Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

8.6 Five Conversations and Three Notes on the “Soviet,” or Finding a Place for Personal History in the Study of Teacher Education Policy in Kazakhstan

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover International Handbook of Interpretation in Educational Research

Part of the book series: Springer International Handbooks of Education ((SIHE))

Abstract

This chapter reflects on the analytical, procedural and methodological processes which have contributed to the emergence of the paper ‘The “Soviet” in the memories and teachers’ processional beliefs in Kazakhstan’ (Fimyar and Kurakbayev, under review), a part of a larger study on Internationalisation and School Reform in Kazakhstan (Bridges, 2014). In providing an account of the choices and constraints faced by the authors, the chapter makes explicit the relationships between the researchers’ intellectual biographies, the politics of research and the selection of a particular strategic point for analysis. This contribution argues for a more encompassing view of research data, which in this case includes literature on Soviet education, interview data and, of equal importance, the authors’ experiences of Soviet schooling. The key benefit of analysing teachers’ beliefs through the double lens of policy sociology and auto-ethnography is the ability to capture how change and continuity coexist in the complex present, and how memory is used strategically to legitimise new approaches to teaching and learning. The additional benefit of the approach is the possibility to produce dialogic, multi-layered interpretative narratives which talk to various actors in the field of education policy, comparative and international education and educational consultancy.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 429.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 549.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 549.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    There are a number of studies by local scholars on the history of pedagogy and education in Kazakhstan. However, the majority of those studies tend to focus on the issues of ethno-pedagogy and national identity, rather than approaching the question of Soviet education, its legacies, and ways of socialization from a sociological perspective.

  2. 2.

    All interviewees are assigned letters A–K according to the order they appear in the article. These letters do not correspond to their initials and are used here to indicate the number of respondents quoted in the paper. The respondents’ career stage (early, mid, late) is also indicated because the involvement of early-career professionals is a significant feature of the new initiatives. The gender of the respondents is not indicated as it could compromise the anonymity of the interviewees. However, it is important to mention that our sample was overwhelmingly female. Out of the 11 respondents cited in the paper, 8 are female and only 3 are male.

  3. 3.

    The calls to change educational paradigms are heard all around the world. This is not something specific to the CIS countries. For an informative and thought-provoking example, see Ken Robinson’s TED videos on “Changing Educational Paradigms” (2010a) and “Bring on the Learning Revolution” (2010b).

  4. 4.

    In the original paper, Borytko (2005) uses the term “humanitarian,” but we think that “humanistic” is a more appropriate term.

References

  • Alvesson, M. (2003). Methodology for close up studies – struggling with closeness and closure. Higher Education, 46, 167–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, L. (2006). Analytic autoethnography. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 35(4), 373–395.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aydarova, O. (2013). Glories of the past or dim visions of the future: Teacher education programs as the site of historical becoming. Paper presented at the 21st annual symposium of the Soyuz research network for postsocialist cultural studies ‘Authoritarianism and Beyond?: Lessons from postsocialist societies’. March 22–13, Columbia University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bakhtin, M. M. (1981). The dialogic imagination: Four essays (M. Holquist & C. Emerson, Trans). Austin: University of Texas Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barlett, P. (2012). Kazakhstan: Elite schools may limit opportunities. Eurasia.net. Available at: www.eurasianet.org/node/65035 [in English, retrieved 16 December 2013].

  • Borytko, N. M. (2005). Values and education: Russian perspective, edited collection of the institute of pedagogy and in-service training, Volgograd state pedagogical University. Retrieved from: www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0579-6431/2005/0579-64310502035B.pdf [in English, retrieved 16 December 2013].

