Armenia

Basic Data
Official Country Name:	Republic of Armenia
Region:	Middle East
Population:	3,344,336
Language(s):	Armenian, Russian
Literacy Rate:	99%
Number of Primary Schools:	1,402
Compulsory Schooling:	11 years
Public Expenditure on Education:	2.0%
Foreign Students in National Universities:	869
Libraries:	1,300
Educational Enrollment:	Primary: 256,475
	Secondary: 372,187
	Higher: 35,517
Educational Enrollment Rate:	Primary: 87%
	Secondary: 90%
	Higher: 12%
Teachers:	Primary: 13,620
	Higher: 4,065
Student-Teacher Ratio:	Primary: 19:1
Female Enrollment Rate:	Secondary: 79%

History & Background

Located in Asia Minor, Armenia borders Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, Azerbaijan (including the disputed Nagorno Karabagh region) to the east and southwest, and Iran to the south. While the historic Armenian kingdom once extended into northeast Turkey and northwest Iran, from the Caspian to the Mediterranean seas, Armenia is the smallest of the 15 former Soviet Socialist republics, at only 29,800 sq km (11,490 sq mi) in size. The population is 3.8 million. Although for centuries most Armenians lived in highlands tending animals, today 68 percent occupy the nation's towns and urban areas.

Education in Armenia has long been regarded as a vital part of the nation's identity and heritage. An ancient culture and mountainous land, Armenia was located at the center of what has been called the "cradle of civilization." Unfortunately, because it was situated between Eastern and Western civilizations, the country was continually caught in the turmoil of war. At the same time, however, its seat astride trade and migration routes between Europe and Asia Minor allowed goods and ideas to pass frequently through the land. Intercourse with China, for example, may have helped bring to the west some of the tools and knowledge that aided in events of the Renaissance such as the discovery of the new world.

Over time, Armenia developed a unique language, extensive literature, and distinctive art and architecture, all the while sustaining several dynasties. In 301 A.D., it was the first nation to adopt Christianity as the official state religion; subsequently, Armenian schooling has been closely connected with the Armenian Apostolic Church at various stages of the nation's history.

Until the fifth century, Armenians wrote in Greek, Aramaic, Syriac, or other alphabets. In 406 A.D., the clergyman Mesrob Mashtots created the original Armenian alphabet of 36 letters (two more were later added). Immediately afterwards, the first Armenian schools opened. They were state-run and accessible to a large population.

In the seventh century, Anania Shirakatsi developed a primary school that marked a milestone in education. Shirakatsi's writing gained renown outside Armenia for pioneering ideas such as tailoring material according to age and emphasizing not only content but methods of teaching.

One of the first institutions of higher education, the Academy of Tatev, was founded in the ninth century. Other schools and tremendous scholarship emerged over the next 400 years in centers of education throughout Armenia. Notably, one of the historic educators and deacons of the time, Hovhannes Sarkavag, was distinguished for arguing that love of the child was central to teaching. Although an invasion by Seljuk Turks in the eleventh century caused the first large-scale emigration of Armenians, universities were founded, such as University of Gladzor in 1280. The reestablished University of Tatev, celebrated beyond the borders of the country, was referred to as a "Second Athens,"with instruction in music, aesthetics, and philosophy. These medieval Armenian institutions conferred degrees of "Archimandrite" and "Rabbi," upon passing of written examinations and defense of theses. From the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries, libraries issued forth and the first schoolbooks were pioneered.

Just as the West began exploring new lands and engaging new ideas in earnest, the East began to degenerate. By the sixteenth century, increasing numbers of schools were forced to close as the land was invaded repeatedly. Soon, most of Armenia was ravaged and fragmented. With no leader, its people amounted to a small Christian cluster surrounded by Muslims and nomads. For many years, the Armenian culture and its people dispersed, with their cultural life developing primarily in centers abroad, in Moscow, Venice, Tiblisi, and elsewhere.

Yet by the 1800s, Armenian intellectual life began to expand again as contact with Europe grew. Armenians helped build the first printing house in the Middle East in 1638 in Iran. The first novel ever written in spoken Armenian was produced by Khatchadour Abovian (1805-1848), making leisure reading accessible to more than solely the rich or educated. Armenians—at home and abroad—grew an extensive educational system during this time, developing schools, textbooks, teacher training, and educational policies to guide the process of learning across the lifespan.

