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CONTINUING EDUCATION IN THE CONTEXT OF SOCIAL MODERNIZATION IN KAZAKHSTAN
Zh. O. Zhilbayev
The philosophy of modern education is formed in the context of globalization processes, which determine the overall development scenario of the global community. According to some experts, the scenario can follow two strategies: either a global merger, or a global confrontation of cultures. But many support a different opinion. It is about global integration where each culture aims at constructive interaction, while maintaining its own content. This fully applies to the idea of Eurasianism.
In April, the head of our country, Nursultan Nazarbayev, gave a lecture entitled ‘Eurasian Integration’ at the Moscow State University. The idea of this kind of integration was announced by Mr. Nazarbayev as early as 20 years ago. In his lecture, he said the following:
20 years ago: “... Kazakhstan and Russia should be the core of the Eurasian Economic Union”;
18 years ago: “... we have opened the L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University in Astana”;
14 years ago: “.the Collective Security Treaty Organization was created, ... the Eurasian Economic Community was established”;
4 years ago: “. at the OSCE Summit in Astana, I proposed the idea of a common Continental Security Platform in Eurasia”;
2 years ago: “... I have launched the G-Global initiative, bringing together users from 160 countries on an interactive basis.”
Today, the idea of integration was materialized in the Treaty on the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Community between Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus.
As it is known, the idea of Eurasianism was put forward by Lev Gumilyov as a special type of synthesis between East and West, ‘Europe’ and ‘Asia.’ His legacy represents a scientific and historical rationale of Eurasianism as a worldview and a concept of interstate and interethnic relations in the context of integration. This is where Gumilyov’s Eurasianism gets close to the Eurasianism of Nazarbayev.
A few Eurasian organizations, such as the Eurasian Development Bank, the Eurasian Business Council, the Eurasian Media Forum, the Eurasian Association of Universities, the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Eurasian Economic Commission, have been established and are operating, and the Uniform Customs Code has been adopted.
Education is one of the main factors in the development of common approaches to solving global problems. Today, the most reliable reference points in education are given by instruments of the United Nations, UNESCO, the EU and a few other reputable organizations and associations. One of the key principles laid down in these instruments is education throughout life. It is understood as any
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lifelong learning activity, from pre-school to post-retirement, and includes formal, non-formal and informal learning.
It should be noted that Kazakhstan has provided a real background for the implementation of this concept, such as the National Qualifications Framework defined similarly to the European Framework. Level descriptors for the frameworks provide requirements for the level of knowledge, skills, and personal and professional competencies.
The National Qualifications Framework includes three groups of indicators. The first indicator is knowledge. It defines the requirements for knowledge, and depends on the amount and complexity of information used, and the degree to which knowledge is both innovative, and abstract (a balance between theoretical and practical knowledge). The second indicator is skills. This defines the requirements for skills, and depends on the multiplicity (variability) of methods for solving professional problems, the need for choosing among or developing such methods, and on the degree to which a working situation is uncertain and unpredictable in its development. The third indicator is personal and professional competencies. This defines the scale of activity, the cost of a potential mistake for an organization and industry, its social, environmental and economic implications, and the degree to which the main functions of the management (such as goal setting, organization, control and motivation of staff) are implemented in professional activities.
The cumulative and consistent nature of the descriptions of qualification levels ensures the continuity and integration of learning outcomes at all levels of education. Therefore, the content of education should be designed in accordance with the expected learning outcomes, and learning outcomes in turn, should be planned in accordance with the descriptions of qualification frameworks. The main strategy of this planning exercise is to align educational programs with professional standards. What seems to be relevant in this regard is the development of professional standards aimed at eliminating the gap between the labor market and the education market.
In the context of the social modernization of the country, the education policy of Kazakhstan is based on social dimensions. This means that the search for ways to respond to emerging problems takes into account the following aspects:
Firstly - joining the efforts of all social substructures in society. This is about real and effective interactions between the state, the parent and teacher communities, employers, and different non-governmental organizations, with the interests of learners being the key driver;
Secondly - integrating the national training experience with the best practices from abroad. It is important that the national content of education be maintained when taking efforts to meet international standards;
Thirdly - building a multilingual and multicultural educational environment. This environment can be made efficient by providing the continuity of teaching languages in the system ‘kindergarten - school - college - university’ based on the level model (Articles 28-30, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child);
Fourthly - eliminating the significant gap between the level of education of urban and rural students, and in particular in under-filled schools. As it is known, under-filled schools currently face a number of challenges, with one of them being
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the lack of subject teachers. A way to address this issue is to train and retrain teachers specialized in several subjects, who would be able to provide integrated teaching on related subjects to the same or different grades;
Fifthly - creating an adaptive educational environment for children with disabilities. This requires that children be taught to be tolerant, and relevant awareness be built among the parent community in a systematic way;
Sixthly - reducing deviant behaviors among children and young people, and enhancing the role and responsibility of the family in upbringing of the younger generation.
Keeping a record of these measures will contribute to the improvement of education in Kazakhstan, allowing not only for increasing social responsibility, but also, and primarily, for centering the development and modernization of the entire educational system around the personality of the learner. These social aspects form the basis of the priority areas of the development of education and science in Kazakhstan, with a special focus on providing equal access to quality education. According to the OECD Report, Kazakhstan is creating an educational environment and enhancing the educational potential of the country, but there is still much to be done to eliminate the disparities in access to quality education.
The principle of continuity of the content of education at all levels, from preschool education to the training of the workforce in the system of higher and postgraduate education, and the principle of integration of both the subject-specific content and educational techniques, are particularly important in the context of the problem in question.
One of the slogans of Harvard University says that ‘lifelong learning is no longer an option but an absolute necessity.’ Therefore, quality education is only start-up intellectual capital. Gearing education to the requirements of our times will bring it to a brand new level.
The education of teachers is not an exception. The main tasks in this field involve updating the content of education in general; improving the quality of education; ensuring the continuity of all education; and reflecting the combination of knowledge, skills and competencies at all levels of lifelong learning.
The I. Altynsarin National Academy of Education is actively contributing to the development of professional standards in the field of education and science, and laying down a model of a modern teacher. He should be able to educate a personality with qualities such as proactiveness, the ability to think critically and creatively and find out-of-the-box solutions, and a willingness to learn throughout life in the context of the rapidly changing world. We can see these skills in the core competencies recommended by the Council of Europe. The education of teachers should be centered around building these qualities. Therefore, the professional training of teachers should be systemic rather than specific to individual areas. In other words, it is unreasonable to prepare future teachers for the current situation in school education. In a modern context, they should be ready to innovate and make non-conventional decisions in their professional activities.
I am sure that discussions at this conference will help us find answers to many questions related to the idea of lifelong learning in national educational systems, and the creation of a common space of continuing education in our countries.
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