  • Bridges, D. (Ed.). (2014). Educational Reform and Internatioanlisation: The case of school reform in Kazakhstan. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burkhalter, N., & Shegebayev, M. R. (2010). The critical thinking movement in Kazakhstan: A progress report. Research in Comparative and International Education, 5(4), 434–445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burkhalter, N., & Shegebayev, M. R. (2012). Critical thinking as culture: Teaching post-Soviet teachers in Kazakhstan. International Review of Education, 58, 55–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Charon-Cardona, E. (2013). Socialism and education in Cuba and Soviet Uzbekistan. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 11(2), 296–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheng, Y. C. (2008). New learning and school leadership: Paradigm shift towards the third wave. In J. MacBeath & Y. C. Cheng (Eds.), Leadership for learning: International perspectives. Rotterdam/Taipei: Sense Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coffey, A. J. (2002). Ethnography and self: Reflections and representations. In T. May (Ed.), Qualitative research in action. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denzin, N. K. (1997). Interpretative ethnography: Ethnographic practices for the 21st century. London: Sage.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • DeYoung, A. J. (2006). Problems and trends in education in central Asia since 1990: The case of general secondary education in Kyrgyzstan. Central Asian Survey, 25(4), 499–514.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeYoung, A. J. (2008). Conceptualizing paradoxes of post-socialist education in Kyrgyzstan. Nationalities Papers: The Journal of Nationalism and Ethnicity, 36(4), 641–657.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doloriert, C., & Sambrook, S. (2009). Ethical confessions of the ‘I’ of autoethnography: The student’s dilemma. Qualitative Research in Organizations and Management: An International Journal, 4(1), 27–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, C. (1997). Evocative autoethnography: Writing emotionally about our lives. In W. G. Tierney & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Representation and the text: Re-framing the narrative voice. New York: SUNY Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, C. (2004). The ethnographic I: A methodological novel about autoethnography. Walnut Creek: Alta Mira.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fierman, W. (1998). Language and identity in Kazakhstan: Formulations in policy documents 1987–1997. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 31(2), 171–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fimyar, O. (2008a). Using governmentality as a conceptual tool in education policy research. Educate: The Journal of Doctoral Research in Education (Kaleidoscope Special Issue March 2008), 8, 3–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fimyar, O. (2008b). Educational policy-making in post-communist Ukraine as an example of emerging governmentality: Discourse analysis of curriculum choice and assessment policy documents (1999–2003). Journal of Education Policy, 23(6), 571–593.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fimyar, O. (2010). Policy why(s): Policy rationalities and the changing logic of educational reform in post-communist Ukraine (1991–2008). In I. Silova (Ed.), Post-socialism is not dead: (Re) reading the global in comparative education. International Perspectives on Education and Society (Vol. 14, pp. 61–91). Bingley: Emerald Publishing.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Fimyar, O. (2011). A manifesto of a postcommunist, poststructuralist researcher: Post viva-voce reflections. European Education, 43(2), 75–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fimyar, O. (2014a). Translating pedagogical ‘excellence’ in three languages or how Kazakhstani teachers ‘change’. In D. Bridges (Ed.), Educational reform and internationalisation: The case of school reform in Kazakhstan (pp. 301–324). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fimyar, O. (2014b). “Soviet”, ‘Kazakh’ and ‘world-class’ in the contemporary construction of educational understanding and practice in Kazakhstan. In D. Bridges (Ed.), Educational reform and internationalisation (pp. 177–198). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fimyar, O., & Kurakbayev, K. (under review). “Soviet” in the memories and teachers’ professional beliefs in Kazakhstan: Points for reflection for reformers, international consultants and practitioners.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foucault, M. (2000). In J. D. Faubion (Ed.), Power, vol. 3 of The essential works of Foucault 1954–1984. London: Allen Lane.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grant, N. (1964). Soviet education. London: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Griffiths, T. G., & Millei, Z. (2013). Education in/for socialism: Historical, current and future perspectives, globalisation. Societies and Education, 11(2), 161–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hessman, R. (2011). My Perestroika, documentary, New Video Group, 87 minutes.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heyneman, S., & DeYoung, A. J. (Eds.). (2004). Challenges for education in Central Asia. Greenwich: Information Age Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hiro, D. (1995). Between Marx and Muhammad: The changing face of Central Asia. London: HarperCollins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hiro, D. (2009). Inside Central Asia: A political and cultural history of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, turkey, and Iran. New York: Overlook Duckworth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holt, N. L. (2003). Representation, legitimation, and autoethnography: An autoethnographic writing story. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 2(1), 18–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Humphreys, M. (2005). Getting personal: Reflexivity and autoethnographic vignettes. Qualitative Inquiry, 11(6), 840–860.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • International Crisis Group. (2011). Central Asia: Decay and decline. Asia report No. 201– 3 February. Bishkek/Brussels: International Crisis Group. Available at www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/asia/central-asia/201%20Central%20Asia%20-%20Decay%20and%20Decline.pdf [in English, retrieved 16 November 2013].

  • Kharkhordin, O. (1999). The collective and the individual in Russia: A study of practices. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kolesnikova, I. A. (1991). Teoretiko-methodologicheskaya podgotovka uchitelia k vospitatelnoj rabote v tsikle pedagogicheskih disiplin [in Russian] Theoretical and methodological preparation of the teacher for upbringing work across the disciplines. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, St Petersburg State University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Koshmanova, T., & Ravchyna, T. (2008). Teacher preparation in post-totalitarian society: An interpretation of Ukrainian teacher educators’ stereotypes. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 20(2), 137–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kurakbayev, K. (together with Bridges, D., & Kambatyrova, A.). (2014a). Lost – and Found – in Translation? Interpreting the processes of the international and intra-national ‘translation’ of educational policy and practice in Kazakhstan. In D. Bridges (Ed.), Educational Reform and Internationalisation: The case of school reform in Kazakhstan (pp. 263–286). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kurakbayev, K. (together with Bridges, D., & Kambatyrova, A.). (2014b). Interpreting the international and intra-national ‘translation’ of educational policy and practice: A case of opportunism, serendipity and bricolage. In P. Smeyers, D. Bridges, N. Burbules, & M. Griffiths (Eds.), International handbook of interpretation in educational research. Dordrecht: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Learmonth, M., & Humphreys, M. (2012). Autoethnography and academic identity: Glimpsing business school doppelgängers. Organization, 19(1), 99–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, D. M. (2008). Shades of gray: An autoethnographic study of race in the academy. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 21(4), 347–373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MOES. (2010). State Program of Education Development in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2011–2020, Astana. Available at: www.akorda.kz/upload/SPED.doc [in English, retrieved 15 November 13].

