Rethinking Schooling for the 21st Century

ut documents also generally espouse a vision of education as a vehicle for
human fulfilment, the expansion of rights and
individual empowerment.
Nonetheless, the policy and curricular documents
of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan appear overall to
embody a more instrumental vision than those of
Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia. Policies in Kazakhstan and
Uzbekistan, strong states with highly centralised
political regimes, make clear the absolute priority of
strengthening national economic competitiveness.
By comparison, the policy visions of Mongolia and
Kyrgyzstan are less definite regarding the ordering
of priorities, despite — or owning to — their openness
to technical and financial assistance provided by the
international donor community.
Kazakhstan
Education is
universally hailed as
an essential tool in
the national quest
for competitiveness;
but documents also
generally espouse a
vision of education
as a vehicle for
human fulfilment,
the expansion of
rights and individual
empowerment
In 2006, President Nazarbayev in his message to the people of Kazakhstan
emphasised the importance of making the education system contribute more
effectively to enhancing national competitiveness. Accordingly, in 2007 a new
Law on Education initiated the process of transitioning to a 12-year curriculum,
along with reforms to pedagogy and teacher training. However, problems with
implementation, blamed on a lack of resources, capacity and preparation, soon
prompted the government to review its strategy and increase investment in
schools and teacher development (Mynbayeva and Pogosian, 2014). For example,
the initial deadline for universalising the 12-year system was postponed several
times (Bridges, 2014, p. 35). ‘World education standards’ and the ‘competitiveness
of Kazakhstan’ have become catchphrases of policy discourse since 2007. This
period is described by Bridges as the ‘modernization of an entire system of
education based on a strategic partnership model with major international
educational partners’ (2014, p. 30).
The State Program of Education Development in the Republic of Kazakhstan for
2011–2020 was based on the main priorities of the Kazakhstan 2030 Strategy.
The Programme asserts that investment in human capital results in significant
economic and societal benefits, stating: ‘education should be regarded as
[an] economic investment…not just a social expenditure’ (Kazakhstan, 2010, p.
2). In Kazakhstan, officials evidently see managing society via incentives and
regulations within the framework of market competition as the primary role of
the state; state initiatives emphasise this idea with slogans such as ‘a competitive
nation’ and ‘competitive products’ (Adams and Rustemova, 2009). Investment in
human capital is seen as of vital importance to the development of a technically
progressive, productive labour force (Kazakhstan, 2012). Enhancing national
competitiveness is linked to the role of education in enabling individuals to
Rethinking Schooling for the 21 st Century:
The State of Education for Peace, Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship in Asia
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