Scholarly record

THE ROLE OF THE FAMILY IN PROVIDING EDUCATIONAL EQUALITY IN RUSSIAN RURAL SCHOOLS

Antonida Lukina, Irina Peterson

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to investigate and analyse main factors influencing on equal opportunity in education of rural pupils in different regions of Russia. Rural schools are not provided enough with the support and resources they need to keep pace with today’s educational demands. Rural schools failed to respond to current developments, changes, and trends in education. Methodology of our research included surveys with more than 1000 respondents to study educational conditionals of rural schoolchildren in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, located right in the middle of Russia and Republic of Karelia, located in the north – west of Russia, on the border of Finland and interviews with experts, educators, rural schoolteachers and parents. The major finding of our investigation was that family played a crucial role in equalizing educational opportunities. Parents could play a compensatory role in ensuring equal education in rural schools. In spite of territorial remoteness of these regions it was found out that problems of rural education were similar. We guess, this study could be applied to the whole territory of Russia. Society and educators tried to ignore the fact that the majority of low performing schools were in rural, economically struggling areas. Most of these schools lacked sufficient equipment and resources to accommodate every pupil effectively. However, it is their right to be educated despite the circumstances. We suppose the resources that are provided now to low performing rural schools should not clearly be the same as the resources that are provided in academically thriving urban schools. The research filled the gap in the role of rural school parents. But rural schools have a serious advantage over urban ones – more integral perception of pupils by teachers and less formality in teachers/ pupils communication. Another solution to this problem could be teacher development courses tailoring to the real needs of rural schools or targeted Master’s Programmes in Education. The research should produce a change in scientific thinking and educational practice of rural schools and rural families.

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