  • MOES. (2013). Strategic Directions of Education and Science Development for 2014–2016. Document for internal circulation. Astana.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muckle, J. (1988). A guide to the Soviet curriculum: What the Russian child is taught in school. London/New York/Sydney: Groom Helm.

    Google Scholar 

  • Niyozov, S. (2011). Revisiting teacher professionalism discourse through teachers’ professional lives in post-Soviet Tajikistan. In I. Silova (Ed.), Globalization on the margins: Education and postsocialist transformations in central Asia. Charlotte: Information Age Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Niyozov, S., & Shamatov, D. (2010). Teachers surviving to teach: Implications for post-Soviet education and society in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. In J. Zajda (Ed.), Globalisation, ideology and education policy reforms: Globalization, comparative education and policy research (Vol. 11). Dordrecht: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pavlenko, A. (2003). The privilege of writing as an immigrant woman. In C. Person Casanave & S. Vandrick (Eds.), Writing to scholarly publication: Behind the scenes in language education. Mahwah/London: LEA Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pelias, R. J. (2003). The academic tourist: An autoethnography. Qualitative Inquiry, 9, 369–373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Richardson, L. (2000). Writing a method of inquiry. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richardson, L. (2001). Getting personal: Writing-stories. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 14(1), 33–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, K. (2010a). Changing educational paradigms. TED video. Available at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U [retrieved 22 December 2013].

  • Robinson, K. (2010b). Bring on the learning revolution. TED video. Available at: www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.html [retrieved 22 December 2013].

  • Seddon, T. (2005). Introduction. Travelling policy in post-socialist education. European Educational Research Journal, 4(1), 1–4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shturman, D. (1988). The differentiation of opportunities in Soviet secondary education. In D. Shturman (Ed.), The Soviet secondary school. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Silova, I. (2005). Traveling policies: Hijacked in Central Asia. European Educational Research Journal, 4(1), 50–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silova, I. (2009). The crisis of the post-Soviet teaching profession in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Research in Comparative and International Education, 4(4), 366–383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silova, I. (Ed.). (2010). Post-socialism is not dead: (Re)-reading the global in comparative education. Bingley: Emerald Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Silova, I. (Ed.). (2011). Globalization on the margins: Education and postsocialist transformations in Central Asia. Charlotte: Information Age Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Silova, I., & Steiner-Khamsi, G. (Eds.). (2008). How NGOs react. Globalization and education reform in the Caucasus, central Asia and Mongolia. Bloomfield: Kumarian Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steiner-Khamsi, G. (2013). What is wrong with the ‘What-Went-Right’ approach in educational policy? – EERA keynote Cádiz 2012. European Educational Research Journal, 12(1), 20–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tengri News. (2012). V Kazakhstane pochti 30-kratnaya raznitsa v dohodah bogatyh I bednyh [in Russian] The 30-fold Difference between the Income of the Rich and the Poor in Kazakhstan. Available at: http://tengrinews.kz/private_finance/v-kazahstane-pochti-30-kratnaya-raznitsa-v-dohodah-bogatyih-i-bednyih-213808/ [in Russian, retrieved 15 November 2013].

  • White, E., & Peters, M. (Eds.). (2011). Bakhtinian pedagogy: Opportunities and challenges for research, policy and practice in education across the globe. New York: Peter Lang.

    Google Scholar 

  • WHO/UNICEF. (2013). Progress on sanitation and drinking-water: 2013 update. Available at: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/81245/1/9789241505390_eng.pdf [Retrieved 15 November 2013].

  • Yurchak, A. (2005). Everything was forever until it was no more: The last Soviet generation. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, 184 Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 8PQ, UK

    Olena Fimyar

Authors
  1. Olena Fimyar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Olena Fimyar .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University and K.U. Leuven, Ghent, Belgium

    Paul Smeyers

  2. Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom

    David Bridges

  3. Dept. of Educational Policy Organization and Leadership, University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois, USA

    Nicholas C. Burbules

  4. Moray House School of Education, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

    Morwenna Griffiths

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Fimyar, O. (2015). 8.6 Five Conversations and Three Notes on the “Soviet,” or Finding a Place for Personal History in the Study of Teacher Education Policy in Kazakhstan. In: Smeyers, P., Bridges, D., Burbules, N., Griffiths, M. (eds) International Handbook of Interpretation in Educational Research. Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9282-0_74

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation