Her research interests include a comparative analysis of curriculum alignment, teacher preparation and student support in different systems of education from the point of view of their influence on access to higher education. She was the member of Samara Region Strategic Team – Participant of Mega project Development of Education in Russia, Open Society Institute. She worked as regional coordinator of British Council Projects, an expert and a project developer in a number of Russian and international research projects on secondary and higher education. Irina Fishman is the author of two books and about twenty articles.