Schooling around the World (Part 4)

This post looks at how the Russian Federation organizes its schools and what Russian classrooms look like.

Like France with its Ministry of Education and a national system of schooling, Russia also has a highly centralized form of schooling. The Russian Federation’s Ministry of Education funds, staffs, and governs 85 regions throughout the country. This system of age-graded schooling is as follows:

Structure of the education system in Russia (Zawacki-Richter & Kourotchkina, 2012) 

For a description of the funding and operation of the nation’s schools including comparisons with European countries’ systems, see Wikipedia entry.

Going from the general to the specific, what do primary, elementary, and secondary classrooms look like? A sampling of photos offer clues of how Russian teachers organize their classrooms and teach lessons.

What similarities and differences appear between American, French, German, and Russian classrooms?

Children attend a lesson in a school in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Sept. 7, 2020. Russian schools, which switched to online classes in late March when the coronavirus pandemic swept the country, have reopened this month. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)

Moscow public school chemistry classroom of 14 year-old students Rus047

ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA – SEP, 1, 2014: First-grade students and teacher are in school classroom at first lesson of school year.

Novosibirsk, Russia – May 26, 2018: Elementary school students study in classroom
 — Photo by vorobevaola

A class called the “Basis of Secular Ethics” is popular among fourth grade students complying with Russia’ new mandate to take a religion class. (Photo by Matthew Brunwasser.)

Student teacher Irina Vinogradova points to a map of the ancient world on the big screen, as she delivers a history lesson at School No. 1580 in Moscow, Nov. 10, 2020

Moscow, Russia – September 2017: Classroom with pupils in school uniform. Teacher leading a lesson.
Stock Photo ID: 378527374
Copyright: Mikhalitskaia

CHAPAEVSK, SAMARA REGION, RUSSIA – OCTOBER 24, 2018: School kids in the classroom sitting at their desks listening to the teacher