravlenie narodnogo obrazovaniya
(OBLUNO)
Ministry of Education (Moscow Oblast)
Region - Yaroslavl Raion
Committee for Education
City - District Levels
Mayor
Superintendent
Pereslavl-Zalessky Municipal Educational Administration
(Gorodskoe upravlenie narodnogo obrazovaniya—GORUNO)
School Level
Director (head teacher or principal) advised by
School Council
* Formerly the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation
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Table 4.9 District Programs
The twenty district educational sites are divided into the
following categories:
• nine kindergarten (detski sad) programs for children
ages three to seven;
• one residential school for orphans in classes 1-11
(Internat School);
• one residential school for students in classes 4 -9
with severe learning disabilities (Special School for
Defektology or Spetskoli);
• one school, called the Gymnasiya, or School #7, for
academically advanced students in classes 4-11; and
• eight general education schools for students in
classes 1-10. Schools #4 and #4 have 11th year
classes.
Special Programs include:
• Litsei (lyceum) - fee based after school program for
upper class students to take additional classes in
computers, foreign language, economics and classical
subjects.
• District Psychology Center - diagnostic center for
student placement and design of individual programs.
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Table 4.10 Levels of Education in the Pereslavl-Zalessky
School District (Pereslavl School District Plan 1996)
• Elementary School program (nachalnaya schkola):
Classes 1-4 for students 6 - 9 years of age;
• Basic Secondary School program (nepolnaya sredniya
schkola): Classes 5-9, students 10 - 14 years of
age; and
• General Secondary School program (polniya schkola)
Classes 10 - 11: for students 15 - 17 years of age
School Year and Week
The students attend school from September 1 through May
31 with approximately 180 days of school. Directors set the
schedule within the period of September 1 and the last weekday
in May to achieve the 180 days of school for students. The
number of days varies from school to school each year. Each
director has the authority to close school if there are not
enough substitutes to replace ailing staff. School directors
routinely close school for several days, usually in the winter
months, to limit exposure of the staff and students to a
serious flu virus. (Ivahknenko Interview November 15, 2001).
The residential schools (Internat and Special School of
Defektology) never close. Classes are cancelled if no
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substitute teacher is available or when they want to limit the
spread of a virus. This is a time when teachers, in their
words, should "have a rest."
According to Mischenko (Interview November 14, 2001),
directors also have discretion to close school for special
occasions in addition to the district designated vacation
days. Since 1997, teacher informants consistently identify the
varied schedules for the general education schools as
"confusing and difficult" for parents with children in more
than one school, or for teachers who work in one school and
have children enrolled in a different school (Mischenko
Interview November 14, 2001).
The work year for teachers is ten months but teachers may
be required to participate in meetings, attend professional
development sessions, and work with their students for special
activities during the summer break. The length of the teacher
work year averages 205 days for upper grade teachers and 235
for elementary teachers. The teachers have vacations in
November, December, March, and May followed by eight weeks in
the summer. All students are expected to spend up to two weeks
in the summer cleaning and assisting with repairs in their
schools.
Classes are scheduled Monday through Friday during the
school year. Seven schools have an additional half-day
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session on Saturday mornings for middle and high school
students. The district has changed the school year three times
since 1991 due to the deletion and then reinstatement of
Saturday sessions. The Internat boarding school and the
School for Defektology are year-round for those students who
have residential placements.
Table 4.11 Organization of the School Day
Schedule
• Elementary school: classes 8 a.m. to noon
• Secondary schools: 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.
• Elementary school classes 1-4:4 one-hour lessons a day
Program Components
• Basic secondary school classes 5-9: 5 to 6 one-hour
lessons a day
• General secondary school classes 10-11: 6-7 one-hour
lessons a day.
Teacher and director workdays are daily except Sunday
and 48 days off in summer. The boarding school and special
school staffs are on duty year-round with periodic breaks.
Teachers may leave the school if they do not have an assigned
class, specific duty or a meeting. A full time teacher
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(ochitel- male teacher or ochitelnitsa - female teacher)
teaches 18 hours of classes per week and may have
responsibilities for after-school groups or activities. Part-
time teachers teach up to 15 hours of class per week.
Directors teach up to 12 hours per week. Teaching hours are
direct contact hours and do not include prep time.
Curriculum
Prior to the 1991-92 school year, each school followed
the curriculum prescribed by the Ministry of Education of the
Soviet Union. Directors were responsible for monitoring the
teachers to assure compliance with the curriculum guides. In
practice, all teachers would submit their plan for
instruction in accordance with the guides. According to
Mischenko, Durynina, and Melnikova, there were teachers who
taught according to their own plans but they were the
exception. The Yaroslavl Department of Education assigned
subject matter specialists to inspect school programs, to
make classroom observations, to assist teachers in improving
practice and to check for compliance. However, under Vera
Rybakova, head of education for the region, experimentation
was encouraged where there was evidence that a school or
district based changes on a plan with strategies for
implementation and measures of success. Rybakova reported
that the Pereslavl district was "not typical because many of
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the graduates, more than you would expect, earned honors and
places in the universities [ . . . ] the district is respected
among educators in the region" and Melnikova is a "very
creative, thoughtful superintendent" (July 6, 1991).
The end of the Soviet Union in 1991 also ended the
Communist Party's control of the school curriculum. Due to
other more pressing issues of nation building, education
reform was a low priority at the national level. Eduard
Dneprov, the Minister of Education for the Russian Federation
(July 1990 - December 1992), invited the author of the study
and Superintendent Melnikova to meet with him at his Moscow
office on April 22, 1992. The purpose of the meeting was to
discuss changes in the district, especially the leadership
program for directors and the scope of this study. During the
ninety-minute meeting, Dneprov said, "We have worked so long
for the opportunity to make real reforms to the system of
education, and I spend all my energies on holding the
department together and fighting members of the Duma to hold
on to what little money there is." He emphasized the
importance of humanization and differentiation in bringing
about meaningful change in teaching and learning. He
questioned Superintendent Melnikova about what Pereslavl was
doing in these areas and the plans for professional
development. He listened intently and proposed that Melnikova
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and the researcher take Pereslavl's leadership training
program to other regions. Melnikova and the researcher each
responded to the effect that the work in Pereslavl was just
beginning and it was important to continue the work there to
achieve long-term change.
He went on to say "real reform had to come from the
districts and regional departments." Dneprov asked if members
of his staff could attend the next workshop scheduled in
Pereslavl. The meeting concluded with an agreement on the
details for some of his staff to come to Pereslavl on April
24. Dneprov's comments were consistent with his interviews
with foreign educators such as Val Rust (376-377) and comments
in the book that he co-authored with Ben Elkof. However in
his 1992 interview with Rust he cited "the economy, rather
than politics" as the major stumbling block to reform.
Melnikova noted several times in February 1993, "I am very
sad" that Dneprov was forced to resign (December 1992) by his
"enemies in the government." The ensuing vacuum in strong
leadership to guide and support a reform process created carte
blanche for local politicians and educators to make their own
profound changes in the system of education.
In the absence of an official national curriculum,
suddenly educators were able to choose a new curriculum from
the seven draft curricula available through the Ministry of
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Education. School teams and individual teachers also could
write their own (Melnikova Interview November 5 and 11, 1993).
The Pereslavl schools have tailored these curricula based on
local judgement of student needs and staff capacity to
implement. Teachers worked individually and in subject-area
groups to write their own curriculum and lesson plans.
(Mischenko, Galina Ladochkina, Rima Vasilieva) Mischenko
reports that the once "energetic" district practice under
Melnikova to organize subject matter teams across schools for
training and curriculum development has weakened and no
meetings are now scheduled. "Without Ludmila (Melnikova),
things like this just don't happen. It is just as well
because I have absolutely no time" (Interview November 17,
2001) .
Curriculum for the Special School for Defektology
includes the subjects found in the general school program with
the exception of foreign language. The courses are
extensively modified to address the children's severe learning
disabilities, labeled as "mental retardation" in Russia.
Tatiana, one of the three assistant directors (zavoochi) at
the School for Defektology is responsible for adapting the
general curriculum to address the needs of the students and to
work with teachers in designing their individual lesson plans.
In the past ten years this school has received several
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regional and national awards for its innovative work and
demonstrated results with the students.
In 1969 Soviet military leaders successfully pressured
the government to make the Basic Military Training
(Nachal'naya voennaya podgotovka) course part of the required
curriculum for the upper classes (grade levels). In the fall
of 1992, Melnikova, with the concurrence of the directors,
dropped the required military training programs from the
mandated curriculum. By the mid-1990s the course was dropped
in schools across Russia. The military training program had
been added to the already heavy school curriculum to appease
the military leaders when one year was cut from the required
military service. Melnikova said this program was very
unpopular with students, parents and teachers because it
compounded the problem of too many subjects that led to
"severe stress for the students." Melnikova reported that
this change was well received because it provided time for an
elective program.
The elective program was designed to expand opportunities
and choices for students but it did not relieve the problem of
overload. According to respondents, the upper class students,
especially in the 10th and 11th classes, had little or no time
for anything other than homework if they wanted to secure
admission to an institute or university. Russian President
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Vladimir Putin issued an order in 1999 to reinstate the course
by September 2000 at the urging of the military. The
Pereslavl schools have complied. This is an important signal
that the central government can still exercise absolute
authority over the schools.
In a discussion on changing the curriculum content at
the district office between Ivakhnenko, Mischenko, Melnikova
and the researcher late in the afternoon of November 12, 1992,
the topic of historical honesty came up. We agreed that 1989-
92 had been "amazingly interesting" as well as a difficult
time to be a Russian. Ivakhnenko said, "I love my country but
I must have had my head in the sand; I was not aware of the
many lies told to our people. Communism has noble goals but
people distorted its principles and abused the people with
lies. The Party became disconnected. I attended Party
meetings and instead of discussing how we could improve life
for people, the discussions were about where you could get the
best deals on food or perfume. I must admit that I enjoyed
some of the companionship and humor of my colleagues, so it
was not a total waste but it was not what I had expected."
Melnikova said, "I must confess that I was never a 'good'
Party member, it was more of a natural step for someone whose
parents were members and, certainly, if you wanted any kind of
career."
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Mischenko added, "When good people like Sasha
(Ivakhnenko) who we would call a 'true believer' became
disillusioned with our Party leaders, we thought the poor
leadership was unique to our town rather than a general
problem." Following similar comments from all three,
Mischenko went on, "We could not compare our situation with
others as our travel and communications were limited. Major
questions related to content of history courses and the
textbooks as well as requirement to infuse curriculum with
precepts of Communism." Melnikova said, "Examples are themes
in art, literature and history courses, all had to include
approved themes of the Party. We did not discuss problems
openly or thought misadventures of the local officials in city
government and the Party were unique to our area rather than a
nationwide cancer on the system."
The conversation shifted to those problems that were
within their "span of control." They concurred that 1989-92
was a period of increasing freedom, new issues, individual
opportunities, and the "burden" of problem solving. Melnikova
encouraged discussion, analysis and change. She said, "I
sometimes act too quickly. I haven't always thought things
through in terms of the impact on people and other activities
as we begin new programs. I have an aim in mind but I don't
always prepare a good map before beginning a journey to a new
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program. It is difficult to anticipate and take care of the
demands on time and energy." She went on, "Unfortunately, I
am spending more time each day on trying to solve money
problems." Ivakhnenko said, "As the economic circumstances
grow more difficult and there is not enough money for my
school, I am going to local merchants for donations of food to
make certain we are feeding our children. It is life but I
must take the work of fixing the broken water mains and
repairs to the school myself. Little time to create."
The researcher asked, "Knowing what you know now, with
inflation and all the difficulties you face, would you go back
to the Soviet era, the time before August 1991?" All three
shook their heads and said an emphatic "no." The discussion
centered on the wave of scandals and revelations of the past
that came to light from 1987-1991 that were reported on
television programs and in the newspapers that were competing
with Pravda, the official state newspaper. Ivakhnenko said,
"We were naive." Melnikova concluded, "We had little
experience with dealing head-on with the truth." Mischenko
said, "Ah, Russian life is very difficult." The conversation
ended with Ivakhnenko's comment, "Very difficult, but much
more interesting."
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Work Week
The general education schools are in session Monday
through Friday with a daily four-hour program for students in
classes 1-4 and a six and one half-hour program for students
in classes 5-11. The Saturday sessions were eliminated in
1994 in response to complaints from students, teachers and
parents concerning the heavy workload. The district attempted
to reinstate the Saturday sessions in 1999 to accommodate more
electives in the student program. The teachers for classes 1-
4 in several of the schools said they would not comply as this
would significantly increase their workload (Mischenko
Interview November 14, 2001) . The district then implemented
the Saturday sessions for classes 5-11 only. Teachers are not
required to remain at school between classes; the teacher duty
day is determined by the individual teacher's daily schedule
of classes. Teachers are required to attend scheduled
meetings and professional growth sessions as part of their
regular duties and to supervise after-school activities if
they are responsible for a homeroom class.
Compensation
A teacher's base-rate of pay is called stavka. The
district introduced a special salary program in 1993 to
compensate teachers based on length of service, graduate
studies, performance and additional responsibilities.
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Teachers are paid extra for the hours worked beyond their
regular 18 hours per week of direct student contact time. One
proposal was to increase the base to 27 hours per week and
another was to increase the class size target from 25 to 40
pupils per teacher. Teachers have resisted this plan due
their already heavy workload and the ongoing problem with late
payments on their current salaries (Mischenko Interviews April
20 and November 14, 2001).
Statistioal Data
Information on staffing, district enrollment and school
programs was available to the researcher upon request until
Superintendent Melnikova was fired in 1996. Data on
education at the national and regional levels for the Soviet
and post-Soviet periods are incomplete and, if available,
questionable due to the methods employed (Webber 99). School
directors will provide information on their schools but it is
virtually impossible even for school staff members to get
reliable data on total student enrollment and staffing for
district programs. (Mischenko Interview November 17, 2001).
Once helpful members of the district office staff are now
reluctant to discuss district data and do not follow through
on requests despite their assurances that they would do so.
Individuals who have pleaded to remain anonymous have
confided to the researcher and key informants that they fear
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it will put their jobs in jeopardy should they in some way
distress the superintendent (Mischenko Interview November 17,
2001; Melnikova Interview August 25 and November 12, 2001) .
Reform Initiatives and the Pereslavl-Zalessky School District
According to Stephen Webber in his book School, Reform
and Society in the New Russia, published in 2000, the end of
the Soviet era meant profound change for Russian schools
including rapid decentralization and fragmentation of the
system. Dissatisfaction with the schools was not with the
level of student achievement but rather with the philosophy of
education and influence of Communist ideology. Webber cites a
survey of Soviet teachers that substantiated the claim of the
Pereslavl respondents to surveys and informants that teachers
believed the system was in crisis and that their the perennial
teacher shortage continues to be a major problem (Webber 32).
Educators in Pereslavl and other districts in the
Yaroslavl region who were already primed for change were
inspired to take action through regional conferences, district
planning sessions, and their own frustrations with the status
quo (Melnikova Interview April 22, 1992). The heavy workload
on the upper class (grade) students was the central issue and
impetus to reform the curriculum. The curriculum and schedule
for the students covered huge amounts of content and skills.
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New components were added without adjusting the overall
program that resulted in an increase in the student load.
Under Melnikova, the Pereslavl educators focused their
changes in the curriculum, methods and practices on the key
concepts by the Ministry of Education in the 1992 Law on
Education Reform:
• Decentralization and regionalization - transfer
responsibility to the regions and republic levels,
municipal and district councils and the schools
themselves (Articles 28-40);
• Democratization - give parents greater voice
(Articles 50-52) includes ethic minorities;
• Deideologization - end state control of education
through choice (Articles 36-39);
• Humanization - greater individual attention; improve
teacher-pupil relations (Articles 2 and 14); and
• Humanitarization - give greater emphasis to the
humanities subjects in the curriculum.
See Exhibit C-2 "Chronology of Major Events and Cultural
Trends Related to Education in the Soviet Union and the
Russian Federation" in Appendix C for the national context
for educational change. The following "Chronology of Key
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Events and Changes in the Pereslavl District" provides an
overview of the reform process and events that served as
catalyst for change within the district.
1985 - Ludmila Melnikova, Director of School #2, was
recruited and appointed superintendent of the Pereslavl-
Zalessky School District in May by Vera Rybakova, Deputy
of Education for the Yaroslavl Region. Rybakova
consulted with the mayor of Pereslavl prior to confirming
Melnikova's placement.
1989 - The structure and role of the Ministry of
Education were changed to transfer authority to the local
levels. The Yaroslavl Region and district level school
inspectors become "specialists" whose duties are to
assist teachers and directors rather than to judge
performance and enforce compliance with national
curriculum guidelines. Prior to 1989, Rybakova fostered a
supportive approach to assist districts. She had
identified models, arranged peer observations and
organized conferences for teachers and directors. Changes
had been incremental up to that time. Pereslavl schools,
like schools throughout the Russian Federation, followed
the national curriculum and used the teacher resources
and curriculum guides through 1991.
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The Yaroslavl Department of Education under Rybakova
made changes in the late 1980s in the curriculum and
methodology using sites in the region to test programs.
Rybakova was highly respected by authorities in Moscow
and Yaroslavl so she was able to initiate changes in
local practice and deviations from the national
curriculum without negative repercussions (Melnikova July
11, 1995). Rybakova conducted a one-week program in
November for 300 educators in the Yaroslavl Region
including all of the superintendents. The program was
designed to bring the educators together with experts in
the development of curriculum and teaching practices.
The seminars were followed by individual assignments to
identify promising practices and small-group sessions to
develop district plans. The district plans reflected
local needs related to a region-wide focus on:
• democratization "give parents a voice in their
children's education and enable teachers and
directors to have a voice to determine curriculum
content and teaching methods;"
• humanization "ensure teachers respect students as
individuals, create supportive relationships
between teachers and students based on collegial
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relationships between directors and teachers;"
and
• differentiation "focus on the individual needs of
students."
1989-1995 - This was a period of rapid change in the
Pereslavl District due to the impact of the social,
political and economic changes on the national level and
the commitment of educators to improve teaching and
learning. There were regional task forces headed by
superintendents to develop recommendations for
innovations in teacher compensation, alternative schools
and early childhood development. There were ten male
administrators in the district serving as assistant
directors, directors or central office staff.
1990 - Melnikova and five other superintendents of the
Yaroslavl region met over a five-month period to devise a
plan to pay teachers based on their performance, extra
duties and length of service.
1991 - Pereslavl-Zalessky was one of six districts in the
region to participate in experimental programs in
differentiation prior to the adoption of the Education
Law of 1992 that established decentralization as official
policy. On September 1 School #7 opened as the Gymnasiya
for academically able students in classes 5 through 11.
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School #7 shared the building with School #4 whose
students were on double sessions. Valentina Vavitsina was
the director of the Gymnasiya. The district opened the
Psychology Center to develop strategies to assess student
needs and to design programs to address student
differences.
1992 - On April 22, Melnikova and the author of the study
met in Moscow with Eduard Dneprov, Minister of Education
for the Russian Federation, at his invitation to discuss
reform initiatives underway in the Pereslavl school
district. Dneprov sent three representatives of the
Ministry of Education to observe a management workshop in
Pereslavl on April 24; they met with Melnikova and school
directors to discuss the value of the district's
professional development program. (See Exhibit B-2 for
field notes of this meeting in Appendix B.) The Ministry
of Education and the district agreed to establish a
leadership program to serve administrators in the
Yaroslavl Region under the direction of Melnikova.
1992-93 - Responsibility for funding and determining
budget priorities shifted to the city. Melnikova recalls
that funding for the school district was very good during
this period. The city, under Mayor Vladimir Shesternyov,
repaired facilities, purchased equipment and increased
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teachers' salaries. Local factories contributed
supplies, additional housing for teachers, new equipment
and a bonus to help teachers cope with the runaway
inflation and to keep them in teaching. The district
opened the Speech Center to work with teachers to address
the children's speech and related learning needs.
1992 - Responsibility for twelve kindergartens from
factory sites in the city was transferred to the school
district; support for these kindergartens was an added
burden to the district's resources because no additional
funds were provided. The 1992 Law on Education for the
Russian Federation officially transferred authority for
schools from the Ministry of Education to local
governments. In November 1992, Melnikova conducted the
first session of the leadership academy for directors in
the Yaroslavl Region based on the 1991 agreement with
Dneprov and the Ministry of Education.
1993 - Despite increasing financial problems, the
district implemented the reform in staff compensation in
all schools in the Pereslavl district. Teachers and
directors were paid on a graduated scale based on their
years of service and training; additional compensation
for exemplary performance; and extra duties or
responsibilities. School #4 opened on September 1 in its
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own building with Luba Durynina, former district office
administrator, as its director.
Durynina was one of three district administrators
who were former employees of the Communist Party. She
had been an inspector whose responsibilities included
assessing the quality of work in the farm and dairy
collectives in the area surrounding Pereslavl. In an
interview in January 1992, she had tears in her eyes when
she spoke of her embarrassment when she was told to tell
people that they needed to improve their productivity
when she in fact had no experience in farming. She
blushed when she said, "I was ashamed to speak to those
poor milk maids." School #4 had been on double sessions
for three years in classrooms in School #7. The new
building for School #4 was planned for 7 06 students but
1060 attended; the school continues on double sessions.
The staff of the Psychology Center works with the schools
to introduce developmental education for the elementary
classes.
1994 - The Litsei "Lyceum" opened as an after-school
program in its own building in September. Vasiliy
Golubchik was the director and his wife Nellie was the
assistant director. In 1993 teachers at School #7
(Gymnasiya) were critical of the Golubchiks, who were the
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teachers in the new humanities program. According to
Valentina Vavitsina, the director of School #7, the
teachers told her that "the Golubchiks' methods were
viewed as non-traditional and their relationships with
students was too informal." Teachers complained that the
Golubchiks promoted poor behavior and disrespect for
teachers. This situation came to a head when a student's
article in the school newspaper criticized teachers by
name. The student had consulted with the Golubchiks
before submitting the article. Teachers went to the
Vavitsina and demanded she take action. She did not and
there was no improvement in the relationship between the
teachers. Superintendent Melnikova was aware of the
conflict within the school and decided to place the
Golubchik's in an environment more receptive to the
changes they envisioned and with a staff that chose to
work with them.
1994 - Melnikova opened a new elementary school for
classes 1-4 in the School #5 attendance area. This
program was used as a demonstration site for
developmental education. The city and local companies
funded basic district operations and the Yaroslavl
Education Department funded special projects.
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1995 - By November 1995, the city's capacity to fund
schools was severely limited due to reductions in funding
from the central and regional governments as well as its
inability to collect local taxes. Melnikova's focus
shifted from reform to ensuring that: teachers were paid
regularly; basic instructional supplies such as pencils
and paper were provided to all schools; and food,
medicine and clothing for the students living in the
residential schools were provided. Parents' contributions
were used for basic school supplies rather than for the
special activities and projects that they had already
been supporting.
The Yaroslavl region and 72 other regions of the 89
in the Russian Federation each adopted and published its
own programs called "Agreements on Cooperation in the
Sphere of Education" with the Ministry of Education by
the end of 1995 (Webber 64).
1996 - Eugeny Melnik was elected mayor in February. He
had been president of the city board after the failed
coup against Yeltsin in October 1993 when former Mayor
Shesternyov took over the office building that had been
assigned to the board. On his second day in office,
Melnik fired all of the city department heads including
Superintendent Melnikova. The mayor did not fire the
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department heads of the medical services or finance
departments because they were responsible for services to
the Yaroslavl Region as well as to the city; these
positions had dual reporting responsibilities which gave
them limited protection from the mayor's actions.
1996 - In April Mayor Melnik agreed to pay Melnikova her
salary for one year; she was the only one of the fired
department heads to be compensated. Melnik appointed one
of the district administrators as interim superintendent;
the interim superintendent was hospitalized for stress
the following summer. Melnik appointed Tatiana
Vasilievna Borozdna as the new superintendent in
September. She is the wife of the editor of the local
newspaper who is generally regarded as a close associate
of the mayor. The region's administrative leadership
program for educators under Melnikova ended.
1997 - In March 1997, district teachers and directors
conducted a two-day strike to protest the city's failure
to pay them for two months. The directors were more
aligned with the teachers rather than the administration
in the city or district. They asked the mayor to
reinstate Melnikova. He refused and began an
investigation of Melnikova for what he referred to as
"money matters." The city's auditors cleared Melnikova
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of all charges following the subsequent six-month
investigation. In March, Alexandr Ivakhnenko, Director
of the Special School of Defektology, was honored for the
school's selection as one of the top one hundred schools
in the Russian Federation. The school was selected based
on the process of attestation, or school program review
by officials from the Yaroslavl Education Department,
which is conducted once every five years.
1998 - In January teachers and directors staged another
two-day work stoppage to protest the district's failure
to pay their salaries for three months. Melnikova, upon
learning of the planned strike, asked the directors and
teachers not to mention her name or request her
reinstatement. Although she was not directly involved in
the 1997 strike, her concerns were based on the negative
repercussions in its aftermath.
1998-2002 - Study participants reported no new
initiatives at the district level; individual directors
and classroom teachers made change but there were no
changes described as "reforms" across the district. The
Ministry of Education and Yaroslavl Regional Education
Department began work on new content standards for
schools and achievement tests for students to reestablish
national educational goals and curriculum. The content
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for courses such as foreign language in Pereslavl and
other districts in the region no longer align with the
subject matter requirements for the university and
colleges in Yaroslavl.
