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Rarely do we find books in educational research that are both thick in context and rich in theory. Usually books emphasize one over the other. Authors that engage in thick descriptions tend to fall short of explaining what larger theoretical issue their case stands for. Vice versa, authors who make a case for a particular theory do not always describe their case in sufficient detail. From Sites to Occupation to Symbols of Multiculturalism is a remarkable exception. The book is a major break-through in case study methodology, multiculturalism and policy borrowing/lending research.
The book investigates a puzzle: how is it that one and the same system, the system of separate schooling for Latvian and Russian speakers, is seen as a site of occupation during one period (1987-1990) and as a symbol of multiculturalism in the next (1991-1999)? The system has stayed in place, but the meaning attached to it has been completely inverted. Is cultural change without structural change possible? Does it mean that the dual school system has become anachronistic, and will eventually disappear in light of the cultural changes of the past decade? The book is the story of a great metamorphosis of one and the same system of separate schooling that, at first unbelievable, gradually makes sense.
List of Acronyms.
List of Tables.
List of Figures.
Foreword; Gita Steiner-Khamsi.
Acknowledgments.
Introduction: Between The (Soviet) Past and The (Western) Future: Education Reform During Political Transformation.
Chapter 1. Legacies of the Past: The Historical Context of Minority Education Reform.
Chapter 2. Re-Creating European Space in Latvian Education.
Chapter 3. The New Meanings of Minority Education During the Transition Period: Global Pressures, Local Politics, and Conceptual Disputes.
Chapter 4. Institutionalizing Integration in Education Policy and Practice: Rebellion Under the Radar.
Chapter 5. Education Reform at a Crossroads: Broken Promises, Lost Opportunities.
Conclusion: Reconciling International Pressures with Domestic Politics: The "National Problem" Re-Conceptualized.