This cultural and educational revival was aggressively dismantled, however, as Armenians fell victim to one of history's first genocides. In 1894 the Ottoman Turks began a massacre of over 200,000 Armenians which lasted for the next two years. The Russians closed Armenian schools and ordered the confiscation of church property, while the Turks wanted to move Armenians to Mesopotamia. After WWI broke out in 1915, the Young Turk party of the Ottoman Turkish Empire oversaw the systematic elimination of 1.5 million Armenians and the deportation of thousands more in a genocidal campaign that lasted until 1918.

With the advent of a brief period of statehood between 1918-1920, the first Armenian republic was established, building on the progress that had been made decades earlier—and then destroyed—to help create a foundation for today's educational system. By 1920, the institutions of school and church were separated. Over the next 20 years illiteracy was reduced drastically, from 83 percent to 16 percent between 1932 and 1940. Compulsory secondary education evolved in the 1960s with extensive construction and development of preschool, vocational, secondary and higher education systems.

After 1921, the Communist Soviet era dominated and information and literature from non-Communist nations was censored. Stalin's policy of "Russification"discouraged Armenians from preserving traditions and customs of their predecessors. By the 1980s, however, Gorbachev's rise to power brought new notions of reform, namely glasnost (openness in the media) and perestroika (rebuilding and restoring prosperity).

Just as positive change began to come to the region, however, the nation and its education system suffered the devastating blow of a massive earthquake in 1988. Some 50 villages were hit directly, and more than 500 schools were utterly destroyed. In all, estimates of as many as 50,000 Armenians were killed and 500,000 people left homeless by the earthquake. Conditions in the earthquake region continue to be dire, with tens of thousands of people still living in—and business and schools being conducted in—the temporary housing they were granted at the time of the quake.

Meanwhile, a war had ignited earlier in the year with neighboring Azerbaijan over the small region of Nagorno Karabagh ("mountainous fertile black gardens"), spawned after hundreds of Armenians were raped, maimed, and killed in Sumgait, north of Baku. Although a tenuous cease-fire has been in place since 1993, Azerbaijan and Turkey continue to impose a blockade around Armenia, leaving the nation in a crippling energy crisis and desperate economic condition.

Upon the breakup of the USSR, the Armenian people declared themselves a republic in 1991, for only the second time in nearly 700 years. While the main cities bustle with activity, they badly need modernizing due to lack of state financing for the fledgling nation.

Constitutional & Legal Foundations

Even amidst difficult economic times, the value of education continues to be held in high regard in Armenia. The present educational system has its roots in the brief period of independence during the formation of the first Republic of Armenia (1918-1920), and was solidified in the ensuing Soviet era of governance (1920-1990).

The significant role of education in the nation's set of priorities can be found within the first chapter of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, which outlines the Foundations of Constitutional Order. Article 11 charges the government with the task of supporting the development of Armenian education and cultural life. The Constitution further states that every citizen is entitled to free public secondary education, as well as free higher and specialized education as granted on a competitive basis.

The Ministry of Education and Science manages the general primary, secondary, and higher educational systems in Armenia. Included among its many responsibilities are the implementation of national education policy, the preparation of legislative bills, the enactment of reform measures, the establishment of performance indicators for decision-making, and the control of the system's resources.

During the Soviet era, the entire educational system rested under state control. Since then, the government has crafted decrees and laws to decentralize school administration. As part of the nation's Constitution, the Law of the Republic of Armenia on Education is organized into 54 articles, outlining the State's goals, objectives, and guarantees regarding the nation's educational system. In this regard, the Law defines education as the "process of training and instruction based on the interests of the person, the society, and the state, aimed at the maintenance of knowledge and its transmission to the new generation."

Article 4 situates the foundation of the state educational policy in "the national school, the main goal of which is preparation of persons with adequate professional and all-round (sic) knowledge, educated in the spirit of patriotism, state and humanity." The full system is divided into six areas: preschool, general (elementary and secondary), vocational, higher professional, supplementary education, and postgraduate professional education. Through the national school system is developed "the spiritual and intellectual potential of the Armenian people, maintenance and development of national and universal values."As an ally in these endeavors, "The Armenian Church also has a contribution in this affair."

Article 5 offers the principles embedded in the school system, including national dignity, democracy, universal values, assistance to the Diaspora, secular teaching, and equality between and access to both state and private educational offerings. For its part, the State guarantees citizens the "right to education, irrespective of nationality, race, sex, language, religion, political or other opinions, social origin, economic situation or other circumstances." Beyond these intangible, yet valuable, principles, the government goes so far as to pledge to sustain "regular functioning of the educational system, and creat(e) socioeconomic conditions" conducive to receiving a formal education. Towards this end, the system of secondary education is free, and textbooks are also made available without charge or for nominal rental fees.

