Language education policy in the bilingual Republic of Tatarstan

Abstract

The Russian and Tatar languages are the official languages of the Republic of Tatarstan (Tatarstan), a federal subject of the Russian Federation. Tatar-Russian and Russian-Tatar bilingualism are one of the linguistic and cultural outcomes of the peaceful co-existence of the Tatars and Russians in the territory of Tatarstan and of the judicious language policy. Language education policy in Tatarstan is governed by the legislative acts of the Russian Federation as well as the Republic of Tatarstan. This research examines the current language education policy in Tatarstan and seeks to ascertain whether there are any contradictions between the Russian and Tatar legislations and which difficulties arise when implementing language education policy at comprehensive schools. To answer these research questions, the Russian and Tatar formal acts have been analysed and the principals of secondary comprehensive schools of Tatarstan have been interviewed. Ten principals from different localities of the republic (villages, towns and cities) have been involved in the research and contributed to the findings. The investigation has demonstrated that the language education policies of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan have different objectives concerning Tatar language education. The contradictions between the Russian and Tatar legislative acts complicate education management and the implementation of language education legislation in Tatarstan. In essence, it is significant to define the common aims and modalities of developing the Tatar language education policy in close cooperation between the Russian and Tatar authorities and education workers.