Glocalization, University Education and the Development of Global Competences Among Kazakhstan Graduates

• In Event: Strenghening global competencies and transformative practices

Proposal

The paper assesses the level of understanding of global issues among Kazakhstan education graduate students. There is consensus throughout the world from scholars and institutions of differing persuasions that global education is of cardinal importance for the modern interconnected world (Schultz, 2007; UNESCO, 2015). For nation-states opening up to the outside world through programs and policies such as international student movements, international education agreements, and organizations (for example, Bologna, PISA), adoption of foreign languages and other policies implemented to achieve economic development, international cooperation, and competitiveness, some form of education has to be introduced to help students and society understand and manage the radical changes taking place in their communities and beyond.

The term global competence is defined by Mansilla and Jackson (2011) as human ability and attitude to comprehend and act on global significance matters, and it involves the knowledge and skills needed for surviving in the 21st century. For the National Education Association (NEA, 2010), global competence refers to knowledge and understanding of international issues, learning, working with others from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds, and skills to function in an interdependent world. Unavoidably, global competency involves an understanding of the local and the global interface that would lead to progressive and democratic involvement by the graduate.

Kazakhstan is an excellent example of a country undergoing rapid socio-economic change as it opens up to the outside world after years of isolation when it was part of the Soviet Union (Cummings, 2012; Smortentseva, Huisan & Froumin, 2018). There is also unanimity that individuals and nation-states cannot go it alone, and the importance of global education to develop skills that enable people to read and understand the local and global world cannot be overstated. This means education systems must strive to prepare graduates to live and work in an increasingly democratic and interdependent world. With these critical observations, the study aimed to answer the following research questions:
i) How does the glocalization of higher education influence the development of global competences in Kazakhstan graduate students?

ii) Does the curriculum at Nazarbayev University develop graduates who are socially responsible?

This research project utilized a qualitatively driven, sequential mixed-methods approach. Mixed methods involve both quantitative and qualitative data throughout the research process (NIHOBSC, 2018). Deliberate collection and analyses of both forms facilitated a more comprehensive understanding of global competency among Kazakhstanis. A survey questionnaire that received 134 responses was used. A simple random sample was employed to ensure that every student member of the population had an equal chance of being selected for the study. Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education's official student list was the sampling frame. The survey addressed through a quantitative analysis of global and local civic engagement and awareness (global competency). The survey was developed using the Global Citizenship Pre-Survey from Educating for Global Citizenship: A Theoretical Account and Quantitative Analysis (Hartman, 2014) and the Three Forms of the Global Perspective Inventory by Global Perspective Institute Inc. (Braskamp, 2013). The statistical software for data science, Stata, was used to analyze quantitative data.

The research study observed that some graduate students are aware of the need to be globally competent. The importance of the ability to utilize foreign languages, especially English, was highlighted by many students. The potential to be able to engage with people from different backgrounds positively also came out. However, the opportunity to learn English is seen by some as open to a selected few in the country and hence a new vehicle for social stratification that is leaving some sections behind (the poor and rural-based). The graduate students also pointed out the absence of critical civic engagement among students and the absence of specific curriculum courses that would promote critical citizenship and democratic ethos.

Author

• Munyaradzi Hwami, Nazarbayev University