The district speech therapy services were eliminated
in 2000. The district Psychology Center, Gymnasiya,
Litsei, and Special School for Defektology are regarded
as successful and are favored as destinations for
educators from England, France, Germany, Japan, Korea,
and the United States who are interested in Russian
education. Nine male administrators have resigned,
retired or been fired since 1991. Ivakhnenko is the only
male administrator in the district. The School for
Defektology was recognized as the "School of the Year for
2001" for the Yaroslavl Region.
Beginning in the fall of 2001 School #4 piloted a
12th class level program. Durynina, director of School #4,
reported in May 2002 that the school could lose its
accreditation because the city and district have not repaired
the ventilation system. The school may be closed because the
Department of Health Services will not approve the building as
suitable for children. The district shortage of teachers
continued resulting in the elimination of some electives,
increases in class size, added challenges for staff in
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operating the schools, problems in providing substitute
teachers, increased class loads for some teachers and fewer
new teachers who are considered "outstanding" (Interviews
1999-2001).
Innovations of the late 1980s and early 1990s challenged
what educators called ZUNY (Znaniya "Knowledge", Umeniya
"Skills", and Navyki "Habits"), the core focus of the Soviet
school curriculum. According to critics, ZUNY emphasized
"Party" ideology, created a classroom that was too teacher
directed, and ignored the social and cognitive development of
the child. Dneprov said the "teachers follow the 'example of
the system' to act like authorities rather than teachers"
(April 22, 1992 interview). Melnikova reports that she
enthusiastically supported improving the system of education
but grew frustrated that the series of reform initiatives from
the central government were poorly planned, too vague to
implement "coherently" and offered little or no support for
implementation (November 2001, January 2002) . She credits
Rybakova for her "guidance, valuable criticism and efforts to
assist with funds" for new programs and facility repairs.
Informants report that since the firing of Melnikova, the
district has lost its energy and direction. "We, our schools,
were once like fleet but now we are many little boats hitting
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the rocks or trying just make it on our own" (School director
comments April 2001).
Case Study 2: The Superintendent's Perspective on Change -
Ludmila Melnikova
Ludmila Melnikova was born on November 7, 1949 in Barnaul in
western Siberia. She is married and has a grown son and
daughter both of whom live in the United States. Melnikova is
stylish, energetic, and intellectually curious. She
demonstrates a lively sense of humor and is a skilled
communicator. She says the ability to laugh is "important for
a Russian" in order to have a "normal" life. She credits her
capacity to carry a heavy workload and deal with stressful
situations to her parents who are now retired. Melnikova's
mother was a teacher and school director and her father was a
builder. The Melnikova family is very close despite the great
distances that separate them. They email one another almost
daily and speak by telephone several times each month.
Her paternal grandfather was a farmer and was regarded
as a leader in his village. When the Soviet government formed
collectives, farmers were ordered to give their livestock to
the state. Because the loss of these animals to the
collectives would be disastrous for the villagers, he spoke
out and challenged the government's authority. According to
Melnikova, someone in the village may have written a letter
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or reported his activism to the authorities. One day in
1939, a car came to the village and took him away; he was
never seen or heard from again. He left behind a wife and
four sons. Melnikova's father was fifteen at that time.
Melnikova says that her family learned in 1981 that her
grandfather spent the rest of his life in a gulag in Siberia.
Less than 20% of those sent to the gulags ever returned
(Melnikova Interviews April 19 and 1992).
After graduating from a general secondary school in
Barnaul, she earned her graduate degrees in biophysics from
the universities in Tomsk and Leningrad. While in Leningrad,
she met and married Dr. Oleg Melnikov, who was a specialist
in magnetic and radio technology. She and her husband moved
to the city of Kazan, located on the Volga River, to live
with his mother. The couple moved to Pereslavl-Zalessky
(Pereslavl) in 1976 when he was offered a management position
at Slavich, a photochemical company and the largest employer
in the city at that time. The fact that the management
position included a two-bedroom apartment made the move
particularly attractive due to a chronic housing shortage.
After a brief home stay with her young children,
Melnikova took a position as a physics teacher at the Evening
School for young adults from 1977 - 1979. She was director
of the Evening School from 1980 - 1982. In 1982, she was
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appointed director of School #2 and assumed responsibility
for overseeing its construction. In 1985, Vera Rybakova,
Deputy of Education for the Yaroslavl Region, recruited and
appointed Melnikova superintendent of the Pereslavl-Zalessky
School District.
Prior to finalizing the appointment, Rybakova consulted
with the mayor of Pereslavl and the governor of the Yaroslavl
Region who both knew Melnikova and respected her work. During
her entire tenure as superintendent, she worked well with the
staff in the Yaroslavl Department of Education and developed
a "very, very close" professional and personal relationship
with Rybakova. Melnikova's weekly schedule included a meeting
as a member of the mayor's council of city department heads.
She met individually with Mayor Shesternyov to discuss school
district matters and says he was "open to meeting if a
special need" arose. They established a strong and mutually
supportive working relationship that has stood the test of
time and adversity.
As superintendent, Melnikova worked long hours. She
typically returned home at 8 pm for dinner and then would
begin working at home on district business. Though her
children and husband were self-sufficient in taking care of
their needs during the day, she maintained responsibility for
most of the household duties. She routinely attended to
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district matters from late evening to 2 or 3 in the morning.
She enjoys viewing movies on television and reading. Her
children note with delight that Melnikova would often read
the same chapter of a book twice or more because she was so
tired by the time she found time to read that she'd forgotten
what she had already read. She would sleep for four or five
hours then rise to prepare her children for school and then
leave for the office at nine in a car with a driver provided
by the district. She made the two-hour drive to the regional
Department of Education in the city of Yaroslavl several
times each month to meet with other superintendents and
consult with Rybakova.
Until February 1996, Melnikova's family lived in a two-
bedroom apartment with a living room and very small, cramped
kitchen, even by Russian standards. Both she and her husband
qualified for a larger apartment under the Soviet system of
benefits, but they were unable to obtain this benefit due to
the ongoing housing shortage. In 1993 as the Soviet system of
property ownership changed, Melnikova and her husband used
their savings and equity in this apartment to make a down
payment on an apartment that was under construction. By the
time they moved into their new spacious, four-bedroom
apartment in February 1996, inflation had increased the price
of the apartment to the point that it would have been
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impossible for them to buy had they not locked in the price
in 1993.
The district office, or GORUNO (Gorodskoy otel narodnoqo
obrazovaniya), is in a building that is approximately ninety
years old with poor plumbing and limited facilities. From
1991-1994, the staff shared typewriters that they routinely
moved from office to office depending on who needed them at
any one time. During this time, Melnikova was working with
local company and factory directors to get money and
equipment to set up computer labs at the schools. In 1991,
Melnikova assigned her valued assistant Luba Dyrinina as
director of School #4. She said at the time, "I know it
would make my work at the district office much harder without
Luba but it will make my work with School #4 easy, easy."
Melnikova demonstrated that the schools rather than the
district office were the highest priority for the district
resources.
Melnikova credits "Rybakova for much of my success as
superintendent to improve the work of the teachers and
achievement of the students" (November 24, 1996). She stated
on several occasions (February 13, 1992; March 18, 1995; May
4, 1999) that the Yaroslavl districts, especially Pereslavl,
benefited from "Vera's wisdom and leadership." Rybakova's
guidance was "very important to me" and Rybakova's position
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offered Melnikova stability and support when authority and
financial responsibility for education were decentralized. On
November 1, 1995 Melnikova said, "I thank god every day for
giving us Vera," as she looked upward and made the sign of
the cross in the manner of the Russian Orthodox Church. In
turn, Rybakova says that the Pereslavl schools were better
than most in other districts and that Melnikova was an
outstanding superintendent. At a birthday celebration in
November 2001 for Rybakova who is now retired, she said that
her work with Melnikova was "most professionally rewarding
and began a treasured friendship."
Melnikova cites the one-week conference in 1989 on
strategic planning organized by Rybakova for 300
administrators and superintendents as a turning point in her
work as superintendent. She says that this conference was
rigorous and demanding but the superintendents and their
staffs who applied themselves left with a strategic plan for
their districts that made sense. The Yaroslavl Region
Department of Education now had a master plan for new
initiatives and a framework for those already under way. The
district plans were now aligned with the Yaroslavl Department
of Education's focus on:
Democratization: enable teachers and directors to have a
voice to determine curriculum content and teaching
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methods and give parents a voice in their child's
education;
Humanization - supportive relationships between teachers
and students and collegial relationships between
directors and teachers; and
Differentiation - multiple approaches to education
through public and private schools and focus on the
needs of individual students.
Melnikova worked with the district office and school
staffs to develop plans to implement the district strategic
plan. Melnikova says it was "exciting to see" the goals and
timelines for the strategic plan put on large sheets of paper
to cover one wall of a meeting room. They used it as a tool
to discuss progress, problems and strategies for the next two
years. During workshops staff members frequently referred to
the plan to point out what had and had not been accomplished.
The plan was updated annually and was the means to measure
success when Rybakova reviewed Melnikova's performance.
Following the November 1989 regional conference,
Melnikova headed a task force of six superintendents to
develop alternative strategies for teacher compensation. They
met monthly and shared their progress with the other task
forces that focused on developmental education, curriculum
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design, alternative schools and meeting the special needs of
children. The author of this study was invited to attend the
three-hour compensation task force meeting in July 1990. The
purpose of the meeting was to prepare a recommendation and
strategies to test a differentiated salary schedule for
teachers and directors in each of their districts. The task
force members spoke with passion and animation about the
importance of better pay for teachers and directors and of
the difficulty in attracting and retaining staff. Two spoke
specifically of their fear that soon no men would be working
in the schools.
Although Melnikova was supportive of the concept, she
questioned the effectiveness of the proposed methods for
implementation. The task force members ended the meeting
with the commitment to go forward but agreed they needed to
do homework and meet again prior to taking their specific
recommendation to Rybakova. Rybakova approved the
recommendation in August and provided the funds to pilot the
compensation plan. Factories and companies in each city
contributed additional funds.
Melnikova points to the period between 1990 and 1995 as
one of excitement and energy in the Pereslavl district during
the time of enormous changes in the social, political and
economic lives of the Russian people. Despite the devastating
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impacts of inflation on individual citizens, she says that
the Yaroslavl region, the district and the city had money to
support the schools. She was able to make significant
repairs to the school facilities, launch new programs and
test the region's new differentiated salary schedule that was
based on performance, extra duties and length of service. In
1994, 1995, 1996 and 2001, Melnikova reaffirmed that her most
important goal was to build an administrative staff that was
smart, open to innovation and skilled in managing change.
There were ten male administrators in the district
serving as assistant directors, directors or central office
staff in 1991. Teachers and directors often mentioned their
concerns that education had been feminized (feminatziya) due
to the fact that the majority of educators are women. One
female teacher commented that with the growing number of
mothers raising their children without husbands "children,
especially boys, have no examples of good men." Another
teacher stated that "the workplace and the work is better
when men and women develop programs together." Melnikova
actively recruited new teachers and administrators within the
region as well as through contacts in Moscow. Recruitment
and retention of qualified staff was a serious problem in
1989 and continued to intensify through the period of this
study. Each year insufficient housing, heavy workload and
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low pay were cited as major obstacles to recruiting and
retaining teachers by staff and Melnikova. Rybakova said "our
shortage of teachers is a long-time problem for the whole
country and is very serious for the rural areas."
Following the region-wide conference in November 1989,
Melnikova worked with the directors and staffs of School #2
and School #7 to develop two gimnazii programs of classical
studies in the humanities and alternative schools for the
Pereslavl district. Melnikova recalls that Valentina
Vavitsina, Director of School #7, was very engaged in the
discussions and planning with her staff. Although Valeriy
Kashin, director of School #2 said he was interested in a
Gymnasiya program and was committed to changing the school
curriculum, Melnikova discovered he had made no progress in
developing an implementation plan with his staff. He was
nearing retirement and School #2 was already regarded as a
good school.
On September 1, 1991, School #7 opened with the Gymnasiya
for academically able students in classes 5 through 11 from
the entire district. Due to the shortage of facilities and the
changes in the attendance areas, School #7 shared the building
with School #4 whose students were on double sessions.
Melnikova says this was the "best times" for the district and
for her as superintendent (April 30, 2002). In the fall of
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1991, the district opened the Psychology Center to develop
strategies for assessing and designing programs to address
individual needs and differences of the students. Melnikova
told the staff at the opening, "I thank you for helping to
make this dream come true, now we start the work of reality
and differentiation." The opening of the Psychology Center
and the creation of a gimnazii in School #7 are "important
steps in realizing the district's master plan of 1989." She
noted that she was disappointed that a second Gymnasiya was
planned but never realized. Valeriy Kashin, the director of
School #2, the intended site for the second Gymnasiya, "says
he wants Gymnasiya, but does not really want any changes in
his school. He was conservative and School #2 was a good
school" (November 17, 2001). Melnikova stated "that without
the director to be the leader for a concept, it is not
possible to make a new school" (January 10, 2001).
In March 1992, The Comparative and International
Education Society, The World Bank, United States Department
of Education and United States Information Agency sponsored
program in the United States for the ministers of education
of fourteen of the former Soviet republics. The objectives
of the program were: to visit major cities and educational
organizations in the United States from March 11-24; to
observe in schools, classrooms and professional development
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programs; and to meet with educators and researchers.
Silicon Valley (high tech region in California) was a
destination for five of the ministers, including Eduard
Dneprov, Minister of Education for the Russian Federation.
Dneprov and the other members of the delegation observed
schools, including the Apple Classroom of Tomorrow Program at
Stevens Creek Elementary School in the Cupertino Union School
District. They participated in a seminar on innovative
strategies with technology and met with the researcher who
was the Associate Superintendent for Instruction for the
Cupertino district. At a subsequent meeting in Cupertino on
March 17, Dneprov and the researcher discussed the work with
the superintendent and staff in the Pereslavl school
district. Dneprov invited the researcher and Melnikova to
meet with him and his staff in Moscow as soon as feasible to
discuss Pereslavl's management training program, innovations
in programs and special services to students.
Melnikova and the researcher met with Dneprov and five of
his staff on April 22, 1992 in his Moscow office. He was an
hour late but upon his arrival he was attentive and
demonstrated interest in making certain that Melnikova and the
researcher could spend sufficient time with his staff. He was
apologetic that he was late and extremely "fatigued" due to
what he described as "constant haggling with some members of
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the Duma over reform legislation and funding for education."
Dneprov was particularly interested in the training programs
for the directors whose positions were traditionally viewed as
master teachers in charge of a school rather than as key
catalysts and leaders for change.
At the conclusion of the ninety-five minute discussion,
Dneprov said he would like to explore opportunities for
collaboration and program development with Melnikova and
offered the researcher an opportunity to meet with
superintendents in other regions. Dneprov sent Elena
Lenskaya, Head of International Relations, Grigory Zlotnik,
Senior Researcher at the Center of Pedagogical Innovations,
and Valeriy Lazarev, Counselor of the Minister, as
representatives of the Ministry of Education to observe the
management workshop in Pereslavl on April 24, 1992. Melnikova
and six school directors met to discuss the value of the
district's professional development program following the
workshop which was facilitated by the researcher. The
directors responded to probing questions posed by the Ministry
representatives who focused on the value of the district
leadership program.
In response, Melnikova spoke extensively on the positive
aspects of the program in building the administrators' skills
and as a support to the district plan. The directors and
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assistant directors listened and some nodded in assent as she
spoke. Then Valentina Vavitsina, director of School #7, said,
"Excuse me but I would like to speak." Melnikova said, "But,
of course, please, please." Vavitsina said:
I am a constant listener of those seminars. I attended
all that Judith offered and sincerely speaking when I
came for our first seminar we had mixed feelings because
it was during vacations. What did Ludmila invent?
Basically all the directors came with these kinds of
reservations. In the first seminar it was interesting
for us on the level of pure interest. After the second
seminar, we became truly interested in the subject
matter. And the level of interest has been continually
increasing and the number of people became really
constant and who associate with Judith formed a group
that became a stable and grew in number over the next
seminars (April 24, 1992).
The directors and the Ministry staff engaged in a lively
discussion on the professional development and the role of the
director as a catalyst for change. The following week, the
Ministry of Education and Melnikova agreed to establish a
leadership program to serve administrators in the Yaroslavl
region under the direction of Melnikova.
The kitchen in a Russian home is the site of most
serious conversations where people will sit at the table
drinking tea or something stronger while they engage in
conversation for hours at a time. Most of the interviews and
conversations in this study occurred in someone's kitchen.
Melnikova, Alexandr Ivakhnenko, the director of the Special
School for Defektology, and the researcher were having a
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conversation at the kitchen table in Melnikova's home on the
evening of November 10, 1992. The focus of the conversation
turned to the influence and impact of the Communist Party on
their work as educators. Melnikova said that under the old
Soviet system, the government and the Party could "control
your life to the last detail." Melnikova gave an example.
"For me, the dairy worker program was the last nail. In the
1980s the government and the Party limited the number of
students who could enter universities to 20% of graduates and
redirect the majority of students into the trades. Sergei
Amelin, Pereslavl Party functionary and head of Komsomol,
conscripted graduates in 1986 and again in 1987 as dairy
workers in the region's collectives. Students from 1986 came
back to me and pleaded to have this stopped for their younger
brothers, sisters and friends. There were many tears; these
young people knew they had no chance to get university
education and would be locked into manual labor for all life.
They didn't want this same bad fate for other graduates."
Melnikova went to Amelin and told him that his request for
more students wouldn't be honored. Rybakova of the Yaroslavl
Education Department and the mayor supported Melnikova in
this stand against Amelin and the Party. The conscription
program ended in Pereslavl without any negative
repercussions; Melnikova and Amelin maintained a good working
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relationship. Amelin is now one of Pereslavl's leading
businessmen and entrepreneurs; he has done well financially
in transitioning from the socialist to the capitalist
economy.
While Melnikova told her story, Ivakhnenko nodded and
indicated his understanding and agreement. He interjected,
"Ludmila is strong woman, good superintendent." When she
finished, Ivakhnenko said, "The Party no longer has an
influence on my life or my work with the schools." Melnikova
added, "But it still has some influence. People who were
strong Party people and benefited from the Party are still
here. Now it is not the Party but old Party people still
trying to use old ways." Ivakhnenko continued, "Human factor
is a key to solve problems of the nation and within the
schools. It is important that we look to the future. I am
basically an optimist." Melnikova and Ivakhnenko engaged in
an animated, fast-moving dialogue that concluded with them
saying they had confirmed the importance of the human factor
and the individual. Ivakhnenko added, "Initiative was stunted
by the command system that limited the abilities of managers
to make decisions. It was difficult, but not impossible (with
a laugh), to bend the rules or, even worse, to look the other
way. When you could look the other way so a problem could be
fixed, you could usually find a way to work, live. This is
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how we coped without going crazy." Nodding Melnikova added,
"People held on to hope and it helped to have a sense humor."
Both laugh and Ivakhnenko said in serious manner, "Friendships
and trust in your family essential [...] with these you could
hold on to your confidence in the future."
"This is good time for the district," reported Melnikova
on December 5, 1993. "Vladimir (Mayor Shesternyov) provides
funds for repairs and remodeling of facilities and for salary
increases for teachers. Local factories contribute supplies,
more housing for teachers, computers, equipment and a bonus to
help teachers cope with the runaway inflation. The district
opens a Speech Center with staff who works with teachers to
address special speech needs of children and provide speech
therapy to individual students." Teachers interviewed at
School #4 and School # 7 in 1994 and 1995 were consistently
positive about the value of the speech program and services
the center provided to teachers and students. As one teacher
stated, "It is amazing to have this help and discuss how to
work with children with individual, different problems in
learning."
When the factories could no longer fund the 12
kindergarten programs on their sites, Melnikova assumed
responsibility for them. The support for the kindergartens
is an added burden to the district's resources because no
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additional funds are provided. In the first week of November
1992, Melnikova conducted the first four-day session of the
leadership academy for 52 directors and assistant directors
in the Yaroslavl Region. The Ministry of Education and
Yaroslavl Education Department provided funds based on the
1991 agreement between Dneprov and Melnikova. The
participants, whose only negative comments were that it was
too short and follow-up sessions should be scheduled, rated
the leadership academy very high. It demonstrated the
confidence and support of the regional and central education
administrations in Melnikova's work.
Despite the continuing financial difficulties due to
inflation and a weak national economy, the district was able
to implement the reform in staff compensation in all schools
in the Pereslavl district in 1993 with city funds provided by
Mayor Shesternyov. Teachers and directors are now paid on a
graduated scale based on years of service and training with
additional compensation for performance and extra duties or
responsibilities. School #4 opened on September 1, 1993 in
its own building with Luba Durynina as its director. School
#4 had been on double sessions for three years in classrooms
in School #7. The new building for School #4 was planned for
706 students but 1,060 attend, so the school continues on
double sessions. The directors, assistant directors and
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teachers report that the staff members of the Psychology
Center were making progress in their work with the schools to
introduce developmental education for the elementary classes.
Two of six teachers interviewed in July 1994 said they had
doubts about the effectiveness of what they understood about
developmental education because they questioned the value of
treating the children as "babies."
In the fall of 1994, the district opened an after-school
program called the Litsei (Lyceum) based on a "classical"
approach to education from the tsarist era. The Litsei is
located in its own building that was once the home of a
wealthy nineteenth-century merchant. Vasiliy Golubchik was the
director and his wife Nellie was the assistant director.
Melnikova recruited this husband-and-wife team from Moscow,
where they had been journalists, in hopes they would develop
an elective program in the humanities for School #7's
Gymnasiya. Inclusion of humanities in the curriculum was one
of the Ministry of Education's 1992 Ten Principles of Reform
and was one of the objectives for the district plan developed
in 1989. Melnikova recalls that placing the Golubchiks at
School #7 was a "big mistake" because the teachers did not
accept them as colleagues. The researcher interviewed the
Golubchiks three times, the director once, and two teachers
from School #7 four times each from January 9, 1992, to
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December 15, 1993. Initially, the teachers at School #7 were
eager to have the humanities courses as part of their school
program but over time their attitude changed due to what they
described as the "unprofessional manner" in which the
Golubchiks dealt with other staff members and the students.
Teachers Maria Mischenko and Galina Ladochkina (June 6,
1993) described the Golubchiks' program with the following
terms: "non-traditional," "without focus," and "too much
opinion with too little foundation in fact." Mischenko and
Ladochkina said teachers complained that the Golubchiks
promoted poor student behavior and disrespect for teachers.
When Vasily Galubchik encouraged a student to "speak the
truth," the boy criticized Ladochkina, a teacher of Russian
literature, and other teachers by name in an article in the
student newspaper. Ladochkina said she was "crushed and
aroused to anger at such" shameful comments. Mischenko
commented that "the truth is the truth, but it isn't always
the stuff of newspapers. Why make all this trouble like
throwing benzene on a fire. Very stupid." Mischenko reported
that the other teachers were angry and the whole episode was
"a terrible thing and so much energy wasted" (June 6, 1993).
The boy apologized to Ladochkina and the other teachers he had
named in his article. The teachers put up a "wall of absolute
silence" and minimized interactions with the Golubchiks. In a
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March 12, 1995 interview, Mischenko said some of the teachers
went to Valentina Vavitsina, the director, to ensure that she
would "punish" the Golubchiks. Vavitsina did not and,
according to Ladochkina, said, "the teachers and Golubchiks
needed to 'repair the situation' of their own making"
(Ladochkina Interview March 11, 1995). Two of the teachers
from School #7 asked the researcher to meet with them and the
Golubchiks in hopes of improving their communication and
understanding of one another. They met on two occasions in
the Golubchiks' one-room apartment. The Golubchiks and the
teachers did not resolve their differences.
Superintendent Melnikova was aware of the conflict within
the school. She said, "it was clear that too much damage to
the professional relationships had been done to make the
humanities program part of the Gymnasiya" (Interview March 13,
1995). She decided that the program would be better after
school for students who were interested and able to pay a
small fee for special courses such as economics, foreign
languages, classical literature, and computers. "The
Golubchiks don't fit the situation. I made a mistake in
keeping them at the school. It is better they are working to
create the litsei environment without getting into squabbles
with teachers. They are better at working with children than
adults. They all begin to act like children. Sometimes they
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were not sensitive to what they said or did. It was education
freedom without temperance for consequences," recalled
Melnikova in a March 13, 1995, interview.
The Golubchiks successfully launched the Litsei for 7 0
students. By 2001, the enrollment had grown to 100. The
Litsei computer center is used during the day for students
from School #2 because there are not enough working computers
at their school. Melnikova reports that the program is
"okay," but not what she had hoped it would be (November 18,
2001 Interview). Melnikova had envisioned that the Litsei
would include courses such as: "world history of art and
culture, history of religions, ethics, logic, rhetoric, and
journalism." The Golubchiks left the district and returned to
Moscow in 1996.
