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- Convenors:
-
Galina Gorborukova
(American University of Central Asia)
Alan DeYoung (University of Kentucky)
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- Theme:
- EDU
- Location:
- Posvar 4217
- Start time:
- 27 October, 2018 at
Time zone: America/New_York
- Session slots:
- 1
Long Abstract:
The current panel will examine the interplays of education and inequality in a comparative framework using research from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
While increasing income inequality in Central Asia - and associated social vulnerabilities - have been widely noted in the recent literature, not enough attention has been paid to the divergent educational pathways that foreground these developments. This is a particularly significant issue given the fact that approximately half of Central Asia's population is below the age of 25, i.e. at the prime of their educational trajectory.
Education reproduces existing social inequalities. Consequently, examining the differentiated educational opportunity structures of young people in Central Asia is key to unpacking their restricted social mobility. At the same time, education also opens up possibilities of social transformation through manifest agencies of its many actors - most importantly the young people themselves. Hence, locating youth identities and aspirations also provides unique insights into the contested space of unequal societies.
The panel opens with a paper by Asel Doolotkeldieva that examines how poor families in Kyrgyzstan strategize about their children's education - with madrasas being one such strategy. The paper helps problematize choice of religious education by young people in Kyrgyzstan from the perspectives of social and economic inequality.
The next paper by Daniyar Karabaev presents the educational inequities associated with Kyrgyz ethnic groups in Tajikistan - who study in different languages of instructions. The paper elaborates how the language of instruction contributes to socialization of minority groups - reproducing social distancing and inequalities in a multi-ethnic multi-lingual Central Asian state.
In their paper, Tamo Chattopadhay and Gulnur Esenalieva examine how educational and social-relational attributes of university students - from diverse socio-economic backgrounds - correlate with their understanding of and aspirations for addressing the economic and social challenges facing the country.
Finally, the paper by Emil Nasritdinov, Aigul Abdoubaetova and Aigerim Turgunbaeva examines how young people from lower income families, but with strong aspirations, navigate the unequal urban educational spaces. Thus, while highlighting the role of larger structural socio-economic factors that create the educational divides in today's Central Asia, this paper puts its emphasis on the role of young people's agency as it manifests in their current contexts.
Together the papers of the panel will locate the interplay of social structures and youth agency in the heterogeneous educational space of an increasingly unequal Central Asia.
Accepted papers:
Session 1Emil Nasritdinov (American University of Central Asia) Gulnora Iskandarova (American University of Central Asia) Aigoul Abdoubaetova
Paper short abstract:
This research aims at studying how newly emerging private schools are changing the landscape of educational choices in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and the ways families in Bishkek navigate this increasingly fragmented educational terrain in the context of growing socio-economic inequality.
Paper long abstract:
Privatization of education is a global trend, which can produce better quality education, but also reinforce social segregation and inequality. Kyrgyzstan is one example among Central Asian states that demonstrates extremely high prices of private secondary schools against the background of low average income of its citizens. This makes private secondary education a privilege of the few who can afford it. While this trend in educational inequality has become more apparent in the last decades, it has not received an adequate scholarly attention. This research aims at studying how newly emerging private schools are changing the landscape of educational choices and the ways families in Bishkek navigate this increasingly fragmented educational terrain in the context of growing socio-economic inequality. The research uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, including a survey of parents and complementary qualitative interviews with parents, experts and school directors in the capital city of Bishkek.
Tamo Chattopadhay (American University of Central Asia) Gulnur Esenalieva (American University of Central Asia )
Paper long abstract:
With half of its population under age 25, and one third of its population being youth (defined 14 - 28 years of age), Kyrgyz Republic (KR) is a young country today - embodying the hopes, challenges and potentials that youth represent in an interconnected global era. The significance of this youth dynamism was affirmed emphatically in the National Sustainable Development Strategy of the Kyrgyz Republic (2013 - 2017): "The youth is an important development resource for the society, because it is highly mobile, intellectually active, it has good health, it is open to new things and are willing to make their contribution towards betterment of the country." (Kyrgyz Republic 2012).
Consequently, the capacities and aspirations of young people to engage in sustainable national development is a question of critical importance to KR today. This precisely is the scope of the proposed research project. Specifically, the current research focuses on youth in higher education institutions of KR, and examines their knowledge, skills and values to address the issues of extreme poverty and social inequality in the country - admittedly the most fundamental threat to sustainable development in any society (Doyle & Stiglitz, 2014).
By analyzing the preparedness of the future professionals and leaders of the country in addressing social inequalities and creating sustainable futures, the paper will fill a critical gap in the current scholarship on youth in Central Asia - which continues to be dominated by studies on employable skills and religious perspectives. By uncovering the educational and social-relational attributes of university students that correlate with their capacities and aspirations for bridging the economic and social divides, the proposed research would inform higher education strategies to unleash the potential of youth agency for sustainable development in Central Asia.
Daniyar Karabaev (American University of Central Asia)
Paper long abstract:
The education of minorities is an important issue for multiethnic communities: the education provided in minority schools play a significant part in whether minorities are politically socialized and integrated into the mainstream society. Successful teaching and learning practices of state language in minority schools is an integral part of successful minority education and state-building process. If successful, such minority groups can contribute to the social cohesion of a country, aiding stabilization and assisting a peaceful society in which all members are equally represented in the socio-economic, cultural, and political life of the country.
Tajikistan is a multiethnic republic in Central Asia in which ethnic Russian, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Turkmen and other minorities live. This research examines the educational practices within Kyrgyz language schools in Tajikistan with a particular focus on the teaching of the official state language and other language instructions. More specifically, it studies the contribution of teaching of state language to political socialization process of ethnic Kyrgyz minority in Tajikistan.
This research used a qualitative approach that allowed for an in-depth and comprehensive data accumulation that incorporated various structures of interviews. Field work in Tajikistan and the following document reviews and data analyses provided a variety of necessary perspectives and vital information about the teaching of official state language practices and its contribution to the political socialization process of ethnic minorities.
The findings show the current teaching and learning experiences of official state language are not successful because of the absence of appropriate textbooks, a shortage of necessary teaching materials, insufficiently qualified teachers and other political reasons. The knowledge and skills gained in state language are inadequate to pursue higher education, do not allow to work in state organizations which has a negative impact on the overall political socialization process of ethnic Kyrgyz minority in Tajikistan.