Open AccessFaculty in Contemporary Kyrgyzstan: Reactions to Reforms
Author(s) -
Martha C. Merrill,
Janara Baitugolova,
Chynarkul Ryskulova
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
forum for international research in education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2326-3873
DOI - 10.32865/fire202171236
Subject(s) - accreditation , independence (probability theory) , higher education , control (management) , psychology , political science , sociology , pedagogy , social psychology , management , law , economics , statistics , mathematics
After Kyrgyzstan’s independence, reforms were implemented in higher education: new degrees, credit hours, private institutions, tuition in public institutions, and independent accreditation. However, faculty reactions to these reforms have not previously been studied. The authors conducted 57 interviews in four locations over three years. Our findings show that, first, interviewees discussed all kinds of changes in higher education and society. Second, participants were undergoing “concurrent stresses” (Anderson, Goodman, and Schlossberg, 2012) – their personal as well as professional lives were changing. Third, opinions differed. We analyzed these according to three of Schlossberg’s “4 S’s”: differences in faculty selves, situations, and support systems. However, few participants described strategies for dealing with the changes. Fourth, nearly all spoke of the reforms as something not under their control. Fifth, very few faculty members described the changes as unilaterally negative or positive. Most said, “I like this, but not that.”