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Introduction
This volume is a continuation of the previously published work Russian
Mathematics Education: History and World Significance. As its title
indicates, its primary focus is on Russian programs and practices
in school mathematics education. Thus, it deals mainly with the
contemporary situation, although this does not rule out a historical
perspective, without which it is often impossible to understand what is
happening today. Practices that are widespread and established at the
time of the book’s publication may change in the near future. More
profound characteristics, positions, and traditions, however, do not
change quickly: the aim of this volume is to help readers to become
acquainted with them and to understand them.
These traditions, however, may be understood in different ways.
More precisely, it may be said that a genuine understanding of
what has happened and what is happening in Russian mathematics
education requires a recognition of the fact that Russian mathematics
education includes different traditions and different perspectives on
these traditions. The editors of these two volumes have strived to
represent this variety of perspectives. Thus, invited contributors include
well-known figures in Russian education, the authors of widely used
and sometimes competing textbooks, as well as mathematics educators
who are currently working outside of Russia.
The chapters in this volume are devoted to different aspects of
mathematics education in Russia and to different processes taking place
in it. First chapter by Alexander Karp and Leonid Zvavich discusses
mathematics lessons and the traditional approaches to structuring
mathematics lessons in Russia. This chapter also contains basic infor-
mation about the Russian system of mathematics education that may
be useful to the readers.
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viii
Russian Mathematics Education: Programs and Practices
Mathematical subjects and courses taught in Russian schools are
addressed in special chapters in this volume. Olga Ivashova analyzes
the elementary school mathematics program in chapter two. The next
chapter, by Alexander Karp and Alexey Werner, is devoted to the course
in geometry — that is distributed over five years in Russia (USSR), in
contrast to many other countries. Liudmila Kuznetsova, Elena Sedova,
Svetlana Suvorova, Saule Troitskaya discuss the teaching of algebra;
Mikhael Jackubson describes instruction in elementary calculus (which
is a required course for all students in the higher grades); and Evgeny
Bunimovich addresses the teaching of topics that are new to Russian
schools — combinatorics, probability, and statistics.
Subsequent chapters are devoted to the structures and systems in
Russian mathematics education, important for students of different
ages and for the teaching of different mathematical subjects. Alexander
Karp traces the history, practices, and distinctive features of so-called
schools with an advanced course of study in mathematics and schools
specializing in the humanities, which are of relatively recent provenance.
The next chapter, written by Alexander Karp and Leonid Zvavich, is
devoted to mathematics assessment in Russian schools and the chapter
that follows it, written by Albina Marushina and Maksim Pratusevich,
addresses extracurricular work in mathematics.
Finally, the last chapter, written by Alexander Karp and Roza Leikin,
differs somewhat from the preceding ones. Its subject is not the school
itself, but academic studies devoted to mathematics education. The
authors characterize the directions, goals, and styles of academic studies
in mathematics education in Russia over the last twenty years (mainly
by analyzing dissertational studies).
As in the first volume, several chapters were originally written in
Russian and subsequently translated into English. The editors wish
to thank Ilya Bernstein and Sergey Levchin for help in preparing the
manuscript for publication. The editors also express their gratitude
to Heather Gould and Gabriella Oldham for their assistance in
proofreading manuscripts.
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