Democracy Building and Post-Soviet Education: The Case of Armenia  

On Thursday, February 2nd at 6:30 p.m., in Fahy 236, Slavic Club is hosting a lecture, Democracy Building and Post-Soviet Education: The Case of Armenia, by Dr. Alison Price-Rom.

Dr. Price-Rom will examine past and current reforms in education and the pluses and minuses of spreading democracy through education in Armenia and elsewhere in the former republics of the Soviet Union and will offer suggestions for future projects and initiatives.

Since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, international organizations and NGOs have attempted to build democracy and civil society throughout the 15 former Soviet Republics through a variety of initiatives designed to reform governmental institutions and establish local, non-governmental organizations. During the 1990s, education reform in the former Soviet Republics became one of the primary means of instilling democratic and western values in the younger generation. In the case of Armenia, education reform initiatives brought about innovations in teacher training, instructional methods, school leadership and education funding. However, today textbooks and teaching materials still demonstrate stereotypical attitudes toward women and minorities, and recent school reforms have overlooked poor, rural communities.

Dr. Alison Price-Rom is an education consultant and currently teaches in the Department of Secondary and Special Education at Montclair State University. She completed her doctorate in International Education Development at Teachers College, Columbia University. She managed international education projects funded by the US State Department and USAID for the past 12 years and has been an education consultant in Armenia, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Uzbekistan. She has also taught Russian at Seton Hall University, Montclair State University and Drew University. She recently completed a consultancy for the Asian Development Bank in Armenia, where she reviewed the teacher training system there.

Everyone is welcome! Slavic food will be served!