First of an occasional series of "on-the-ground" reports by correspondents in various geographical regions. The seminar about the challenges of modern Russian education concerns the peculiarities of management of different educational systems (federal, regional, municipal, school) and of change management. (MLF)

Kogan, who has headed the Samara (Russia) Education Department since 1992, believes education reforms cannot succeed without overarching objectives and desirable outcomes. Communities are struggling with cooperatively choosing and implementing curricular and other reforms because they have no "civil society" or democratic traditions on which to…

Compares some Western and Russian school-management approaches. Drawing on Larry Cuban's work, reveals differences in language and terms used; shows deep cultural differences in how scholars study the field; explains difficulties in performing some transcultural reconceptualizations; and demonstrates how alien approaches can facilitate scholars'…