Centre of teacher training for schools in the multicultural environment

Narva College is the only institution of higher education whose main task is training bilingual teachers for schools in the multicultural environment with either Russian or Estonian as the language of instruction.

The college’s location and curricula result in implementing the multilingual, first and foremost Estonian-Russian model of education. The aims and the curricula of Narva College have been driven by the need to create opportunities for the mainly Russian-speaking local youth so that they could gain access to good-quality higher education in their home region. The important output of the curricula is that the students are fluent in Estonian at the level required by the Language Act. Local and regional needs have also widely been taken into account while developing different curricula.

The college started with teacher training, mainly for early years and primary school teachers and basic school teachers. Due to the Bologna declaration and the need for teacher training in Estonia, the two have developed into bachelor’s and master’s studies curricula. In 2004, the college opened two curricula of professional higher education studies – Youth Work and Local Government’s Administration. When creating the new curricula, two principles were rigorously observed – the access of Russian-speaking youth and regional needs.