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Quality of Education in
Kazakhstani Universities:
Real or Not Real?
LYUDMILA KOVALEVA
Volume 1, Issue 1
June 2016
Academic Mobility and the
Labor Market
ZHANNA JUMABAYEVA
The Role of Language
Policies in Developing
Plurilingual Identities
RIZAGUL SYZDYKBAYEVA
Editorial Team
Philip Montgomery, Chief Editor, Faculty
Lyazat Gapbassova, Co-Managing Editor, PhD Student
Altyn Baigazina, Co-Managing Editor, MSc Student
Aliya Mustafina, Co-Managing Editor, MSc Alumna
Editorial Board
Tsediso Makoelle, PhD, Faculty
Ziyat Abdykaimov, MSc Student
Kamila Kozhabayeva, MA Student
Aisara Yessenova, MA Student
Sholpan Tazabek, PhD Student
Aisulu Sanat, MSc Alumna
Anna CohenMiller, PhD, Faculty
Peer Reviewers
Dr. Daniel Torrano
Gaziza Aliyeva
Dr. Jason Sparks
Xeniya Belova
Ziyat Abdykaimov
Dr. Denise Egéa
Dr. Bridget Goodman
Dr. Rita Kasa
Aisara Yessenova
Dr. Nettie Boivin
Zukhra Utesheva
Dr. Ali Ait Si Mhamed
Dr. Kairat Kurakbayev
Aisulu Sanat
Mariya Abdrakhmanova
Kamila Kozhabayeva
Zhansaya Tatyyeva
Madina Tynybayeva
Sholpan Tazabek
Saniya Ussenova
Gulbanu Ibragimkyzy
Dr. Sulushash Kerimkulova
Laila Abdimanapova
Mariyam Kamedenova
Kuralay Bozymbekova
Akmaral Karabay
Aliya Bekisheva
Dr. Robyn Bantel
Akerke Kaiyrkhanova
Zhanna Jumabayeva
Dana Abdrasheva
Special Thanks
Nurbolat Khamitov, Logo Design
Dr. Robyn Bantel, Proofreading
Dr. Aida Sagintayeva, NUGSE Dean
Cover Image: Stamen Design, under CC BY 3.0. Data by OpenStreetMap, under CC BY SA.
NUGSE Research in Education is a peer-reviewed journal designed for educational leaders,
policymakers, researchers and students interested in empirical research, critical reviews, and
analytical papers on a wide range of topics in education. The primary aim is to share experience
and promote understanding of Kazakhstan’s unique educational context. The journal is peer-
reviewed by an editorial board comprising students, alumni and faculty of the Nazarbayev
University Graduate School of Education, offering its students and alumni the experience and
knowledge of the publication process, peer-revision boards, and critical analysis of quality
scholarly work.
NUGSE Research in Education is a free, open source publication.
All work in this issue carries the Creative Commons Copyright license BY-NC-SA 3.0
Any future publication or reference to this work should include attribution to this publication.
nugserie.nu.edu.kz
Table of Contents
Volume 1, Issue 1
June 2016
Welcome Letter from the Editor PHILIP MONTGOMERY 1
Peer Reviewed Articles
Quality of Education in Kazakhstani Universities: LYUDMILA KOVALEVA 2
Real or Not Real?
Academic Mobility and the Labor Market ZHANNA JUMABAYEVA 8
The Role of Language Policies in Developing RIZAGUL SYZDYKBAYEVA 15
Plurilingual Identities in Kazakhstan
Editorials
Welcome Letter from the Editorial Board KAMILA KOZHABAYEVA 20
AISULU SANAT
Publication Tips from NUGSE Faculty ALTYN BAIGAZINA 21
LYAZAT GAPBASSOVA
Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in ZIYAT ABDYKAIMOV 24
Higher Education: U.S. Policies and
Lessons for Nazarbayev University
The Benefits of Blogging AISARA YESSENOVA 28
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NUGSE Research in Education
The Benefits of Blogging
AISARA YESSENOVA
Blogging is an unconventional way for students to hone their academic writing skills. Blogs are “a
chronological publication in which personal thoughts and opinions are posted” (Lai & Chen, 2011, p. 948). The
introduction of blog writing to the Advanced English course spurred the enhancement of students’
argumentative essay writing. This progress in developing one’s own sense of style and voice corresponds with
the research findings by Warschauer (1997) and Montgomery (2015), who claim that the writing of student
bloggers becomes more natural, reflective, and versatile.
