PRINCIPIOS CONTABLES

The city of Tartu is the second most populated city in Estonia, and seemingly the best environment out of the three cases studies for an established integration program to flourish. Situated in the southeast of Estonia, the city is home to roughly 100,000 inhabitants. Around 20% of the population is Russian-speaking and the University of Tartu has many courses taught in English and Russian, contributing to the multicultural atmosphere of the “City of Good Thoughts.”58 With the exception of some significant Russian Orthodox churches and Russian cuisine-themed restaurants, the presence of the Russian-speaking community is not as obviously felt as in Tallinn or Narva. Estonian language skills are much more essential for everyday life, and as such, the success of immersion programs, such as the one in the school being studied, have a a greater impact on the students, faculty and community as a whole.

The late-language immersion program, which is supported by the Integration Foundation as well, is structured differently than the early immersion plan. The students are introduced to studying more subjects in Estonian, such as History and Social Sciences, in the sixth form, while they are still being taught primarily in Russian, again with the additional foreign language. In the seventh form a drastic change occurs and the majority of classes are then taught in Estonian, with only a few courses being taught in Russian. This plan remains steady through the eighth and ninth forms. A visual example of this can be seen in the image59 below:

58 _{Tartu in figures, 2009,}

http://info.raad.tartu.ee/teated.nsf/0/6EB55BC13DEC7375C22575890039E4A4/$FILE/tartu_arv udes_2009_ENG_spread_final.pdf

Figure 10

With the new Strategic Plan from the Estonian Ministry of Science and Education, the continuation of the 60/40 study formula will be gradually implemented at all secondary schools by 2011.60 _{It would therefore seem that students already familiar with this format due to late-}

language immersion programs would make this transition much easier than those who have not experienced such a curriculum.

The school in Tartu was the only one of the three schools visited which had a state funded late-language immersion program in place as an option for its students. With the seat of the Ministry of Education and Research as well as the prestigious University of Tartu situated close by, there is an abundance of resources available to this school. The director has done much research personally on the development of immersion curricula, and as the head of the school she is an excellent representative of the openness and willingness that is necessary for integration to come to fruition. By inviting two of the best students from the late-language immersion class to       

60 _{“Strategy for General Education System 2008-2013,” Minstry of Education and Research,}

Government order no. 26, dated January 19, 2007; “Estonian Integration Strategy, 2008-2013,” 28.

be her translators, the director61 was able to show the advancements the school had made through individuals as opposed to facts and numbers. The interviewer noted:

“In the director’s office, I felt very welcomed, and I only had to wait a few minutes until the student translators came to join us. They all explained the immersion program to me, and were very enthusiastic about the results of the program. The students were very involved in the discussion and their out-going natures and their English skills impressed me. After the interview, the students took me on a tour of the school and they spoke about the places they want to study in the future and what kind of music they like to listen to. I was taken to the choir room where a group of younger students were practicing a Russian folk song, and then to the library where the majority of the books were written in Estonian. The environment was very open culturally it seemed. The students then invited me to sit in on their math class as well as the school’s assembly that they were performing in. The Minister of Culture was at the assembly to talk about the up-coming currency change in both Estonian and at times Russian, in order to ensure understanding. After the assembly I observed the interactions between the teachers and the students and they were able to talk freely in Estonian and Russian. Overall, I was very impressed with the school in Tartu.”

The Tartu school has a strong attachment to the community and commitment to bilingual education. The school has been working with the Ministry of Science and Education since the 2001 in helping to compile research data. More recently there have also been developments for the implementation of early language immersion (which the interviewer was not able to witness first hand or retrieve the statistics). All of these factors prove that this school is really ahead of the curve, and is moving rapidly towards the goal of social cohesion.

Each school has something very unique to contribute to this study. With the various levels of immersion programs, attitudes of the individuals interviewed, geographical peculiarities and community involvement, we can see a wide range from stagnation to progress toward integration and social cohesion. By juxtaposing what has been seen with these case studies in regards to Berry’s pre-conditions for multiculturalism to function properly, alongside the other interviews conducted in researching this subject, an analysis can be drawn as to what successes and/or failures have come from the government mandated strategies for integration in Estonian educational reform.

CHAPTER FIVE: Interviews