‘Soviet’ in teachers’ memories and professional beliefs in Kazakhstan: points for reflection for reformers, international consultants and practitioners

This paper is a part of a three-year study, ‘Internationalisation and reform of secondary schooling in Kazakhstan’, jointly conducted by an international team of UK- and Kazakhstan-based researchers in 2012–2014. The study was conceived as a mechanism to support education reform in the country. This was achieved through reconstructing the education policy narrative of the last two decades and understanding the effects of the newly established Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools and the Centres of Excellence in-service professional development programme on the larger system. While the focus of the study was on Kazakhstan’s educational present, the references to the previous system of education, which was often referred to as Soviet, traditional, but also successful, fundamental and the best in the world, were numerous. These continuous references to the past prompted the authors of this paper to address the questions: What memories and practices of Soviet education are still dominant in the field of education in Kazakhstan? How do these beliefs continue to shape educational debate in the country? In support of its argument, the paper draws on the literature on Soviet schooling and contemporary education reform, interview data with national and international teachers in Kazakhstan, and field observations. The resultant narrative, which brings together the analysis of educational change and changes in teachers’ beliefs, may appeal to many involved in the construction of the contemporary reform agenda

Governamentalidade como Ferramenta Conceitual na Pesquisa de Políticas Educacionais

Este artigo trata da governamentalidade, como ferramenta conceitual, na pesquisa em Ciências Humanas; particularmente, em estudos sobre políticas educacionais. Examinam-se as principais definições de governamentalidade apresentada por Foucault (1991). Argumento que a governamentalidade não constitui um enquadramento teórico fechado, mas é operacionalizada como ferramenta analítica genérica. A percepção “desigual” de governamentalidade nos estudos educacionais é discutida na segunda parte do ensaio. Há uma clara lacuna no estudo das políticas educacionais em contextos não-liberais na perspectiva da governamentalidade. Usando a pesquisa de Tikly (2003), aplico o conceito de “governamentalidade emergente” para uma compreensão da elaboração de políticas, como tecnologias de governo na Ucrânia pós-comunista. As possibilidades e limitações desta tentativa teórica são discutidas na parte final do ensaio

Testimonies of Syrian Academics Displaced Post 2011: Time, place and the agentic self

This article explores the experiences of protracted displacement in a group of 19 displaced Syrian academics now living in Turkey who are often referred to as the precariat that is, a group or collective of people who are living in conditions of high unpredictability, insecurity and uncertainty. As part of a small-scale collaborative professional enquiry , semi-structured interviews with these academics were conducted to understand the social, affective and professional experiences, needs and concerns of the academics during and after their forced displacement. The key concepts of precarity and crises of selfhood, alongside memory and testimony, inform the analysis. This article seeks to provide an account of this collective experience and its complex character and concludes with observations on how one might understand the constraints on professional agency and how might one support displaced academics in such contexts. Solidarity in exile and the development of political friendships are argued for as a principle to inform all work.CARA and Soros Foundatio

ФОРМУВАННЯ І УПРАВЛІННЯ ІНВЕСТИЦІЙНИМ ПОРТФЕЛЕМ

У ході вивчення даної теми були відзначені основні моменти, завдяки яким формування інвестиційного портфеля є висхідним трендом на ринку інвестування. Також було проаналізовано два основних підходи стосовно диверсифікації портфелів та виділено основні етапи формування інвестиційного портфеля. Формування інвестиційного портфеля та управління ним як одне з основних завдань інвестування є актуальною проблемою для інвесторів. При формуванні інвестиційного портфеля основною метою є отримання оптимального результату в рамках реалізації розробленої інвестиційної політики за рахунок вибору найбільш надійних і прибуткових вкладень. У статті розглянуто класифікацію та ключові концепції управління інвестиційним портфелем. Було зроблено висновок, що формування та управління інвестиційним портфелем, що базується на толерантності до ризику, диверсифікації та розподілу активів, допомагає досягти необхідного зростання у бажані терміни, знизити ризики

БРЕНД-ОРІЄНТОВАНА ПОВЕДІНКА В КОНТЕКСТІ ФОРМУВАННЯ КОРПОРАТИВНОЇ КУЛЬТУРИ

У статті обґрунтовано визначення корпоративної культури, а також розглядаються можливості цілеспрямованого впливу на корпоративну культуру з метою її трансформації. Зокрема, включення орієнтації на бренд до структури цінностей корпоративної культури та як наслідок зміна поведінки співробітників у бік орієнтації на цінності бренду. Автори розглядають бренд-орієнтовану поведінку як одну з метрик оцінки ефективності персоналу в умовах великої організації, де працюють представники різних професій. Також вона дає можливість уніфікувати сервіс, що надається, щоб підтримувати високий рівень задоволеності споживачів у процесі будь-якої взаємодії з підприємством. Саме тому формування бренд-орієнтованої поведінки має велике значення як у рамках розвитку внутрішнього клімату організації, так і у рамках розвитку бізнесу. Запропоновано ряд практико ¬орієнтованих методів вбудовування моделей поведінки, орієнтованих на бренд у корпоративну культуру організацій

Self-Tracking, Governmentality, and Nursing and Midwifery Council's (2016) Revalidation Policy