In the years since independence, dramatic changes have been made to the national educational system, including new mechanisms for managing individual schools and selecting school directors. Local control over school management has shifted to city governors who appoint school councils that approve costs estimates and financial-economic reports, and also select school directors. While this has been regarded as an effective means of improving school management, the reforms have not sufficiently addressed issues of training and implementation. Steps are being taken to address these issues at the school level via a national program involving the training of school headmasters.

Educational System—Overview

Armenia's public educational system is manifested in four levels of schooling: preprimary (ages three to six), primary (grades one to three), intermediate (grades four to eight) and senior (grades nine to ten). The latter three levels are often grouped in the category of general education. Public schooling is free and compulsory until the age of sixteen, essentially through the senior level. From this point, students undergo testing to help determine their placement and financial support in either vocational study (two-year degrees) or from an extensive array of higher education institutions, both private and public. These are further broken down into baccalaureate (four-year undergraduate degrees), magistracy (two-year Master's degrees), and post-graduate (two-year scientific degrees). In sum, Armenia is home to more than 1,400 schools, not including preschools, kindergartens, and specialized institutions.

Armenian became the primary language of instruction in 1990, replacing Russian in this capacity. As with many of the changes that took hold after independence, teachers were not trained or prepared for this transition, and the quality of instructional delivery was affected. Of course, new textbooks presenting the national curriculum needed to be written and printed to reflect this departure, despite a sharp reduction in school expenditures. School construction and maintenance expenditures also dropped dramatically, and outdated laboratory and technical equipment could not be replaced.

The school year begins for all grade levels on September 1 and is divided into semesters and quarters. It lasts 30 weeks for first grade and 34 weeks for the remaining grades. Classes are held in 45-minute intervals. Armenian language and literature, mathematics, and physical education are taught at every grade level. Russian, other foreign languages, and electives are offered beginning in the second grade and continuing throughout the system. The teaching of natural sciences (including ecology, biology, chemistry, physics, and astrology) begins in grade four, and the teaching of social sciences (including history, geography, economics, political science, and law) begins in fifth grade. Courses in "culture, nature and work" (such as music, fine arts, drawing, handwork, and life skills) begin in fifth grade and continue throughout schooling. Military training is reserved for the senior school level. Grades are calculated on a five-point system. In most areas of the country, class sizes are set at 25-30 pupils per class at the secondary level, and 15-20 per class in higher education.

To be sure, the educational system continues to undergo a number of reforms, loosely geared toward addressing the quality and relevance of curricula, as well as promoting decentralization and parental involvement. This has required a major overhaul in the system, given that until 1991 the schools followed prescribed Soviet curricula and methods of teaching and learning. In essence, this meant that the same topics and methodologies were employed for all children in all settings, regardless of differences in demographics, abilities, or interests. However, new approaches have been introduced which emphasize the development of problem solving and decision making skills, as well as tailoring educational experiences for students. As one example, a senior school program with advanced study in selected subjects has been introduced.

Preprimary & Primary Education

Primary education became compulsory in 1932, helping dramatically to reduce illiteracy rates in the nation to nearly nonexistent. The Soviet system created and funded the preschool network in order to accommodate working mothers, who received 1.5 years of maternity leave before they had to return to the workforce. Parents' main contributions went towards clothing and shoes, as the cost of food in the preschools was either free or heavily subsidized. Teachers were held in the highest regard.

After the collapse of the government, funding for preprimary education fell dramatically, forcing many to close and leaving others to deteriorate. In 1997, the government sharply reduced the percentage of the education budget allocation for preschools, using the funds instead to increase spending on basic education and shifting the control of the preprimary system to local municipalities.

Article 17 of the Law on Education lists seven objectives of preschool education: aiding in physical, moral and intellectual development; laying the foundation for native and foreign language development; developing mathematical and other skills; learning rules of behavior and cultural and historical norms; nurturing respect for the Armenian nation; and preparing students for general education. The system is divided between nursery schools (which accommodate children ages one to three) and kindergartens (for children ages three to seven). The schools offer either day care or educational activities, though many combine both of these practices.

