State and prospects of additional astronomy education of school students in Russia: continuity and variability

the paper analyzes the current state of astronomy education at schools in Russia in the situation when the subject is withdrawn from the curriculum. The authors examine the pros and cons of potential subject’s reintroduction and justify the relevance of astronomy education in the modern world. Moreover, the paper shows the main options available to school students to acquire the knowledge of astronomy such as: school and city clubs, academic competitions (winners have an opportunity to enter leading Russian universities on special terms), planetarium classes, astronomy excursions to the observatories, museums and universities, observations of interesting or rare astronomical phenomena, independent work on the Internet. The authors suggest the following ways to further develop astronomy education: modernization of astronomy component in existing general education subjects (primarily, social science, geography and physics), increasing the quantity and improving the quality of the Russian-language literature on the subject, enhancing the prestige of science and scientists in Russia. The article describes the practice of Petrozavodsk State University in creating the astronomy club for school students from grade 1 to 11. The authors outline the course structure (the division of students into two age groups, intensive and cyclical nature of the programs, variability of classes, an important role of research projects) and the means of instruction. The paper also analyzes the emerging issues, offers possible solutions and specifies the directions for the development of the proposed educational program. The authors emphasize that implementation of various astronomy projects is important for students in the framework of lifelong science education and it is improving the future university student community.