Writing blogs, inserting one’s own opinions and suggestions, and sharing ideas with the readership make
students’ writing precise and eloquent. The space limit and the format of blog posts require the authors to write
in a laconic and engaging way. Bloggers therefore tailor their vocabulary to the needs of the audience.
Montgomery (2015) mentions that by writing blogs students strive to be understandable and use the middle
range of vocabulary: by doing so, they reach their own “native” writing style (p. 3). In fact, the readers are
reluctant to spend time reading posts abundant with pretentious words. As a result, authors stop trying to sound
sophisticated and shift to writing for comprehension.
Another example of progress relates to the quality of discourse. This process of choosing the topic
cajoles students to be more critical in proving their arguments and interpretations, and responding to comments.
Bayer (as cited in Warschauer, 1997) cogently argues that peer collaboration enables students to “make
connections between new ideas and prior knowledge, develop language and thinking competences” (p. 471).
Writing a post that encourages discussion is a constant way of contesting one’s ideas, reality and other people’s
opinions. Choosing the subjects, writing-up the posts, and reflecting on the comments teach students how to be
open-minded, thoughtful, and responsive. Once writers express their position, they rethink and reconsider their
ideas in light of the readers’ feedback. This iterative process is a great opportunity to construct one’s
comprehension of the complex events regarding another person’s viewpoint and experience.
The unusual format of writing the blog posts also provides a space for creativity. In this light, students
strive to be unique in the stream of other blog contributors. Bloggers can nurture creativity by practicing
different sentence varieties, or as Warschauer (1997) emphasizes, “writing modes become more versatile” (p.
476) as the result of blog writing.
Writing blogs, according to the research presented here, can help polish students’ writing skills. The
following examples of student blog posts can serve as evidence to prove this point. The first shows how a
student is mastering her own diverse writing style while sharing insights into the topic of women leadership in
academia (sample 1 below). Zere's first sentence is a great example of a complex sentence using parallel
structure. The second post demonstrates how an author is developing a confident, honest, personal voice
without hiding behind "pretentious" vocabulary (sample 2 below). Dilshat’s native style is evolving through
posing questions to the readership and emphasizing words that capture the key address to the audience:
inclusive education is about fostering people’s capacities. The third clearly demonstrates the benefit of reflection
in writing, both for the author and the audience (sample 3 below). Zhuldyzay is reflecting on her data collection
process, teasing out the lessons she gained for the future, but also providing some guidance for readers
embarking on qualitative interview-based research themselves. As seen, while following one format of space-
limited blog writing, student bloggers managed to take advantage of blog writing in a very personalized and
unique way.
29
June 2016
Women Leadership in Education
Zere Kussainova
https://nuwritersguild.wordpress.com/2015/01/15/women-leadership-in-education/
Thanks to Dr. Sparks, our cohort of Higher Education
managed to explore, understand and think about women leaders
in education: who they are, what their roles are in education and
in society as well. It was a very significant and interesting topic
for us because we were eager to know the inside of this
“absorbing” term as we study in the major called “Educational
Leadership”. In addition, the interest grew since there are only
women in the group. My goal here is to share with you, Master’s
students of Educational Leadership, ideas discussed in our class
and to see what you think about this, if possible.
Personally, a woman leader is the woman who
effectively juggles both career and family, who achieves success
in the work and value family life. However, there is another idea
of the authors which can be very interesting.
To explore this topic we went through several stages or
steps: we discussed, read and gave PowerPoint presentations.
