Rethinking Schooling for the 21st Century

Siegfried, 2012; Weinthal, 2006). It is difficult to assess the extent to which values
and competencies required for understanding and addressing these critical
issues are included in learning resources and educational practice on the ground,
but policy documents and curricula across the region show little evidence of
effective integration of SDG 4.7, particularly when it comes to promoting forms
of identity consciousness that transcend national divisions.
Loving the ‘Motherland’
The imperative of loving the ‘Motherland’ and respecting its history, culture
and traditions is universally prioritized across this region. The coding data show
overwhelming emphasis on national identities, patriotism and nationalism in the
three Central Asian states and, to a slightly lesser extent, in Mongolia (Appendix
II-12i). On the other hand, national policy documents and curricula largely neglect
concepts pertaining to global citizenship (see Appendices II-7-10), with some
partial exceptions. For example, Kazakhstan’s SES contains a few sections where
global environmental issues, poverty, consumerism and racism are presented
as issues for discussion in specific subjects (Grade 9 Biology and Geography);
similarly, Kyrgyzstan’s subject curricula feature significant coverage of issues of
sustainable development, with an emphasis on its transnational environmental
dimension (Grade 9 History and Grade 9 Geography; see Appendix II-2).
The project of building a new national identity has been most intensive in the
Republic of Kazakhstan, which experienced the most extensive ‘russification’ of
all Central Asian Soviet republics. Building a unitary state and a bilingual and
multicultural nation has also become a key priority for Kazakhstan’s political
elites (Cummings, 2005). The state policy documents and President Nazarbayev’s
speeches have explicitly referred to Kazakhstan as the ethnic centre of the
Kazakhs, and Kazakhs as the original successors to the nationhood, but
simultaneously they acknowledge the multinationalism of Kazakhstani society
(see Box 6.1). The coding data show significant consistency regarding nationbuilding
priorities across policy and curricular documents. Through literary
readings in the Kazakh language, for instance, the objective is to ‘foster respect
for the language, culture, history of the Kazakh people, love for the Motherland,
[and] the Republic of Kazakhstan’ 83 (Grade 4, p. 2); similar objectives are echoed
in the curricula of other subjects.
In Kyrgyzstan, as elsewhere in Central Asia, developing a new state ideology that
integrates concepts such as the nation, freedom, responsibility and development
has been viewed as a key to successful nation-building (Murzakulova and
Schoeberlein, 2009). The SES presents the aim of education as developing ‘love
for the Motherland, respect for national traditions, and respect for the cultural
83 Original in Russian: ‘с предметом «Литературное чтение»: через аутентные тексты
учащиеся учатся высказывать свое мнение с учетом познавательных особенностей
казахского языка; воспитывает уважение к языку, культуре, истории казахского
народа, любовь к Родине, к Республике Казахстан’.
190
Chapter 6: Central Asia and Mongolia