HISTORY EDUCATION IN EUROPE: TEN YEAR COOPERATION BETWEEN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION AND THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE Strasbourg 1 2 HISTORY EDUCATION IN EUROPE: TEN YEAR COOPERATION BETWEEN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION AND THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE 3 The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views and policy of the Council of Europe. 4 CONTENTS Prefaces by: ...............................................................................................................7 Mr Gabriele MAZZA, Director of School, Out-of-School and Higher Education, Council of Europe. Professor Andrey FURSENKO, Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. Academician Alexander CHUBARYAN, Director of the Institute of World History, Russian Academy of Sciences. Introduction by Ms Tatiana MINKINA-MILKO, Programme Manager, History Education Division, Council of Europe.......................................................13 Chapter 1 .................................................................................................................21 Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Council of Europe in the preparation of the standards in history teaching for schools in Russia. Assessment of skills acquire by pupils when learning history, by Professor Ludmila ALEKSASHKINA, Institute of Content and Methods in Education, Russian Academy of Education, Moscow. Chapter 2 .................................................................................................................36 Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Council of Europe in the preparation of new history textbooks, by Professor Ludmila ALEKSASHKINA, Institute of Content and Methods in Education, Russian Academy of Education, Moscow. Chapter 3 .................................................................................................................57 Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Council of Europe in the initial and in-service training of history teachers, by Dr Alexey KRUGOV, Vice-Rector, Stavropol State University. Chapter 4 .................................................................................................................84 Cooperation between the Russian Federation and the Council of Europe in the framework of regional and multilateral projects in history teaching, by Mr Vladimir BATSYN, Education Consultant, Moscow. 5 Appendix ..................................................................................................................122 List of activities organised in the framework of cooperation with the Council of Europe in the Russian Federation within bilateral and regional cooperation programmes from 1996 to 2006. -6- Preface by Mr Gabriele Mazza Director of School, Out-of-School and Higher Education Council of Europe This publication analyses the experience and results achieved over ten years of co-operation between the Council of Europe and the Russian Federation in history teaching in schools. As early as March 1996, when the Russian Federation became a member of the Council of Europe, issues connected with history teaching were already being considered a priority. Indeed, much attention had been given to this subject ever since the Council of Europe had been founded, and an expression of the importance of learning about the past in order to build the future of our continent can be found in such a fundamental document as the text of the European Cultural Convention of 1954. The Council of Europe has always considered history teaching as a subject with unique value and one which cannot be replaced by any other discipline. But just what makes history teaching essential? Firstly, it gives the young generation an opportunity to travel in a historical space while learning a great deal from previous experience, which results in an ability to better understand and evaluate present-day political and social processes. Historical knowledge, and not least an understanding of history, helps to develop such important skills as critical thinking, open-mindedness, an ability to reach independent conclusions and tolerance. As a result, young people are better prepared to cope with life in present-day society, to understand the value of cultural diversity, and to be willing to communicate with representatives of different cultures, religions and linguistic groups. Furthermore, historical knowledge can help young people to feel that they are not only citizens of their own countries, but also representatives of the European continent and even of the world as a whole. These are essential competences for citizens of democratic societies; they are essential elements of the democratic culture without which democratic societies cannot function and thrive. The views of the Council of Europe on history teaching are reflected in such documents as the Recommendation on history teaching adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly in 1996, and the Recommendation Rec (2001) 15 on history teaching in twenty-first-century Europe adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2001. Both of these Recommendations reflected the changes that had taken place in the late 1990s, when many European countries were going through a period of transition. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the notion of Europe changed, as it marked the starting point for the creation of a so-called Greater Europe. -7- The first Recommendation stresses that history teaching should be free of political and ideological influences; politicians have their own interpretation of history and history should not be used as an instrument for political manipulation. Learning about history is one of several ways of gaining knowledge of one’s roots, as well as being a gateway to the experiences and richness of the past of other cultures. The second Recommendation on history teaching in twenty-first-century Europe further highlights the need to understand differences, realise the value of diversity, respect others, develop intercultural dialogue and build relations on the basis of mutual understanding and tolerance. Furthermore, the importance of history teaching was clearly affirmed, at the highest political level, at the Council of Europe’s Summits of Heads of State and Government. In Vienna in 1993 and again in Strasbourg in 1997, it was recalled that the main challenges facing Europelay in the spheres of education and culture. Finally, the Action Plan adopted at the Third Summit in Warsaw in May 2005 included history-teaching in its list of priorities for the Council of Europe in the coming years. Cooperation between the Council of Europe and the Russian Federation has been unfolding as a response to the declared needs of the Russian Federation and in conformity with the Organisation’s standards and principles relating to education as a whole and history teaching in particular. During a decade of collaboration, the Council of Europe and the Russian Federation established a solid partnership at all levels: the Federal Ministry of Education and Science and regional administrations, non-governmental organisations, a wide audience of history teachers and, more importantly, their pupils who were involved in the discussions on the most significant issues of present-day history teaching. Activities organised within the framework of this co-operation took place in different regions of the Russian Federation and always met with great support at all levels, including those of high political importance. The seminars were opened in Ekaterinburg in 1998 by Mr Eduard Rossel (Governor of the Sverdlovsk region) and in Karachevo-Cherkessiya in 2001 by Mr Vladimir Semenov (at that time President of the Republic of Karachevo-Cherkessiya). The participants in the seminars were welcomed by Mr Kirsan Illumdjinov (President of the Republic of Kalmikiya) in Elista in 2002, Mr Leonid Potapov (President of the Republic of Buryatiya in Ulan-Ude) in 2003, and Mr Alexander Akimov (Vice President of the Republic Saha Yakutiya) in 2005. Practically all activities were attended by the regional Ministers of Education and were widely covered by the mass media including television, major newspapers and specialised journals dealing with history education. When preparing the activities, the Secretariat was engaged in permanent consultations with the officials of the Federal Ministry and, more recently, held regular meetings with Mr Andrey Fursenko, Minister of Education and Science -8- of the Russian Federation, who provided much guidance and assistance in the development and extension of our co-operation. Some of the activities organised in the Russian Federation during this period involved representatives from other international organisations: long-term partners of the Council of Europe, such as UNESCO, the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research (Germany), as well as EUROCLIO, a non- governmental European organisation of history educators. From the beginning, the Council of Europe aimed to accumulate the experience in history education gained by different countries and to make it accessible to all member states and, primarily, to European history educators. The ten-year cooperation with the Russian Federation made it possible to amass different experiences from almost every region in Russia and build up a vivid picture of cultural diversity. This will now be very valuable in the development of future Council of Europe projects, particularly the new intergovernmental project “The Image of the Other in History Teaching”, which will