We read a book chapter written by Grogan and Shakeshaft
(2011), who stated that there is a need to redefine or to create
new understanding of leadership as women leadership in
education. Women leadership in education is different from other types of leadership such as transformative,
managerial…and, therefore a new definition should emerge which will totally fit to the qualities, differences,
traits and peculiarities of women leaders. And there are a number of reasons to prove that: women perceive and
use power differently than men; they use power through understanding and listening. As was said: “Women
have modeled ways to use power and make change through understanding, a process that requires listening, not
just talking” (p. 91). Then, what makes women leadership unique is the use of skills given them naturally as a
part of being a woman, which are mothering skills (protection, support, encouragement, etc.), and which can be
beneficial in educational leadership. However, there was time, when “mothering skills were perceived less
important than leadership” (p. 84). Moreover, women’s “revolutionary” approach to improve something and to
change things for the better, to help others, to improve social justice are estimated as a certain difference. “As a
way of making meaning in their work of leadership, women discuss their desire to make things better, to right
social wrong, to increase support for underserved groups” (p. 90).
To sum up, women leadership is a phenomenon which can be understood by people differently. How
to achieve success in education being a woman is a difficult question and maybe there is no sole answer that fits
for all and is common for all because nowadays we are open to everything, we have freedom, and we have the
right to be different. So, what does women leadership mean to you, and does it exist in Kazakhstan?
Who is Really Disabled? The Importance of Transforming People’s Mindset Towards Inclusivity
Dilshat Kalshabek
https://nuwritersguild.wordpress.com/2016/02/06/who-is-really-disabled/
Recently, I was facebooking and came up with an interesting post of one of the friends of mine about his visit to
the center for physically disabled people. In his post he wrote about a girl who shared her life story and thoughts
about it. I was really touched and, eventually, was inspired to write about it. The original story was written in
Kazakh. I will do my best not to change the message translating the story.
Figure 1. WWII-era poster of Rosie the
Riveter, a popular symbol of women's equality.
Image by Howard Miller is licensed under
CC0.
30
NUGSE Research in Education
It was a hot summer. My mother and I were at a doctor and
after medical check we were given the list of medicines that we had to buy.
Then on the way to the drugstore I have noticed that some people were
looking at me sitting on wheelchair with a great sympathy, others were
passing with pride and arrogance. Then I thought looking at them: “If I
were able to walk like these people would I treat the same as they do?”
Most likely it will be otherwise. We reached the drugstore and my mother
left me outside and entered there.
I was sitting and moving my wheelchair. The sun was shining
brightly, flowers smelled fragrantly. Suddenly, a woman passing by came
up and was trying to find some money in her pocket. “I don’t need your
money,” I said with anger and with pain questioned myself: “Do I look
so helpless and pitiful?” “I am not a beggar, I don’t need your money,”
repeated I and another man came up and said: “Better give me that
money, to the beggar like me.” The man looked slovenly and he smelled of
alcohol. The woman gave him the money and went along.
Coming back home I started to speculate about those people who
can see, hear and walk on their own but they became beggars and continue
to harm their health. Whereas people like me who can’t even make a step
on their own still striving and trying to become as everyone else.
Who is really disabled then?
The issue raised in this life story is vital. It has a direct relation to the inclusion in education which is
considered as a right but difficult way to choose. Different stakeholders have different perspectives and most of
them are skeptical about it. The first and foremost precondition for inclusive education to become successfully
implemented is people’s readiness to accept those “unusual” people as they are. That is to say, to create inclusive
society. It is social values and perception which determine whether to include or exclude a specific characteristic
of an individual. As the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) report defines:
“Social inclusion of the excluded groups can only happen if everyone becomes “part of the group” that
defines the culture, values and standards of the society in which they live.” (p. 32)
Labeling them as people with special needs or the Russian equivalent, “люди с ограниченными
возможностями” (people with limited opportunities), we define and affect people’s attitude towards them.
