From sites of occupation to symbols of multiculturalism : reconceptualizing minority education in post-Soviet Latvia / by Iveta Silova.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Silova, Iveta, author.

Series:

Research in multicultural education and international perspectives.

Research in multicultural education and international perspectives

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Multicultural education--Latvia.

Multicultural education.

Minorities--Education--Latvia.

Minorities.

Education and state--Latvia.

Education and state.

Post-communism--Latvia.

Post-communism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (256 p.)

Place of Publication:

Greenwich, Conn. : IAP, Information Age Pub. Inc., c2006.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Rarely do we find books in educational research that are both thick in context and rich in theory. Usually books emphasize one over the other. Authors that engage in thick descriptions tend to fall short of explaining what larger theoretical issue their case stands for. Vice versa, authors who make a case for a particular theory do not always describe their case in sufficient detail. From Sites to Occupation to Symbols of Multiculturalism is a remarkable exception. The book is a major break-through in case study methodology, multiculturalism and policy borrowing/lending research.The book investigates a puzzle: how is it that one and the same system, the system of separate schooling for Latvian and Russian speakers, is seen as a site of occupation during one period (1987-1990) and as a symbol of multiculturalism in the next (1991-1999)? The system has stayed in place, but the meaning attached to it has been completely inverted. Is cultural change without structural change possible? Does it mean that the dual school system has become anachronistic, and will eventually disappear in light of the cultural changes of the past decade? The book is the story of a great metamorphosis of one and the same system of separate schooling that, at first unbelievable, gradually makes sense.

Contents:

Introduction: between the (Soviet) past and a (Western) future : education reform during post-Soviet transformation processes

Legacies of the past : the historical context of education reform

Recreating European "space" in Latvian education

The new meanings of minority education : global pressures, local politics, and conceptual disputes

Institutionalizing integration in education policy and practice : rebellion under the radar

Education reform at a crossroads : broken promises, lost opportunities

Conclusion : reconciling international pressures with domestic politics : the "national problem" re-conceptualized.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 191-204) and index.

Print version record.

ISBN:

1-281-38245-0

9786611382452

1-60752-777-4