Global Competitiveness Myths and Ideals: English Language Policy in Universities in Kazakhstan

Agbo S.A. Pak N. Akbarov A. Madiyeva G. Saurykov Y.
July 2025 SAGE Publications Inc.

International Journal of Educational Reform
2025 #34 Issue 3 515 - 542 pp.

It seems Kazakhstan couches superior knowledge in one particular language. The government policy for educational change focuses on reaching some aspects of equivalence or parity with developed and advanced nations to the extent that they approximate the attributes of prestigious national societies such as the rich European and North American countries. Current government policy in Kazakhstan calls for a policy dubbed “trilingualism” which means proficiency in Kazakh, Russian, and English. This study utilized various qualitative methods such as interviews, participant and non-participant observation, and document analysis to investigate faculty, students, and administrators’ experiences of the change from teaching and learning in Russian and Kazakh to English. The findings indicated that for Kazakhstans universities to become globally competitive, they must have clear-cut goals that directly manifest how language conveys societys essential values. The unpreparedness of students, faculty, and administrators delimits the changeover from Kazakh and Russian to English. Accordingly, among the essential criteria to foster the foundation of development are national identity, harmony between the educational system, and, most generally, the extent of political decision-making to meet the national societys educational needs.

global competitiveness , globalization and educational reforms , government policy , national identity , normative structures , north and south , “trilingualism”

Text of the article Перейти на текст статьи

Lakehead University, Orillia, ON, Canada
Department of Languages, International Information Technology University (IITU), Almaty, Kazakhstan
Cambridge International University, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Department of Foreign Languages, Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Taraz Innovative Humanitarian University, Taraz, Kazakhstan

Lakehead University
Department of Languages
Cambridge International University
Department of Foreign Languages
Taraz Innovative Humanitarian University

10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель

Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026