In April 2016 the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) introduced a new revalidation continuous professional development (CPD) policy. This policy states that revalidation is the responsibility of nurses, and although employers are urged to support the revalidation process, the NMC clearly states that employers have no legal requirement to provide either time or funds for the CPD activities of nurses and midwives (NMC, 2014, 2016; Royal College of Nursing, 2016). The aim of this professional development policy is to ensure that nurses and midwives maintain their professional competency and to promote public safety and confidence in nurses and midwives. A closer look at the process of revalidation suggests that several measures have been introduced to ensure that nurses and midwives conform to the CPD policy, and this paper examines the influence of governmentality and neoliberalism on the NMC's self-tracking revalidation policy. It will be recommended that the responsibility for the revalidation process should be shared by nurses, midwives, and their employers, and that time and money should be allocated for the professional development of nurses and midwives

EFFICIENCY OF MEANS OF STIMULATING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DIGITAL ECONOMY IN UKRAINE AND EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Objective: The purpose of the study is to study the legal means of stimulating the development of the digital economy in Ukraine and to analyze the relevant experience of the European Union in order to determine ways to improve domestic legislation in this area.Methodology: The work uses a complex of methods, including analysis of Ukraine's current legislation and international acts, comparative legal analysis, system-structural method, logical methods (analysis, synthesis, generalization), dialectical methods, and dogmatic methods.Results: The results of the study demonstrate the existence of certain problems in the implementation of means of stimulating the development of the digital economy in Ukraine, in particular insufficient harmonization of national legislation with European standards, limited access to state support tools for enterprises outside the IT sphere, and a low level of digital literacy of the population.Contributions: The contribution of the study consists in identifying the main problems of implementing means of stimulating the digital economy in Ukraine and formulating proposals for their solution by harmonizing national legislation with European standards, expanding access to state support tools and implementing a comprehensive program to increase the digital literacy of the population

Sticking and tipping points: a case study of preschool education policy and practice in Astana, Kazakhstan

This article presents a case study exploring how national guidance for kindergartens in Kazakhstan was interpreted in practice. Document analysis of the State Education Standards of Preschool Upbringing and Education, together with stakeholder interviews and observations of six Astana kindergarten settings, illustrates how competing perspectives on preparing children for school can both promote and limit opportunities for child-led activity in early education. The article considers postcolonial and neocolonial pasts and their potential to influence the present, identifying potential sticking points that may limit change processes. The article suggests processes for building locally grounded praxis in order to create tipping points where child-initiated pedagogy could become a more frequent feature of practice

Governança e governamentalidade: relação e relevância de dois conceitos científico-sociais proeminentes na educação comparada

Contrapondo-se ao retrospecto da existência de uma relação volátil entre o Estado e "seu" sistema educacional, este trabalho enfoca dois conceitos que podem ser empregados como ferramentas de análise para estudar as transformações em curso. O termo "governança" está mais relacionado a aspectos técnicos: tratam-se de instrumentos e modos, procedimentos e atores, além de suas constelações e formas de cooperação. Ele concentra a pesquisa em questões como: quem oferece serviços educacionais, qual é a relação entre ensino público e privado etc. Ele também é extremamente útil na investigação da relação entre os diversos níveis de análise e provou-se particularmente importante para a compreensão teórica adequada do papel das organizações internacionais na formulação de políticas educacionais. A sociologia e a ciência política são duas disciplinas cuja associação se mostra mais notável na elaboração do conceito sob diversas perspectivas. "Governamentalidade", por sua vez, apesar de compartilhar muitas características com governança, é um termo foucautiano dedicado à geração de subjetividades distintas por meio de técnicas e modos de regulação e conduta em sentido lato. Assim, governamentalidade inclui investigações do nexo tipicamente foucautiano conhecimento/poder. Consideramos ambas as perspectivas em conjunto para discutir suas implicações para a educação comparada.Against the background of a changing relation between the state and "its" education system, the present contribution focuses on two concepts that can be used as analytical tools in order to analyze the current transformations. "Governance" is more concerned with technical issues: with instruments and modes, procedures and actors, with their constellations and forms of cooperation. It focuses research on questions such as: who provides educational services, what is the relation between public and private education etc. It is also very useful in investigating the relation between the various levels of analysis and has proven particularly useful for an adequate theoretical understanding of the role of international organizations in shaping educational policies. Sociology and political science are the two disciplines most prominently associated with elaborating the concept under various perspectives. Governmentality, on the other hand, although sharing many characteristics with governance, is a Foucauldian term concerned with the generation of different subjectivities through techniques and modes of ruling and guiding in an encompassing sense. Governmentality thus includes investigations of the typical Foucauldian knowledge/power nexus. Both perspectives are brought together to discuss the implications for comparative education

“We Have a Window Seat”: A Bakhtinian Analysis of International Teachers’ Identity in Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools in Kazakhstan

The paper explores dynamic positionality of international teachers in Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools (NIS) in Kazakhstan. The study participants include 11 international teachers from three NIS schools. The experiences of international teachers in NIS schools are characterised by two main tendencies. On the one hand, the study participants report a fascination and enjoyment with the stimulating academic environment of the schools. On the other hand, the participants report a degree of disaffection as a result of multiple constraints, which prevent them from being fully integrated in the life of the schools. The paper contributes to the literature on teacher mobility and migration examined from the perspective of Bakhtin’s dialogical approach