As a result of the work of a district task force of
teachers, administrators and psychologists, the district
opened a new elementary school to pilot a developmental
education program in the School #5 attendance area. This
program was used as a demonstration site for district teachers
and administrators to observe instruction and participate in
seminars on developmental education. Melnikova intended to
implement a developmental education program in all the
elementary schools in the district as part of the strategic
plan. Funding for special projects was still available from
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local companies and the Yaroslavl Region Education Department.
The developmental education program addressed the
"differentiation, active learning, developmental education,
and humanization" components of the Ministry of Education's
1992 Ten Principles of Reform in education and the district's
1993 Declaration of Pereslavl teachers.
By November 1995, Melnikova devoted the majority of her
time to solving money problems due to dramatic cuts in
funding. The central and regional governments reduced the
city's operating funds and funds earmarked for education.
These funding cuts in turn limited the city's capacity to
assist the schools with new programs, to augment teacher's
salaries or to make routine repairs. Melnikova reported that
she often was awake all night "worrying about how to pay
teachers money" when there was less every day. She had cut
the budget for the district office and tried to maintain the
school budgets for basic instructional supplies, food,
medicine and clothing for the students living in the
residential schools. Melnikova said in January 1996, "I now
have a big problem with school lunches. The company that
prepares the lunches has raised prices so high parents cannot
pay and the government does not pay what it says it would for
children's lunches. If some of the children don't get food
at school, they don't eat. This is a big problem for
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teachers because hungry children don't learn." Melnikova
worked with directors and local merchants for donations of
food to see that the children, who would otherwise go hungry,
got a morning snack (Melnikova Interview August 15, 2001) .
Melnikova moved to her new apartment in February 1996.
There had been delays in completing the building because the
builder stopped construction because of constant price
increases for materials and labor due to inflation. This was
at a time when the central government shifted primary
responsibility for funding the schools to the city government.
Schools now had to pay for textbooks, furniture and food.
There were no guidelines and no guarantees on central
government's promises for supplemental funding. The delays in
funding and daily increases in prices made budget management
difficult for an experienced accountant and almost impossible
for these Russian educators who had little or no experience
with a rapidly changing fiscal environment. The factories and
businesses that had been a major source of support were no
longer able to provide a significant contribution. Melnikova
and other superintendents were coping with changing "rules"
for conducting business, shrinking resources and decreasing
support as they worked to keep the schools running
effectively.
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In March 1996, Eugeny Melnik, former president of the
city board, was elected mayor. Ludmila had actively supported
former Mayor Shesternyov in the election and had, as she said,
"encouraged the teachers" to vote for him. It was a common
practice for department heads, factory managers, heads of
institutions and school leaders to encourage employees to vote
for a particular candidate based on a Soviet tradition when
there was usually only one candidate. "It was important to
show your support of the election and the opportunity to vote
even if the ballots were already marked" (Ivakhnenko, January
1998). A teacher from Yaroslavl recounted how people would
take their children with them to vote as a "silent message
that voting was for children."
Mayor Melnik called all of the city department heads into
his office the day after the election and informed them they
were all fired. However the department heads for finance and
medical services were not fired because their jobs included
services to the Yaroslavl Region as well as to the city.
Therefore the Yaroslavl regional administrators' authority in
hiring and firing these two department heads was clearer cut
than in the cases of departments serving only the city.
Melnikova said that two other department heads who had been
fired kept their jobs for another year after "they cried and
begged Melnik on their knees" to keep their jobs.
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Melnikova is the only one of those fired who was given
severance pay (one year). She recalls that she was "like a
dead person" for weeks from the shock of the firing (Melnikova
July 25, 1996). The mayor of the city did not have hiring and
firing authority over the superintendent in 1996. These were
the responsibilities of the Yaroslavl Department of Education.
Melnik did not consult with Rybakova or the governor of the
Yaroslavl Region on the firing. When the governor and
Rybakova questioned him about Melnikova's firing, he told them
it was "not their business" (Rybakova June 26, 1996) .
According to Rybakova, Melnik blamed the constant need for
money for the schools on Melnikova's management. In April
1996, the governor told Melnikova that Melnik was "not good
for the city" but his decision to oust Melnikova and other
department heads could not be changed. The city department
heads had no legal recourse; they were out of their jobs.
Melnik appointed Nina Balasnikova, the assistant
superintendent, as interim superintendent. She called
Melnikova almost daily for advice and by summer she was
hospitalized for "nervous stress" (Melnikova November 24,
1996). Melnik appointed Tatiana Vasilievna Borozdna as the
new superintendent in September. She is married to the editor
of the local newspaper who according to several sources is a
close friend of the mayor. Borozdna worked at the local
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college but had no management experience or background with
elementary or secondary school education. District directors
and teachers were "devastated by the loss of Ludmila
(Melnikova)" according to Mischenko (November 11, 1996).
Durynina, director of School #4, said, "It is bad action for
the district and for me. Ludmila helped me big" (Durynina
Interview November 19, 1996).
Melnikova considered her options for other employment but
did not look for work for six months. She says directors
"call her for help, but I must look forward and not back.
This was absolute worst time of my life." She was further
upset when Mayor Melnik had the former mayor, Shesternyov,
jailed. Shesternyov was jailed for nine months without any
accusations or a hearing. This was a time of confusion in the
Russian legal system because activities that were common
practice or had even been encouraged could later be illegal as
the nation's economy transformed from the command to the
market approach. Melnik's treatment of Shesternyov serves as
an object lesson to anyone who might oppose him. Shesternyov
was released without ever having charges brought against him.
He is now a part of a successful construction firm and is
respected by many citizens in Pereslavl. Despite urging that
he run for mayor, he says he has "retired from politics"
(Shesternyov April 2002) .
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Melnikova tutored students in mathematics in her home to
earn additional money in 1997. Her husband, Oleg, left his
job at the foundering Slavich to set up his own import
business. Slavich had not paid employees their salaries for
several months. Slavich had been the largest employer in
Pereslavl in the Soviet era but, without government subsidies,
it was soon running at a deficit that grew steadily worse in
the newly competitive market. Slavich reduced its workforce,
thus compounding the money difficulties for the teachers whose
spouses had been laid off.
Local businessmen, described as "the new Mafiosi 'people
who do business in a questionable manner' " by Melnikova,
urged her to start a private school for their children. She
considered the idea but decided that "there are too many
fences and obstacles." (Melnikova April 30, 1998) This was a
difficult time for most Russians. Many of those over thirty
who had grown up and worked in the Soviet system were now
without jobs or in jobs without money. The weight of past
practice and poor work habits fostered a preference for new
businesses to focus on hiring people under thirty. It was
common to see want ads in the employment section of the Moscow
News newspaper that specified that people over a certain age,
such as thirty, should not apply.
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In March 1997, the district teachers and directors staged
a protest "with banners and signs" at city hall and conducted
a two-day strike to protest the city's failure to pay them for
two months. They asked the mayor to reinstate Melnikova
because in their words "there were never problems with pay and
the district was better when she was superintendent" (Survey
1997). He said he would not reinstate Melnikova. Two
directors pressed him to know why. He responded, "You know
why. There are money matters. Have you seen her new apartment?
I have my reasons" (Mischenko September 13, 1997).
In an interview on January 12, 1999, Melnikova said that
Mayor Melnik might have suspected her of "tapping into the
till." She explained that the actual purchase price for her
new apartment was very cheap due to the impact of inflation.
See chart in the Appendix for the impact of inflation on
consumer prices in Pereslavl.
When she locked in the price on the new apartment at 120
million rubles she signed a contract. Due to a variety of
construction problems, the apartment was not finished until
two years after the scheduled date of completion. Two years
after contracting for the new apartment, she sold her old,
smaller apartment for 118 million rubles. Inflation worked in
her favor in this case. However, to the uninformed the cost
of the new apartment would be far more than her family could
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reasonably afford. Melnik ordered two city auditors to
investigate Melnikova for "money matters" and go over the
district books.
Melnikova was scheduled for a meeting in August with the
auditors to respond to their questions related to the district
accounts. Melnikova was very nervous about this
"investigation" because of what had happened to Shesternyov.
One of her former colleagues in the city government gave
Melnikova a copy of the city's file the night before her
appointment to respond to the audit. Melnikova said, "I
didn't sleep. I read every line and with a big sigh, happy to
see there was nothing. Only questions about how much the
district paid for things like potatoes? How could I possibly
know what the 'competitive' prices for goods were? Prices
changed everyday." The auditors cleared Melnikova. According
to Melnikova, the auditors reported that she had, in fact,
"got very good prices for potatoes and other food items"
(August 22, 1998).
In January 1998, teachers and directors staged another
two-day work stoppage to protest the district's failure to pay
their salaries for three months. When Melnikova learned of the
planned strike, she asked the directors to "please, not
mention my name. I don't need more trouble from Melnik. Last
time very bad and it no help for you."
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Summary of Melnikova's Responses to the Research Questions
When asked to review and respond to the study questions
in April, August and November 2001 interviews, the following
statements are aligned with each of the study questions:
Question 1 (significant changes):
We started in a rush against the establishment to make
changes without a plan but the work in 1989 with Vera
and our seminars helped me see how important a plan is
to make changes. Since 1991 for Pereslavl district, we
started the Psychology Center, Speech Center and
developmental programs at two schools to work for
differentiation of teaching for children and to help
teachers with different, better methodologies (Melnikova
August 26, 2001).
Decentralization is big change for Russia for school
district reforms but in Pereslavl, with Vera's help
(regional department of education), we already making
changes 1989. Communist Party gone" (Melnikova November
18, 2001). The principle of humanization very
important, heart of our changes, because teachers see
student as a person. Directors' work with teachers is
now supposed to be like two persons who work together
for students; both give parents' opinion respect. Of
course, another big change is the mayor is absolute
boss. Superintendent job means you work for the mayor
now (Melnikova November 17, 2001) .
Questions 2 (impact on roles) and 3 (positive factors):
The superintendent job was absolutely exciting, very
interesting in years 1989 to 1995, even when money was
big problem for schools. With the freedom to make
changes and with help of Vladimir (former mayor) and
Vera (regional education authority), very big help. I
have many projects, probably too many, but this was a
time to try to make improvements (Melnikova July 1996) .
In terms of positive factors, she stated,
My staff at GORONO (district office) very big help to me
but work with directors best (November 18, 2001) .
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After end of old system (1991), I can make decisions on
staff. Very important to choose good persons to be
directors and help grow. Superintendent's job best to
build good director and assistant directors at each
school. Seminars on directors' job to be leader for
improving schools with teachers was a very good part of
my job(August 26, 2001). Starting Gymnasiya, Psychology
Center, Speech Center and Litsei possible, even with
little, little money. Possible because people agreed
they important for students (November 17, 2001).
Question 4 (negative factors): Melnikova expressed deep
concerns for the school district as a result of the increased
authority of the mayor in selecting the superintendent and
setting priorities for the schools.
Big problem for me, superintendent, was new mayor and
how he act [ . . . ] very hard. My life is very good; I have
good work (outside of education) but situation bad for
district when mayor only one has power over
superintendent even if they are both good people. If
one, or both not good, even more bad for district
(Melnikova August 26, 2001). GORONO people not big help
for schools. Directors are absolutely on their own.
Now no speech or psychology centers, Gymnasiya good but
Litsei is disappointment for me—never develop fully."
Now still problem finding teachers [ . . . ] big work, little
money. Soon many old teachers, directors time for
pension. Schools still good because most of staff (is)
same staff as before. Future will be problem. Schools
are poor, need money, but need good people even more
important (Melnikova November 17, 2001).
Melnikova has consistently supported the research study,
provided all information requested and facilitated contacts
with regional, city, district and school level staffs. She
has served as an important key informant throughout the study
despite the loss of her job. When Melnikova began a new
career when she went to work with two women to sell real
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estate. This is complicated work in a nation that is in the
process of creating laws on the ownership and transfer of
private property. She and her husband started their own real
estate business in 1999. Melnikova said in November 2001, "I
like my work very much. I have my own office, my own hours
and I am my own boss. I would never go back to education
especially under the current system subject to a mayor"
(Melnikova November 17, 2001) .
Case Study 3: Teacher Perspectives on Change - Maria Mischenko
Maria Mischenko was born on July 5, 1946. She is married
and has two daughters and three grandchildren. She and her
husband, Valery, are raising one grandson themselves. She
is a third generation educator and her two daughters are
teachers. Mischenko often says, "I don't see myself in
another profession."
Her mother's family on the paternal side emigrated from
Germany when Tsar Peter the Great brought skilled laborers
and educators to St. Petersburg in the early eighteenth
century. The descendants from this branch of her family
settled in Baku, Azerbaijan where Mischenko's grandfather was
a teacher and later the director of a school for boys. Four
of his seven children including Mischenko's mother became
teachers. "In 1942 during the Great Patriotic War,"
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Mischenko's family was among the thousands of Russians of
German descent who were forcibly dispersed throughout Russia
"without a what have you" on the grounds that they would
collaborate with the invading German armies. According to
Mischenko, "We Russians are so afraid of outsiders and here
my family had been in Russia for such a long time."
Mischenko's mother was sent to a work camp near the town of
Krasnokamsk in the Ural Mountains where Mischenko was born.
Mischenko does not know anything about her father except
that he was Russian. According to Mischenko, "My father's
identity was an absolute secret. My mother had to sign a
paper to say my father was not a Russian. If 'those people'
found out he was a Russian with a 'German' girl, then they
would exile him. Can you believe such a thing? Russian people
had to bend reality every day just to survive."
Russians whom the researcher has encountered in both
formal and informal settings often speak of the need for both
a "public" and a "private" face. This means you can not say
or do something to stand out or deviate from customs or Party
ideology in public but "your true self is revealed to the
closest of friends and family." Those who "stood as the
tallest nail would be hammered down first." Another common
Russian saying for this situation is "The tallest stalk is the
first to be cut." People risked isolation or worse if they
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appeared to be non-conformist. When you encounter a situation
or comment where a Russian's "two faces" come into conflict,
he or she might comment to the effect that "this is a paradox"
or "to have a 'normal' life in Russia is very difficult."
At the end of the war, Mischenko's mother joined her
parents who were living in Atbasar ("White skull of a horse"),
Kazakhstan. Mischenko graduated from the teacher's college in
Atbasar with a foreign language degree in English. Mischenko
is fluent in English and Russian. She moved with her husband
to Pereslavl in 1973 and has taught at School #7 for her
entire career.
Mischenko is intelligent, devoted to her family,
demonstrates a strong commitment to her profession, and has a
good sense of humor. She is a colorful conversationalist and
speaks enthusiastically about her work with students and her
challenges as a teacher. She has mentioned several times
during the study that the Russians suffer from great gaps of
information in their history and typically did not know what
was really happening in their country "past or present". In a
conversation in her kitchen on November 14, 2001, Mischenko
told the researcher that no one ever starved in Russia because
they had their dachas. She asked why did Americans starve
during "your Great Depression?" When the researcher responded
and then asked, "What about the Soviet Union's crop failures
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and famines in the 1930s and starvation when the state
confiscated the crops and animals from the Kulaks and the
peasants," Mischenko responded with "Oh well, maybe so, but we
can grow plenty of food today."
On another occasion, in the midst of a lively dinner
conversation, she asked the researcher, "Why were American
people so terribly afraid of us poor Russian people?" Upon
reflection, the researcher told of when as small child seeing
television coverage of Khrushev banging his shoe on the desk
in the United Nations and saying, "We will bury you." This
brought a round of laughter at the table and Mischenko's
responded, "Oh, our Khrushev, that's right but he just had bad
manners."
During each of the researcher's site visit to Pereslavl
from 1991 through 1994, Galina Ladochkina, a teacher of
Russian Literature at School #7, hosted a dinner party for the
researcher and six to seven women teachers. Mischenko was
always one of the guests. These social gatherings offered the
researcher opportunities to become better acquainted with the
individuals and to gain insights to their lives outside of the
school setting. They discussed school activities, favorite
recipes, local and national events, family news, health
issues, shortages in consumer products and their work as
teachers.
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These dinner gatherings included Ladochkina, Mischenko,
and Rima Vasilieva who were three of six educators who kept
journals for four months as background information for the
study. Tatiana, the assistant director for curriculum at the
Special School for Defektology, attended on several occasions.
The dinners were always carefully prepared with a variety of
traditional Russian dishes garnished with decorative, carved
vegetables. It was evident that Ladochkina always devoted
great care and time to prepare these dinners. From 1991-1993,
when there were serious shortages of basic foods and goods,
the other teachers contributed to helping Ladochkina set a
"full table." The running joke for the group during this time
was that the researcher had a choice "of soap to wash your
hands, butter for your bread or sugar for your tea. You must
pick just one and hope that it is the right one."
Despite the material hardships and the difficulties of
living on a small salary during an extended period of
hyperinflation, the teachers spoke with enthusiasm and energy
about their work with their students. These informal
conversations often focused on "recognizing the needs of the
students," the importance of "democratization in all aspects
of work," "seeing the students as a real person," and "the
difficulties and the excitement of writing 'my' own
curriculum." Typical comments were: "school is so
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interesting," "I love my work more than ever," and "the new
teachers have it very bad, sharing one small room with someone
they don't know." Housing is a concern for young people and
older adults due to shortages. Luba, one of the teachers in
the "dinner" group, had divorced her husband but continued to
live with him as well as his new wife because he could not
find another house due to the shortage. Their comments in
this informal dinner setting were consistent with those made
in individual interviews and in the journal entries.
Their comments were generally positive related to the
changes in the schools, such as the establishment of the
Gymasiya, the increased role of the teacher in curriculum
decisions, and the opportunities to tailor strategies and
materials to individuals and small groups. They were vocal in
their approval of the deideoloqization component to the
national reforms in 1992. To a person they reported that they
were relieved that they no longer were expected to include
"moral" topics or focus on "themes dictated by the Party."
Mischenko said in July 1992, "I never would bother with that
nonsense." In 1991 Ladochkina was a self-described believer
in the "teachings of the Party" but in December 1993 she
commented that she was "like a new person who sees the world
so differently. I am at last happy to be relieved of the
burden of those strange ideas (communist) and free to teach my
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dear students the beauty of Russian literature and culture."
Her teacher colleagues concurred that Mischenko did what "she
thinks is best { . . . } Party or not" (November 1994) .
Increasingly, from 1991 to 1995 their comments turned to
the difficulties in trying to address student needs, the lack
of time, inadequate instructional materials, the teacher
(including substitute) shortage and the poor living conditions
for younger teachers. Ladochkina noted that during the time
she had changed from a "political conservative" fearful of the
changes in the Soviet Union and "of the chaos" she was certain
would follow, her husband who was an "enthusiast supporter of
glasnost and perestroika and now is our family's big
conservative" (November 1994). He was a laborer who, like
many others, had lost his economic security and did not
"realize that the 'reforms' might not all have golden endings"
(Ladochkina 1997).
Mischenko consistently expresses her "love" for her job
as teacher (Interviews 1991 - 2002) . She says, "It is
important for teachers to be socializing with kids with the
ability to teach them something that will be necessary" (April
28, 1996). On May 9, 1996 she responded to research question 1
(and also addressed research question 4) with, "My continuing
concern is for suitable materials to use in my work with the
students. I am frustrated with the impossibility to work at
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full power because of the absence of literature material,
technical materials. "
In response to research questions 3 and 4 concerning the
positive or negative effects of a change, Mischenko stated in
1996:
School begins to convert to a condition where students
taught by their individual plans, but it's too long
until a full realization of this conversion. Students
spend too much time on breaks, which they absolutely
don't need. This should be changed. We need new people
in order to have new subjects or courses. It is
necessary to organize the changing conditions { . . . }
clarify what are the important reforms and increase the
qualifications of teachers and expectations for
students. We need the service of psychological support,
and, of course, greater financial freedom. School
doesn't have enough money for realization of all
programs or projects, which have been thought through.
She added,
But money is not all. It is necessary to change the
psychology of the teacher; teachers must learn how to
collaborate with children, to leave off from dictating.
I would first advise a teacher 'to look at yourself.'
Does the person have enough love for children, enough
patience, wish to socialize with kids, ability to
explain the same thing endlessly, is he or she
emotional, able to change, to self-sacrifice? And if
he/she has it all, there shouldn't be any long thinking.
He/she will find a second home in school and will become
a teacher.
Mischenko laughs at the idea of a hobby or "free time."
She described her typical daily schedule in the following
manner:
From 7:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. I am at school; usually I have
from 5 to 8 lessons a day. I come home about 3:30 for
dinner. After the dinner some housework followed by
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preparations for lessons though I partially prepare them
at school. Talking audio tapes, choosing the literature
from the library... At home I write plans, doing
translations from Russian into English and from English
to Russian going through notebooks. Watch TV from 9 to
10; at 10:00 I go to my room in order to relax from
people, read books for 2 to 3 hours. My free time is
for tailoring, weaving and some time visiting friends.
My husband does all of the shopping because I am just
too, too busy with my lessons and students.
In 1991, the salaries of Russian educators and their
buying power put them near the poverty line. Prices for basic
goods rose daily and shortages in sugar, gasoline and soap
were common. In Pereslavl, the teachers' situation was
aggravated when their monthly paychecks were delayed for
periods of two to four months during the early stages of
decentralization. Superintendent Melnikova, with assistance
from the Yaroslavl Department of Education and the Pereslavl's
Mayor Shesternyov, implemented a pay-for-performance schedule
that improved the teacher's salaries. There were no further
delays in paying the teachers until after Melnikova was
replaced.
In 1997, the finance manager for the city told the
teachers and directors the "good news" that there was money to
pay them for four months back wages. When they discovered how
little was in their pay envelopes, they were told that they
should be "happy that the city had collected their payroll tax
to make certain it was paid for the year." Mischenko said "The
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paradox is we now have many products in the shops but no
money. But nobody starved. We simply planted more at our
dachas" (June 9, 1997).
Beginning in 1995, Mischenko began tutoring children in
English after school to earn money to keep up with the rising
prices. The Mischenko's seventh-floor apartment is on the top
story of a concrete-slab building without an elevator typical
of the Soviet era. Due to a leak in the roof, the ceiling of
the apartment was badly stained and covered with mold that
reappeared despite the family's best efforts to keep it clean.
From 1992 to 1995, the roof was not repaired because there was
no "authority" responsible for the roof. The residents now
"owned" their apartments, and the family did not have the
money to fix the entire roof themselves. The dispute over the
roof was settled and it was repaired in a "cooperative"
manner. By 2001 Mischenko earned twice her teacher's salary
by tutoring students and teaching English to adults. She has
repainted and carpeted the apartment and purchased new living
room furniture. Her grandson has a computer in his room and,
typical of a Russian educator's home, the television is in the
living room, which includes a wall lined with books. She said
(November 14, 2001), "I don't know how I learned to earn money
on my own, but I did. Now we have money for our apartment and
new furniture. This would be absolutely impossible on my
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teacher salary now or in the past. Poor, poor teachers." She
added a later date, "I know today (November 17, 2001), that
only a lazy person has no money. Of course, it is different
if you are on a pension you must work and have help from your
family."
Mischenko demonstrates a willingness to take charge of a
situation to ensure that she can create what she believes to
be the best situation for teaching and learning. In August
2001, she recounted the following:
My class of 2001 was a wonderful class that came to me
six years ago. They are brilliant students who have
gotten into the very best universities. (She shows the
researcher a photo album picturing this group of
students over the years in school, on social outings and
their graduation exercises.) This class was very
unhappy about their teacher who did nothing for them.
She was very religious and said 'it was a sin to
celebrate the holidays with fun.' Imagine no Christmas.
How can she say she is 'religious' when there is no
celebration of Christmas? They rebelled by the 7th form
and wanted another teacher.
I became their 'homeroom' teacher. I spent the
first two years working with them to respect one another
because they absolutely hated each other, stole from one
another, argued and called each other names. I said I
would have none of this nonsense. No hitting, no
stealing, if you break someone's property then we will
fix it together. It was important for them first to
learn how to be friends. We organized holidays
together. Then we went to plays, the cinema and museums
together. Parents helped us when we would go to the
forest by cooking all day long. We played games and had
math competitions. Tatiana (Kiseleva, the director)
said we 'could not have our celebrations in the
classroom.' Can you imagine? So we had to go to the
canteen.
My children are organized to assume responsibility
for specific duties in the classroom. They have
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assignments to take roll, to check work, to prepare
materials, and to clean the boards. Our students are
responsible for cleaning the schools.
Summary of Mischenko's Responses to the Research Questions
She reviewed and agrees that the following reflect her
responses to the research questions:
Question 1 (What changes in a school or the district { . . . } did
educators perceive as significant?) Mischenko consistently
made statements that addressed the ability to speak the truth
and to be your own person. She has said on several occasions,
"We no longer have to live with lies," and "We now have the
ability to make decisions about what we do, not the Party
saying such and so."
Mischenko also cites greater "trust" in the teachers as
well as the schools in making improvements for student
learning. In a June 19, 1997 interview Mischenko said:
Before 1990, if you wanted to make a Xerox copy, you had
to submit a written request for approval. Now I can make
my own materials that are better than what is available
and better for my students. I ask myself, 'What is the
nature of a reform when this was the case for an act
that is routine elsewhere, like in America?' Reforms
are a matter of leadership. Ludmila (Melnikova) is a
very interesting person. Very creative but sometimes
there are too many ideas coming all at once. We are
taking time now to look at what is most important. I
think this is very good. Valentina (Vavitsina, retired
director of School #7) gave me freedom to make the best
decisions for my students. Tatiana (Kiseleva, current
director) is sometimes a nuisance but she has strength
to stand up to people.