While the system relies heavily on strong preprimary schooling—since formal education does not begin until the age of seven—enrollment rates in both preschool and kindergarten began to decline in the late 1980s. Armenia's under-five population numbers approximately 232,000. Although 64,000 children attend preschool and kindergarten in Armenia, this number represents a decrease in attendance; figures show 1989 enrollment rates at 27.8 percent, while the number declined to 15 percent in 1997. Some explanations for this drop in enrollment include both insufficient resources and unprepared local governing bodies abruptly tasked with oversight, leading to a decline in the quality of the system. Further, the high rate of unemployment undoubtedly added to this trend, as many caregivers chose to keep children at home with them instead of sending them off to school. And, by introducing cost into the equation, parents had to decide whether or not it was worthwhile to send their children to preprimary institutions. In 1996, the tuition averaged about 500 dram (roughly $1 USD) a month, but the costs have since risen eight-fold. Private preschools began to emerge in 1999, with 15 schools registered nationally that year.

Secondary Education

Article 18 of the Law on Education expands upon the goals outlined for preschool education, noting that general education in Armenia seeks to develop children's knowledge of nature and the self, understanding of values and politics, and military preparation. More specifically, the focus of elementary school (grades one to three) is on the cultivation of language, mathematics, and work skills, with an eye towards character education. The middle school (grades four to eight) brings in a focus on science and healthy living, as well as helping to develop a sense of independence and self-care in the students. Senior school (grades nine to ten) brings these knowledge bases together and offers supplementary training for students with specialized academic interests. A school can offer a single grade level or multiple grade levels.

Children with special needs (including those who are without families) are either mainstreamed into the school system or are placed in schools designed to accommodate their particular needs. Evening and boarding schools, as well as orphanages, are available for this purpose.

The Armenian parliament is considering a draft law that proposes an expansion of the secondary education system, stretching it to eleven or twelve years. This is in response to additional curricula introduced into the system, increasing the number of subjects available for study by as many as 33 percent. The Ministry of Education and Science believes that this expansion is not only necessary for Armenia's school system to meet international standards, but also the rising standards of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

In total, Armenia's under-eighteen population numbers approximately 1,101,000; nearly 750,000 children attend Armenia's general school system. Elementary school enrollment remains high in Armenia, with school-children achieving literacy at this juncture. However, it is important to recognize the growing number of homeless children and child refugees in Armenia, whose lack of schooling not only adversely impacts their own lives but also affects the larger social fabric of which they are a part.

Two examinations are administered at the end of fourth grade in Armenian and mathematics. Students are re-tested in these content areas at the end of intermediate school, at which time they are also tested in a foreign language. Upon completion of these grade levels and exams, students then choose to pursue either the third level of general education—known as senior school—or else to attend a more specialized vocational school.

Significant curriculum reforms have occurred in the post-Soviet era, offering students (and teachers) new paths of inquiry into subjects and topics they had not previously considered—the most notable of which can be found in the arenas of civics and history. In addition to the scope of the new curricula and textbook materials, these texts offer colorful photos and maps as well as space-appropriate passages, which are radical departures from the previously bland, overcrowded, and imageless layout of books from the Soviet era.

In this spirit, a new civics book was introduced in 1999, dealing with issues including human rights, the Armenian constitution, and the workings of the branches of government. The book, supported by funds from Junior Achievement of Armenia as well as USAID, has attained a formal place in the curriculum and is in its second edition.

In addition, significant changes have been made in the manner which Armenian history is taught in Armenia. While the subject was always included in the curriculum, it was not given much importance, being subsumed into the broader spectrum of global and Soviet history. This approach has changed, largely due to the work of a group of academicians and educators who authored texts for seventh and eight grades as well as high school usage, which ambitiously address the beginnings of Armenian history through the 1990s.

These topics are further explored in a textbook that considers "The History of the Armenian Question,"which relates to the study of the national struggle for freedom, emancipation, and recognition of the Armenian Genocide. These issues of state and ethnic identity provide students with a rich and introspective base of knowledge that previously was inaccessible to them. Written for a ninth grade class level, the books are used in the curriculum followed by students who chose to pursue a humanities track after completing their eighth grade year. In addition to the textbook, brief (to keep costs down) but comprehensive teacher manuals and professional development seminars were created, offering educators guidance in both content and in methodology. Funding for these materials—which went through a second printing due to high demand—came from both a private donor and the Armenian Educational Foundation.

Higher Education

Higher education is widespread throughout Armenia, with the nation ranking first in educational attainment in the 1989 general census of the former Soviet Union. Adult literacy rates in Armenia remain exceptionally high, with UNICEF figures showing as many as 100 percent of the male population and 99 percent of the female population over the age of fifteen possessing the ability to read and write. Between 1920 and 1986, over 250,000 individuals were trained in the nation's universities. Armenia's private universities enroll some 20,000 students, while public higher education offers schooling to 34,000 students.

