• A
  • A
  • A
  • ABC
  • ABC
  • ABC
  • А
  • А
  • А
  • А
  • А
Regular version of the site

Laboratory for School Administration

Promoting evidence-based management and leadership in general education



Support

We guide regional education systems and organisations through comprehensive development projects—from initial analysis to successful implementation

Help

We help school principals and leadership teams to become effective agents of change

Research

We investigate effective management practices and pioneer innovative school models within general education

Design

We design strategic concepts, educational frameworks, and school development programmes to ensure the success of every student
 

What We Study

School Management Practices

  • Managing Student Learning and Career Pathways
  • Ensuring Educational Quality
  • HR and Talent Management
  • Data-Driven School Administration

 


 

School Models for Unique Contexts

  • University-Affiliated Schools
  • Schools in Single-Industry Towns
  • Schools in Remote Regions (Far East & Arctic)​​​​​​
  • Hybrid and Blended Learning Models

 


 

Developing School Leaders

  • Leadership Competency Frameworks
  • Designing Professional Career Pathways
  • Tailored Training & Development Programmes
  • Innovative Approaches to Selection and Ongoing Support

 


 

Launching New Schools: From Concept to Reality

  • Concept Development & Feasibility
  • Educational Model Design
  • Building the Founding Team & Student Body
  • Implementing Recruitment and Operational Systems

 


 

Our Applied Projects

 

 

This project aims to increase the share of successful education-to-career pathways for school graduates in Kamchatka Krai. It implements a holistic model for guiding adolescents through hands-on trials, team-based and life-skill projects, all aligned with the demands of the regional labour market. Students develop digital, legal, and financial literacy based on real-life situations, while educators receive support in mastering modern methods for organising project-based learning and working with underachieving students.

Customer: the Government of Kamchatka Krai, the VEB.RF State Development Corporation
Managerial Talent Pool for Moscow Education
We developed a comprehensive talent pipeline model to identify and prepare future school principals. This included creating a detailed leadership competency matrix and corresponding assessment tools.
To equip these leaders for success, we designed targeted development programmes. These programmes focus on building essential hard and soft skills, while guiding participants through the creation of practical educational projects that address today's most pressing challenges in schools.

Customer: the Moscow Department of Education and Science
Development of a Mentoring Model for Newly Appointed Moscow School Principals
The research involved a comprehensive analysis of global mentoring models and in-depth interviews with newly-appointed practicing school leaders to find out the key challenges they face at the beginning of their career and specifics of the context. This work enabled the team to synthesise contemporary approaches to support novice school principals, key focus areas, and other emerging priorities. The resulting insights formed the foundation for a proposed mentoring model designed specifically for newly appointed school principals.

Customer: the Moscow Department of Education and Science
Educational Concept and Requirements for Architectural Solutions for a School in the World-Class Neimark IT Campus
To support the development of the new inter-university IT campus and innovation cluster in Nizhny Novgorod, we created a foundational educational concept for a dedicated school. This school is designed to serve three core strategic goals: attracting future students to the IT campus, making IT education more appealing, and enhancing the social infrastructure for the cluster's future workforce. Based on this approved concept and pedagogical model, we then developed the full architectural and design project brief, outlining all technical and spatial requirements for the future school.

Customer: the Ministry of Education of the Nizhny Novgorod Region
Social Research of School Practices as Part of a New School Construction Project in Sochi
An exploratory study was conducted to gain a deep, contextual understanding of Sochi as a resort city, informing the construction and development of a new school concept for the region. The laboratory's team mapped the city's social and educational landscape. Through a series of interviews with representatives from schools, supplementary education providers, parents, and students, we identified key challenges and contradictions within the local ecosystem. These critical insights directly shaped the requirements for the new institution's architectural design, ensuring it is responsive to the community's unique needs.

Customer: Nedvex
New Municipal Model for Quality Management of General Education in Sergach
This initiative consolidated several key projects to establish a systemic municipal approach to improving educational outcomes in Sergach, Nizhny Novgorod Region. The work began by unifying leaders from all social sector institutions—schools, colleges, culture, sports, and supplementary education—to develop a client-oriented city-wide strategy. It then implemented targeted support, including intensive sessions for 61 at-risk ninth-grade students in mathematics, which helped 85% achieve knowledge gains and 49% pass the Basic State Exam (OGE) on their first try. Concurrently, a data-driven project was launched, using deep analysis of contextual (eg, student demographics) and pedagogical factors to develop 10 local management initiatives. These initiatives focused on targeted support for at-risk students, developing professional teacher communities, increasing parental engagement, and monitoring individual student progress.

Customer: the Administration of the Sergach Municipal District

Research Projects

 

 

This research project provides a detailed analysis of school divisions within 33 of Russia’s top 100 universities (RAEX-2023). The study examines their geographic distribution, management structures, academic specialisations, and more.
This collective monograph explores the pioneering educational models of three leading Russian institutions. Through innovative research, these organisations have reimagined the secondary education process, offering fresh frameworks for school renewal.
This analytical monograph investigates leading secondary schools in Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore, the USA, and Kazakhstan. It highlights actionable solutions and development pathways, offering Russian school leaders insights for meaningful transformation.

Expertise and Consulting Areas

 

 

We consult

for regional education authorities and development agencies, using data analysis and insights from leading Russian and international practices

We train

school leadership teams in project management, change leadership, and evidence-based decision-making

We design

strategies, educational models, and development programmes, and provide hands-on support through implementation

We provide

expert review for school concepts, educational programmes, and architectural designs

We support

new school launches from the ground up: conducting contextual analysis, developing the foundational concept, and training the leadership team

Educational Programmes and Projects Involving the Centre’s Experts

Publications

  • Distance Learning in Russian Schools during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Predicting Student Outcomes

    The outburst of COVID had a major impact on the lives of people all over the world. While educational systems were developing plans, preparing teachers and schools for transition to distance learning, students were left in the situation which required them to organize their studies by themselves. This paper attempts to identify predictors of student learning outcomes, namely, students’ self-rated achievements, learning effort, and emotions, during the lockdown based on the data derived via the School Barometer survey in Russia. A total of 22080 students from 85 Russian regions participated in the survey. Relative weight analysis found statistically significant predictors for students’ learning outcomes: ‘learning effort’ and ‘negative emotions’’. The paper addresses such issues as student autonomy, teaching practices, and access to education.

    Educational studies. 2024. Vol. 1. No. 3. P. 27-44.

  • Book chapter

    Gibson M. T., Outhwaite D., Sahlin S. et al.

    Leadership Preparation and Development Policies in England, Sweden and Russia: Exploring Policy and Practice

    In bk.: Teacher Education as an Ongoing Professional Trajectory. Implications for Policy and Practice. Cham: Springer, 2023. P. 161-179.

All publications