Students don't challenge teachers. New grading
system has 10 marks instead of 5. There are many more
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books in the schools. This year there were student
trips to Yaroslavl and Moscow. Classroom materials,
student activities and field trips are now more a
function of how interested and enterprising a teacher
is. Parents contribute money for classroom activities.
I am very sorry about Ludmila (Melnikova was fired by
the new mayor in March 1996); it is a terrible loss for
the schools.
Responses to research question 2 (How did the perceived
significant changes [ . . . ] in education impact the roles and
responsibilities of educators [ . . . ] ? Mischenko states that the
changes in the teacher's role include increased professional
autonomy for classroom decisions and a voice in decisions
affecting the school... "are very significant." She also sees
negative aspects (research question 4) to some of the changes,
such as decentralization. On November 14, 2001, she cited the
following examples:
We have school six days a week for the students in
forms (classes) 8-11. The elementary form teachers
absolutely rebelled and refused to go six days a week.
They said the children needed a rest and they needed time
to prepare. The Director Tatiana gave in to them. It
was the right thing to do. The children need time and so
do the teachers. The directors have all the 'authority'
to set the length of the school day and the length of the
school holidays. One school may have six days vacation
and another ten days. This is not fair. The district
and that superintendent ignore the schools entirely until
someone makes a mistake and then she says, 'You see!'
All things are up to the director, when to gather
(assemble) and when to dismiss. This is both good and
bad. Bad because there is something of chaos when each
school is so different but it is good that this
superintendent ignores us completely because she has
nothing to offer us. Saturdays are for specialization of
studies such as extra Russian, English or mathematics
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classes. I think, however, that this is too early to
specialize.
In response to research questions 2, 3 and 4: Mischenko
produces many of her own materials for her classes because as
she says, "The ones we get from the district are absolutely
worthless and there is a constant shortage of books." She
confided that she has always, even when it was not approved,
developed her own materials for her students. She says that
today it is a necessity because of the poor quality of the
books. She told of the "book mafia" that controls the
textbook business for each region. "A company and a group of
people who call themselves 'authors,' who may not be experts
in the subject matter, write textbooks that are then the only
books that a district may purchase. It is the worst of what
was called 'profiteering.' They charge what they want and
the districts blindly obey. The author of the English
textbooks for this region knows nothing of English"
(Mischenko November 14, 2001).
Textbooks are an important resource to the schools and,
at this time, represent the closest thing to a curriculum for
many teachers, especially those who are new to the profession.
According to Stephen L. Webber in his book School, Reform and
Society in the New Russia, the problem of quality and funding
for sufficient numbers of textbooks is serious across Russia.
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For example, the federal government provided only 20-30
percent of the funds needed to purchase textbooks 1997;
without sufficient funds, teachers and students went without
books. This was especially serious because there were still
no history textbooks to replace those from the Soviet era. He
tells of publishers who withhold textbooks from the schools in
order to sell them at higher prices to the public in
bookstores (123-125).
In response to research question 4, Mischenko is very
critical of the district's approach to differentiation through
its developmental education program. Former Superintendent
Melnikova began the Day Care program that complements the
program at two schools for the children of working parents.
This program is very popular today, and parents at other
schools would also like it. The children begin at age one and
finish at age ten. In an interview in Mischenko's kitchen on
November 17, 2001, she said:
This does not prepare them for the 'regular' school
as they are treated as babies far too long. They always
have someone nurturing them and hovering over them to do
their work. They are absolutely not prepared to be
independent students. When they come to School #7 they
are absolutely lost. They cannot find their classrooms;
they don't understand why they must be responsible for
their studies.
It takes two years for them to adjust and this puts
them behind the others. This program is good and easy
for parents because they have only to drop their
children off in the morning at 8 a.m. and pick them up a
5 p.m. in the evening. Nothing to bother about. It
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arrests development of their social skills when they
must now be in a very large school with big children.
This is bad for the children who stay babies and bad for
the teachers who must then help them to grow up.
In response to research questions 1 and 4, Mischenko
expresses regret for the change in leadership in the district.
When the mayor fired Melnikova, "the district slowly sank into
chaos" and there are "the negative impacts resulting from the
new superintendent's approach." Mischenko says the atmosphere
in the district is "so different, it is not good." She
elaborated:
Kodak (foreign company with a factory in Pereslavl)
is a big help to Sasha's (Ivakhnenko) special school.
It is in their contract (with the city and the district)
that they must help with charity for the poorer schools.
They do not give money to School #7 because our parents
are mostly wealthy and come from all over Pereslavl.
When Kodak or other groups give money to the district
most often the money does not reach the schools.
Kodak's director gives direct help and money to Sasha's
school to make certain it is being used as intended.
The accountants at the district say this type of thing
happens all the time with this superintendent. In
trying to get the current information on the school
enrollments, I learned something. At first I thought it
would be easy. I spoke with Valentina and Nina
(administrators from the district office) who said they
would help but if they thought it might cause problems
they couldn't. If the superintendent found out the
information was for Judith then she would think it was
for Ludmila. They never called back. Tatiana, Director
of School #7, and Luba, Director of School #4, were able
to get the information. Why should we be afraid of
anything, especially her (the superintendent)?
Mischenko often says that the teachers and directors miss
Melnikova very much because "she really cared about the
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teachers and students." Teachers and directors still bring
flowers to Ludmila's home on September 1, the first day of
school, as part of a Russian tradition to honor teachers.
Melnikova says she is touched by these acts of "remembrance"
but discourages this gesture as it is time for "all of us to
look to the future" (Melnikova August 20, 1999).
Mischenko says she and many others in the city question
the mayor and city board's leadership and their priorities,
which she said, "Shows what they really value in life and in
work." She recounted the story of one of the mayor's trip.
According to Mischenko:
Mayor Melnik went to Germany ostensibly for a
conference. Neither he nor the vice-mayor were
here for the May celebration to mark the end of the
Great Patriotic War, which is still an important
day for Russians to give thanks and honor those who
had sacrificed. People asked 'why they were not
here for such an important day?' A citizen wrote a
letter to the newspaper. The editor is a close
friend of Melnik's. The newspaper published a
photograph and article explaining the mayor was
away on an important agricultural mission and the
vice-mayor was in Novosibirsk on city business.
(She stressed that Pereslavl is not a farming
community.) People question why this work had to
be done on this weekend. Other members of the city
government said this (the account in the newspaper)
was 'not true'; both men were in Germany to buy
cars for themselves. They had formed a company to
sell busses. The city purchased busses but when
the busses broke down and needed parts, the
mechanics were told not to contact the company for
parts. The mayor is a partner in the "firm" that
handled the sale of the busses to the city, so, you
see, the city had to pay a higher price than if the
busses were purchased in an honest way.
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On November 14, 2001 in the kitchen of her apartment,
Mischenko was asked to identify and discuss the impacts of the
major changes in the district since 1991, she responded:
Ludmila was a great superintendent because she
was interested in the work of the schools, the
teachers and what was best for the students. She
motivated people to work hard at their jobs. Now
the superintendent and some of the city leaders are
absolutely wolves in sheep's clothing. End of the
Soviet period and the beginning of the Russian
period was a time of democratization but it was
more chaos for the schools. Teachers could do
absolutely what they wanted to do. There was way
too much freedom because some teachers did not know
what they were doing or because there was no
continuity for the students from one teacher
(program...grade/form) to the next. Things began to
work better as workshops and help was provided to
the schools. Now the attitude of the new
superintendent is very different and this affects
the behavior of others. Many do as they wish and
do not work hard... the best way to describe it is
indifference.
Why work hard when it isn't valued? But there
are teachers and, yes, some directors who work hard
because they care very much about the students. I
work for my students not for a director or
superintendent. You know the center of the small
biscuit that is empty, well, the superintendent is
like the hole in the doughnut. She is nothing to
the schools but an empty space. She seldom goes to
any of the schools and behaves in a jealous,
unforgiving way. She seems to be there for the
salary. She never forgets or forgives a person for
a fault. She likes to punish and this has an
influence on others.
The attitude is very different from the
district center and the schools now. She has run
most of the men out of the schools when they are
needed even more. I'll give an example: Vladimir
Vasilivich was an excellent director of the
boarding school. He was trying to make changes to
improve education and living conditions for the
students. He had been "drafted" to work in th3
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Party Organization and came back to education in
1991. He was not a "pet" of the new superintendent
and had offended her in some way. The teachers at
his school were mostly "old hags" who did not want
to work hard. He pressured them. One of the hags
accused him of beating her (but her bruises came
from a beating by her husband). The superintendent
took him to court, dismissed him and took away his
documents (credentials). I don't know what has
become of him but he was a loss to the students.
This was a tragedy. The computer specialist,
Popov, was very talented but he too crossed the
superintendent and was sent packing. There were
others who were punished.
Mischenko and the researcher continued the conversation
on November 17, 2002. Mischenko described further changes in
the district and their impacts:
Our school #7 is the black sheep of the
district. The district has awful people who keep a
list of what they like and don't like. If one of
their children is placed in the school it is
typically a problem because the child does not work
and we must call the parent for a conference. This
has not made friends for the teachers at school #7
in the district. We are punished. When a Korean
delegation visited the district, they said school
#7 was the best and would like to have the
director, teachers and some students visit Korea in
exchange. When the delegation was put together the
superintendent and directors from two other schools
were chosen. The delegation did not include any
teachers or students from our school. Tatiana (the
director of school #7) was hurt and angry [ . . . ] . She
said "this was typical at our school through the
work of the students who do very, very well but
this seems to anger the district.' Tatiana told
the superintendent that this was 'wrong not to send
even a student from School #7.' Though I don't
agree with everything Tatiana does (you know we,
sometimes shout at each other and she walks away),
she isn't afraid of anything. She has a very long
tongue. She does sometime cry after coming back
from a meeting with the district because it is so
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frustrating. She stands up for the school.
Few men now in the district and many teachers
are working more hours. Fifteen lessons per week
are supposed to be the load for the teachers but I
am now teaching 30 with outside tutoring and work
at Kodak. I am not working the extra hours for the
pay from the school district because the money is
almost nothing. I can earn much more through the
private lessons. I work the extra hours for the
students.
We do not have enough teachers and the new
teachers are getting no help or at least next to
nothing. Chasing out good people, especially the
men, does not make sense. Sasha Ivahknenko would
be long gone if his school was not rated the best
boarding school for children with special needs in
the Yaroslavl region. She (Superintendent
Borozdna) planned to get rid of him but had no
control and would have run into problems. The
superintendent cannot chase him out because his
school serves the region and is responsible to the
Yaroslavl administration. The Pereslavl
superintendent has little authority over his school
so he can be more independent than the other
directors. His school is really the best and his
teachers work hard.
In a discussion with Mischenko and her colleagues on
February 15, 1993, the subject of the influence of the
Communist Party on the role of educators and the curriculum
came up. Galina Ladochkina, a teacher of Russian literature,
commented, "The directors were required to be Communist Party
members before 1980. I wanted to be a Party member because
that is where the decisions were made [...] local Party
leaders in Pereslavl generally worked hard. We didn't know
about the privileges of the higher Party leaders at the
regional and federal levels. There was no information [...]
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the ideology machine was working well. We were like soldiers
in the field; there was no debate. Answers were well laid
out even before we even asked the questions." She told an
anecdote about the CPSU's responsibility for all that was
good. For example, "When winter ends and summer sun shines
[...] we say thank you to the Party for the warm weather and
sunshine." On the subject of school leadership, she said,
"Valentina (director) likes Ludmila Melnikova as she is
organized, inspiring and supportive. Yaroslavl Region has
had five major reorganizations in three years (1990-1993).
Vera (Rybakova) is wonderful to work with but the regional
government is difficult."
Mischenko on November 17, 2001 reflected on the changes
in education:
I never liked the old system of education in
the Soviet era. The old system was built on lies.
For example, if you looked into a cookbook of the
time, it would read "Comrade Stalin says you should
prepare this and that and eat this and that."
Medical books began with 'Comrade Stalin says you
should [ . . . ] Such a lot of lies. I live with eyes
wide open.
Politicians don't belong in schools. The
Ministry of Education and the content leaders in
Yaroslavl are setting standards that have
absolutely nothing to do with what the students are
being taught. The poor students are tested on
grammar and word usage yet the materials provided
for schools focus on content and understanding
words in context. (Shows examples.) Standards are
getting worse. The curriculum for the schools does
not match with what the students are tested on for
university admittance. Students are given texts
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that they cannot understand (30% of words they
don't know). Students should have materials that
help build their confidence to learn more not show
them how ignorant they are. School materials are
ridiculously simple [ . . . ] . They do not prepare
students for university. (Shows simple text with
only three questions to be answered.) Material for
this Moscow test is six pages on grammar and word
usage. School materials focus on reading for
understanding and comprehension. Most teachers
don't know what students will face in getting into
and then succeeding at a university. I tell my
students who graduate 'don't forget me. I need
materials for students.' Former students help and
I get help from Kodak Company people. They help
this old invalid teacher with the bad knees. My
grandson types up materials for me.
Oleg, one of my former students is teaching
English in the Technical School. I ask him not to
teach grammar because he is not very strong in this
area. Oleg is a dear boy who is helping them build
vocabulary though I think he tries to teach
grammar, mistakes and all. Nadershda (another
young teacher) is crazy for new methods but doesn't
always understand how to apply but she is
industrious. The best director is the one that is
not in the way of the teachers. I respect very
few. Valentina, Sasha respected people including
the students. Why punish teachers who are trying,
we make so little money as it is and then to be
punished. Unhappy people make unhappy teachers who
make students unhappy. Look at most schools like
our #7 are filled with unhappy single women
(divorced and never married) who are unhappy in
life. Last two years we have had no teachers'
room, so I don't see other teachers often. Without
a teachers' room, then there is no place for
teachers to gather and maybe talk about problems.
If there is a meeting they must send someone around
to announce it. This is fine for me as I don't go
to meetings that I don't know about. I have missed
several and have not suffered as a teacher. There
is no time to waste. New teachers get no help, no
chance for professional dialogue or opportunity to
solve problems. There is still a shortage.
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Mischenko has been consistent in her responses to the
interview question "knowing what you know now, would you go
back to the way your life was before 1991?" She is emphatic
when she says, "No" or "Never!" Her amplifications to this
response include, "Why on earth would we ever want to live
with lies again?" and "Only a foolish person would want to
live in such a sad atmosphere of lies. I like the truth."
Case Study 4: Director's Perspective on Change - Alexandr
Ivanovich Ivakhnenko
Alexandr Ivanovich Ivakhnenko, director of the Special
School for Defektology, is Case Study 4. He is the only male
administrator in the district. Alexandr, known as Sasha, was
born on August 11, 1947, in Zvannoye, a village of
approximately 800 people in the Kursk Region of southwestern
Russia. Zvannoye is 32 kilometers from the northeastern border
of the Ukraine. The Germans during World War II, or the Great
Patriotic War occupied this region as the Russians call it.
Thirteen "Ivakhnenkos," who were family members on his father
Ivan's side, are among the 131 names on the war memorial next
to the village's cemetery. Members of his mother Galina's
family and members of the extended family are also listed on
the memorial. Zvannoye, past and present, continues to be an
important part of his life.
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He comes from a family of educators. His mother was a
kindergarten teacher. His father was a school director in a
small neighboring village. His father taught Russian
literature in addition to his administrative duties.
Ivakhnenko's brother-in-law is the director of Zvannoye's
popular music school where his sister and niece are also music
teachers. Ivakhnenko, like his parents, was a member of the
Communist Party.
He graduated from the Kursk University in 1969 with a
degree in foreign language. He is bilingual in Russian and
French and has limited proficiency in English. In 1970
following a one-year tour of duty in the army, Ivakhnenko
moved to Pereslavl-Zalessky (Pereslavl), his wife's hometown.
He taught French at School #1 from 1970 to 1972. From 1972-
75, he and his wife lived in Algeria where he taught French to
members of the Soviet military and government officials.
He returned to Pereslavl in 1975 to teach French at
School #8. The Communist Party recruited him to a full-time
paid position, or functionary, responsible for the moral
education of youth. He assisted teachers and other adults who
worked with young people in the city to develop the children's
"attitudes and proper conduct" 1977-1982. He worked with them
to use effective practices to teach and "model" the principles
of socialism according to Party guidelines. He left the work
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with the Party in 1984 when he took the position of director
for the Special School for Defektology.
Ivakhnenko is married and has one son, two daughters and
a grandson. He owns a four-room apartment and dacha, a country
house, in a village near Pereslavl. He began building a new
home in Pereslavl in September 2000. He enjoys hunting as a
hobby as well as a source of fresh meat. As a result of his
government work in Algeria, Ivakhnenko was one of the first
people under the age of thirty in Pereslavl to own a car; this
was a unique accomplishment at a time when people waited five
or more years for the opportunity to buy a car. His
experiences and views may be atypical for Russians of his
generation because of his travels outside of the Soviet Union.
Although he and his family were required to live within a
Russian compound in Algeria, he was exposed to the people and
culture of a foreign country. Later he was allowed to
vacation with his wife in Yugoslavia during the Soviet era. He
also visited the United States twice in 1991 as an educator
and a private citizen. His membership in the Communist Party
and employment as a Party functionary, or "hack" in the words
of an assistant director in the district, placed Ivahknenko
among a small minority of Russians.
He was an active Party member who embraced the values of
cooperation and collegiality. He described himself as a "true
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believer who lived with my head in the sand" for many years.
According to various sources, Ivakhnenko's popularity with
students and adults made him an attractive candidate for
official Party work. During the time he was a Party
functionary, he worked alongside Luba Durynina and Valentina
Vavitsina.
Durynina, who later became director of School #4, was
responsible for the workers at the collectives in the area
around Pereslavl; she also inspected their work to ensure that
they were productive. Durynina recalls, as she says, "with
shame, after visiting a dairy collective, I stopped the car by
the side of the road and broke down in tears. I asked myself
what was I doing telling these poor hardworking girls how to
milk a cow. I had never touched a cow but I was instructed by
my boss to tell them no matter what, their work was poor and
they should do better" (Durynina November 10, 1992). She
resigned and went to work at the school district.
Vavitsina headed the Party's Komsomol program for twenty
years before becoming director of School #7 and starting the
Gymnasiya. She is widely respected and in the words of Ivan
Anyukhovsky, General Director of Slavich and a longtime
community leader, "a very excellent manager and a beloved
person in our city." Vavitsina cited her disillusionment with
the Party practices and its failure to make improvements. She
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said she "wanted meaningful work" because it "makes a better
life for children. The school working with teachers and
students was the best place for me" (June 28, 1992).
Ivakhnenko resigned his job as a functionary with the
Communist Party in 1984 because as he said, "I believed in the
philosophy of Communism and values it taught young people but
I grew frustrated with the ways of the Communist people in the
city. No match for me with the philosophy" (November 10,
1992).
He was hired as the director to the School of
Defektology, which was located in an old building near the
center of town. He was one of ten men who comprised twenty-
five percent of the administrators in the district in 1984.
He supplements his monthly income (the eguivalent to $300 in
United States) with work outside of education thus requiring
him to work long hours. Average monthly salaries in United
States dollars for Russians range from $52 in the Kursk
Region in the southwest to $293 for the city of Moscow
(Montaigne 8). According to Russian Life (8), the average
wage for Russians in September 1999 was 1,465R or $60 per
month. He contributes to the support of his mother and his
sister's family. This is a common practice because
approximately 40 percent of the Russians receive regular
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financial assistance from family or close friends (Sliverman
and Yanowitch 23).
As part of educational exchange programs he made two
trips to the United States in March 1990 to Cupertino,
California and in October 1990 to Chicago, Illinois. Months
after observing classes and participating in a two-day
session on strategies for working with the educable mentally
retarded during his trip to California, he commented, "the
classes are smaller for your students. This is good but
students' work and habits in special classes looks absolutely
different from other students in school. I think special
students work should be similar topics, more challenge for
student activity" (April 17, 1992). His comments reflect
the approach that he and his staff practice at his school.
The Special School of Defektology is a year-round
residential school serving 120 educable mentally retarded boys
and girls in classes 4 through 8. The school is a shared
responsibility of the Pereslavl-Zalessky School District and
the Department of Education for the Yaroslavl Region.
Ivakhnenko supervises 43 staff members including 20 teachers,
3 assistant directors, 1 mechanic, 2 general maintenance
personnel, and 18 "upbringers" who are responsible for the
non-academic care, feeding and social development of the
children. The school is staffed twenty-four hours a day, seven
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days a week year round. He works year-round and is on call at
all times with the exception of three or four vacations of
five days each scheduled during the year.
Ivakhnenko teaches history and Russian literature nine
hours each week as part of his responsibilities as director.
His favorite poet is Sergei Yesenin (1895-1925) who focused on
themes of nature, beauty, struggles in life and physical as
well as moral strength of the male; Yesenin was very popular
throughout the Soviet era despite his final disillusionment
with the Communist regime (Glad and Weissbort xxxiv). The
village prose writers also influenced Ivakhnenko. The village
writers, "derevenshckiki," dominated the Soviet literary world
in the 1970s and 1980s (Lowenhardt 76). His interest in the
village writers can be attributed to their glorification of
the values of the Russian villagers. Their popularity with
Russians, including members of the communist establishment,
could be viewed as a "spiritual revolt against the
consequences" of the Soviet social ills including alcohol
abuse, cruelty toward women, a high rate of divorce,
exploitation of the environment and a whole list of ills that
were blamed on the Soviet system and western influences
(Lowenhardt 76).
Shortly after assuming his responsibilities as director
in 1984, Ivakhnenko determined that the small, aged building
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for the special school was totally inadequate as an
educational facility and, in his words, an "unhealthy and
dangerous place for the children." Upon learning that the
regional authorities planned to close a small prison located
on the edge of the city, he contacted the superintendent of
schools to see if it could be used as a site for his school.
He was specifically interested in the compound used for staff
housing near the site of the prison.
Superintendent Melnikova and Ivakhnenko asked the
general who was in charge of the property if part of it could
be turned over to the district. The general flatly refused;
he said, "it is to be used for Slavich." Undaunted,
Ivakhnenko and Melnikova met in her kitchen late into the
night to devise another approach. They then went to Ivan
Anyukhovsky, the General Director of Slavich, the
photochemical plant and then the largest employer in the city,
to see if the guard's quarters for the prison could be donated
for the use of the school. When he questioned why they needed
it, they invited him to visit the special school. When he saw
how the "ceiling had collapsed on one floor and smelled the
open sewer, he gave his okay." Vera Rybakova, Deputy of
Education for the Yaroslavl Region, provided funds for the
repairs and conversion of the buildings for the school.
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Ivakhnenko supervised the remodeling and "made trips all over
the region to collect materials and find furniture."
With some assistance from the city and the district,
Ivakhnenko and his staff assumed the major responsibilities
for converting the facilities to accommodate the educational
and housing needs of the students. The special school
officially re-opened in the new facility on September 1, 1989,
without the large stone statue of Lenin that had dominated the
entrance of the main barracks.
The special school is located on the north side of town
on approximately six wooded acres (2.4 hectares) surrounded by
a high fence. There are ten classrooms, two staff workrooms,
an office shared by the assistant directors and the director's
office in a two-story brick building. The children's living
quarters, recreation rooms, dining hall, and school kitchen
are located in a nearby two-story brick building. There is a
workshop and garage for the school's bus and maintenance
vehicles. The school grounds are well kept and the staff
plants flowers in large beds in front of each building.
Volunteers from an American church group built wooden climbing
equipment for the playground in 2000.
Educational Facilities: The researcher has made at least
50 formal and informal visits to this school during the day
and night, on weekdays and weekends, and at times that were
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scheduled and unscheduled. The entry and main hallway on the
lower level are used as the "children's gallery" to display
their artwork. The students' chalk and watercolor drawings
depict animals, scenes from Russian folktales and life at the
school. The classrooms show evidence of many coats of paint
and are furnished with simple wooden desks with a diverse
assortment of chairs. Students sit at desks arranged side by
side in rows of two. The classroom walls are lined with
subject matter related materials, maps and samples of student
work; well-tended potted plants line the windowsills. The
class sizes range from ten to twenty students depending on the
subject matter.
Student Living Accommodations: The students are assigned
four to a room. There is a bed and small work area with
shelving and drawers assigned to each child. The children's
rooms reflect their special tastes and interests as they
decorate their own areas with the help of staff. Dolls,
stuffed animals and other favorite toys are typically placed
on the beds that are neatly made. The students are
responsible for keeping their rooms clean and assisting in
chores in the buildings and on the grounds. There are
separate shower and toilet facilities for boys and girls.
These facilities were remodeled two years ago. Ivakhnenko
installed a small library, reading room and computer lab on
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the upper floor through donations from local companies and the
Kodak Company that has a plant nearby. The lower floor houses
the kitchen and brightly-painted multiple purpose room that is
used for dining, assemblies and student activities.
The special school is clean and well maintained by the
staff and students. At the end of a visit with teachers and a
tour of the children's living quarters in 1999, the researcher
noted that there was no graffiti visible in the school.
Ivakhnenko quickly responded, "Of course not, they know
better; this is their home." The district is not scheduled to
replace the dilapidated heating and water systems so the staff
will continue to repair them as best they can within the
annual operating budget and through whatever resources can be
donated.
