Democracy in the Russian School The Reform Movement in Education Since 1984

Framed by an introductory essay by Ben Eklof, the translated documents in this volume are intended to help readers understand Soviet educational reform efforts. These primary sources, based on previously unpublished statistical data and public opinion surveys, depict current conditions in the schools of the RSFSR. Reflecting the approach of the controversial historian Edward Dneprov, now the minister of education serving under Boris Yeltsin, the documents describe the radical reform philosophy and programme first published in "Teachers Gazette" in 1988, which now serves as the operative legislation for all secondary schools.;The VNIK (Temporary Scientific Research Collective on the Schools) reform movement is a microcosm of perestroika in terms of goals; bureaucratic politics; and the complicated process of implementation. This glimpse into Soviet education in a period of turmoil will interest all those who follow Soviet politics and society.