Scientific journal
European Journal of Natural History
ISSN 2073-4972
ИФ РИНЦ = 0,301

INFLUENCE OF INTERNATIONALIZATION ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

Nurligenova Z.N. 1
1 Karaganda State Technical University, the Republic of Kazakhstan
In the face of growing competition in the international educational services market, the internationalization of the Kazakhstan education system and attracting more foreign students continues to be an important strategic task. The article reveals the main aspects of the internationalization of the higher education system in the Republic of Kazakhstan. It is noted that a high-quality strategy for internationalizing the domestic education system, based on best international practices, taking into account national priorities, undoubtedly affects both the competitiveness of Kazakh graduates in the world labor market and the competitiveness of the Kazakhstan economy as a whole. Qualitative transformation is one of the main elements in the formation of the sovereignty of our state. The development of higher professional education is closely linked to the problems of the development of society and is due to the following socio-economic laws: the transition of society to a market economy, as a result of which the nature of productive forces and production forces has changed; the growth of knowledge-based industries; increase in the volume of scientific and technical information; quick change of technology; integrative nature of research.
higher education
internationalization
university
academic mobility
competitiveness
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7. In the same place.

Times are changing, and we are changing with them.

Horace.

In modern conditions, one of the key indicators for assessing the country’s development is the human development index, in which, in addition to living standards and longevity, special attention is paid to the level of literacy and education of the population of the studied state. These indicators, of course, are influenced by the higher education system, the high level of which determines the further development of society. More recently, education was considered as the sum of knowledge, skills and abilities gained as a result of training in educational institutions and less often – independently. Today, education is a branch of the economy, economy of the country, which includes organizations, institutions, enterprises providing training, knowledge transfer, and the production of educational literature. Therefore, higher education has a direct impact on the competitiveness of the country’s economy as a whole through the training of qualified personnel, as well as the development of a holistic, creative personality, which is one of the main factors in the optimal functioning of the country’s economy. At the moment, an assessment of the level of development of a country is determined, also by the education of its citizens. Improving the system of higher education is a direct path to positive changes in society, as well as to its further progressive functioning.

As you know, at the present time there are changes in the political, economic, cultural spheres of human life, in connection with this, reforms affect higher education, periodically requiring updating. Today it is already clear to everyone: it is impossible to “enter” into the “new” time with the old standards. As shown by popular practice, the task of forming a new personality is not feasible with traditional approaches to education, so the introduction of new educational standards is a trend of the times. The new standard is distinguished by the implementation of a system-activity approach in training, where the learner’s position is active, where he acts as an initiator and creator, rather than a passive listener. In the standards of the new generation, the focus is not on knowledge, skills, but universal educational activities – the ability to learn independently. The important thing is not the “baggage” of knowledge accumulated during training, but the ability to use it.

The qualitative transformation of higher education is one of the main elements in the formation of the sovereignty of our state, its real political and economic independence. The development of higher professional education is closely linked to the problems of the development of society and is due to the following socio-economic laws:

– the transition of society to a market economy, as a result of which the nature of the productive forces and production relations has changed, the social status of the subjects of production has changed;

– the growth of high-tech industries, for the effective organization of which required mainly staff with higher professional education;

– almost double the amount of scientific and technical information over the past five years, and information is projected to be updated every three years;

– rapid change of technology, which caused obsolescence of production capacities and discovered an insufficient level of qualification of specialists;

– the integrative nature of research conducted at the intersection of various sciences and the synthesis of subject areas of knowledge;

– the active use of modern information and communication technologies as means of intellectual activity, which condition the automation of both physical and mental labor.

In modern society, education has become one of the most extensive areas of human activity. So, at the beginning of the 2018/2019 academic year in the Republic of Kazakhstan, there are 128 higher education institutions (universities) taking into account branches. 45 universities are state-owned by ownership, 79 are private universities and 4 are foreign-owned. The total number of students is 542458, the number of students in the current academic year, compared with the previous academic year, increased by 9.3 %.