Ivakhnenko is responsible for the students' educational
and living requirements. In addition to his teaching
responsibilities, he works with his three assistant directors
to schedule, supervise and support the staff and to arrange
leisure time activities for the students. He often makes the
repairs to the buildings and grounds himself. To augment the
school budget, he works with local merchants to obtain
donations of food and clothing. He has developed a friendship
with Malcolm Holm, an Englishman who manages the photographic
materials plant for Kodak in space rented from Slavich. Kodak
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has contributed funding and materials to the Special School
and other schools in Pereslavl. Holm describes Ivakhnenko as
"a terrific chap who works harder than anybody at everything
he does" (January 2002) .
Ivakhnenko has articulation and reporting requirements to
both the Pereslavl District Office and Yaroslavl Education
Department staffs on matters of budget, program and student
progress. The dual authority of the district and regional
education departments generates redundant work for Ivakhnenko
but it also gives him "some independence and protection from
local authorities" that the other directors do not have.
The special school has had two attestation reviews by the
Yaroslavl authorities instead of the one required every five
years. This creates an added burden to the staff; however,
the school is recognized as a leader in work with special need
students and is often visited by other educators in the
region.
Typically, Ivakhnenko moves quickly about the school
from one task to another while taking time to stop and speak
informally with staff and students. Staff members and
students visibly brighten when he stops to speak with them or
to observe what they are doing. He is quick to point out
areas that need attention and speaks firmly when pointing out
a deficiency to a staff member. His manner is warm, firm and
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fatherly with the children and he demonstrates a respectful
and friendly approach with the staff. He is trusting with
people and has suffered the loss of personal property when
individuals take advantage of this characteristic. He
reluctantly fired three people over the past six years who
were repeatedly drunk on the job but only after they acted in
ways that were a danger to the students. He describes himself
as a durok "village idiot" when he, in his estimation, fails
to address a problem quickly or effectively enough.
Ivakhnenko readily admits that Tatiana, the assistant
director for pedagogy and programs, provides the leadership
for curriculum and teacher development. He often praises her
for her dedication and the quality of her work. They have
worked together for ten years. She is soft-spoken and
hesitates to speak before groups but overcomes her reticence
as she speaks with intense feeling about the school, teachers
and students. She says, "my work is very interesting and
important to me. I would not like to work with another
school. Alexandr Ivanovich gives me opportunities to be of
help."
In the past seven years, Ivakhnenko has turned down
offers to be superintendent of the village schools for the
Yaroslavl region and to manage the restaurant in the city
hotel. He laughs at the idea of managing a restaurant and
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says, "I can do my best work as a director in the special
school" (November 10, 1996). Community leaders from diverse
fields came to Ivakhnenko to encourage him to run for mayor in
the next election. In terms of seeking the office of mayor, he
has actively encouraged former superintendent Melnikova to
run. She, in turn, has encouraged him to run in the next
election. After a lengthy and animated conversation in her
kitchen, they agreed that it would be "difficult, even
dangerous to his job" if he were to run because this might
anger the current superintendent and mayor (April 14, 2002) .
Mayor Melnik has demonstrated he will fire someone
without giving a reason. Ivakhnenko speaks often of how other
towns with fewer resources are doing "better for the people."
As he approaches the age of retirement, his comments on
running for office (with a base salary for the mayor that is
equivalent to at least $1,000 United States) are more serious
in tone than humorous.
In 1996, Ivakhnenko was one of a hundred directors from
all parts of Russia honored for their work in creating schools
that were rated as excellent. He said that one of the
directors from Siberia "began his long journey by dogsled and
then by train to the ceremony in Moscow." Each director
received a framed watercolor of flowers to commemorate the
occasion. Ivakhnenko's watercolor is hung on his kitchen wall.
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In April 2001, the Pereslavl newspaper featured a full-
page article on Ivakhnenko's work in developing the special
school into a regional model for educating children with
special needs. The Special School was recognized as the best
school in the Yaroslavl region in 2001. He did not mention
this award and the recognition to the researcher who later
learned of them when he showed several articles from his
students' newspaper. The students publish their own monthly
newspaper with minimal assistance from the staff. The paper
is attractive and student reporters write the articles on
subjects ranging from school activities to local news.
Ivakhnenko demonstrated pride in the accomplishments of the
students and underscored that the paper was "the product of
the student work, not the teachers" (April 14, 2002). Student
reporters Olga Kuznetsova and Valentina Novikova, wrote in the
school newspaper that Svetlana Kurizyna, a member of the
Yaroslavl Region's school assessment committee, said the
"school's home-like comfort and warm atmosphere left a good
impression. If I was just told about how children live, study
and work in here, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I
would have never believed it" (November 2001).
Five to seven times each year, Ivakhnenko and his staff
host delegations of educators or members of church groups from
countries such as the United States, Germany, France, England,
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Korea and Japan. The mayor and school superintendent often
include the special school as a stop for other visiting
delegations from Russia and other countries. Ivakhnenko says,
"the work to prepare for a delegation is okay. The
delegations are interesting to the students, maybe, not to the
teachers always, and it is a way to get help for my school."
Ivakhnenko shook his head from side to side when he told
the researcher how "the mayor and superintendent come with
delegations and talk and talk and promise things for the
school, but never help. I like working best with a good man
like Malcolm from Kodak." He continued, "the mayor and
superintendent are big talkers and a big waste of time."
Of his relationship with the superintendent, Ivakhnenko
says he "worked very well with Ludmila (Melnikova, former
superintendent) but I didn't always agree with her or her
ideas. She was interesting and interested in the work of the
schools. This superintendent (Borozdna) only comes to the
school when there is a delegation. It is no use to discuss
with her anything; she has no, absolutely no idea of what goes
on in a school. She is more like a policeman than a
superintendent."
In response to questions about how the district has
changed with a new superintendent, he said, "Seminars are now
joke. We (all administrators) had to sit for three days for
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seminars on school safety by people who have never really
worked in school." He didn't attend two of the three
required days so that he could take care of repairs at his
school and see that there was coverage for absent teachers.
According to Ivakhnenko, because attendance at district
professional development meetings has fallen off, "the
superintendent makes you pick up a ticket each day for a
seminar to turn in and get checked off at end." He said with
a laugh, "my friend in the district gave me tickets for the
days I didn't go, so no problems" (November 18, 2001). The
directors and assistant directors were required to turn their
tickets in at the end of the last day and have their names
checked off. According to Ivakhnenko, another director
simply punched her own tickets and did not attend for the
full three days. When questioned, they showed their punched
tickets and there were no further questions.
He says he respects the position of the superintendent.
"I see now how superintendent can help solve problems but
this superintendent does not know how or want to know
problems. After few times, no one is foolish enough to ask
her advice. Better not ask for help when there is no
interest" (January 7, 1999). In 1998 a person, believed to
be a student, telephoned a bomb threat to one of the schools.
Borozdna sent out a written "order" forbidding the students
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from making a bomb threat. She instructed the directors to
post the notice at the entrances and throughout the schools.
Some of the directors conferred with one another and decided
to ignore the superintendent because they feared her "order"
would result in more bomb threats (Vavitsina and Mischenko
1998).
When asked about his level of satisfaction with his job
on December 13, 1993, he responded, "Yes, Russian life is
very difficult. I like my job very much, maybe from time to
time not as much. Yes, it is satisfying for work with
teachers so children with little hope in life with a good
program can get decent jobs and life." In August 2001, he
responded to the same questions with, "Oh, yes Russian life
is still very difficult. My job is impossible. I don't want
to stop work. I like my independence but don't like so many
inspections. I have good assistants and Kodak is a big help.
I don't want a different job" (August 28, 2001).
When Melnikova was under investigation by the city
auditors in June of 1997, Ivakhnenko said, "I warned Ludmila
she would have big problems with so many projects. People not
understand problems" (June 13, 1997). Later he commented,
Melnik does not understand schools, life today, people's
problems" (May 10, 1999). On June 21, 1997, Ivakhnenko
disclosed that he also came under investigation by Melnik,
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"Very interesting, the police (city auditors) wanted to talk
to me about investigation. They showed me papers I signed
for new office furniture for the school. I say 'yes' that is
my signature. They say the furniture did not cost that much.
I said this is big news to me. I did not in person go to buy
these things. Police (city auditors) say the district
accountant take the extra money. Want to know if I know
this. I sign papers without reading, very busy, but did not
know about this. They say okay and I go" (June 21, 1999).
No charges were brought against Ivakhnenko; the district
accountant was reprimanded but not charged. The accountant
called Ludmila Melnikova one night to say she was very sorry
for the problems she caused and said she "needed money to buy
a washing machine for her house" (June 22, 1999).
In January 1997, some of the directors went to the mayor
to request that the teachers be paid their back wages and to
ask for Ludmila Melnikova's return. Ivakhnenko reported on
their meeting, "Teachers get no money since September. Things
not good with new superintendent. I don't think mayor liked
people speaking up for Ludmila or for the teachers. This bad
time for district" (June 21, 1997). According to Ivakhnenko,
"The new superintendent (Borozdna) is more like old 'Party
inspector' looking for wrong doing rather than helping
directors and teachers to improve school situation." She is
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not respected by many of the directors and most teachers have
never even seen her (Durynina, Mischenko and Ivakhnenko
November 2001) . Mischenko summarized their comments, "She is
not creative or a skillful problem solver. Morale is not
good and there are no seminars for professional development."
The district resumed professional development activities by
2001 but the quality and content of the seminars offered are
not meaningful according to four directors.
Summary of Ivakhnenko's Responses to the Research Questions
In summary, Ivakhnenko's responses to the research
questions are:
Question 1 (significant changes): 1) "Schools are no
longer dominated by a political party and have freedom
to make changes for students. 2) The district and
superintendent now absolutely under the foot of the
mayor and schools are on their own. No leadership"
(Comments April 15, 2001) .
Questions 2 (impact on role), 3 (positive factors), and
4 (negative factors): "I have more work than ever
without help from superintendent. Ludmila (former
superintendent) was not always right, but always wanted
to help, care about people and made job more interesting
for teachers and directors. She knows work of a
director." In regard to the current superintendent,
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"This superintendent (Borozdna) don't know, don't care.
District is not one strong collective of schools like
before. If director is lazy or inexperienced, then
school, teachers and students are in big trouble"
(August 10, 2001). Further, " Director job is
interesting, never quiet. Challenge is good for me.
Special school twice the work but Yaroslavl connection
is good thing" (November 17, 2001).
Ivakhnenko values this connection with the regional
department of education because, as he has said in the past,
he has "a little protection." His responsibilities include
students from villages near Pereslavl, not just the school
district. He is well respected in the region and his school
has received numerous honors which insulate him, to some
extent, from the actions of the superintendent and the mayor.
Analysis of Ivakhnenko's Perspective
Overall, his views on the changes are mixed. His comments
are positive in terms of giving good people "like my
assistant, Tatiana," an opportunity to be creative and design
effective programs. The shortage of funds, lack of support,
low salaries, and increased workload (coverage for absent
teachers, need to handle facility repairs) have impacted his
outlook on the district. He says he is no longer an
"optimist about the future of education in Pereslavl schools"
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and "best work for me is at my school [ . . . ] where there are
good teachers who give hope to our students" (November 18,
2001).
Organization of the Interview Findings
Due to the nature of ethnographic inquiry, the design of
the study and length of time in the field, questionnaires and
structured interviews coupled with open-ended questions were
used with the informants through 1995. From 1996 through the
end of the study, the data were collected through observations
in the schools and formal interviews based on open-ended
questions and informal conversations with the three key
informants.
The researcher summarized interview findings on page 350
in Appendix A Exhibit A-8, "Program Changes Rated as
Significant" as a schematic tool to aid in analyzing,
understanding and interpreting the data.
Summary of the Interview Findings
Existing Conditions
According to the Ministry of Education and the Department
of Education for Yaroslavl Region, the Pereslavl-Zalessky
School District reflects the key characteristics of other
small, urban school districts with roughly comparable student
enrollments in western Russia. These characteristics include:
serve students in classes one through ten (and eleven, if
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possible; predominantly female teaching staff the majority of
whom are over forty with similar levels of education; and a
district organized within the structure of city government.
Vera Rybakova, former head of the Department of Education
for the Yaroslavl Region, states that the Pereslavl School
District differed from other districts due to what she termed
the "excellent quality of educators and performance of the
students." She cites as evidence the high percentage of its
graduates who have secured placements based on achievement
(rather than "bribes or family contacts") in the most
prestigious universities or were finalists in regional and
national science, history and mathematics competitions.
Further, the district schools and administrators have earned
national and regional awards and recognition for their
excellence. The review of literature revealed that educators
in other parts of Russia shared similar attitudes toward the
need and focus for reform in education in the late 1980s and
early 1990s (Dunstan; Elkof and Dneprov; Glenn; Heller;
Pearson; and Webber). Differences in educators' perceptions,
priorities and value judgements of specific strategies for
change or reforms varied within the Pereslavl district in
terms of degree of importance. However, all agreed that there
was a need for change and to reform curriculum content and
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classroom practice. All those interviewed concurred on the
need for change to:
1. increase the role of the teacher (including the
school director, who also teaches) in determining
educational priorities;
2. improve teacher and student relations;
3. revise course content and instructional materials;
and
4. reduce the upper class students' workload.
The items listed as responses to the research questions
reflect the perspectives of the informants to the study and
may be considered representative of the educators who are
actively engaged in their work. Although they may have
insights as to the beliefs and motivations of individuals who
range from moderately engaged to apathetic in matters related
to education, they do reflect the attitudes and opinions of
the entire staff. However, over time patterns emerged across
informants, and the interview data could be categorized. The
interview data varied across informants on specifics related
to implementation, timing and the form of a desired change or
reform. The researcher began the inductive analysis of the
data by identifying key terms used by the informants. These
terms, or "indigenous concepts" (Patton 390) such as
"differentiation," and the researcher's use of "sensitizing
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concepts" (Patton 390) such as "leadership," provided a means
to identify patterns and themes.
Approach to Analysis
The researcher used these concepts to determine which
interview items to select, the criteria for organizing items
into groups, the labels for groups or categories, and the
characteristics used to identify patterns across categories.
These data include planned changes, unplanned changes, factors
related to changes and unanticipated consequences. The
interview process and information gathered through informal
conversations with the subjects enabled the researcher to
report and interpret the importance of discreet items as
relevant to the research questions.
Research Findings Questions 1 through 4
The first ten years of the Russian Federation were a time
of significant change for the educators in the Pereslavl-
Zalessky School District.
The district implemented programs and strategies to achieve
the goals of differentiation, humanization, humanitarianism,
democratization and to attract and retain competent and
effective staff through staff compensation tied to
performance, professional development and staff evaluation.
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The informants identified many changes in education,
society and themselves. These changes are described in the
summary of findings; they range from those that were short
lived or affected few people to those that have transformed
the operations of schools and the role of the teacher.
Irrespective of the qualifiers, all of the following changes
were rated "significant."
Question 1 Findings - Perceived Significant Changes
The district with the assistance of the regional
department of education began a planned process of change in
the late 1980s with an examination of current practices and
the development of a 1990 district plan for reform. The 1992
Law on Education of the Russian Federation legitimized the
change process and provided a loose framework of goals.
1.1 District level changes:
1.1.1 The district staff designed and implemented a
professional development program for directors focused
on instructional leadership, problem solving and
management skills.
1.1.2 Superintendent guided the development and then
implemented a salary schedule for teachers and directors
based on years of service, academic preparation and
performance.
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1.1.3 Authority for school policies, practices and
funding was transferred from the federal and regional
levels to the local level beginning in 1992 and
completely by March 1996.
1.1.4 District established the Litsei, a fee-based,
after-school economics, liberal arts, and technology
program for upper class (grade) students.
1.1.5 The District established two centers for
psychological services and speech services.
1.1.6 The requirement to teach Marxist-Leninist doctrine
ended; this step addressed the goal of deidoloqization
and shaped new staff attitudes expressed as "ability to
tell the truth," "freedom," and seeing "the human face"
of students.
1.1.7 The district assumed responsibility for
kindergarten programs and established two daycare
programs based on child development strategies and
differentiation according to student differences.
1.1.8 Funding for staff compensation, instructional
materials and facility maintenance was dramatically cut
due to inflation and the failure of local and federal
authorities to maintain "purchasing power" for schools.
1.2 School level changes:
1.2.1 The district established the Gymnasiya, as an
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alternative school, to serve the district's academically
able students in classes 4-11 at School #7.
1.2.2 Schools were empowered to select their own
textbooks and curriculum to align with the school plan
and district goals. School staffs had the option of
writing their own curriculum and developing their own
materials if they did not want to use those available
through the regional and central governments.
1.2.3 The district with the concurrence of the directors
eliminated the military training program for the upper
class (grade) students. (Military classes were
reinstated by order of President Yeltsin in 2000 at the
urging of leaders in the military.)
1.2.4 School provided speech and psychological services
to students and assisted teachers with strategies to
address student needs at the schools.
Question 2 Findings - Impact of Changes on the Role of the
Educator
The perceived significant changes in the system of
education impacted the roles and responsibilities of the
educators in the following ways:
2.1 Superintendent
2.1.1 Prior to March 1996, the superintendent advised
and consulted with the city mayor and was hired by the
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region's head of education in consultation with the
mayor. The superintendent's position was made to report
directly to the mayor who had assumed sole authority for
hiring and firing the superintendent as of March 1996.
2.1.2 The superintendent assumed primary responsibility
for instructional leadership and management of the
district with support from the Yaroslavl region as the
CPSU's control ended and the role of The Ministry of
Education diminished. With changes in staff at the
district and regional levels, support and articulation
between levels and departments now are inconsistent and
now depend on the commitment and abilities of
individuals rather than an organizational structure with
lines of responsibility, communication and
accountability.
2.1.3 The superintendent's day-to-day responsibilities
require increased time and attention to identify sources
of funding to augment funding from the federal and
regional levels in the post-Soviet era.
2.2 School staff
2.2.1 Teachers, assistant directors and directors gained
greater responsibility for decisions related to textbook
selection, program design, curriculum and school
schedules. Although they did not label this
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"independence" in their roles and responsibilities as a
construct, the researcher categorized these new
"freedoms" as indicators of their appreciation for
autonomy.
2.2.2 Directors and assistant directors continue
teaching responsibilities and assumed "management" role
as instructional leaders who guide program development
and implementation as opposed to executing decisions
made from "above."
2.2.3 Teachers report greater academic freedom and
autonomy in decision-making related to their own
classes.
Question 3 Findings - Factors That Explain Why Educators View
Some of the Perceived Changes As Positive:
3.1 Superintendent
3.1.1 Increased independence for the district from
regional and federal education authorities enabled the
superintendent to expedite "reforms" in programs, staff
compensation and services to students.
3.1.2 The superintendent shared collaborative and
supportive professional relationships with the mayor and
city council (department heads) prior to March 1996.
3.1.3 Vera Rybakova, head of the Education Department
for the Yaroslavl Region advised and supported the
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district superintendents with assistance in staffing,
funding and problem solving.
3.1.4 Parent and staff feedback for district operations,
new programs and student performance were typically
positive through 1996.
3.1.5 Schools and directors were recognized in the
region for superior performance based on attestation
(school reviews).
3.1.6 Graduates earn placements in prestigious
universities based on high academic achievement.
3.2 Directors
3.2.1 Directors reported that the new collaboration with
teachers to select textbooks, develop curriculum and
program development as an advantage to improving the
school program.
3.2.2 Staff understanding of the value and recognition
of the director's role as school "leader" increased. As
the study progressed, informants more often referred to
the management and leadership abilities of a director
rather than expertise as a "head-teacher."
3.2.3 District support to schools for funding, special
services (speech and psychology), guidance and
assistance with school problems related to staffing,
facility repair and finance increased through 1996.
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Support for the schools has declined significantly since
the city (mayor) took over primary responsibility for
the schools.
3.2.4 CPSU's influence and authority for curriculum and
methodologies officially ended in August 1991.
3.3 Teachers
3.3.1 Teachers gained a voice in the choice of
curriculum, textbooks and program development in
schools.
3.3.2 District support for changes in content and
methods, psychological assessments and speech services
to address student needs and differences
("peculiarities") was effective through June 1996.
3.3.3 Teachers gained a greater degree of independence
within their classrooms on instructional strategies,
curriculum choices, methods and materials.
3.3.4 Teachers express belief in the concepts of
democratization, differentiation, humanization,
humanitarization and deideologization and express
positive attitudes toward the district and school
administrators' commitment to achieve them through June
1996. Issues related to funding and changes in district
leadership overshadow instructional issues from 1996
through the end of the study.
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3.3.5 The CPSU's authority on content and methods ended
in August 1991 and the process of deideologization began
where new curriculum, instructional materials and
textbooks were adopted. It was not possible to assess
the impact or effectiveness of these changes within the
scope of this study. Teachers did not use the terms
decentralization and deideologization although they
recognized that their responsibilities were changing as
their opportunities to have a voice in school matters
increased.
3.3.6 The teacher informants report that the district's
attempts through the differentiated salary schedule to
improve salaries and recognize professional training and
extra duties are appreciated despite their overall low
level of pay.
Question 4 Findings - Factors That Explain Why Educators
View Some of the Perceived Changes As Negative:
4.1 Superintendent
4.1.1 The mayor assumed absolute authority over the
superintendent; he changed the relationship and power
structure of the city and school district. Since 1996,
teachers and directors report that education and
improving the schools are not priorities for the city.
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4.1.2 Educators report confusion in the roles and
responsibilities of the district, regional and federal
educational authorities in establishing new curriculum
standards, textbook adoption, and the need for an
articulated plan for education. (In discussing the
district, "No system now for education." is
representative of teacher comments since January 2000.)
4.2 Superintendent, Director and Teacher
4.2.1 School and district improvements were stalled by
inflation, low salaries, facilities needing repair, and
insufficient funding to meet routine operational needs.
4.2.2 The chronic teacher shortage and lack of
substitute teachers increase the current workload and
indicate continued problems in attracting and retaining
qualified and effective staff.
4.2.3 The district speech services were eliminated and
psychological services reduced due to decreased funding
and district inability to seek alternative sources of
support.
4.3 Directors and Teachers
4.3.1 Staff reported the change in superintendents in
March 1996 was bad for the schools. The new
superintendent viewed as uninterested and unengaged with
schools. The increased authority and role of the mayor
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in district governance does not advance the district or
benefit staff. There have been two work stoppages
(strikes) since January 1997.
4.3.2 Staff reports apathy and poor performance of some
staff (teachers and administrators). The district's
(superintendent's) inability to improve the level of
morale contributes to directors' feelings of "being
alone" to make improvements or solve a problem.
4.3.3 Staffs report more paper work and some
requirements of attestation are disconnected from what
is considered "meaningful" work to improve schools or
programs.
4.3.4 The apparent change in tone and style of district
office staff since the 1996-1997 school year fosters
division within the district; school staffs see district
office staff as fearful and reactive rather than the
supportive and skilled colleagues of the past.
4.3.5 Staff is composed almost entirely of women
("feminized" or feminatsiya); there is only one male
administrator and the majority of schools are staffed
completely by women. Educators are troubled that the
students, especially those from single-parent homes
headed by a female, do not see men as positive,
productive adults and role models.
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4.3.6 Staff increasingly expresses concern for the
future of their school or district and for Russian
education in general.
4.3.7 Staff members express feelings of ambiguity as to
what are the values of the new Russia (in the absence of
the CPSU) and what aspects of Russian culture should be
emphasized in the schools?
4.3.8 Staff shortages and increased tasks related to
"maintaining" basic services leave little time to work
with others or innovate.
Discussion of the Findings
Due to the longitudinal nature of the study, the data and
findings reflect changes in terms of activities and/or events
that may have impacted district, school or individual
practices for a short period and those with a continuing
impact. The findings reflect the perceptions of the
informants and the researcher's observations, experiences in
the field and review of the literature.
As the study progressed during the early years of the
Russian Federation, political conditions and the standard of
living for the majority Russians declined dramatically. In
1992, the researcher added the question, "Knowing what you now
know, would you go back to your life in the Soviet era?" in
the formal interviews and informal conversations with
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educators. Not one person in the hundreds of conversations and
interviews conducted from 1992 - 2002 responded "yes." All of
them said "no." The only variations in their responses were
in the time it took for individuals to consider their answer
or in the emphasis they used in saying "no." Typically,
respondents would elaborate on their reasons and some would
add what they missed about "old times."
Their reasons for not wishing to return to the Soviet era
are embedded in all aspects of their life experiences. The
pattern of reasons for rejecting the past stresses
appreciation for the freedom to "tell the truth." Even after
individuals cited several social, economic or political
problems of the "new" Russia, they said they preferred
speaking their minds rather than conforming to an ideology
that conflicted with "life like a normal human being." The
educators' interest in national politics intensified during
periods of major change: in 1991 during the final year of the
Soviet Union; in 1993 during the conflict between Boris
Yeltsin and the members of the Russian Parliament; and when
Yeltsin resigned on the last day of 1999. As Vladimir Putin
entered his second year as Yeltsin's handpicked successor, the
informants show renewed interest in discussing national
events. They speak with the apparent expectation that these
discussions are open and honest without fear of repercussions.
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This is a new norm for those who lived the majority of their
adult lives in the Soviet system dominated by the Communist
Party.
