The vivid discussion on civil society in Eastern Europe that flourished during the late 1980s and early 1990s has faded somewhat, and been partly replaced by new attempts to conceptualise the nature of social change taking place in these countries. This book strives to continue and go beyond the civil society discourse by analysing the interrelationship between education and civic culture in post-communist countries. The volume offers detailed case studies, written by specialists from the region and from Western Europe and North America, examining everyday patterns of civic culture; the linkage between education and national identity, ethnicity, gender and religion; the experience and attitudes of youth; and attempts to render education systems better suited to the demands of post-communist society.

List of Tables List of Figures Acknowledgements Notes on the Contributors Introduction; S.Webber & I.Liikanen PART I: REVIVING CIVIC CULTURE Reflections on Social Networks and Collective Action in Russia; R.Alapuro Educational and Political Capital and the Breakthrough of Voluntary Association in Russian Karelia; I.Liikanen The Intelligentsia and the 'Breakdown of Culture' in Post-Soviet Russia; P.Stranius PART II: NATIONALITY REFRAMED National Schools and National Identity In and After the Soviet Union; J.Smith Ethnic Minorities in the Czech Education System: Before and After Transition (1945-1997); D.Canek New Paradigms of National Education in Multi-Ethnic Russia; G.Schmidt PART III: IDENTITY MATTERS Ethnographical Activism as a Form of Civic Education: A Case Study on School Museums in North-West Russia; K.Heikkinen Gender Representation in Educational Materials in the Period of Transition in Hungary; E.Thun Gender Study and Civic Culture in Contemporary Russia; A.Temkina Hypocritical Sexuality of the Late Soviet Period: Sexual Knowledge and Sexual Ignorance; E.Zdravomyslova The Struggle for the Souls of Young People: Competing Approaches to 'Spiritual' and Religious Education in Russia Today; J.Muckle PART IV: TOWARDS A BRIGHTER FUTURE? The Abandoned Children of Russia: From 'Privileged Class' to 'Underclass'; S.Stephenson Psychological Development Programmes for Civil Society Building; D.Javakhishvili & N.Sarjveladze The Culture of the Russian School and the Teaching Profession: Prospects for Change; S.Webber Pedagogy in Transition: From Labour Training to Humanistic Technology Education in Russia; J.Pitt & M.Pavlova Political Aspects of Reforming the Higher Education System in Ukraine; L.Pivneva Civic Education for Russia: An Outsider's View; J.Vaillant Index