Education Modernization in the Independent Kazakhstan
Nazym Nossiyeva
Candidate of Philological
Sciences
Today
we are witnesses of the qualitative changes in the worldview of the society.
These changes are directed to give new explanations to the role and content of
the spirituality, culture and education in general. As a rule the processes of
globalization, integration and communications serve as a basis to those
changes. In the past the division between the education and cultures of various
ethnic groups and nations was the foremost issue. That is why contemporary
changes require reconsidering the objectives and values of the past.
In
the today’s new world globalization and unification is found as the objective
processes in the way of civilized development of the world. We think that the
main reasons for these processes are the worldwide scientific and technological
revolution, the forging strong world economy and internationalization of all
aspects of human life. The globalization process grasps almost all world
regions and countries, and impacts all fields of society such as the policy,
culture, and most of all it influences the education activities, which is the
most important part of the society. In the educational field we can single out
several interrelated directions based on the globalization. They are as
follows: the formation of the broad outlook of the individual and deepening the
thinking skills; to educate on understanding and paying attention to the
contemporary global issues and to prepare them on finding solutions of those
problems; to foster the ability of fruitful dialog between various cultures and
to respect alien cultures; in a systematic way to formulate producing
consciousness, to understand the meaning of any services. It is not accidental
that many known scientists and philosophers have considered the global
education as the factor of creative development of each person. For instance,
Arnold J. Toynbee in his work “A Study of History” writes: “the education plays
basic role in the resolving conflict between the new developing civilization
and cultures lagging behind”.
Globalization
processes in the sphere of education began as a result of Bologna process. In
May 25, 1998 the Bologna process began with a meeting at the Sorbonne University
in Paris for the Ministers of higher education in France, Italy, United Kingdom
and Germany to sign the so-called Sorbonne Declaration. The main content of
this declaration is that the member countries which have signed it in 10 years
should bring their education systems under common standards. This document
based in main three principles. First of all it is a building joint academic
degree system. Namely, a diploma supplement should correspond to the model
proposed by UNESCO. Secondly, it is passing on to the system of baccalaureate
and magistrate in preparing the specialists. Third principle is the adoption
and implementation of the credit system. This system fully responds to the
requirements of the European credit mechanism of the study disciplines and
creates conditions to the adaptability of students. The positive side of the
declaration is that the adaptability principle grasps not only students, but
also teaching staff as well.
From
the day of signing Sorbonne (Bologna) declaration has passed more than 14
years. Today many countries are assessing and evaluating the Bologna process.
They may acknowledge the declaration, may not, may join it or decide not to
join. Nevertheless, with the positive sides of this process, there are some
negative sides of it as well. Here we can say about an internationalization of
education with the help of “migration of educated persons”, changes of the role
of universities. However, it is impossible not to perceive the Bologna process,
not to take into account this process is the same as not to see increasing
globalization of the world. We think that any country cannot be indifferent
regarding this process. The countries that ignore this process can find itself
in the periphery of history and may become marginal to the world. The education
is the inner system of the social structure. The level of development of the
world community, state and society depends strictly on it. We should not forget
this.
The
Republic of Kazakhstan together with the first 42 countries had accepted the
Bologna Declaration, in 1997 had signed The Treaty of Lisbon named “Convention
on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the
European Region”, and at the same year had ratified this Treaty. By joining of
Kazakhstan to the Bologna process our education system strived to become part
of a common European Space for Higher Education. It is not necessarily means
that we should abandon national education system, a several centuries long
positive traditions, and to depart from the customs of our ancestors. We are
going to preserve national peculiarities in the national education system. As
all world universities do, any Kazakhstani higher education institutions will
provide for its graduates the state diploma of Kazakhstani model. This diploma
will be recognized in all member countries of Bologna process.
At
first place the basis of our education should be an improvement of the quality
of educational services and its competitiveness level. Our President Nursultan
Nazarbayev in the many Addresses to the people of Kazakhstan always asserts
that the precondition for the national competitiveness is increasing the level
of education and that this is primary task of our government. In order to
perform this duty and responsibility all educational organizations of
Kazakhstan and especially higher education institutions work hard.
In
XXI century the issues and directions of the educational field have been
evolving based on the Bologna process. There are more attention was paid to the
humanization and humanitarization of education. They are conditioned by the
dominance of technocratic systems as a way of life that has had a negative
impact on the system of teaching and upbringing, since it has created a
technical approach as a dominant factor in the training of specialists. This
has, to a certain degree, had a negative impact on the spirituality of society
and has facilitated a rise in the absence of spirituality.
In
1994 the law on the humanitarization and humanization of education in the
Republic of Kazakhstan was passed. However, the problem of humanization and
humanitarization remains an actual problem in the system of higher education.
