Internationalization of schools in Russia

Whereas Russian universities have mostly adopted the paradigm of internationalization in higher education that is now widespread in Europe and worldwide, the internationalization of schools in Russia is more complex and ambiguous. This article addresses the questions about the main characteristics of the internationalization of schools in Russia and investigates how the concept of international education and internationalization of schools has developed over time with regard to the interaction of policies, pedagogical models and practices in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia. It takes a closer systematic look at the landscape of the internationalization of schools and different types of schools with an international profile (global competitiveness type, human-oriented type, and language-oriented type) and explores the development of school profiles in mainstream schools far from Russian megacities. Lastly, the article provides reflections on the internationalization of schools in Russia in the context of educational policy in post-socialist Russia, neoliberal reforms and Russia’s search for a new position in a globalized world. The research is based on a review of literature and data from a small-scale empirical study of mainstream schools in a medium-sized city.