A study op inseryice educ a hon and classroom practices un azerbaijan: into

THE CONTEXT OF EDUCATION IN AZERBAIJAN
The Post-Soviet Era

According to the World Bank Project Appraisal Document (1999) on a Proposed Learning and Innovation Credit (Report No. 18991-AZ), Azerbaijan inherited "a developed education from the Former Soviet Union (FSU), and its impressive educational statistics at all levels of education place it in the ranks of middle income countries, and ahead of several FSU countries." They note, however, that education in Azerbaijan is also confronting several major challenges that relate to inservice education and classroom practices as it emerges as an independent state: 1) inappropriate curriculum content; 2) problems in the roles of institutions that design and prov ide inserv ice

S Alan V CRAWFORD
education; 3) decline in budgetary resources; 4) inefficient use of scarce resources; 5) deteriorating infrastructure of buildings, textbooks, and ancillary, equipment and materials; and 6) inequities in access to education.

During the Soviet era, the primary and secondary school curriculum was the same for all students. Recent reforms demonstrate more respect for the interests of students and reflect growing signs of democratization in Azeri education. The standard curriculum consisted of 37 hours of required work each week, which placed great pressure on students. "This has changed beginning in the tilth grade, when students can make some choices about courses of interest. At the tenth grade level, there are 24 hours of required coufsewörk that all students take, and they also choose eight hours of elective work related to their university and career goals.

According to Mr. Mil jafar Gasanov, Vice Rector ofthc Azerbaijan Inservice fducation Institute, program content has changed since the Soviet era, especially with respect to the humanitarian subjects of literature and history. He adds, however, that the way that program content is taught is the same. Teaching strategies have changed little.

.Another dominant theme in many Azeri schools is the provision of instruction in both Azeri and Russian. In Baku and other large cities, both Azeri- and Russian-language medium programs are provided, often in the same school, with either Russian- or Azeri-as-a-second language courses, as well. In Azeri-language medium schools in Baku, Russian is offered as a foreign language, usually along with English, and often with German, French, or other languages, as well. In the countryside, most programs are conducted in Azeri, although Russian and English are usually provided as foreign languages. There are few Russian language medium schools in rural areas.