While the developing private school system is still working to streamline its accreditation with the Ministry of Education and Science, students are finding these institutions to be valuable options. Partially due to their focus on social sciences, as well as their flexibility regarding enrollment figures, these schools are driving the public universities into an era of reform as well. In this way, the state institutions are moving towards the American three-tiered system, whereby bachelor's, masters, and doctoral degrees are awarded.

Leading public institutions have achieved strong reputations for their contributions to scholarship in their respective fields, including Yerevan State University, the State Engineering University of Armenia, Yerevan State Medical University, the Armenian Academy of Agriculture, Yerevan State Institute for Russian and Foreign Languages, and Yerevan Komitas Conservatory. Funding continues to be an issue for public universities, however. Before independence, these schools were offered free of charge to Armenian students. Now, prospective students must pass an examination to gain entry to the schools, and based upon their scores they are either granted free admission or required to pay tuition. As such, students compete in large numbers for a select few scholarships. With annual tuition in some specialized departments running as high as $1500 USD, students are under great pressure to try to obtain—and maintain—these scholarships. Recipients are reevaluated annually and are only able to continue studying under scholarship if they display academic excellence.

A vital addition to the higher education landscape in Armenia has been the American University of Armenia (AUA). Opened in 1991, AUA offers English-taught graduate-level programs in Business, Engineering, Political Science, Health Sciences and Law, as well as providing training in English as a Foreign Language. Tuition runs nearly $1000 USD annually. Russia followed with a university in Armenia in 1998, and, in 2000, France also opened an Armenian university.

The National Academy of Sciences of Armenia represents the nation's brightest scholars and researchers and includes over fifty scientific and miscellaneous organizations. Founded in 1943, the Academy boasts 116 academicians, 337 doctors of sciences, and 1,152 candidates of sciences. As with other former Soviet republics, however, Armenian universities, technical institutes and research centers suffered a "brain drain" after independence. While this certainly continues to be a concern, the Ministry of Education and Science is taking steps to keep the nation's intelligentsia working in Armenia. In this regard, the Ministry is trying to encourage and develop links and connections to the international research community that allow scholars to integrate their work in the global landscape without having to leave the country to do so. To help support their efforts, the diasporan organization Fund for Armenian Relief has funded over $100,000 in grants to help foster the research projects of Armenian scientists and scholars.

Administration, Finance, & Educational Research

The 1996 decentralization of school and community governance brought additional economic challenges as well as influence by special interest groups. Initially, regional government offices managed all educational activities and appointments, and were given discretionary funds by the central treasury. All of this fell under the supervision of the Ministry of Education and Science. A revised decree in 1997 shifted control to the local Council which oversees spending and appointments.

The financial constraints upon the educational system prove to be perhaps the most daunting issue facing education in Armenia. Alarmingly, per-pupil public expenditures fell from $600 USD in 1985 to an estimated $36 USD in 1998. As a result, various programs have been enacted in an attempt to address the financial needs of the nation's schools and families.

At the same time, a great deal of assistance comes from outside Armenia. Organizations and individuals from the Armenian Diaspora have contributed funds for the construction of school buildings, for example. The Armenian Educational Foundation has created scholarship programs for students and is helping to renovate approximately 100 schools. The Children's Television Workshop includes Armenia on its list of countries that air "Open Sesame," which provides culturally neutral episodes of "Sesame Street" dubbed into the Armenian language. In addition, many international organizations offer their support via the purchase of computers and professional development. Further, outside funds have come from organizations such as UNHCR, UNDP, UNICEF, World Bank, Catholic Refugee Services, the Norwegian government, the Armenian Relief Society, the Fund for Armenian Relief, and Aznavour pour L'Armenie. A notable UNICEF-assisted program established textbook rental policy, wherein students pay a nominal fee (150 drams or approximately $.25 USD) to rent each book, which is returned at the end of the school year. Rental fees are banked by the schools and allowed to accrue interest to be used towards the purchase of additional texts every four years.

Teaching Profession

As with nearly every other aspect of the educational system in Armenia, the teaching profession has undergone dramatic changes since the fall of the Soviet Union. While teachers continue to be respected as professionals, and 80 percent hold degrees from institutions of higher education or professional pedagogical institutes, the post-Soviet corps tends to be less motivated, undergo fewer hours of professional development training, and hold lower status in their communities.