Although they do not refer to it as such, when the
informants find themselves in situations where they are
reluctant or fearful of saying what they think, they recognize
that speaking freely is a valued and desired "norm of
behavior." Directors and district office staff indicate that
they now are hesitant to speak or act freely or "according to
what I believe". They cite instances where there has been
some form of retribution for speaking or acting out in a
manner that might be construed as critical of the current
superintendent or mayor. The teachers are aware of the
administrators' concerns but they say that they are "not
afraid" because a "teacher is not that important" or "they
need teachers with so many empty spots, they can't be rid of
us."
Most respondents speak in tones of dismay and express
regret that the "openness" and respect for differing opinions
enjoyed under the former superintendent and mayor are gone.
Respondents recognize now that the ability to "tell the truth"
in the district is not guaranteed in the new Russia but is now
a matter of local circumstances. In the review of literature
on Soviet culture, the researcher noted the common theme of
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the people's frustrations with living with lies. In the words
of David Remnick, " [ . . . ] one of the most degrading facts of
Soviet life: it was impossible to be honest" (185). The
informants speak of the "paradox" of speaking "one's mind"
about national issues but "minding their tongues" in comments
about the district or city leadership. The concept of truth
and the ability to act according to one's own judgement rather
than in compliance to an external dictate emerged as important
and highly desired values.
In matters related to teaching and learning, all
respondents indicated that they value their new-found
independence and increased responsibility in making decisions
in matters of curriculum, choice of materials, use of
methodologies and allocation of resources related to their
individual roles. For example, teachers spoke in positive
terms about their expanded choices to make decisions related
to their own classrooms and the democratization of their
relationships with students. The study did not focus on
student perceptions or the realities of the classroom;
however, there is anecdotal evidence that teacher practice has
not changed significantly for most teachers, particularly
those who are over forty.
From January 1991 through January 1997, the majority of
teachers who participated in discussions or were interviewed
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spoke appreciatively in regard to the degree of teacher
involvement in curriculum and program decisions. Making
decisions based on an internal locus of control with greater
autonomy in classroom matters was an important change for
teachers although they did not name these constructs as such.
The evidence also indicates that they felt free to express
their opinions and criticize colleagues and supervisors
without fear of negative repercussions. Acting upon
individual beliefs and confronting divergent perspectives or
different opinions were new experiences for most teachers who
grew up with the social-political norm of "the tallest stalk
is the first cut."
Teachers cite instances where an individual teacher or
group of teachers openly expressed a critical opinion or
presented issues that needed resolution. The culture of the
district was evolving due in large part to the actions and
perceived motives of the person serving as superintendent.
The reactions of the district staff to the change in
superintendents were, at first, expressed as feelings of
shock, loss, frustration and regret followed by a hope that
Melnikova could be reinstated. Following the strike of 1997,
the general attitude reported by the informants was one of
acceptance that Melnikova would not return and the need to
focus on "your own work." At that time, they reported that
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they did not know Borozdna, the new superintendent, so their
attitude and feelings were not directed against either her or
the mayor.
Since that time, Borozdna has demonstrated to the
informants by what she has done and, more importantly, not
done, that she chooses to maintain a distance from the
schools. Directors conclude that she is neither engaged in
the issues of education nor is she interested in providing
support for them or the schools. Individuals on school and
district-level staffs do not speak about her in positive terms
if they speak about her at all. They do speak of how a good
superintendent "makes a difference" in the quality of their
work experience. The data suggest that their attitudes toward
and appreciation for the concept of leadership at the
district, school and classroom levels are more defined in
terms of what they value and what they hold in low esteem.
Local leadership positions and the qualities of those who hold
those positions are more important to them in a decentralized
environment. The data indicate that the educators have come
to discern the differences that an effective superintendent
means in their work. Melnikova continues to be highly
regarded; however, the educators speak of needing "someone"
who can do the job of superintendent rather than focusing on
an individual.
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Despite severe constraints in funding and a heavier
workload, the majority of respondents speak of their desire
and commitment to improve the quality of their work within
their respective "spheres of influence" in schools, programs
or classrooms. The informants reflect the realities of
decentralization to the extreme as they no longer speak of the
"helpful support" of the staff of the regional department of
education or the guidance, motivation and problem solving
provided by the district office. They speak of themselves and
their schools as being alone. At the end of the first decade
of the Russian Federation, the educators who participated in
this study see the district as fragmented and without the
"collective" sense of purpose and optimism for improving
teaching and learning for all students. They have withdrawn
to focus their energies on those endeavors that they perceive
to be within their span of control.
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CHAPTER 5
SUMMARY OF THE RESEARCH STUDY
Review of Purpose and Design
The purpose of this study was to describe the changes and
their impacts that educators in a small urban school district
in the Russian Federation perceived to be significant from
February 1991 to November 2001. This longitudinal research
study used a multiple case study approach to identify and
describe key factors that affected the process of educational
innovation and changes in governance in a school district
during a period of profound political, social and economic
upheaval in the Russian Federation. The study focused on the
perceptions of teachers, administrators and a district
superintendent as it chronicled their reactions to pivotal
events in their professional and, at times, personal lives.
The researcher assumed the role of participant observer
in order to collect data, discover, describe and offer
explanations of the change phenomena from the perspective of
the informants. One superintendent, one teacher and one
director (principal) served as key informants representing
typical positions in a school district in the fledgling
Russian Federation. All three served as key informants for
the entire study. In addition to the contributions of the key
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informants, data collection included: surveys; interviews and
discussions with other staff, city officials and educators
from the regional and national levels; observations in
meetings and classrooms; correspondence; review of documents
and artifacts; and a review of literature to supplement the
work in the field.
The researcher conducted a pilot study from February
through July 1991 to test interview tools and techniques and
to determine the optimum number of informants. The pilot
study provided critical data and experiences to inform the
design of a qualitative study in consideration of the distance
and limited means of communication between the researcher's
home base and the field. Email was not available to the
informants with the exception of one key informant who secured
home access at private expense in 1999. Telephone
communication continues to be difficult and the system for
conventional mail in Russia is unreliable.
The pilot study participants were selected based on the
following criteria: they were Russian educators with at least
three years' experience in their current positions; they had
no direct relationship with the researcher; they volunteered;
and they were available for the pilot study. The researcher is
fluent only in English; therefore a translator was required to
assist in gathering and translating data in the pilot study.
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As the researcher gained skill in conversational Russian
during the study, the need for a translator diminished.
The researcher and superintendent identified a foreign
language teacher who was judged fluent in Russian and English
to serve as interpreter. Following the pilot study, this
interpreter agreed to be one of the three key informants.
The researcher provided the participants with an oral summary
of the purpose of the study, the objectives of the pilot and
the procedures for the interview and subsequent survey. The
interview procedures encouraged the participant, interpreter
and researcher to ask for clarification or repetition to
better assure that the responses to questions and elaborating
comments were recorded as accurately as possible.
Due to the formative nature of the case study design, the
survey questions and interview guide used in the pilot study
tested possible formats and methods for data gathering. The
pilot study participants agreed to have their interviews
recorded by videotape or audiotape complemented by the
researcher's notes. Video taping was used extensively in the
pilot study but not in the actual study as it presented
additional tasks that did not add value to the data
collection. The willingness of the participants to have their
comments recorded was significant because the researcher was
an American in a Soviet city-school district.
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The pilot study experience demonstrated the need for key
informants who are well informed and representative of the
district staff positions. The individuals who agreed to be the
key informants are atypical in that they are knowledgeable
about the district and the city, respected by other educators,
effective communicators, and able to offer insights to the
perspectives of their colleagues as well as their own. The
three key informants selected for the study were: Ludmila
Melnikova, district superintendent, Alexandr Ivakhnenko,
director of the School for Defektology, and Maria Mischenko,
teacher of English at School #7.
From 1991 to 1996, the researcher conducted annual
surveys to check the perceptions of the three key informants
with a broader sample of the district staff. An interview
guide followed by an open-ended question was used with each
set of interviews. The comments of the participants generated
additional related questions driven by their responses or
events in the context of the study. The use of an interview
guide provided assurance that specific issues or concepts
would be addressed in each of the interviews in accordance
with the design. The interview summaries were reviewed with
the key informants to identify patterns across time, to
utilize their insights, and to record their perceptions as
data emerged.
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District teachers and administrators served as
respondents. Respondents and informants were selected from a
larger group of district teachers and administrators based
upon the following criteria: 1. a minimum of seven years
experience as an educator, 2. recommendations by at least two
colleagues who named the individual as an example of a
successful, knowledgeable teacher or administrator, and 3.
agreement of the informants to participate in a study of at
least one year in length.
Two of the three who were selected as key informants
served in their respective positions as a director and a
teacher for the entire study. The third key informant left
the position of superintendent in March 1996 and continued as
a key informant to the end. This change of superintendents did
not adversely affect the study. Interviews with Eduard
Dneprov, Minister of Education for the Russian Federation
(interviews March 19 and April 22, 1991), and Vera Rubykova,
Deputy Chief of Schools for the Yaroslavl Region (multiple
interviews from 1990 through 2001) provided valuable data and
unique perspectives on the broader context of change in
Russian education.
Research Design
The decision to use a multiple case study design was
informed by the researcher's experience with the pilot study
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and the focus of the research questions. The district provided
the context for each of the four case studies. The district
changes identified by a sampling of teachers and
administrators was one unit of study and each of the three
district educators who served as key informants was a unit of
study. The multiple case study design provided triangulation
in the methods used for data collection, the accuracy of the
translations and the identification of emerging patterns.
Triangulation over time and across subjects was addressed
through "time samplings" (Patton 168) to review the data and
preliminary findings with the participants during the 35 site
visits from February 1991 through November 2001.
The researcher used the review of literature to develop
an understanding of the system of education, societal issues
and historical events that formed the context of study. With
this in mind, the researcher embarked on a course to better
understand the context of the study through direct experiences
in the field coupled with readings in the culture and history
of the Soviet Union and Russia. The review of literature
focused primarily on changes in Russian education from 1917
through 2000, but also included the major political, social
and economic factors that shaped the broader context for the
study.
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The data collected through surveys, interviews,
observations, and the review of district documents and
artifacts were augmented by social experiences and informal
conversations to develop each of the case files for the units
of study. The time frame and structure of the research study
allowed for the emergence of new information that could be
analyzed for its significance as a possible line of new
inquiry. The researcher managed the reduction and organization
of data through an initial review of the information collected
and the creation of formative case study summaries. This
process enabled the researcher to identify emerging patterns
and themes that could then be labeled as categories for later
analysis.
Based on inductive analysis, the researcher looked for
patterns that cut across cases, identified emerging themes
according to the frequency of a response and probed for
variations. The researcher conducted an average of three
visits to the field each year of the study.
Summary of the Findings
The social, political and economic changes occurring
during the period of the research provide the broader context
for the Pereslavl-Zalessky educators who participated in the
study. From the beginning, this study focused on reforms
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initiated in the Pereslavl-Zalessky School District in the
Yaroslavl Region of the Russian Federation of the Soviet
Union. In 1990, the school district initiated a change in the
method of compensating teachers. At that time, this reform
was singularly significant because the new compensation system
was tied to an assessment of individual teacher performance.
The local and national events unleashed an unprecedented
series of changes that profoundly transformed the governance,
classroom practice, and the philosophical orientation of the
curriculum. Therefore, events within and beyond the schools
generated new questions and increased the number and rate of
changes within the scope of this study.
The researcher "quantified" the data collected from the
surveys and summarized the responses in the form of tables.
In essence these tables and summaries of the surveys are
presentations of qualitative data as they reflect opinions and
judgements—the perceptions of the respondents. The key
informants assisted in all phases of the data gathering,
reviewed and critiqued field notes and contributed to the
formulation of the findings. Thus they provided triangulation
and can be considered contributing authors to the study.
Finally, the worth and rigor of this study rest on the
fidelity of the researcher to accurately interpret and present
the data based on credible analytic strategies.
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Research Question 1
What changes in the system of education from February
1991 through November 2001 did educators in the Pereslavl-
Zalessky School District of the Russian Federation perceive as
significant?
The educators in the Pereslavl school district cited the
following as the most significant changes in the system of
education:
1.1 Authority for the majority of policies, practices
and funding for education was transferred from the
federal and regional levels to the local level beginning
in 1992 and completely by March 1996.
1.2 The district established a center for psychological
services, the center for speech services and the
Gymnasiya, an alternative school for the academically
able students in classes 4-11, at School #7, to address
diverse student needs (differentiation). The Gymnasiya
is regarded with pride by the staff of School #7 who
cite its special programs and electives as "important"
strategies to address individual student interests.
Staffs from other schools such as School #4 express
concern for their "inferior" status compared to School
#7. School #7 had received additional funding and was
assigned teachers who were regarded as among the best in
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the district through 1995. However, with funding cuts
and changes in school, city, and regional leadership,
School #7 and the Gymnasiya no longer receive
preferential treatment. Differentiation aimed at
modifying instruction to meet individual student needs
was quickly embraced as a guiding principle in 1992
across the district, however implementation has proved
to be difficult in light of declining material and staff
resources. Individual teachers and school staffs
developed their own interpretations of differentiation
and implementation strategies as district leadership
diminished beginning in 1996. There are no district
curricula or content standards and articulation with the
institutions of higher education are described as
ineffective. This is not a local phenomenon. The
Ministry of General and Professional Education of the
Russian Federation is working with the regional
education departments to establish national content
standards as a guide to schools.
1.3 The requirement to teach Marxist-Leninist doctrine
ended in 1991; this step addressed the goal of
deidologization and shaped new staff attitudes expressed
as the "ability to tell the truth," "freedom," and
seeing "the human face" of students. By 1992, educators
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in Pereslavl perceived a need to identify core
principles of education. They adopted their Declaration
of Pereslavl-Zalessky Educators in 1993.
1.4 The erosion of financial support at all levels has
negatively impacted the schools. Funding is inadequate
to meet basic needs for staff compensation, purchase of
instructional materials and facility maintenance due to
inflation and failure of local and federal authorities
to maintain "purchasing power" for schools. From 1991
through 1995, the city, the Yaroslavl regional
department of education, and local companies were
sources of funding and supplies which compensated for
the decline in funding from the Ministry of Education.
Superintendent Melnikova and the school directors
reported that although resources were limited, there
were enough funds to implement a differentiated salary
schedule, purchase materials and launch new programs
from 1991 through 1993. They cite this period as one of
great energy, "optimism" and positive change.
1.5 School staffs are empowered to select their own
textbooks and to choose or write their own curriculum to
align with the school plans and district goals. The
majority of teachers and directors sampled welcomed this
change. After the years of control and direction by the
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Communist Party and central government, these educators
sought greater control over how and what they were to
teach. However, educators reported their concerns with
the lack of district leadership since 1997 to guide and
support teachers, especially new teachers, to develop
curriculum and obtain materials. Textbooks continue to
be a problem for teachers. Prior to 1991, educators
complained about the poor quality and overemphasis on
ideology in textbooks. In 2001 textbooks are in short
supply, and those that are available are considered too
expensive and inferior due to the quality of writing and
poor treatment of the content.
Research Question 2
How did the perceived significant changes in the system
of education impact the roles and responsibilities of
educators in the Pereslavl-Zalessky School District of the
Russian Federation?
2.1 Authority for district governance and school finance
shifted to the city. Prior to March 1996, the
superintendent was hired by the region's head of
education in consultation with the mayor. The
superintendent consulted with the mayor and served on
the council of the city's department heads but reported
to the regional education authorities. Superintendent
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Melnikova had enjoyed productive working relationships
with the two mayors with whom she had worked from 1985-
1996. As of March 1996, the superintendent is directly
responsible to the mayor who assumed sole responsibility
for hiring and firing the superintendent. The Yaroslavl
regional education authorities have limited influence on
the overall operations of the district and little
incentive to provide support. The regional authorities
have exerted more visible authority over programs that
serve children across the region, such as the School for
Defektology, in order to assure quality. Staff members
for these programs indicate their preference in working
with the regional administrators rather than the current
district leadership.
2.2 The superintendent assumed responsibility for
instructional leadership and management of the district;
support and articulation with the regional education
department are now dependent on individuals rather than
an organizational structure with lines of responsibility
and communication. From 1985 through 1996, the district
superintendent had what is described as "strong" and
"productive" relationships with the Yaroslavl regional
authorities. Superintendent Melnikova reported that the
regional authorities, especially Vera Rybakova,
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typically offered support and guidance to improve
schools. Melnikova was given the latitude to digress
from some of the official curriculum and Party mandates
if she could demonstrate a rationale. With the change
in city and district leadership in March 1996, the
relationship between the district and regional
educational authorities became strained.
2.3 The administrators' day to day responsibilities
require increased time and attention to identify sources
of funding and to provide for basics to operate the
schools (materials, facility repair, medical supplies,
staffing and substitutes). As inflation rose and federal
funding declined from 1991 through 1996, Superintendent
Melnikova devoted increasingly more time to get money
and materials for schools and new programs from local
companies, regional officials and the mayor. Since
Melnikova's departure from the district, the school
directors are responsible for getting funds for their
schools. Directors indicate that they are not very
successful in their efforts considering the amount of
time they must spend in seeking donations to keep their
schools operating. This focus on resource development
leaves little or no time for them to attend to staff
development, program enhancement and innovation.
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2.4 There has been a significant increase in
professional autonomy for school staffs. Teachers,
assistant directors and directors gained greater
responsibility for decisions related to textbook
selection, program design, curriculum and school
schedules. Although they did not label this
"independence" in their roles and responsibilities as a
construct, the researcher categorized these new
"responsibilities" as indicators of their appreciation
for professional autonomy. Professional autonomy was
cited as a "very significant change" throughout the
course of the study. The respondents, primarily the
directors, point out the difference between "autonomy"
and being "on your own." Through 1995, they spoke
positively about the benefits of the district staff
development programs, the new programs such as the
Psychology Center and speech services and the
differentiated salary schedule. With the decline in the
involvement of the federal and regional educational
departments coupled with their low level of engagement
with the district level staff, the director and teacher
informants express perceptions of being "alone" or
"without help."
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2.5 The directors and assistant directors continue
teaching responsibilities and have assumed a
"management" role as instructional leaders who guide
program development and implementation as opposed to
executing decisions made from "above." School
administrators reported feelings of "optimism" and
positive attitudes to their increased role as
instructional leaders especially in the period of 1991
through 1996. Due to a significant drop in funding,
months without compensation and a perceived lack of
support from the district or city leaders, the directors
continued to perceive their role as instructional leader
in positive terms. However, this role was diminished by
the increased demands on them to satisfy basic
operational needs to keep their schools functioning.
Research Question 3
What factors explain why educators view some significant
changes in their roles and responsibilities from February 1991
through November 2001 as positive?
3.1 Teachers and administrators reported that they value
their new professional freedom (autonomy) to make
decisions in content, practice, methods and materials at
their schools. Professional freedom (autonomy) was
consistently rated high on surveys and in interviews
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throughout the study but most strongly from 1991-93.
With time, professional autonomy might be viewed as
characteristic of a role rather than an innovation.
3.2 Parent and staff feedback for district operations,
new programs and student performance were typically
positive through 1996. Although the study design did
not use parents as sources of information, many of the
teachers and other individuals encountered during the
field work for this study were parents who were eager to
discuss their views on the schools and district.
3.3 Schools and directors are recognized in the region
for superior performance based on attestation (school
reviews). The staff members who were educators in the
Soviet era form the nucleus of school leadership and are
approaching the time when they will finally retire.
Many of these educators have continued working beyond
the traditional retirement age because the pensions are
so low and the cost of living is so high.
3.4 Graduates earn placements in prestigious
universities based on their high academic achievement.
3.5 Directors express the view that the new
collaboration with teachers to select textbooks, develop
curriculum and program development is an advantage to
improving the school program. The poor quality of
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instructional materials and the lack of funds for
program development and the purchase of materials limit
the potential for this change in practice.
3.6 Staff understanding of the role of the director
changed from 1991 to 1994 as the director's
responsibilities for staff assessment, program
development and school management grew. Informants
increasingly refer to the management and leadership
abilities of a director rather than expertise as a
"head-teacher."
3.7 The Communist Party's authority over content and
methods ended officially in 1991 and opened the way for
the reforms of 1992. Teachers and directors express
belief in the concepts of democratization,
differentiation, humanization, humanitarization and
deideologization. Teachers did not use the terms
decentralization and deideologization although these
changes fostered new directions for their schools,
impacted their roles and increased their voice in school
matters.
Research Question 4
What factors explain why educators view some significant
changes in their roles and responsibilities from February 1991
through November 2001 as negative?
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4.1 The mayor (Melnik) assumed absolute authority over
the superintendent; he changed the relationship and
power structure of the city and school district. Since
1996, teachers and administrators report that education
and improving the schools are not priorities for the
city. Former mayors are perceived to be "friends" of the
schools.
4.2 Educators report confusion in the roles and
responsibilities of the district, regional and federal
educational authorities in establishing new curriculum
standards, guidelines for textbook adoption, and the
need for an articulated plan for education. In essence,
they report that there is no real "system" of education.
Since 1991 Russian education has evolved from a highly
centralized system to one with thousands of districts in
loosely connected regions under a weakened national
authority.
4.3 School and district improvements of 1991-1995 have
been stalled by cuts in funding coupled with inflation,
low salaries, staffing problems, facilities in need of
major repair, weak district leadership and insufficient
resources to meet routine operational needs; there is no
funding for improvements or "meaningful" professional
growth.
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4.4 The chronic teacher shortage and lack of substitutes
increase current workload for staff and indicate
continued problems to attract and retain qualified and
effective staff.
4.5 Speech services were eliminated and psychological
services reduced. School staffs regarded these services
as effective. There have been no district-initiated
reforms since 1995. The impetus for innovation is at
the school level.
4.6 Informants report that the change in superintendents
in March 1996 was a "mistake." Members of the district
and school staffs view the new superintendent as
uninterested, distant and unengaged with schools.
Informants report that the current mayor's role in the
governance and operations of the district does not help
the district or benefit staff.
4.7 Staff report apathy and poor performance of some
staff (teachers and administrators) and the district's
(superintendent's) inability to improve the level of
morale contribute to feelings of "being alone" in trying
to improve the status quo or solve a problem.
4.8 The reported change in the tone and style of
district office staff since 1997 fosters division within
the district; long time members of the school staffs see
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the district office staff as fearful and reactive rather
than as the supportive and skilled colleagues of the
past.
4.9 The administrative and teaching staff is composed
almost entirely of women ("feminized" or feminatsiya);
there is only one male administrator and the majority of
schools are staffed completely by women. Educators are
troubled that the students, especially those from single
parent homes headed by a female, do not see examples of
men as positive, productive adults and role models.
Staff increasingly expresses concern for the future of
their school or district and for Russian education in
general.
Staff members express feelings of ambiguity. In the
period from 1995 to 2001 informants spoke increasingly of a
lack of direction or "meaning" in the absence of a curriculum
or unifying ideology. While respondents typically expressed
confidence in what they were doing, they expressed concern for
the new teachers ("thrown into the water") who lacked
experience to write their own curriculum. The informants
speak of the necessity for more guidance but do not wish to
"go back." They seek to identify and articulate the shared
values and aspects of culture in the new Russia and determine
what is education'’s role, if any, in promoting them. Staff
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shortages and increased tasks related to "maintaining" basic
services leave little time to work with others or innovate.
Trends Identified Based on the Findings
Due to the longitudinal nature of the study, the data and
findings reflect changes in terms of activities and/or events
that may have changed district, school or individual practices
for the short term as well as those with a continuing impact.
The findings reflect the perceptions of the informants and the
researcher's observations, experiences in the field and review
of literature.
As the study progressed during the early years of the
Russian Federation, political conditions and the standard of
living for the majority Russians declined dramatically. In
1992, the researcher included the question, "Knowing what you
now know, would you go back to your life in the Soviet era?"
in the formal interviews and informal conversations with
educators. Not one person in the hundreds of conversations and
interviews conducted from 1992 - 2002 responded "yes." All of
them said "no." The only variations in their responses were
in the time it took for an individual to consider their answer
before responding "no" or in the emphasis they used in saying
"no." Typically, respondents elaborated on the reasons and
some would add what they missed about "old times."
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Their reasons for not wishing to return to the Soviet era
are embedded in all aspects of their life experiences. The
pattern of reasons for rejecting the past reveals their
appreciation for the newfound freedom to "tell the truth."
Even after individuals cited several social, economic and
political problems of contemporary Russia, they said they
preferred speaking their minds rather than conforming to an
ideology that conflicted with "life like a normal human
being."
The educators' interest in national politics intensified
in 1991 at the end of the Soviet Union, in 1993 during the
conflict between Boris Yeltsin and the members of the Russian
Parliament and when Yeltsin resigned on the last day of 1999.
As Vladimir Putin entered his second year as Yeltsin's
handpicked successor, the informants showed renewed interest
in discussing national events. They speak with the apparent
expectation that these discussions are open and honest without
fear of negative repercussions. This is a new norm for those
who lived the majority of their adult lives in the Soviet
system dominated by the Communist Party.
