Looking at Heterogeneity in Urban Schools: Examining Intra- and Interethnic Affinities in Almaty Public Schools

• In Event: Roundtable Session (Monday II)
  In Refereed Round-Table Session: Ethnicity and language issues in schools

Proposal

A central issue in education anthropology is the changing nature of intra- and interethnic relations and/or conflict in a community, along with notions and processes of cultural transmission. As Page (1988/89) noted, “One of the most important issues for any developing region is the extent to which the process of acculturation tends to overpower the process of enculturation, and the extent to which the people of any region still maintain a traditional sense of group identity” (Page, 1988/89, p. 74). However, while the dynamic between these processes is constantly shifting, situated in post-Soviet contexts, these processes may be explored within a complex set of socio-political assemblages in which they are situated. Within such assemblages, schools then may be seen as cross-sections of socio-cultural values. This paper explores this idea by looking at the nature of intra- and interethnic affinities reported by 2,954 students (grades nine to 11) who were enrolled in Almaty public secondary schools in the spring of 2014. By mapping out the students social and ethnic backgrounds, along with their affinity groups, this paper utilizes a sociometric approach in identifying group allegiances as well as social cleavages within and across school communities in the Almaty school system. By examining the level of hemophilia, the “extent to which individuals within a group hold a preference for relationships with individuals from the same group” versus heterophilia, the “extent to which individuals within a group are prepared to form relationships with individuals from outside their own group” (Page, 1988/89, p. 75), this paper aims to explore the shape of heterogeneity and homogeneity in Almaty public schools and the implications of this for public education and the formation of a socially inclusive Kazakhstani identity.

Authors

• Elise S Ahn, University of Wisconsin-Madison / Edgewood College

• Juldyz Smagulova, KIMEP University