An American View on Russian Education

The following is an interview with Professor James J. Hearn who comes from the USA. Mr. Hearn has worked around the world (the USA, South America, Belarus and other places) and he is currently a visiting professor at the Economic Academy and the Moscow International School of Business.

- What are the main differences in the systems of education between Russia and the USA?

- There is one important difference. In America I feel that students have more opportunity to develop themselves. In Russia many students are intelligent, but they are passive. Russian students are trained not to take initiative. They are good listeners, but most of them are reserved. Last year I had a student, who always took initiative and gave responses to my presentations. And I really appreciated that. Students must be more than just listeners. Education for me is when I present something and then students discuss the topic and share their ideas.

- How can you characterize Russian students?

- Many Russian students write and think well. For me, an average Russian student writes in English as well as American students do. For example, this year I asked my students to write a paper on the film «A Civic Action». And lots of them wrote some really sophisticated and interesting ones. Russian students are educated really well, but they miss the feeling of openness, as they are taught to study in strict discipline.

- Is a foreign professor in Russia restricted in what and how he teaches?

- I feel no pressure here, I feel very free. Nobody has ever criticized me or told me how I should teach. However, I know that I’m in another country, so I try to be tactful in presenting issues. When I speak about my or your country, I try to be fair. I give articles to the students that express the reality from different points of views. Every country has its own understanding of some problems, so I try to be intercultural in discussing the issues with my students.

- Mr. Hearn, in your opinion, have students changed since your days as a student?

- Two things have changed: students today are more worldly – they use the Internet and they know a lot, and the second thing that changed, is that students today have lots of ambitions. Students have many opportunities that, for example, I didn’t have, when I was a student. IT systems are available now and the Internet is very helpful. Students are more global, they have more understanding of cultural differences.

- Speaking about yourself, did your university unite students? Did you make a lot of friends then?

- In America we make friends wherever we are. Classmates are not as close as they are in Russia. We study subjects by individual choice, so the groups always change. It’s not like in Russia, where students study together in the same group for a few years. So I made relations with different people according to where I was: in Law School, in Oxford (where I studied), in California, in Washington, where I’ve lived for 45 years, and on different foreign internships.

- Mr. Hearn, what reforms would you recommend for the Russian system of education?

- I’ve been teaching Russian students for 4-5 years and I noticed that the students who have been overseas come back with a different attitude to life. They become more open, ambitious and talkative. So the first thing I would recommend is to develop more democratic process in classes. Russian students need to develop such skills that would help them to compete in their future life, they have to open their creativity up. One Russian professor told me that Russian students don’t know what is happening in the world as they are not getting the updated information. So the second thing I would recommend is to be more global, to give students more information about the world.

Questions

1. Where does Professor James J. Hearn come from?

2. What countries did he work in?

3. Where did he study?

4. What is the main difference between educational systems of Russia and the USA, in his opinion?

5. How are Russian students characterized?

6. Is the professor limited in his ways of teaching being abroad?

7. What are his teaching methods based on?

8. What changes have happened since his student time?

9. Is it easy for Americans to make friends? Are American groupmates close and united?

10. What reforms does the professor recommend for the Russian system of education?

TEXT 10. Read and translate the text. Make up 10 questions on its contents.

Education in Russia

Russia’s higher education system started with the foundation of the universities in Moscow and St. Petersburg in the middle of the 18^th century. The system was constructed similar to that of Germany. The pursuit of higher education was and still is considered to be very prestigious.

Russians have always shown a great concern for education. The right to education is stated in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. It’s ensured by compulsory secondary schools, vocational schools and higher education establishments. It is also ensured by the development of extramural and evening courses and the system of state scholarships and grants. Education in Russia is compulsory up to the 9^th form inclusive. If a pupil of secondary school wishes to go on with education, he or she must stay at school for two more years.

Primary and secondary schools together comprise 11 years of study. Every school has a «core curriculum» of academic subjects. After finishing the 9^th form one can go on to a vocational school which offers programmes of academic subjects and a programme of training in a technical field, or a profession. After finishing the 11^th form of a secondary school, a lyceum or a gymnasium, one can go into higher education. All applicants must take competitive exams. Higher education institutions, that is institutes or universities, offer a programme of academic subjects for undergraduates in a variety of fields.

Due to great demands of the international educational organizations, the system of education in Russia began to change. Universities began transitioning to a system similar to that of Britain and the USA: 4 years for the Bachelor’s degree and 2 years for a Master’s Degree. The Bachelor’s degree is awarded after defending a diploma project prepared under the guidance of a supervisor and passing the final exams. Holders of the Bachelor’s degree are admitted to enter the Master’s degree programme. Access to this programme is competitive. The Master’s degree is awarded after successful completion of two years’ full-time study. Students must carry out a one-year research including practice and defend a thesis which constitutes an original contribution and sit for final examinations.

The programmes are elaborated in accordance with the State Educational Standards which regulate almost 80% of their content. The other 20% are elaborated by the university itself.