Only a humane person and humanised equipment is capable of changing society and
removing the absence of spirituality in it. According to UNESCO, the leading
scientific area of the turn of the 21st century is psychology. This implies
that the science of the human soul, and of his self-consciousness and self
-determination, is becoming more practical. It is symptomatic that emphasis is
now being laid on the human soul and not on the intellect, although according
to sociological research, many students give preference to the latter. It is
precisely through the soul that the heart of Man undergoes through social
humanization.
It is worth talking
today about a new stage in such humanization, which is
conditioned by the aggravation of the following global
problems in modern civilization,
namely: the problem of international terrorism which today has become acute in world view issues, the ecological
situation, anthropological issues
and over-mechanized societies that threaten to grow into an anti-humane paradigm of social development. All these as well as
other factors require that the
role of humanitarian subjects, especially philosophy
and the history of Kazakhstan be re-evaluated, that
innovational methods and issues
of upbringing and training of the younger and growing generation and the way it is taught be paid attention to.
Unfortunately,
the processes of humanization and humanitarization limited to superficial
publications regarding those paradigms. Regarding this issue we may hear
following reasons: “there is no need to talk much about this”, “we get tired of
this”, “to carry out such a work we do not have enough material and technical
base”, and others. But the planetary truth is that such kind of words and
reasons should be eliminated and requires from us special attention to the
issue. Because, the absence of spirituality in the society is gradually
becoming real and close. This terrible process endangers the continuity of
living of the kind of Homo sapiens.
In fact, the production of robot man, clone of man easily resolves any
problems. If we will have programmed, “zombie”, “crazy” people we can easily
resolve any global challenges. However, in this case we will still face the
issues related to the international terrorism. Today it is proven that we have
not paid due attention to the religious education. In this connection, there is
a kind of euphoria with relates to the humane role of religion i.e. it is
considered that religious training has always and in every way been humane. In
this connection, there is a kind of euphoria with relates to the humane role of
religion i.e. it is considered that religious training has always and in every
way been humane. In fact, however, there is a lack of specific knowledge of the
state of affairs in this sphere. In any case, such work is only carried out
sporadically at universities. There isn’t a unified program on educative work
through religion. In our opinion, all the above-indicated circumstances
convincingly testify to the fact that there is the need to radically change the
role and place of socio-humanitarian subjects in the system of higher education
and upbringing.
Humanities
take into account not only general human values, but also the national
components, peculiarities of historical, socio-cultural development of the
country and nation. National peculiarities are preserved not only during
teaching the humanities disciplines, but in the teaching course of the natural
and technical disciplines as well. The unification in education, the process of
connection is showed not by eliminating, but through the richness of ethnical
and national development. In the pedagogical memory of each nation the
knowledge on teaching methods and approaches which accumulated through
centuries is preserved. That is why any state system of education forms based
on the best models of the ethnical and national pedagogy and new education
methods should be taken into account.
This new methodology
dictates new methods of
teaching and new educational technologies. First of all, it is about the fact
that these technologies appear
on the basis of integration of achievements of
fundamental and applied sciences.
The dominant feature here is computer science, the creation of a unified
information system and the emergence of the internet, which make it possible to
make use of the latest methods in teaching that promote communication between
people, as well as align future specialists towards an all-round understanding
of the world and Man and the visualization of Man in harmony with humanity and
space in general.
Today
interactive methods broadly involved in the education sphere help to increase
and rebuild the activity of student groups. This all new technologies based on
the consideration of the teacher and student as an individual, and it plays the
compromiser’s role in the education processes. Higher education has to be based
on such mutual relations between a subject and object, should facilitate to
refuse from authoritativeness. In nowadays student should become an active
subject of the knowledge process. He does not limit himself with the teaching
materials, but becomes the donor and recipient of that knowledge. We also
should take into account the fact that modern student does not wish to get
knowledge besides of teaching process. Therefore, today many causes, including
planetary causes negatively impact the student’s individual work. In our case
it is directly related to the lack of study books, to the formation of the
required number of textbooks for new generation. This is related to the
computerization as well, it forces teachers to rebuild again seminar and
practical lessons. In this occasion the student has to be very active. This
situation requires from the teacher different attitude in preparing seminar
lessons. Seminars should not be just a continuation of the lectures. The
teacher is obliged to prepare theoretical and methodological materials which
allow student to be active, to learn by himself.
All
in all, in the globalizing world only the universities which have potential for
institutionalization and organization and can in a modern way respond to the
emerging new problems will take honorary place at the world education
stage.
Bibliography
1. Budapest and Vienna
Declaration on the European space of Higher education
March 12, 2010
2. The LAW of the Republic of Kazakhstan “Education act” July 27, 2007 ,
N 319-III ZRK