Rethinking Schooling for the 21st Century

substantial curricular revision (Silova, 2005). Indeed, amidst the uncertainty
of the transition from state socialism, admiration for some of the educational
achievements of the Soviet past has increased (Reeves, 2005, p. 10), as has
interest in localised theories of moral and cultural education, such as those in
Kyrgyzstan based on the redefined ‘seven precepts of Manas’ 81 (DeYoung, 2007).
The influence of Soviet-style approaches tends to differ between social studies
and humanities (except history) on the one hand, and mathematics and natural
science on the other. With respect to the latter, policy makers and educators
generally remain strongly convinced of the superiority of established methods,
and committed to maintaining them (Silova, 2009a); after all, Soviet achievements
in mathematics and science were widely admired in the West (Brown, 2009). In
contrast, there has been far greater willingness to countenance introduction
of new pedagogical approaches in the social studies and humanities, where
post-socialist ideological and political transformations required a significant
reconfiguration of old identities and values systems (Nookoo, 2016). Therefore,
although references to the merits of ‘student-centred’ approaches are more or
less pervasive in policy and curricular documents across the region, the extent
to which this signifies the adoption of new approaches to subject teaching at
classroom level is highly variable. Since it is often aid donors who are pushing the
new approaches, linking funding to the adoption of their agendas — but precisely
for this reason, official rhetoric on such notions as ‘student-centredness’ should
not be taken entirely at face value.
New State Education Standards: Transitioning to
Competency-based Approach
As discussed above, all four countries under review in this chapter have adopted
policy reforms to align their education systems with ‘international standards’ and
‘competency-based’ approaches. The previous sections have described some of
these efforts and challenges confronting their realisation. This section further
examines the introduction of new SES, with a particular focus on Mongolia, whose
SES has been most frequently revised, and Uzbekistan, which has adhered to a
more conservative or ‘protectionist’ policy under the ‘Uzbek model of gradual
transition’ (reforms to SESs in the four countries are summarized in Figure 6.3).
In Mongolia, as already noted, it has become customary for each new
administration to introduce its own signature package of education reforms.
Implementation of the SES introduced in 2004 faced a range of challenges
such as ill-equipped teachers and the lack of relevant materials and resources.
Although the SES proclaimed the introduction of new pedagogical approaches,
the national curriculum remained overloaded with theoretical and factual
content. A lack of complementary resources and support from the government
contributed to the relative lack of change in actual classroom practice (Mongolia,
2013). In 2009, the newly formed government launched the Mongolian Cambridge
81 An epic poem (see Manas, 2004. Translated by Walter May. Rarity, Bishkek).
Rethinking Schooling for the 21 st Century:
The State of Education for Peace, Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship in Asia
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