The number of full-time faculty is 38 275 people, including 5630 teachers working part-time. A doctorate have 8.4 % of the total staff of the faculty, candidate of sciences – 33,7 %, the title of professor – 6 %, and Associate Professor – 14.8 %. The number of teachers with an academic master’s degree is 12 337 people, or 32.2 %, doctors of philosophy ( PhD ) and doctors in profile – 2379 people or 6.2 % [1].

According to the statistics presented in the “National Report on the status and development of the education system of the Republic of Kazakhstan (since independence)”, at the Level of education of the population of Kazakhstan is relatively high and close to the average level of the countries – members of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) . Among adults aged 25 years and over 40 % have secondary education as the highest level of education, 30 % – a college degree and 25 % – higher education. According to RK National Economy Committee on Statistics of the Ministry in the 2017/ 2018 academic year, a contingent of university s Kazakhstan amounted to 534 421 students, of them for undergraduate – 496 209, Masters – 34 609 (scientific and pedagogical direction – 19 431 people, profile – 15 178 people), doctoral PhD – 3 603 people (table. 1).

The dynamics of five years recorded an increase in the indicator of faculty (faculty) of universities. According to the Unified higher education management system (UHEMS) in the 2018/2019 academic year, teaching activity is carried out 50 735 people, including staff – 40 594. Qualitative composition of faculty or university s in the 2018/2019 academic year for data UHEMS (graduation rate) was 44,7 % (for 115 civilian universities ). The qualitative composition of the faculty of higher educational institutions of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 3 years is presented in table 2.

Table 1

Kazakhstan: contingent of universities, people [2, p. 15]

The level of education

Academic year

2014-2015

2015-2016

2016-2017

2017-2018 * for 122 universities

2018-2019 * UHEMS data for 115 civilian universities

Undergraduate

477 387

459 369

477 074

496 209

479 914

Master

32 527

29 882

32 893

34 609

36 720

Doctoral studies

2 063

2 288

2 710

3 603

4 937

Total

511 977

491 539

512 677

534 421

521 571

 

Table 2

Kazakhstan: indicators of the degree of teaching staff of universities, person / % [3, p. 16]

 

2015-2016 academic year

2016-2017 academic year

2017-2018 academic year

Qty

share, %

Qty

share, %

Qty

share, %

Total faculty

38 087

100

38 241

100

38 212

100

Of them:

           

Doctors of Science

3,568

9,4

3 499

9.2

3 251

8.5

candidates of sciences

14 239

37,4

14,023

36.7

13,276

34.7

Doctors of Philosophy (PhD)

1 133

3

1 562

four

1 854

5

Doctors by profile

139

0.4

175

0.5

208

0.5

Masters

10 082

26.5

11 135

29.1

12 098

31.7

The general indicator of steadiness (p. 1-4)

19,079

50.1

19 259

50,4

18 589

48.7

other

8 926

23,4

7 847

20.5

7 847

19.6

 

Consequently, the social role of education has increased: the prospects for the development of mankind today largely depend on its focus and effectiveness. In the last decade, the world is changing its attitude towards all types and elements of education. Education, especially higher education, is considered as the main, leading factor in social, political and economic progress. The reason for such attention is the understanding that the most important value and main capital of modern society is a person who is capable of searching and mastering new knowledge and making non-standard decisions. In this regard, it is necessary to note the domestic educational traditions that have proven their effectiveness:

– a high degree of state responsibility for education;

– social orientation of education (on socially significant results of educational activities);

– knowledge tradition in the content of education;

– experience of reproductive, illustrative and explanatory type of training;

– ideas and experience of developing education;

– experience in the development of creative cognitive abilities of students through the organization of problem-based learning;

– experience in science education;

– experience of moral education.

