Special Initiatives in Mathematics and Science Education
In 2013, a new conceptual framework for the development of mathematics education in the Russian Federation was approved.8 It includes basic principles, goals, tasks, and directions for the development of mathematics education in Russia. The main ideas of the document are as follows:
- High quality mathematics education is necessary for a successful life in modern society
- The main problems in mathematics education are low student motivation, outdated curricula, a gap in continuity between the levels of education, and a lack of qualified teachers
- The main challenges in the development of mathematics education are to modernize educational curricula at all levels (ensuring their continuity), to eliminate student achievement gaps in basic mathematical knowledge, to ensure the availability of publicly available information resources, and to facilitate the application of modern technologies in the educational process
- Particular attention should be paid to raising the quality of mathematics teachers and the support provided by mathematics education leaders and increasing the popularization of mathematics
- It is important to develop educational initiatives both in traditional forms (e.g., mathematics clubs and competitions) and in new forms (e.g., interactive museums of mathematics, mathematics projects on Internet portals and social networks, and professional mathematics Internet communities)
Initiatives at the federal and regional levels mainly tend to include support for high achieving students (e.g., the organization of special centers for talented students by region with a federal center in Sochi) and for developing regional quality assessment systems with an emphasis on supporting the learning process (e.g., in the Krasnojarsk Kraj region or Jamalo-Nenetsky Okrug).