«The New Russian School: Pre-Universities» is a new collection from the Institute of Education at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, prepared and published with the support of the HSE Art and Design School. This publication is a logical continuation of the research collection, «The New Senior School Abroad: Solution Options.»
This monograph models three well-known Russian educational organizations that are engaged in innovative research aimed at renewing the secondary school education process. The authors propose ways to utilize accumulated experience to potentially modernize the Russian school system, which focuses on preparing high school students for admission to leading national and international universities.
The author collective of the monograph features experts in educational management—leaders, staff, and graduates of the Master’s program in «Educational Management» at the HSE Institute of Education. The collection is addressed to administrators and teams of educational organizations (schools and universities), as well as authors of pedagogical initiatives who may be interested in organizing experimental and practical research. The materials in the monograph are intended for use by school principals, leaders of educational governance bodies, and the broader community of education professionals.
The educational institutions described in the monograph include the HSE Lyceum—the first school in Russia to be a university division; the «Future School» in the Kaliningrad region, which organically integrates various pedagogical cultures; and the private suburban boarding school «Letovo.» Each case study was developed by a school staff member and an external expert, thus offering a «holistic perspective.» Furthermore, the external expert bases their observations on an artistic and emotional component. Each case study concludes with a section titled «Potential Directions for Experimental Work, ” which provides suggestions for consideration and implementation.
A dedicated section of the monograph describes the spatial configurations of the buildings housing the schools, examining the geometry of these spaces as an educational resource. Given that all the buildings of the schools under review were constructed before the emergence of innovative educational theories, observing how space adapts to realize new schemas and ideas is a crucial component of understanding design and architectural solutions for educational environments.
The design and layout of the monograph were prepared by specialists from the HSE Art and Design Laboratory. All photographic materials illustrating the collection were created by the research authors during their visits to the educational institutions under study.