Currently, the key trend in the development of higher and postgraduate education in Kazakhstan is the internationalization of universities. The participation of the scientific and pedagogical and student community in international projects, the academic mobility of students and teachers, as well as other factors contribute to the integration of the Kazakh higher school in the global educational space. Appearing at the end of XX, the phenomenon of internationalization of higher education is now becoming one of the most important directions of development of national education systems and educational institutions worldwide. At the national level, internationalization strategies are being actively developed, designed to solve a number of important political, economic and cultural problems, as well as ensure academic development, positive changes in the educational process and the university environment. International cooperation of Kazakhstan in the field of education is carried out in accordance with the legislation of the country and international treaties. International cooperation is represented by the relevant legislative framework. This is the UN legal framework: Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), Convention against Discrimination in Education (1960), ILO / UNESCO Recommendations on the Status of teachers (1966), World Declaration on Higher Education for the 21st Century: Approaches and Practical Measures (1998). The internationalization of universities of the countries participating in the Bologna process is regulated by documents of the Council of Europe. These are the European Convention on the Equivalence of Diplomas Leading to Access to Universities (ETS No. 15) (1953), the European Convention on the Equivalence of University Periods of Education (1956); European Convention on the Academic Recognition of University Qualifications (1959), European Agreement on the Continuation of Scholarships for Students Studying Abroad (1969), Covenant on the Recognition of Qualifications Related to Higher Education in the European Region (1997), etc. . The basis of cooperation within the framework of scientific and educational process is the following regulatory framework of the CIS – the Agreement on cooperation in education (1992), Agreement on cooperation in the field of training of scientific and scientific-pedagogical personnel and nostrification of documents on their qualifications within the CIS (1992), the Agreement on cooperation on the formation of a single (common) educational space of the CIS (1997), the Model Law on Education (adopted at the 13th plenary meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of CIS participants (1999).

At the regional level, one of the successful projects for the internationalization of education has been the cooperation of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The SCO Universities project is aimed at developing integration processes in education, science and technology, taking into account the best national traditions. The creation of the Central Asian Higher Education Zone was facilitated by the Taraz Declaration, adopted in 2007. One of the striking examples of interaction is the Central Asian Education Platform project, implemented within the framework of the European Educational Initiative for Central Asia. The aim of the project is to expand cooperation between the European Union and Central Asia. Under the auspices of the project, in June 2017, the Second Meeting of the Ministers of Education of the European Union and Central Asia was held in Astana. The main outcome of the meeting was the adoption of the Astana Declaration, which laid a new stage in the process of strengthening ties between the countries of the Central Asian region and the European Union.

In order to further develop the system of higher education, internationalization continues to remain on the list of the main directions of development of higher education providers. Internationalization contributes to the sustainable development of higher education at the national level and, therefore, the formation of competitive human capital. Despite the fact that internationalization remains the central strategic direction of universities, many stakeholders in the field of higher education still have a vague idea of this phenomenon. Each of them interprets this concept in their own way, and most people understand internationalization exclusively as attracting foreign students. However, one should also understand internationalization as a process of integrating international, intercultural and global perspectives into the higher education system and, thus, improving the quality of education and research. This process includes the mobility of students and faculty, the development of joint educational programs, diplomas, massive open online courses (MOOCs), and joint research projects. Thus, internationalization increases the accessibility and innovativeness of higher education, ensures the emergence of international standards, and expands and strengthens international cooperation. In the university, the leading leaders of the world ranking of universities QS WUR, the activities on internationalization of the university include many development areas – from developing a strategic plan for the development of the university to providing distance learning [4, p. 298]. As you know, ranking of the best universities in the world (QS World University Rankings) is a global study and its accompanying ranking of the best higher education institutions of world significance in terms of their achievements in education and science. Designed according to the methodology of the British consulting company Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The rating evaluates universities by the following indicators: activity and quality of research activities, employers’ opinions and career potential, teaching and internationalization. These indicators cover the key strategic missions of universities of world significance for which they are responsible to the participants in the process: the academic community, employers, students and their parents. Annually, the study evaluates over 2.5 thousand higher education institutions around the world. Based on its results, a ranking of the 500 best universities in the world is compiled, as well as university ratings in individual disciplines.

