Modernizing Kazakhstans Higher Education: Challenges of Policy Borrowing and Doctor of Philosophy Graduation Requirements
Agbo S.A. Pak N. Abdrasheva D. Karimova B.
January 2025SAGE Publications Inc.
International Journal of Educational Reform
2026#35Issue 1229 - 255 pp.
Educational policy borrowing is changing the landscape of Kazakhstans higher education. Kazakhstan has initiated higher education standards and quality educational services to compete globally to match those in developed countries. The government policy for higher education reform is a measure of convergence: catching up with the advanced knowledge-based economies of Europe and North America and creating a gateway into the European Union and the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development. According to the Bologna Process, the governments higher education policy calls for research-based Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees. Through this enterprise, the Ministry of Education and Science considers higher education to serve as a beacon light on global competitiveness by mainly introducing the PhD and setting up requirements for graduation commensurate with a research society. This article is a case study investigating the implications of educational policy borrowing and PhD graduation requirements regarding how the students are assimilating and accommodating the requirements. The study explores the implications of how educational policy borrowing impacts PhD graduation requirements and examines the challenges posed by the requirements on PhD students. Our findings indicate that educational borrowing to modernize Kazakhstan focused on developed nations’ social, cultural, and structural characteristics rather than responding positively to changes in Kazakhstans material and sociocultural environments. We conclude that educational policy borrowing should be selective to integrate national identity procedures by which governments and politicians must reformulate educational borrowing according to atypical nonglobal competitiveness emphasis.
Bologna Declaration , convergence. , global competitiveness , higher education , Kazakhstan , PhD programs
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Lakehead University, Orillia, ON, Canada
International Information Technologies University (IITU), Almaty, Kazakhstan
Academic Vice Rector, Korkyt Ata University, Kyzlorda, Kazakhstan
Rector, Korkyt Ata University, Kyzlorda, Kazakhstan
Lakehead University
International Information Technologies University (IITU)
Academic Vice Rector
Rector
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