Why doesn't the telephone ring? : Reform of educational standards in Russia
The article engages with the ongoing debate about the global/local dynamics in the process of neoliberal educational reform by exploring public perception of the neoliberal idea of 'educational standardisation' in post-Soviet Russia. Using a variety of discursive and textual analysis techniques, the article analyses the presentation of the concept in the official government discourse, benchmarking it against nationally-grounded pedagogical concerns and aspirations. It contrasts the interpretative schemes underlying neoliberal, official and local interpretations of educational standards and exposes points of tension surrounding the concept at the linguistic, metaphorical and conceptual levels. It show how despite sharing the terminology the public and the official discourses are not 'talking about the same thing,' generating widespread confusion at grassroots level and obscuring the direction of reform. I further deconstruct logic for popular resistance to the concept of educational standard by uncovering cultural metaphors underlying negative interpretations of 'standardisation'. I conclude by problematising the mediating role of the Russian government in translating new educational values into the Russian culture code, highlighting the importance of educational policy as a socially interpreted phenomenon and calling for a further conceptualisation of the cultural variable in contemporary theory of educational change. ; Peer reviewed