Actually, we are all with limited opportunities. This is a result of social identity, meaning a person’s self-
conception is derived from the group they were categorized to. As a rule, people want to possess a positive
identity where they are valued and respected. Otherwise, the society where there is an imbalance between the
individual’s power may end up with the process of social exclusion (UNDESA, 2009). To achieve the social
inclusion it is necessary to change the meaning and values associated with unfavorable characteristics.
This can be achieved by raising people’s awareness with the help of the education system, mass media
and social campaigns. People have to realize that inclusive education doesn’t necessarily mean studying with
disabled people. Instead, inclusive education is aiming to find and focus on what a student can do. It is clear from
this point that every child regardless of his/her level of capacity is going to benefit from the education which is
inclusive. Undoubtedly, it is not an easy task to make people “embrace” people who are excluded from the first
attempts. In this case, media and social campaigns are going to become important stakeholders in this essential
but challenging process.
Going back to the story, it is possible to draw a conclusion that these people do want us approach them
better and want to become a part of the community which is called “Humankind”.
P.S. Food For Thought:
If you fail to see potential in the person but only see person’s disability, then who is blind?
If you cannot hear your brother’s cry for help and justice, then who is deaf?
If you cannot stand up for the right of all people, then who is cripple?
If you cannot have the patience, the tolerance and understanding for individual differences, then who is mentally
handicapped?
Figure 2. Alternative International
Symbol of Access, which attempts to
change social perceptions of disability.
Image by Brian Glenney and Sara
Hendren is licensed under CC BY-SA
3.0. Retrieved from accessibleicon.org
31
June 2016
I am a Researcher…!
Zhuldyzay Zhakypbekova
https://nuwritersguild.wordpress.com/2015/11/12/i-am-a-researcher/
I would like to share my first experience of conducting mini
research to study the teaching and learning challenges in online
education. I have chosen two volunteer teachers who are striving to
make online education widespread in our secondary school. However,
they claim that they face challenges working online and much effort
should be done to achieve their goals. I interviewed them and
experienced the difficulties myself too.
The first difficulty I faced was the development of interview
questions. I spent hours on thinking how to construct the questions so
that they helped me to answer my research questions and sub-questions.
Moreover, it was challenging to avoid biased and leading questions.
The pre-interview period was followed by the interview process
itself. Probably, because it was my first experience as a researcher the
first thing I forgot was to record the interview. When I realized the
absence of the tape recorder I started to take notes spontaneously. But it
was a lesson for me, and I prepared the tools in advance for the second
interview.
One more weakness of my first interview was that I informed the
interviewees about the confidentiality and ethical issues in the end of the
interview. In addition, I made an agreement about the interview a few
days ahead; however, we couldn’t meet at the set time. Despite the fact that I had a good proximity to the
research site it was not always possible to meet with interviewees. The reason for this was that teachers were
overloaded with school work.
Although I had different challenges during the interviews, there were advantageous moments. The
interviews provided me the opportunity to investigate the main phenomena from different perspectives. I had a
chance to ask follow-up questions which helped me to understand teachers’ attitudes and experiences in detail.
Summing up, it was a challenging but learning experience for me at the same time. I could feel myself as
a real researcher. Also, I understood the important aspects of the data collection process which I need to
consider further.
References
Grogan, M., & Shakeshaft, C. (2011). Women and educational leadership. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Lai, H. M., & Chen, C. P. (2011). Factors influencing secondary school teachers’ adoption of teaching blogs. Computers &
Education, 56(4), 948-960.
Montgomery, P. (2015). Did you read my new post? Improving autonomy, English, and engagement through class blogs.
Paper presented at Suleymen-Demirel University, International Conference on Building Cultural Bridges, 2015.
Retrieved from http://nur.nu.edu.kz/handle/123456789/1317
UNDESA (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs). (2009). Creating an inclusive society: Practical strategies
to promote social integration. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/egms/docs/2009/Ghana/inclusive-
society.pdf
Warschauer, M. (1997). Computer‐mediated collaborative learning: Theory and practice. The Modern Language Journal, 81(4),
470-481.
Figure 3. Woman interviewer.
Image is licensed under CC0.