Although they do not refer to it as such, when the
informants find themselves in situations where they are
reluctant or fearful of saying what they think, they recognize
that speaking freely is a valued and desired "norm of
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behavior". Respondents who are employed as administrators
indicate that they are hesitant to speak or act freely or
"according to what I believe" under the current superintendent
and mayor. They cite instances where there has been some form
of retribution for speaking or acting out in a manner that
might be construed as critical of the superintendent or mayor.
The teachers are aware of the administrators' concerns but
they say that they are "not afraid" because a "teacher is not
that important" or "they need teachers with so many empty
spots, they can't be rid of us."
Most respondents speak in tones of dismay and express
regret that the "openness" and respect for differing opinions
enjoyed under the former superintendent and mayor are gone.
Respondents recognize now that the ability to "tell the truth"
in the district is not guaranteed in the new Russia but is now
a matter of local circumstances. In the review of literature
on Soviet culture, the researcher noted the common theme of
the people's frustrations with living with lies. In the words
of David Remnick, " [ . . . ] one of the most degrading facts of
Soviet life: it was impossible to be honest" (185). The
informants speak of the "paradox" of speaking "one's mind"
about national issues but "minding their tongues" in comments
about the district or city leadership. The concept of truth
and the ability to act according to one's own judgement rather
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than in compliance to an external directive emerged as
important and highly desired values.
Despite the economic hardships, the educators report there
are positive changes in the schools. In matters related to
teaching and learning, all respondents indicate they value
their new found independence and increased responsibility in
making decisions in matters of curriculum, choice of
materials, use of methodologies and allocation of resources
related to their individual roles. For example, teachers
spoke in positive terms about their expanded choices to make
decisions related to their own classrooms and the
democratization of their relationships with students. The
study did not focus on student perceptions or the realities of
the classroom; however, there is anecdotal evidence that
teacher practice related to classroom management has not
changed significantly.
From January 1991 through January 1997, the majority of
teachers who participated in discussions or were interviewed
spoke appreciatively about teacher involvement in curriculum
and program decisions. Internal locus of control and autonomy
were important changes for them although they did not name
these constructs as such. The evidence also indicates that
they felt free to express their opinions and criticize
colleagues and immediate supervisors without fear of negative
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repercussions. Acting upon individual beliefs, confronting
divergent perspectives or expressing opposing opinions were
new experiences for most of the informants who grew up in a
culture where "the tallest stalk is the first cut."
Teachers cite numerous instances where an individual
teacher or group of teachers openly expressed a critical
opinion or presented issues that needed resolution. The
culture of the district was evolving due in large part to the
actions and perceived motives of whomever was superintendent.
The reactions of the district staff to the change in
superintendents were, at first, expressed as feelings of
shock, loss, frustration and regret followed by hope that
Melnikova could be reinstated. Following the strike of 1997,
the general attitude reported by the informants was one of
acceptance that Melnikova would not return and of the need to
focus on their "own work." At that time, they report that they
did not know Borozdna, the new superintendent, so their
attitude and feelings were not directed against either her or
the mayor as individuals.
Since that time, Borozdna has demonstrated to the
informants in her words and actions that she chooses to
maintain a distance from the schools. Directors conclude that
she is neither engaged in the issues of education nor
interested in providing support for them or the schools.
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Individuals on school and district level staffs do not speak
about her in positive terms though they do indicate how a
"good" superintendent can make a difference in the quality of
their work experience. The data suggests that their attitudes
toward and appreciation for the concept of leadership at the
district, school and classroom levels are more defined in
terms of what they value and what they hold in low esteem.
Leadership positions and the qualities of those who hold those
positions are more important to them in a decentralized
environment.
The data indicate that the educators have come to discern
the difference an effective superintendent means in their
work. Melnikova continues to be highly regarded, however, the
educators speak of needing "someone" who can do the job of
superintendent rather than focusing on an individual.
Despite severe constraints in funding and a heavier
workload, the majority of respondents speak of their desire
and commitment to improve the quality of their work within
their respective "spheres of influence" in schools, programs
or classrooms. The informants reflect the realities of
decentralization to the extreme as they no longer speak of the
"helpful support" of the staff of the regional department of
education or the guidance, motivation and problem solving
provided by the district office. They speak of themselves and
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their schools as being alone. At the end of the first decade
of the Russian Federation, the educators who participated in
this study see the district as fragmented and without the
"collective" sense of purpose and optimism for improving
teaching and learning for all students. They have withdrawn
to focus their energies on those endeavors that they perceive
to be within their span of control.
Conclusions
Within the context of this study and the trends
identified through the findings related to the research
questions, the following conclusions are presented:
Research Question 1. What changes in the system of education
from February 1991 through November 2001 did educators in the
Pereslavl-Zalessky School District of the Russian Federation
perceive as significant?
1.1 The system of education in the Pereslavl-Zalessky School
District in the Russian Federation was the scene of high
energy, optimism and strong commitment to improve teaching and
learning from 1991 to 1995. Educators often described
themselves as "optimists" and spoke in positive terms of their
newly acquired ability to make decisions (professional
autonomy) related to the operations in their schools and
classrooms. In 1991 the Communist Party's control of
education ended. With the encouragement of the Ministry of
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Education and Yaroslavl region's education administration,
district educators developed new programs (Gymnasia and
Lyceum), dispensed with the military and ideology courses, and
experimented with changes in the number of class levels adding
an eleventh year at two of the schools. Initially they
welcomed the opportunities to develop their own programs and
materials.
1.2 Educators value the district's support during the period
of 1991-1995 as evidenced by their comments regarding the
implementation of a differentiated salary schedule (based on
service, educational level and performance), professional
development programs and the district's ability to pay them
regularly despite increasing difficult circumstances.
1.3 Educators report that the emphasis on the needs of the
students rather than the "demands" of the Party or the
government is a "significant" and "important" change from
Soviet era education.
Research Question 2. How did the perceived significant
changes in the system of education impact the roles and
responsibilities of educators in the Pereslavl-Zalessky School
District of the Russian Federation?
2.1 The role of superintendent changed by degree rather than
in its fundamental design due to the strong professional
relationship between Superintendent Melnikova and the
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educational authorities in the Yaroslavl Region that began in
the 1980s. The superintendent's ability to make changes and
develop programs was significant from 1991-1995. The
superintendent engaged directors, subject matter experts and
respected teachers in designing district programs and new
courses of study. The superintendent devoted increasing
amounts of time to secure funds and material support from the
city, regional education authorities and local businesses from
1992-1995.
2.2 As economic conditions worsened beginning in late 1995,
the superintendent and now the administrators devoted more
time to taking care of operational needs and addressing
problems related to teacher shortages. Since 1996, directors
have assumed the leadership for educational change and the
improvement of teaching and learning. The role of teachers
has changed because they are no longer locked into a system
that prescribes exactly what they teach or limits their
ability to address student needs. The role of the teacher in
the area of school and classroom improvement varies greatly
due to an individual's experience, expertise, available time
and commitment. The teacher's role in the classroom is
defined more by his or her assignment, experience and
relationship with the director rather than upon the former
system of prescription and control.
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Research Question 3. What factors explain why educators view
some of the perceived significant changes in the Pereslavl-
Zalessky School District from February 1991 through November
2001 as positive?
3.1 Improvements in operations and educational reforms are
possible despite limited resources. The period from 1991
through 1995 demonstrated that* effective leadership, creative
use of available resources, mutual trust and commitment to a
common purpose provided a foundation for individuals to work
beyond their normal duties to achieve changes in teaching and
learning. There are respected teachers and administrators in
the Pereslavl-Zalessky School District who demonstrate strong
commitment to their profession and to improving the quality of
education for students and who can influence change within
their schools.
3.2 Educational reform is possible within a school or district
but it is not sustainable without informed leadership, a
system of accountability for performance toward objectives,
and human and material resources. The school directors with
district support and guidance demonstrated commitment to
developing school programs based on objectives coupled with
measures of success from 1991-1997.
3.3 Individual schools continue to attract staffs who examine
current practice and are open to making change with or without
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support from the district. However, the continuing shortage
of teachers coupled with the imminent retirement of
experienced staff portends future difficulties.
3.4 The staff of the Yaroslavl Region's education department
offers meaningful assistance on a program by program basis but
is no longer viewed as a significant support to the district.
3.5 The respective positions and working relationship of the
mayor and school superintendent are only as effective as the
individuals who serve in these roles. For the schools, the
change in the election of a new mayor and the subsequent
change in superintendents are viewed as negative. The
informants indicate that neither individual has improved the
schools rather conditions are worse now than they were six
years ago. Directors report that their job and "mental
attitude" is better when this superintendent ignores them
completely.
Research Question 4. What factors explain why educators view
some of the perceived significant changes in the Pereslavl-
Zalessky School District from February 1991 through November
2001 as negative?
With the March 1996 changes in city and district
leadership, the support and resources for the schools
decreased. Teachers and directors speak in positive terms of
their individual work, but have spoken in increasingly
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negative terms about changes in the district since 1996.
While there are pockets of innovation within schools, the
informants report that the district is faltering due to:
4.1 inadequate support to remedy the following problems: poor
staff compensation, chronic shortage of qualified teachers and
administrators, ineffective district and city leadership in
school matters, poor quality and quantity of instructional
materials, and decaying school facilities.
4.2 confusion in the roles and responsibilities for setting
standards and curriculum guidelines from the local to the
national levels of education coupled with poor articulation
between levels. Educators report that they would "not go
back" to the control of the Soviet era and that they value
their professional autonomy, but now see "chaos" when each
teacher or school department is responsible for curriculum.
As students enter colleges or universities, the educators see
the need for an articulated curriculum based on content
standards. This situation can be summed up in the comment of
one teacher who said: "Our poor students are suffering from
this chaos."
4.3 Education is not a priority for the city and district
leadership. Since late 1996, Superintendent Borozdna's
inability or lack of will to engage the city or others to
support the schools results in the erosion of what would
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constitute the status quo for the district; the perception of
the informants is that the district is losing ground on its
earlier successes. Individual initiative at the school and
classroom level is the only apparent catalyst for innovation.
In the absence of informed leadership and an effective support
system for the schools, Pereslavl has a collection of schools
rather than a district.
4.4Decentralization has given the mayor control of school
governance without accountability.
4.5 The current district organization under city authority and
the performance of the person who is mayor makes the position
of superintendent unattractive to individuals who are
committed to improving the quality of teaching and learning.
District educators who have been encouraged to step forward as
a possible replacement for the current superintendent have
declined the opportunity due in part to the "dependence" on
the mayor.
Recommendations
The study will add to the body of knowledge regarding the
changes and the challenges to implementing innovations in
education in a small urban school district in the Russian
Federation. The value of the study may be limited to
comparisons between other districts comparable in size but it
may also provide insights into the circumstances of districts
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and educators across Russia. Decentralization, funding cuts,
teacher shortages, and dramatic changes in the social,
political and economic conditions were not unique to the city
of Pereslavl.
This study also captures some of the personal reflections
of Russian educators as they encountered the end of the Soviet
Union, dissolution of the authority of the Communist Party,
and other events in the first ten years of the Russian
Federation. Stephen L. Webber states in School Reform and
Society in the New Russia, "There has been relatively little
qualitative research to date on the experience of change of
Russian teachers" (114). This study will address this void. At
minimum the study records the perspectives of educators in a
small urban school district living through an epochal time in
Russian history.
Recommendations for Educators
Based on the findings of this study, the following suggestions
are offered to educators and those in government who share
responsibility for education from the local to the national
level.
1. Examine specific innovations that are regarded as
successful and determine the characteristics or processes that
contributed to their success. If evidence could be found that
supports the effectiveness of an innovation (such as the
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speech or psychological services) and explains the major
factors for its success, then these findings might facilitate
replication of effective innovations in the Pereslavl district
and in other Russian school districts.
2. Examine specific changes, strategies or innovations that
are regarded as less than satisfactory or as failures. Then
determine the characteristics or processes that contributed to
their low rating and make changes as appropriate. For
example, the child development programs, articulation with the
regional and national education departments, or the
organization and governance of the district (authority of the
mayor over policy and practice) are controversial within the
district. If evidence indicates that a change or innovation
in this Russian school district had a negative result, then
the findings could help to provide data for alternative
strategies or system wide reforms.
Recommendations for Further Research
Based on the findings of this study, the following
recommendations are presented for future research:
1. Investigate the effectiveness of the current organization
and governance of education from the local, regional and
national levels. Use the findings to inform the development
adoption and articulation of goals, objectives and
implementation strategies aligned with the interests of the
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state and individual within the new, democratic Russian
Federation.
2. Investigate the impact of funding and admissions
requirements for higher education on student enrollment, post
graduate career choices and employment opportunities to inform
education reforms.
3. Identify schools, districts and educational leaders
regarded as "models" of success and determine the factors that
contributed to their success.
The researcher intuits that whatever the successes
attributed to education, Russian education is headed for a
crisis in quality. After years of public criticism, funding
cuts and stalled efforts to reform, the faltering education
system postpones the inevitable due largely to the successful
practices carried forward from the Soviet era and the
continuity in the quality of staff provided by older teachers
and administrators who are deferring retirement. This
conclusion is based on the data from this study coupled with
information from Russian media coverage, a review of limited
studies on Russian education and experiences with educators in
other districts who share many experiences and endure similar
hardships as their colleagues in Pereslavl.
Finally, this study offers access to the opinions and
perspectives of Russian citizens who are educators by
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profession and eyewitnesses by circumstance to the end of one
of the world's most ambitious social and political
experiments. This study may yield descriptive information on
how educators perceived the significant changes in their
school district during a unique period of Russian history.
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Appendix A — Research Tools
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Exhibit A -1
Declaration of Pereslavl-Zalessky Educators
Adopted 1993 (Translation from Russian)
Students of Pereslavl-Zalessky schools should be persons, who:
1) have a positive self-image;
2) understand principles of physical and emotional well-being and
maintain their health;
3) understand and appreciate music and art and their influence on
all spheres of life;
4) are lifelong learners;
5) demonstrate individual and social ethics;
6) think and act creatively, appreciate creative personalities;
7) demonstrate critical thinking, have problem solving skills in
all spheres of life;
8) are readily able to adapt to new circumstances of the life and
changing society;
9) demonstrate their literacy in mathematics, language, culture and
technologies;
10) have skills and knowledge in communication;
11) understand importance of education;
12) are acquainted with different professions and trades;
13) understand and show individual, social, and civil
responsibilities for the state of matter of the whole world;
14) generous and respectful toward others.
335
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Exhibit A-2 (Form)
Educator Assessment on the Rate of Progress in Achieving Goals
of the
Declaration of Pereslavl-Zalessky Educators
Name (optional) __________________________________
Date Position
Select top 5 in importance to improve education and rate each item on a
Scale 1-5. 1 = Significant Progress, 2 = Progress, 3 = Little Progress, 4
= No Progress, 5 = Regression. Please comment on why you rated an item as
you did.
Students of Pereslavl-Zalessky schools should be persons, who:
1) have a positive self-image;
2) understand principles of physical and emotional well being and maintain
their health;
3) understand and appreciate music and art and their influence on all
spheres of life;
4) are lifelong learners;
5) demonstrate individual and social ethics;
6) think and act creatively, appreciate creative personalities;
7) demonstrate critical thinking, have problem solving skills in all
spheres of life;
8) are readily able to adapt to new circumstances of the life and changing
society;
9) demonstrate their literacy in mathematics, language, culture and
technologies;
10) have skills and knowledge in communication;
11) understand importance of education;
12) are acquainted with different professions and trades;
13) understand and show individual, social, and civil responsibilities for
the state of matter of the whole world;
14) generous and respectful toward others.
Item Rating Comment(s), example(s):
A.
B.
C.
336
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Exhibit A-3
Russian Language Translation of Exhibit A-2
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Exhibit A-4
Questions For Research Study Participants Form I
Pereslavl-Zalessky Educators
Name_________________ Position _________________Date _______
Please answer the following questions as completely as possible
based on your experiences as an educator over the past school year.
Your help is greatly appreciated in the collection of information
for this study. Judith Fritz
Part 1: The Russian Ministry of Education has adopted the Ten
Principles of Reform for Education listed below. Please rate each
one according to a scale of 1 - 5 based on:
1 - unimportant, 2 - little importance, 3 - important, 4 - very
important, 5 - absolutely essential.
Rating Comments
1. Democratization
2. Multisystems
3. Regionalization
4. Cultural Identity
5. Alternative Schools
6. Humanization
7. Humanitarianism
8. Differentiation
9. Active learning
10. Openness ______
Part 2: Work of the Pereslavl Educator
1. What do you think is the most significant change in your school
or the district that improves education? Please explain your
answer.
2. Is there anything that is an obstacle to improving education in
your school or the district? Please explain.
338
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Exhibit A -5
Questions For Research Study Participants Form II
Pereslavl-Zalessky Educators - Sample Interview Guide
Name Position Date
Please answer the following questions as completely as
possible based on your experiences as an educator over the
past school year. Your continued help is greatly appreciated
and important in the collection of information for our study.
Judith Fritz
1. What are your two most significant accomplishments in the past
school year?
2. What were the most important factors that helped you to achieve
your accomplishments listed in #1?
3. List and describe up to three significant obstacles that made
your work more difficult.
4. Is there anything you had hoped to accomplish this year and
were not able to do so? What was it? Will you try again in the
future?
5. Were there any changes in your school or district that you
think are positive?
6. Were there any changes in your school or district that you
think are negative?
339
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Exhibit A -6
Russian Translation of Exhibit A-4
Questions For Research Study Participants Form I
Bonpoci>i k yuacTHMKaM MccjieflOBaHMsi
ripenoflaBaTejiH IlepecjiaBJisi-3ajieccKoro
4>opMa I
Mmsi flOJIMCHOCTt. flaia
rioKajiyficTa, oiBeTbTe Ha cneflyiouiyie Bonpocu ocHOBUBaacb Ha onme
npouiefliuero yaebHoro rofla. Bama noMornt b c6ope MHiJiopMauMM fljia
flanHoro MccjieflOBaHMH oyeHb ueHHa.
JlacyflMT 4>pnTu;.
yacTfa 1: Hwace nepe'iwcjieHHbi «flecHTt> npnHu,nnoB Pe^opMbi 06paSoBaHMH»
npMHHTbie POCCHMCKUM MMHHCTepCTBOM 06pa3OBaHMH . Ol0,eHMTe KajKflbIM H3
hmx no uiKajie ot 1 so 5: 1 - HSBawHO; 2 - MajiOBaacHo; 3 - Ba*HO ;
4 - oaeHb BajKHO; 5 - adcojiKTHo neodxoflum o .
1. fleMOKpa™aauMs ______
2. MHOrOCHCTeMHOCTfa ______
3. PernoHaJiMSauMH ______
4. KyjrtTypHasi caMoSbiTHOCTt ______
5. AntTepHaTMBHbie uiKOJibi ______
6 . TyMaHM 3 au,MH ______
7. ryMaHHTapn3ai4MH ________
8 . f l n 4 4 s p e H U K ip o B a H M e ___________
9. AKTHBHoe ofiyyeHMe ______
10. OTKpblTOCTt ______
yacTB 2: Pa6oTa nepecjiaBCKoro IIpenojDtaBaTejisi. noxajiyiicTa, OTBeTtTe
Ha cjieflyiomne Bonpocbi Ha odpaTHOM ciopoHe jiMCTa:
1. KaKoe M3M6H6HMG b BameH uiKOJie mjim oxpyre c Bauien toikm speHws
Ha6ojiee SHawTejibHo yuyuiiraeT odpaSOBaHMe? no*a.nyMCTa, noaCHMTe.
2 . CymecTByioT jim b Baiueii uiKOJie mjim OKpyre KaKne-Jin6o npenaTCTBua
Ha nyro k yjiyHiiieHMio o6paSoBaHna? nowajiyiicTa, noaoHHTe.
Ou,eHKa KOMMeHTapMM
340
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Exhibit A -7
Russian Translation of Exhibit A -5
Questions For Research Study Participants
B o n p o c b i k y w a c T H M K a M M c c J i e f l O B a H n n
r i p e n o f l a B a T e j i n I l e p e c j i a B j i a - 3 a j i e c c K o r o
Form II
4>opMa 11
H m s i f lO J I J K H O C T t f l a t a
O c H O B B i B a x c B H a o n t i T e n p o u i e f l i u e r o y a i e d H o r o r o f l a , n o j K a j i y i i c T a kslk
m o h c h o n o f l p o d H e e o T B S T b T © H a c j i e f l y i o u i j i e B o n p o c b i . Bauia
H e n p e i c p a i n a i o m a H C H n o M O U it> b c d o p e M H if r o p M a u M M f l j i s f l a H H o r o
H C C J ie flO B a H H s a o y e H b u e H H a .
fljK y f lM T $ p M T U .
1. Onmiorae flBa HaMdojiee SHa'JMTejitHbix m 3 BauiMx flocTM*eHMM 3a
npouiefliiiMM y^efiHbiM rofl.
2 . KaKKie $aKTopbi d m iM H a M d o jie e B asK H biM M b flOCHDKeHMM Bam i
p e s y jit T a T O B onM caH H bix b n y H K T e 1 ?
3 . I l e p e u M C J i M T e m n o a c H i w e n o K p a w H H e w M e p e T p M S H a u M T e j i t H b i x
nperpaflbi b Baiuefi p a d o i e .
4 . C y m e c T B y e T ji m u T O - j i M d o , a e r o Bbi x o i e j w , h o H e c m o i t j i m f i o c T H a b b
3 t o m r o f l y ? ^ t o ? n o n b i T a e T e c f a ji m Bbi f l o o r o i a b S T o r o b c j i e f l y i o m e M
5 . n p o n S o u i J i M j i m b B a u i e M u i k o j i g m jim o i c p y r e K a x M e - j i M d o n o J i o x M T e J i f a H b i e
HSMeaeHHa?
6 . E b u iM j i m k a K M e - j i M d o O T p M u a T e j i B H b i e M 3 M e H e H i i a b B a m e n u i K O J i e m j i m
o x p y r e ?
r o f l y ?
341
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Reproduced w ith permission o f th e copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Exhibit A- 8: Findings from Qualitative Methods 1991-2001
The researcher collected data through interviews, group discussions, letters, documents and notes of field observations
and developed categories with the assistance of the key informants. The following is a summary of the categories that
emerged from the data. Findings are "roughly" summarized with benchmark years to identify trends and/or pivotal points
during the life of the study. The analysis and explanation for these findings are in Chapter 4.
Categories Change 1994 1997 2001
Job Satisfaction
• Autonomy in role
• Wages (Pay for Performance Schedule)
• District support to school
• Staff evaluation
Positive
Mixed
Positive
Mixed
Positive
Negative
Negative
Negative
Mixed (experienced
vs. new teachers)
Negative
Negative
Negative
Curriculum Content
• Humanization (teacher pupil)
• Deideologization (Marxist-Leninist)
Mixed
Positive
Positive
Positive
Positive
Positive - with
emerging issues
Methods
• Humanization (humanities content)
• Differentiation
Positive
Positive
Positive
Positive
Positive
Positive
School Governance
• Decentralization
• Leadership
• Support for schools
• Articulation - district, region,
Ministry
Positive
Positive
Positive
Positive
Positive
Negative
Mixed
Mixed
Positive
Negative
Negative
Negative
Resources • Textbooks
• Differentiation
• Technology
• Psychological Services
• Training
Negative
Positive
Mixed
Positive
Positive
Positive
Negative
Positive
Negative
Positive
Positive
NA
Negative
Mixed
Mixed
NA (Eliminated)
Mixed
Negative
Mul ti - sy s terns
• Alternative Schools & Programs
• Gymnasiya
• Litsei
Positive
Positive
Mixed
Positive
Positive
Negative
Positive
Positive
Mixed
Quality of Life • Values
• Health
• Housing for teachers
• View of the future for Education
• Cultural Identity
NA
NA
Negative
Positive
NA
Mixed
Mixed
Negative
Mixed
Mixed
Mixed (Emerging
Issue)
Negative
Negative
Mixed to Negative
Emerging Issue
U)
to
Appendix B — Field Studies
343
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Exhibit B-l
Log of Interviews and Field Visits to Pereslavl-Zalessky
A. Site visits prior to the study afforded the researcher
opportunities to become acquainted with the people, the district and
the city.
A. 1 April 13-21, 1989 - first visit included observations at six
schools in Pereslavl and multiple meetings with teachers, directors,
Superintendent Melnikova and Vera Rubykova, Deputy of Education for
the Yaroslavl Region. Included observations and meetings with staff
as four schools in Yaroslavl.
A.2 January 2-8, 1990 - Researcher and Melnikova initiated a
professional development program for teachers and administrators;
the researcher assisted in the development of the workshop sessions
focused on organizational development, performance assessment,
strategic planning, leadership, and management training. The
professional development program continued until March 1996.
Included meetings at the Department of Education and school visits
in Yaroslavl.
A.3 June 28 - July 14, 1990 - Included visit to the Yaroslavl
Department of Education to meet with Vera Rybakova and observe
programs at the teacher training institute. The researcher as
participant observer conducted one workshop and facilitated another
for administrators in Pereslavl.
B. Pilot Study - February 19 - March 3, 1991 Observe in Schools #2
and #7 in Pereslavl. Included visits to 2 schools in Yaroslavl. The
researcher and Melnikova review pilot study findings and finalize
design of the survey forms for translation for formal study. Agree
to begin the formal study in July 1991.
