School Education for the Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples of the North: Between Cultural Preservation and Educational Quality

Today, many ethnic minorities belong to the so-called “culture of poverty”, and education can be a major vehicle of upward social mobility for such groups. This article explores the characteristics of school education in the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North living in the Sakha Republic...

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Main Authors: Olga Vasileva, Vasilii Okhlopkov
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE) 2021-12-01
Series:Вопросы образования
Subjects:
Online Access:https://vo.hse.ru/article/view/15801
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author Olga Vasileva
Vasilii Okhlopkov
author_facet Olga Vasileva
Vasilii Okhlopkov
author_sort Olga Vasileva
collection DOAJ
description Today, many ethnic minorities belong to the so-called “culture of poverty”, and education can be a major vehicle of upward social mobility for such groups. This article explores the characteristics of school education in the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North living in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) of Russia, the educational trajectories pursued by indigenous youths, and how their preferences are influenced by national education policy and the ethnic component of education.  Data from a sociological survey of youth in areas of compact settlement of the indigenous peoples of the North and Unified State Exam (USE) scores served as the empirical basis of this study. Analysis of indigenous education policy documents allows making an inference that, even though the problems of teaching indigenous languages and setting up nomadic schools have been widely discussed, approaches to solving them are rather formalistic. At the same time, little attention is paid to problems experienced by stationary schools located in areas of compact settlement of the indigenous peoples of the North, which has negative effects on children’s starting opportunities and the development of their educational strategies. Interest in higher education has been noticeably decreasing among young people aged under 19, and educational inequality in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) has been exacerbated by the COVID‑19 pandemic. For the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North, social mobility opportunities hinge upon Internet access, so low levels of education digitalization in localities inhabited by indigenous peoples (compared to regional and national levels) predict a negative scenario for social wellbeing of this category of population.
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spelling doaj.art-372e5bb13eee413c9b9ac9988c0ad8902023-02-14T12:05:12ZengNational Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE)Вопросы образования1814-95452412-43542021-12-01428531010.17323/1814-9545-2021-4-285-31015801School Education for the Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples of the North: Between Cultural Preservation and Educational QualityOlga Vasileva0Vasilii Okhlopkov1Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of SciencesAutonomous Subdivision of the Russian Public Opinion Research Center in Yakutsk; Institute for Humanities Research and Indigenous Studies of the North, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of SciencesToday, many ethnic minorities belong to the so-called “culture of poverty”, and education can be a major vehicle of upward social mobility for such groups. This article explores the characteristics of school education in the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North living in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) of Russia, the educational trajectories pursued by indigenous youths, and how their preferences are influenced by national education policy and the ethnic component of education.  Data from a sociological survey of youth in areas of compact settlement of the indigenous peoples of the North and Unified State Exam (USE) scores served as the empirical basis of this study. Analysis of indigenous education policy documents allows making an inference that, even though the problems of teaching indigenous languages and setting up nomadic schools have been widely discussed, approaches to solving them are rather formalistic. At the same time, little attention is paid to problems experienced by stationary schools located in areas of compact settlement of the indigenous peoples of the North, which has negative effects on children’s starting opportunities and the development of their educational strategies. Interest in higher education has been noticeably decreasing among young people aged under 19, and educational inequality in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) has been exacerbated by the COVID‑19 pandemic. For the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North, social mobility opportunities hinge upon Internet access, so low levels of education digitalization in localities inhabited by indigenous peoples (compared to regional and national levels) predict a negative scenario for social wellbeing of this category of population.https://vo.hse.ru/article/view/15801schoolsocial inequalitysocial mobilitysecondary educationdigitalizationethnic minoritiesethnocultural educationindigenous small-numbered peoples of the northsocial structure
spellingShingle Olga Vasileva
Vasilii Okhlopkov
School Education for the Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples of the North: Between Cultural Preservation and Educational Quality
Вопросы образования
school
social inequality
social mobility
secondary education
digitalization
ethnic minorities
ethnocultural education
indigenous small-numbered peoples of the north
social structure
title School Education for the Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples of the North: Between Cultural Preservation and Educational Quality
title_full School Education for the Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples of the North: Between Cultural Preservation and Educational Quality
title_fullStr School Education for the Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples of the North: Between Cultural Preservation and Educational Quality
title_full_unstemmed School Education for the Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples of the North: Between Cultural Preservation and Educational Quality
title_short School Education for the Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples of the North: Between Cultural Preservation and Educational Quality
title_sort school education for the indigenous small numbered peoples of the north between cultural preservation and educational quality
topic school
social inequality
social mobility
secondary education
digitalization
ethnic minorities
ethnocultural education
indigenous small-numbered peoples of the north
social structure
url https://vo.hse.ru/article/view/15801
work_keys_str_mv AT olgavasileva schooleducationfortheindigenoussmallnumberedpeoplesofthenorthbetweenculturalpreservationandeducationalquality
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