The internationalization of higher education has a positive effect both at the local (university) and at the national levels (country). Due to the internationalization of higher education, the number of foreign students is increasing, which in turn increase the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and facilitate the creation of new jobs. Attracting foreign students is also a mechanism to increase the attractiveness of the country on the world stage, as a result there is an influx of more tourists.

The core of the state policy of internationalization is the development of academic mobility of students. In total, in 2017, 2 495 students were sent to study abroad by universities, which is 2.6 times higher than the same indicator for 2016. This indicator ensures the implementation of the “Ensuring the quality of external mobility” strategy of academic mobility in the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2012-2020 years: there is an annual increase in the number of students traveling to the countries of the EHEA (European Higher Education Area) for one period of study, by 50 % [5]. However, this is a significantly small proportion of the total number of students in 2017 – only 0.5 %

Much work in this direction is carried out by the Center for International Cooperation and Academic Mobility of the Karaganda State Technical University (KSTU). The coordinator of programs on academic mobility of students organizes the work of the Commission to conduct a competition among students. According to the results of the competition, an agreement is concluded taking into account the accreditation of the partner institution and its educational programs. The procedure for admitting students from other higher educational institutions, recognition and offsetting of loans acquired during academic mobility, is implemented in accordance with the “Rules for the organization of the educational process on credit education technology”, approved by order of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated April 20, 2011 No. 152, Concepts academic mobility of students of higher educational institutions of the Republic of Kazakhstan (MES of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 01/19/11), the Regulation on the procedure for transferring loans according to ECTS type from 05.09.2011

In 2015, 6 students from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan were attracted to study at the Karaganda State Technical University in the specialties “Construction” – 5 people, “Oil and Gas Business” – 1 person. In order to ensure the further attraction of foreign students to KSTU in 2016, a joint work was carried out with Kazakh National University named after Al – Farabi for the admission of students in accordance with the agreement between the Governments of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan on cooperation in the field of education (November 22, 2009). For training for the 2016/2017 academic year, 15 students were accepted who previously passed foundation courses (preparatory language courses) at KazNU named after Al-Farabi [6, p. 27].

As a result of the positive experience about teaching these students for the 2017/2018 academic year, an additional 30 students from the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan were attracted. In the context of faculties, the contingent of foreign students from this country as of November 1, 2018 is 43 students. In terms of specialties: “Construction” – 26 people, “Transport, transport equipment and technologies” – 2 person, the field of “science” – 9 people, “Information Systems” – 5 people, “Computers and Software” – 1 person sheep. The Karaganda State Technical University provides support for the transfer of students (purchase of tickets, visa support in conjunction with the migration service of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Karaganda region, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in Kazakhstan). Also in 2017, 5 students from Tajikistan were accepted for training in accordance with the intergovernmental agreement in the field of education and science for training in the specialties of “Electric Power”, “Information Security Systems”, “Architecture”, “And Information Systems”. For 2018/2019, 2 citizens of Ukraine were accepted in accordance with the Agreement between the Ministries of Education and Science of the two countries on cooperation in the field of education and science from 2010 for training in the target magistracy in the specialty “Metallurgy” [7, p. 28]. It follows that from the point of view of society, an educated person is a self-educated person aimed at developing his creative abilities. As a goal of higher education, a subject is set, an active cultural-historical creator, capable of being included in modern culture and socially valuable activity for its renewal. From the perspective of the individual, the goal of education is an individual who is aware of its uniqueness, autonomy and sovereignty, has personal educational needs and educational interests, is able to take responsibility for its educational potential, has the right to manifest subjectivity, to its own path of development of the chosen educational content.

Thus, the decisive factors in the development of a competitive university, improving the quality of training of specialists are: the development of internationalization of education and the introduction of an education quality management system that meets international standards. Internationalization higher education creates new opportunities, contributes to the acquisition of accessible knowledge, the introduction of innovative methods of work in higher education systems, improves mutual understanding between different peoples and cultures, promotes the education of a new generation prepared for life and work in the international information community. Reforms in the higher education system are designed to bring Kazakhstan to the forefront in the world, to ensure the future of the Kazakhstan nation, a decent life for every citizen.