Context without future: webs of beliefs structuring the professional agency of teachers in Russian schools in Estonia

Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education . 2023. Vol. 53. No. 6. P. 930–948.

Liudmila Zaichenko

The problem of the socio-cultural integration of minorities is a pressing issue for nation states. The position of the post-Soviet Baltic countries is quite peculiar because of the collective memory associated with annexation and the many traumatic events it caused. Education systems are particularly liable for integration programmes. The case of post-Soviet Estonia is unique, where a parallel education system still exists with minorities constituting 26% of the population. Applying the expert interviews method, I explore the cultural-cognitive institutional dimension which frames the professional agency of minority teachers. I come to the conclusion that this dimension is path-dependent in nature and is a constituent part of the way the minority teachers direct their socio-biographical journeys. This path-dependency may be critical not only for their agency but for shaping their path to integration.

Keywords: этнические меньшинства, Estonia, Эстония, русские школы за рубежом, ethnic minorities, agency, агентность, russian schools, интерпретивизм, interpretivism