How Do International Organizations Impact The Kazakhstani Higher Education System?

https://doi.org/10.65161/recz06FvAw6pRparm

This article examines the influence of international organizations on Kazakhstani higher education. After Kazakhstan gained independence from the Soviet Union, one of the main challenges was the transformation of Kazakhstani universities from their structure and knowledge based on Soviet ideology to European educational standards. Consequently, Kazakhstan began actively cooperating with international organizations such as the Bologna Process, OECD, and UNESCO. However, the influence of each organization was analyzed separately. Therefore, the aim of this study is to provide an overall balanced assessment of the influence of international organizations on higher education in Kazakhstan and to describe the reactions of faculties to the higher education’s internationalization under the influence of global organizations. This study uses a qualitative approach based on previous research and reports on this topic. Literature reviews were used to identify the main challenges of adaptation, the changes that occurred under the initiatives of international organizations, and a comparison was made between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, both post-Soviet countries and participants in the Bologna Process.