This book brings together internationally prominent scholars renowned
for their work on post-Soviet republics, as well as outstanding emerging
scholars native of Central Asia in order to discuss the state of
education in the Central Asian Republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Drawing on their individual
contexts and research, the authors offer analyses and critiques of some
of the social, political, and economic issues in education in their
respective countries, and some insights about how local actions engage
with the challenges and problems, as well as with the possibilities and
opportunities they face.
Since gaining their independence in 1991, the five republics of Central
Asia have been undergoing some enormous political, social, linguistic,
cultural, and economic changes, even as we write. This collection shows
that researchers are increasingly interested in exploring the
development of education in this part of the world. In these countries,
education plays a significant role in transitioning from centrally
planned to market economies and is seen as the key resource to
facilitate entry into the global competitiveness sphere.
This book will be of particular interest to educators, researchers, and
policy makers engaged in research or with a particular interest in
curricula, and education systems and reforms, and to undergraduate and
graduate students studying and researching education in Central Asia or
in other post-Soviet contexts.
