Credential Templates, The Former USSR and the Russian Federation

Course Equivalencies
• If complete secondary education is part of the program, use academic courses only:
Russian/Regional language and literature (e.g., Ukrainian) = Language Arts Grade 12
Algebra and Geometry = Pure Math 30
English = ESL Grade 12
Physics = Physics 30
Chemistry = Chemistry 30
Biology = Biology 30
• Otherwise (complete secondary education is obtained prior to admission), 30-level courses if
no secondary documents available.
IQAS Rationale:
Teacher Education in the Former USSR
In the former USSR there was no professional certification requirement for teachers. The
professional title of teacher was awarded on academic credentials and could be listed as педагог
(pedagog), учитель (uchitel’), or преподаватель (prepodavatel’) - these terms were
synonymous.
Pre-school and primary school teachers did not receive a specialization in a particular
subject. They taught all subjects to a respective class of students, pre-school or primary. In
contrast, lower secondary and upper secondary teachers specialized in one or two subjects. They
generally taught these subjects to different classes of students, lower secondary and upper
secondary.
Higher Vocational Institutions (Pedagocial Uchilishche)
Pedagocial uchilishche trained mainly pre-school and primary school teachers, as well as
some lower secondary school teachers. At a pedagogical uchilishche, holders of the Certificate of
Completion of Secondary Education completed a two-year program. Holders of the Certificate of
Incomplete Secondary Education trained for three-and-a-half years for pre-school teaching or
four years for primary or lower secondary school teaching. The curriculum included foundation
studies, education subjects, practice teaching, as well as secondary education subjects for
students without completed secondary education. The Diploma of Higher Vocational Education
was awarded as a Diplom with a relevant professional title.
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