C. Research study July 1991 - November 2001
C.l July 1 -21, 1991 Personal interviews: Ivakhnenko July 12, 15,
19. Melnikova July 2, 4, 7, 9, 20; Mischenko July 4, 9;
Ivakhnenko July 12, 15, 19. Visit to school in the village of
Zvannoya near the border with the Ukraine on July 15.
C.2 January 8-21, 1992 Personal interviews: Ivakhnenko 9, 12, 20;
Melnikova 9, 11, 18, 20; and Mischenko 10, 12, 13.
C.3 April 16-28, 1992 Personal interviews: Ivakhnenko 17, 22, 26;
Melnikova 17, 19, 22, 23, 24; and Mischenko 10, 24. Researcher
and Melnikova meet with Eduard Dnevprov, Minister of
Education, in his Moscow office on April 22. Representatives
of the Ministry come to Pereslavl on April 24 to observe
workshop; they discuss professional development program with
directors, superintendent and researcher following the
workshop in Pereslavl.
344
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C . 4
C. 5
C. 6
C. 7
C. 8
C. 9
C.10
C.ll
C. 12
C. 13
C. 14
C. 15
C. 16
C.17
C. 18
C. 19
June 26 - July 17, 1992 Personal interviews: Ivakhnenko June
27, 30; Melnikova June 27 and July 1; and Mischenko June 29,
July 9.
November 1 - 13, 1992 Ivakhnenko 3, 11; Melnikova 2, 5, 11,
12; and Mischenko 2, 12.
February 13 - 26, 1993 Ivakhnenko 14, 16, 20; Melnikova 15,
17, 24, 25; and Mischenko 15, 25. Met with teachers in
Murmansk 20.
June 3 - July 2, 1993 Ivakhnenko June 5, 9, 11, 29; Melnikova
June 3, 4, July 7; and Mischenko June 4, 6. Visit Samara and
Moscow.
December 4-17, 1993 Ivakhnenko 5, 9; Melnikova 5, 10,
12, 16; and Mischenko 7, 9.
March 19 - April 1, 1994 Ivakhnenko March 20, 28; Melnikova
March 21, 23, 28, 30; and Mischenko March 23, 28.
July 9 - 22, 1994 Ivakhnenko 11, 14,19; Melnikova 10, 11,
20; and Mischenko 10, 20. Included visits to Moscow and
Zvannoya.
November 6 - 19,1994 Ivakhnenko 8, 16; Melnikova 7, 11,
18; and Mischenko 8, 10.
March 17 - 31,1995 Ivakhnenko 19, 21, 30; Melnikova 18, 19,
29, 30; and Mischenko 18, 19. Visit Zvannoya.
July 8 - 21, 1995 Ivakhnenko 9, 20; Melnikova 10, 11, 19; and
Mischenko 10, 20. Visit Zvannoya.
October 27 - November 10, 1995 Ivakhnenko October 31, November
9; Melnikova October 28, 30, November 3, 8, 9; and Mischenko
October 30 and November 8. Visits to Moscow and Zvannoya.
January 19 - 26, 1996. Ivakhnenko 20, 25; Melnikova 20, 24,
25; and Mischenko 21.
April 27 - May 10, 1996. Ivakhnenko April 29, May 1,9;
Melnikova April 28, May 7, 9; and Mischenko April 28, May 9.
June 22 - July 8, 1996. Ivakhnenko 23, 24, July 4; Melnikova
25, 26, July 7; and Mischenko 24, July 6.
November 9 - 25, 1996. Ivakhnenko 10, 23; Melnikova 10, 12,
23; and Mischenko 11, 19.
February 12 - 28, 1997. Ivakhnenko 14, 27; Melnikova 13,
15, 27; and Mischenko 15, 26.
345
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C .20
C. 21
C. 22
C. 23
C. 24
C. 25
C. 26
C. 27
C. 28
C. 29
C. 30
C. 31
C. 32
C. 33
C. 34
C. 35
June 8 - 23, 1997. Ivakhnenko 10, 13, 21; Melnikova 9, 10, 22;
and Mischenko 9, 20. Visit Zvannoya
September 2 - 15, 1997. Ivakhnenko 4, 9; Melnikova 3, 9,
13, 14; and Mischenko 5, 9.
December 27 - January 9, 1998. Ivakhnenko December 29, 30
January 5; Melnikova December 28, 2 9 January 7, 8; and
Mischenko December 28, January 7.
April 25 - May 10, 1998. Ivakhnenko April 27, 29, May 2;
Melnikova April 26, 30, May 2; and Mischenko April 27, and
May 8.
August 9 - 23, 1998. Ivakhnenko 11, 13; Melnikova 11, 22;
and Mischenko 12, 20.
December 26 - January 9, 1999. Ivakhnenko 27, 31; Melnikova
27, 28, January 7; and Mischenko December 28, January 8.
Visit Zvannoya
April 12 - May 2, 1999. Ivakhnenko April 15, 18, April 30;
Melnikova April 13, 15, 17; and Mischenko 18, 30.
August 8 - 22, 1999. Ivakhnenko 10, 12, 17; Melnikova 9,
12, 20; and 9, 19 Mischenko 9, 19. Visit Zvannoya
January 10 - 28, 2000. Ivakhnenko 10, 20, 27; Melnikova 11,
27; and Mischenko.
August 30 - September 15, 2000. Ivakhnenko September 1, 3;
Melnikova September 3, 5, 9, 13; and Mischenko 11, 22.
December 27 - January 12, 2001. Ivakhnenko December 29, 31
and January 10; Melnikova December 28, 29 and January 10,
11; and Mischenko January 9, 11. Visit Zvannoya
April 12 - 30, 2001. Ivakhnenko 14, 20, 27; Melnikova 13,
15, 19, 29; and Mischenko 13, 28.
August 7 - 29, 2001. Ivakhnenko 9, 10, 28; Melnikova 8,
12, 26, 28; and Mischenko 10, 27. Visit Zvannoya
November 1 - 19, 2001. Ivakhnenko 2, 5, 18; Melnikova 2,
7, 17, 18; and Mischenko 14, 17.
January 25 - February 11, 2002. Ivakhnenko January 26, 28
February 8; Melnikova January 26, 27, 29 February 8, 10;
and Mischenko January 29, February 10.
April 13 - May 6, 2002. Ivakhnenko April 14, May 4;
Melnikova April 14, 30, May 5; and Mischenko April 20.
346
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D. Meetings and interviews conducted in the United States with key
informants:
D.l Interviews in Cupertino, California on March 22 and April 1,
1990 with Alexandr Ivakhnenko, director of the School for
Defektoloqy, and Maria Mischenko, teacher from School #7.
D.2 Interviews October 20-25, 1990 with Superintendent
Melnikova and Director Ivakhnenko in Washington, DC,
Chicago, Illinois and New York City, N.Y. during program
for educators.
D.3 Interview with Eduard Dneprov, Minister of Education
Russian Federation, March 17, 1991 in Cupertino,
California.
D.4 Interviews in April 1991 with teachers Galina Ladochkina
and Rima Vasilieva in Cupertino, California.
D.5 Interviews in March 1995 with Superintendent Melnikova and
Maria Mischenko in St. Louis, Missouri.
E. The fieldwork in Russia and interviews in the United States were
augmented by telephone conversations and email messages with
Melnikova (beginning 1992 and 1995 respectively).
347
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Exhibit B-2
Sample of field notes - summary of responses to discussion
Summary of sample responses to questions and discussion. Location: Pereslavl
District Office Date: July 6, 1992 Responses Directors and Teachers
Participants: Vera Rybakova, Ludmila Melnikova, directors and teachers* (Change
receptive, discuss resources, and obstacles to reform). Participants responded and
made comments as part of general discussion after morning workshop on performance
evaluation. Researcher (Judith) served as workshop facilitator. Notes organized by
individual participant responses to each question.
Judith: What is most interesting in your work?
Tatiana #6 1. We suggest to our teachers new direction, ecology, a dialectic which
includes tasks connected with new principles of democracy, humanism, humanitarianism
develop student's esteem and potential, differentiate learning, active learning.
Propaganda because of our individual work with teachers we form alliances. *(Change
receptive, leadership, differentiation) Tatiana: Assistant directors work with
psychologists' help we could make diagnostics with our school kids...elementary
graduation..making transition from one level to another.
Judith: What influences your thinking about improving school, learning?
Tatiana #6 School administration (district superintendent, directors) are of one
mind..more deeper understanding of administrative role. Director can be a leader.
Judith Fritz's seminars were very helpful. Very...seminars have helped me think about
director, clarified administrative tasks.
This year teachers initiated because of feelings of necessity were involved in
psychology seminars. They do not want to be left in the dust...so to speak. But
unfortunately, not all of them are interested. *(Change, leadership)
The City psychological services help to diagnose students. Important stimulus was
that all of our innovations were supported by the district *(Change receptive,
leadership) especially superintendent (chief ) of the district.
Judith: What obstacles have you encountered?
Tatiana #6 Main ones were and still are conservatism on the part of teachers who
don't care about the development of children (more content focused) and no permanent
psychology assistance in the school. *(Change adverse)
Judith: Have you had any frustrations in trying to improve school, student learning?
Tatitana#6: We could not make an alliance of all of the teachers. We could not
instill in each teacher the need to improve the qualifications and quality of their
work. But we realize we need a lot time to do it. We could not finish to the end of
the year. They could not instill all reforms due to idea of creative education of
students. We will continue this work in vacation time.
Judith: What is guiding your thinking about school, improving learning? Tatitiana
#6 Agree with all of the principles...precepts of the Ministry of Education of Russia.
Need to be put into reall life, democratization, consideration of student potential,
different active learning. *(Differentiation)
Lyudmila - Luyba Director of School #4
Judith: What is most interesting about your work?
*Luyba: Completed the first steps to create a team of staff and teachers; we could
now step over the mistrust between teachers and students.
Common idea create teachers' view of new school... common vision...new education...length
of studies...student behavior, manners. Powers of members of team; young teachers with
very experienced teachers of over 30 years form pairs to create a positive, sparking,
igniting learning together.
End of sample, first page of ten pages of notes.
348
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Appendix — Reference Information on History
and
Chronology of Key Events
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Exhibit C-l
Chronology of Major Events in the Emergence
of the
Russian Federation: 1982 - 2001
Death of Leonid Brezhnev (1906-1982) November 10 November
election of Yuri Andropov as general secretary of 1982
the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU).
Death of Yuri Andropov (1914-1984) February 9.
Konstanin Chernenko elected as general secretary
of the CPSU. He named Mikhail Gorbachev named as
vice-president
February
1984
Mikhail Gorbachev succeeds Konstanin Chernenko
(1911-1984)as General Secretary of the USSR
(March 11)
1985
March
Twenty-Seventh Party Congress meets February -
March
1986
Boris Yeltsin made a member of the Politburo March
1986
Nuclear power plant disaster at Chernobyl (Ukraine) April
1986
Andrei Sakharov freed from internal exile December
1986
Competitive elections conducted for some
local soviets
February
1987
Boris Yeltsin is removed from the Politburo October
1987
Mikhail Gorbachev condemns Joseph Stalin's
actions as "crimes;" he begins some economic
reforms including allowing private enterprises
November
1987
New presidential system and Congress of
People's Deputies are established
November
1988
Soviet Union withdraws from Afghanistan February
1989
First national election to include
candidates from other parties
March
1989
Fall of Communist governments of Eastern Europe Fall
1989
350
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Free elections in East Germany and
Lithuania declares independence
March
1990
Twenty-eighth Party Congress July
Boris Yeltsin and other members resign from the 1990
Communist Party
Gorbachev and Yeltsin agree to a 500 Day Plan for August
Economic Reform to achieve a market economy 1990
Gorbachev replaces the 500 Day Plan with a more October
gradual approach to economic reform that fails. 1990
Boris Yeltsin wins popular election to executive June
presidency of the Soviet Russian Republic on 1991
June 12. (First presidential election in Russian
history.) He received 57.3 percent of the vote of
a turnout of 74 percent.
Boris Yeltsin sworn in as president on July 10. July
President Yeltsin issues national decree banning 1991
all political activity at workplaces and govern
ment establishments in the Russian Republic; the
decree limited such activity to non-working hours
and in locations outside of government facilities.
(July 20)
Mikhail Gorbachev makes a speech at a plenary July
session of the Communist Party Central Committee 1991
stating that the party should do away with "outdated
ideological dogma" and accept "world socialist and
democratic thought." (July 25)
Coup d'etat attempt from August 18-20 by conservative August
leaders failed. 1991
Gorbachev resigns as General Secretary of the August
Communist Party on August 24. Yeltsin orders the 1991
CPSU to suspend its activities in Russia. The
red, white and blue flag of Russia flies over the
Kremlin. Local governments seize CPSU property.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania become independent 1991
states.
Centralized government is eliminated and former
republics form a coalition of sovereign republics.
Soviet Union announces the end of all restrictions
on internal travel for Soviet citizens effective
January 1, 1992.
September
1991
October
1991
Russian Congress of People's Deputies authorizes November
President Boris Yeltsin's extensive powers; he 1991
351
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begins large-scale economic reforms in Russia.
His plan included: ended most price controls, begin
privatization of small and mid-sized state farms,
and state industries and scale back or end funding
for many Soviet ministries.
Russia, Byelorussia, and Ukraine declare that the
Soviet Union no longer exists and established the
Commonwealth of Independent States. They invited
all Soviet republics to join them (December 8).
December
1991
Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as head of the Soviet December
Union thus dissolving the Union of the Soviet 1991
Socialist Republics (December 25).
Russian people vote to support Boris Yeltsin in April
special election. 1993
Coup d'etat led by Vice President Rutskoi and
head of legislature, Ruslan Khasbulatov fails.
The media is censored by the government during coup.
Yeltsin curtails role of legislatures across Russia.
October
1993
Elections conducted for newly formed national December
legislature and Duma. Communists and conservatives 1993
make strong showing (December 12).
Russian stock market crashes,
hyper inflation.
New period of August
1998
Boris Yeltsin resigns and appoints Vladimir Putin December
the interim president (December 31). 1999
Vladimir Putin is elected as the second president May 2000
of the Russian Federation (May 7, 2000).
Sources: Heller and Nekrich; Izvestia; Lowenhardt; Moscow
News; and Rzgevsky.
352
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Exhibit C-2
Chronology of Major Events and Cultural Trends Related to
Education in the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation
1918 - All schools required to be secular. Government focus for
education is creation of united working school. Charge: Eliminate
illiteracy and promote experimental programs (Glenn 31-32).
1923 - Statute disavowed neutrality on religion and promote atheism.
Principles of communism form the context for behavior and values
promoted in the schools (Glenn 31-32).
1931 - Central Committee issues decree on elementary and secondary
schools. All educational reforms implemented in the schools are
ended (Heller and Nekrich 738).
1936 - State publishes "notes on proposed history textbooks by
Stalin, Zhdanov, and Kirov (written in 1934), completing the process
of state takeover of all spiritual life in the Soviet Union (Heller
and Nekrich 740).
1938 - On March 13, Russian becomes a required subject in the
schools of all national republics and autonomous regions (Heller and
Nekrich 741).
1940 - Soviet Union adopts labor laws to increase the workday to
eight hours, establish the seven-day workweek, prohibit workers from
changing jobs on their own, and make absenteeism and tardiness
criminal offenses (Heller and Nekrich 742).
1943 - Government authorizes the Russian Orthodox church to elect a
patriarch (Heller and Nekrich 744).
1947 - Believers in religion prohibited from membership in the
Komsomol, the Communist organization for young adults.
194 9 - State mandates general compulsory 7-year education.
Establish separate education for boys and girls. State initiates
campaign in scientific and cultural endeavors "against persons of
Jewish origin" to fight "rootless cosmopolitanism" (Heller and
Nekrich 747).
1953 - Nikita Khrushev elected first secretary of the CPSU Central
Committee. He begins the rehabilitation of the victims of Stalin's
regime (Heller and Nekrich 749).
1956 - Khruschev makes secret report on Stalin's crimes to the
Twentieth Party Congress in February and ends the labor laws of
1940.
1957 - Khrushev's plan for transformation of the schools to prepare
children for technical and labor oriented jobs. The plan is very
unpopular with majority of Soviets, especially parents.
353
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1958 - State mandates general compulsory 8-year education. Khrushev
pushed "Theses on Educational Reform" to force the school system to
attend to the task of creating the "new Soviet man," eliminate
religious influence and push technical careers. Combined general and
professional education (Abalkin 178).
1959 - The Ministry of Education ordered all Soviet schools to take
measures to make education anti-religious (Glenn 34).
1960s - Some districts begin schools for the gifted (gymnasii) to
"draw pupils into the learning process"(Glenn 247).
1961 - Communist Party stressed the importance of overcoming
vestiges of the past (individualism) - schools to employ scientific-
atheistic propaganda (Glenn 34).
1963 - Children under 18 were forbidden to attend religious
services. Young Communist League argued that "freedom of conscience
does not apply to children, and no parent should be allowed to
cripple a child spiritually" (Glenn 35).
1964 - Khrushev is ousted from power and force to resign on October
14. Leonid Brezhnev is elected first secretary of the CPSU central
committee (Heller and Nekrich 752).
1973 - Education Reform responds to growing interest in cultural
heritage of diverse populations with Soviet Union. Legislation gave
"parents or guardians the right to select the school with the
appropriate language of instruction" (Glenn 49).
1977 - General compulsory education expands to 10-11 year education.
Launch of unified education front: schools, youth organizations, the
media, employing organizations, and society in general are to follow
the leadership of the Communist Party. Teacher training must focus
on ideology. Politically correct approach to teaching is stressed.
Under Brezhnev some responsibilities for education are transferred
from the Ministry of Education to the regional education departments
to signal beginning of the process of decentralization. As power of
the Party wanes, the young people have fewer career opportunities
and must go to vocational schools. This increases attitudes of
alienation and frustration with Brezhnev regime (Democracy in the
Russian School, Elkof and Dneprov).
1984 - Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union adopts resolution "On
Fundamental Directions for Reform of the General Education an
Professional School" (Heller and Neckrich 757). The resolution
emphasizes vocational training in schools.
1985 - Mikhail Gorbachev is elected general secretary of the CPSU
Central Committee on March 11. He launches perestroika.
1986 - The Communist Party reasserts its dominance over the ideology
of education through the Communist Party Program of 1986 to ensure
"atheistic education and civic obedience" are stressed (Glenn 24 6).
354
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
1987-90 - Period of debate on what is needed in education and
proposals for reform.
198 9 - Ministry approves a new schedule to increase the number of
periods for general secondary schools to allow up to 12% of the
student schedule for electives (Glenn 248-249).
1990 - Ten to fifteen percent of teachers survey believed a totally
new form of schooling was needed; twenty-five percent wanted
moderate reforms and fifty percent wanted to keep schools the same
(Glenn 249).
1992 -Reform of 1992 gives broad guarantees of educational freedom
and support for private schools. Article 5 of this reform
legislation: provides the right to education in the mother tongue;
guarantees autonomy to develop curriculum and mission; gives parents
the right to be informed of school program; authorizes government,
church and private schools to have their own bank accounts; and
commits to a speedy process of review and approval of alternative
schools (Glenn 235).
1995 - Seventy-three of 89 regions in Russian publish their own
programs "Agreements on Cooperation in the Sphere of Education"
between the regions and the Ministry of Education. Decentralization
of authority for education continues as local governments assume
greater responsibility.
1999 - Education level of Russian students is assessed as less than
that of their parents. According to report one million children
reputed to have no schooling (Webber XIII).
355
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Exhibit C-3
Definitions of Russian Terms
The transliteration of the following words from Russian to
English is based on Library of Congress recommendations and
preferred style of Pereslavl educators.
Attestation school program review by officials and specialists
from the regional education offices to verify that
programs funded by the regions comply with standards and
appropriate guidelines. The program review typically is
conducted once every five years.
Doschkolnik - child who attends pre-school that is most often
fee based.
Defektoloqy - study and development of strategies for the
severely learning disabled.
Detski sad - Nursery school or day care program.
Devyatiletka - Term for the requirement that all children
attend school for a minimum of nine years.
Director - the head teacher for a school who is responsible
for the administrative duties and teaches up to twelve hours
per week. The Russian equivalent to the school principal.
Class - the general grouping of students equivalent to a grade
level. Russian schools are typically ten or eleven classes,
or years.
Feminatsiya - feminization; trend where number of women
exceeds men in a group or organization.
Gymnasiya - special school for academically talented students
in the middle through high school levels or classes.
Litsei - after school fee-based program with classes in the
humanities, economics and computers for upper class students.
Mir - peasant communal organization that administered village
affairs such as distribution and redistribution of land based
on local rules and family make-up.
356
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Nachalnaya' schkola - the elementary level of school for
students ages 6-9.
Nachal'naya voennaya podqotovka - basic military training
required in upper classes of Russian schools.
Nepolnaya sredniya schkola - the basic secondary school or
middle level for students ages 10-14.
Qchitel - male teacher.
Ochitelnitsa - female teacher.
Odeenatstatiletka - Eleven year school. One building for all
grades (classes). Schools were typically ten years.
Polniya sckhola - the general secondary school or upper level
of school for students ages 15-16.
Soviet -council of advisors.
Spetskoli - special schools for specific groups of students
such as: learning disabled students, gifted students and
orphans.
Ukaz - decree or order.
Vospitannik - a pupil in a nursery school.
Vospitatelnitsa - a nursery school teacher.
Zavooch - an assistant director of a school.
Zemskoe uchrezhdenie or zemstvo - instrument of self-
government in pre-Revolutionary Russia for a province.
Responsible for services such as roads, education, medicine
and tax collection.
ZUNY - the acronym for Znaniya (Knowledge), Umeniya (Skills),
and Navyki (Habits) which was a phrase to summarize the Soviet
focus for education.
357
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Reproduced w ith permission o f th e copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
Exhibit C- 4: Price Index for the Cost of Basic Goods and Services in Pereslavl-Zalessky, Russia (Based on actual prices.)
The unit of Russian currency is the ruble (R), which is divided into 100 kopecks (K). * Indicates average per month.
Item Oct 1991 Dec 1993 Nov. 1996 2000 2002
Average Salary* 230 - 300R 100,000-250,000R 600-700R 700-900R 6,500 R
Teachers & doctors* 150 - 300R 80,000-200,000R 500-700R 800-900R 6,000 R
2-room apartment* 12R 10% of family income 120,OOOR BOR 400-500R
Zhiguli automobile 70,000 - 80,000R 6-11 million R 35 M R 70,OOOR $3,000-8,000 US
One ride on a bus 15K 40R 1000 R 1.50R 3R
Color television 2,100R 1 million R 300-400R US$ 200-1000US$ $300-1,200 US
VCR 3,000 5O0,OOOR 300-400 US$ 250-750 US$ $300-500 US
Postage for local mail 5K 75R BOOR 2.5R
Butter 10R80K 5,000R 18-20R Kilo 55R Kilo 20R .5 Kilo
Milk, half-liter 45K 550R BOOR .5 Liter 3.5-6R.5 Kilo 9R .5 Kilo
Sugar, per kilo 2R 80K 700R 3000R Kilo 11R Kilo 18RKilo
Bread lkilo loaf 48K 250R 3000R Kilo 3.3RKilo 5.20 Kilo
Cheese 1 kilo 9R 5000R 22-24TR Kilo 60-70R Kilo lOORKilo
Egg 1
18K 100R 4000R for 10 16R for 10 20Rfor 10
Tea half kilo 6R 3,000R 6000R 20R 25R
Tomatoes 1 kilo 12-50R 6,000R 1000R 10R summer 20-30R
Potatoes 1 kilo 50K 200R lOOORKilo 1 OR Kilo 1 OR Kilo
Vodka 1 liter 15R 5,000R 24TR Liter 27-50R 100R Liter
Women's winter shoes 150R 40,000R 300-400 TR (import) 700-2,000 R 850-4,500R
Men's winter shoes 140R 60,000R 200TR (import) 700-l,200R 800-3,500R
The 1991 prices are from San Jose Mercury News, October 18, 1991. Prices for the subsequent years were provided by respondents in
Pereslavl-Zalessky in December 1993. The monetary system for the Russian Federation has been “reformed” and the value of the ruble has
fluctuated significantly. Following the August 1998 financial crisis, prices rose sharply. Prices have stabilized due to a growth in the demand
for domestically produced goods and government strategies to pay down foreign debt.
Exchange rate:
Rubles for
US dollars
October 1991
December 1993
November 1996
August 2000
.5884 States Bank of SU,
1247
5500
30
1.7652 Commerce, 32.0 Tourist
L / t
©O
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Fritz, Judith Harris
(author)
Core Title
A study of the significant changes in a small urban school district from 1991--2001 as perceived by educators in the city of Pereslavl -Zalessky in the Russian Federation
School
Rossier School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education
Degree Program
Education
Publisher
University of Southern California
(original),
University of Southern California. Libraries
(digital)
Tag
education, administration,OAI-PMH Harvest
Language
English
Contributor
Digitized by ProQuest
(provenance)
Advisor
Ferris, Robert (
committee chair
), Gothold, Stuart (
committee member
), Rideout, William M. (
committee member
)
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c16-481788
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UC11335072
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3133270.pdf
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481788
Document Type
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Fritz, Judith Harris
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texts
Source
University of Southern California
(contributing entity),
University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses
(collection)
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The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...
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Tags
education, administration