Models of Training Mediators for Education: Experience of Siberia and Kazakhstan

Abstract

The article describes various models of training mediators for the education system in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan. A comparative analysis of the mediation services development in Siberia and Kazakhstan for the possibilities and prospects of cooperation and interaction is carried out. The article presents specific features of the model for training intercultural mediators for resolving interethnic conflicts in the Krasnoyarsk Krai. This model meets the needs of multinational Siberian society and is aimed at solving regional problems in the education system. A peculiar characteristic of the model for the Krasnoyarsk Krai is its multi-level nature, openness and continuity of preparation, with the inclusion of formal and non-formal education elements. Interdisciplinary nature of interaction of the network partners involved in the training and retraining of mediators for the education system gives an opportunity to use the potential and resources of professional mediators and trainers of Siberia (Kemerovo, Irkutsk), Federal Institute of Mediation, Moscow, and National Academy of Education named after Y. Altynsarin (Kazakhstan). The model for the intercultural mediators training developed at the School of Education, Psychology and Sociology has been tested for two years as a part of its implementation in the Master programme of the School of Education, Psychology and Sociology within the frames of the educational programme “Mediation in Education”, advanced training courses, three International Youth Summer Schools “Multicultural Mediation in Education”, expertseminars, intensive schools “Mediation is the Profession of the 21st Century”, and a competition for high school students of the Krasnoyarsk Krai “Mediation Is The Profession Of The Future”.