These problems are exaggerated in the rural areas, where conditions are poorer and fewer opportunities exist for educators to supplement their salaries. The workweek averages between twelve and eighteen hours, although many teachers work the low end of the spectrum because they hold other jobs. Their salaries declined from $200 USD a month in the 1980s, down to as low as $10 USD a month in 1993. Further, the teaching force—of which women comprise the vast majority—often goes unpaid for several months on end. As a result, private tutoring has become an unavoidable sideline business for many teachers. In an attempt to address the pressing concern over teacher salaries, the government decided in 1998 to exempt educational institutions from paying income tax, with the intent that some of the funds that would be retained could be used towards increasing teacher salaries at the school level.

Deteriorating conditions in the schools also adversely affect the profession, both in terms of motivation and efficacy. Until 1990, building renovations were completed every five years in all schools. By the 1993-1994 school year, the percentage of schools undergoing repair fell from twenty to five percent. Minor needs often go neglected, leading to the complete disrepair of many buildings. This deprioritization is reflected in the budget, which in 1997 allocated only $2 USD per pupil for renovations and did not allow for any repair in 1998 other than in disaster areas.

Another issue of concern lies in the discrepancy in the student-teacher ratio, in that the number of trained teachers is increasing while the student population declines due to a decreasing birth rate and financial pressures that force some children (mostly boys) to leave school to help support their families. This results in a pupil-teacher ratio that is too small for the system to sustain—averaging around 1:10—and had led to measures by the government to rationalize the system and decrease the overall number of teachers.

Summary

Since Armenia acquired independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, funding for education declined drastically as costs rose. The nation decentralized school and community governance in 1997 and shifted control of spending and appointments to local councils to attempt to address financial needs of families. But annual preprimary tuition for a single student now can cost as much as the annual salary of a teacher. Consequently, many children do not enroll in formal schools until age seven. Unfortunately, the teaching profession suffers too, due to decreases in training opportunities, status, salaries, and overall motivation in the post-Soviet era.

Higher education, however, boasts the highest ranking of the former Soviet states in terms of educational attainment. The finest of the nation's scholars and researchers belong to the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia. Also, adult literacy rates hovered at 100 percent through 1999.

In the midst of this period of inordinate financial strain, Armenia is striving to enact educational innovations to address the shifting sociopolitical realities it faces. Curricula and methods of teaching and learning are being reinvented anew. Many teachers, however, are skeptical of these radical changes and resistant to the reforms that are being thrust upon them. Understandably, they hesitate to simply adopt the succession of changes they have had no role in enacting, at the same time that they are teaching under increasingly difficult circumstances. As a result, there is a notable disconnect between traditional and progressive philosophies of education in Armenia, and educators' voices need to be heard as the nation struggles to resolve the tenuous, interconnected challenges facing the educational and political systems of the nation. Of course, these same teachers need to reflect upon the new and vibrant ways that they can contribute to this process in their individual classrooms—always, of course, with focus on the enrichment of the nation's educational offerings. Ultimately, this will require dialogue on the parts of all stakeholders in the system—teachers, students, parents, policymakers, and administrators—and holds the most promise for establishing a credible and thoughtful program of reform.

To this end, research in adult development has shown that for adults to make any serious life changes (such as those faced by Armenia's teachers), they need first to take ownership of their own personal development. With empathic support and inspired leadership, teachers in Armenia could take charge of recreating their own educational system. At the same time, they could utilize research by Kegan, Lauer, and Torosyan on fostering this development—for themselves as well as their students. One potential approach is to avoid treating issues as separate and disconnected (e.g. "funding," "training," "motivation" in education) and instead identify the way of thinking that brought about the issues or problems in the first place. Thus an overarching problem such as "poor teacher training" can be seen as being "caused" at least partially by individuals needing a better understanding of how to "listen," "cooperate," and "take leadership." Often, once people can see that such skills form a larger pattern, they can better transfer the abilities to manage other problems that come their way. Moreover, with globalization and the new world economy's emphasis on "ideas" and "entrepreneurs as agents of change," the Armenian people may benefit from creating such a "transformative" (rather than merely "informative") system of education more than ever before.

For its long-term future, Armenia could indeed gain from considering its current status within the Chinese definition of "crisis"—as a time of both "danger" and "opportunity." This turning point carries the stark risk that the nation may initially fall into steep decline, but also brings the very real opportunity ultimately to renew intellectual and cultural resources to meet both the mental and material demands of modern life.

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—Nicole E. Vartanian and Roben Torosyan