This article presents the findings of research in Russia on the degree to which teachers and school principals are active and how they currently network with their colleagues. It builds on the work of David Frost and John Bangs (2012) on teacher self-efficacy using a survey and semi-structured interviews with teachers and principals to collect…

This article examines how, in the context of the increasing deprofessionalization of the teaching professional both nationally and internationally, teachers have attempted to reshape the notion of "professionalism" in a post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan, where teachers function within a top-down, bureaucratic education system. The article employs…

The work of teachers is subject to changing not only policies and reforms but also the complexities and contradictions of societal transformations. This paper examines teachers' perceptions of the impact of post-Soviet transformations on teacher collaboration amid the changing education policies and reforms in Ukraine. Drawing on qualitative…

This article presents a comparative-historical analysis of access to higher education in Georgia. It describes the workings of corrupt channels during the Soviet and early post-Soviet periods and the role of standardized tests in fighting corruption in higher education admission processes after introduction of the Unified National Entrance…

Elevating the status of women was among the primary Soviet objectives in Central Asia. One way of achieving this was to create a new profession--school teaching--that would become an important career for them. Newly minted women professionals were scientifically trained in pedagogical institutes, then placed in the growing number of secondary…

The perceptions of the implementation of the Bologna reforms in Armenian higher education were examined in a questionnaire study with 279 university teachers, revealing how eight leading higher education institutions have adapted to the political directive to create alignment with the Bologna principles. The literature on educational change is…

The article investigates the ways in which minority schools in Latvia, Estonia, and Slovakia resist the dominant narratives of nation and citizenship and provide an alternative model of civil enculturation for students. It provides evidence to support the hypothesis that differences between competing narratives of statehood and nationhood among…

This article analyzes qualitative data obtained from focus groups with students learning in schools with a majority and minority language of instruction from Estonia, Latvia, Romania, and Slovakia. The focus groups were developed within the framework of the project "Divided Education, Divided Citizens?" conducted by the Network of Education Policy…

Prejudice and systematic discrimination have often been mentioned as major causes for the chronic underachievement of Roma students. In this paper we present a case study of a Romanian teacher involved in Second Chance, an educational program implemented in Romania in 2004 for the benefit of disadvantaged groups such as the Roma population. Since…

This study summarizes the empirical results of school-level research done in Georgia, one of the post-Soviet, Caucasian states, in October 2009. The findings drawn from qualitative and quantitative data describe current policies regarding teacher salaries and incentives in Georgia and identify future possible policy strategies aimed at the…

This study suggests the need for complex research approaches that provide richer, contested, and nondichotomous portrayals of classrooms, schooling life, and teachers. Drawing from a qualitative study of Tajik teachers' practices and perspectives (Niyozov, 2001) and studies on teaching conducted in Kyrgyzstan (De Young, Reeves, & Valyaeva , 2006;…

It is not clear how best to support youth with type 1 diabetes to participate in physical education (PE) at school. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions of facilitators and barriers to PE in youth with type 1 diabetes and to determine how schools can help these individuals to be physically active. Interviews and focus groups were…

This article is devoted to certain aspects of the cold war reflected in the teaching of mathematics in the Soviet Union. The author deals specifically with direct manifestations of the cold war, not with the teaching of mathematics during the cold war in general. His aim is not to present a comprehensive examination of school programs in…

Physical Educationalists in many western and westernised societies across the globe are facing new challenges as system wide changes take place increasing the role of private bodies (e.g. Academy trusts) in the delivery of school based education. This reflective and rather personal paper considers the place and meaning of "inclusion" and…

Research shows that teachers' grading is influenced by non-achievement factors in addition to official criteria, such as knowledge and skills. Some grading criteria are internalised by the teacher, who is sometimes unable to verbalise the criteria used and refers to what is called a "gut feeling". Therefore, transparency, validity…