Emma Harden-Wolfson

Higher Education in Central Asia Blog (est. 2011)

  • Teaching and Learning in Central Asia / Преподавание и обучение в Центральной Азии (Seminar, 8 April/Семинар, 8 апреля)

    This upcoming Russian-language seminar from the University of Central Asia should be of great interest to all those researching and working in the area of high/secondary school teaching and learning. Recommended! Предстоящий русскоязычный семинар Университета Центральной Азии должен вызвать большой интерес у всех тех, кто занимается исследованиями и работает в области преподавания и обучения в… Read more

  • Dissertation Award

    Sharing good news: my PhD thesis was selected as the winner of the 2021 Comparative & International Education Society Eurasia Special Interest Group Dissertation Award! Read more

  • A degree more autonomy for Kazakhstan’s universities?

    You’ve studied hard, taken exams, written essays, done experiments, completed practicums – basically, ticked all the boxes your course requires. All that’s left is to get your well earned diploma (degree certificate). For students in Kazakhstan graduating from 2021, these diplomas will no longer be state issued but rather the responsibility of each university or… Read more

  • The Oxford of Uzbekistan

    A new Presidential University seeks to emulate Oxford in Uzbekistan. What are the prospects for a world-class university in the country? Read more

  • Rolling back privatization in Kazakhstan’s higher education?

    Kazakhstan has energetically pursued privatization ever since emerging from the Soviet era some three decades ago. In higher education, this trend towards privatization has long been evident. Marketization has long been a feature of higher education in Kazakhstan. For example, the adoption of the 1995 law ‘On Privatization’, which came into effect two years later,… Read more

  • China and Russia’s higher education ambitions for Eurasia, and Central Asian responses (new publication)

    For my first blog post of 2021, I’m very pleased to share a new peer-reviewed journal article. It explores China and Russia’s efforts to construct a higher education region in Eurasia and also examines the responses of policymakers in Central Asia to these initiatives. The abstract (summary) is below, along with a link to obtain… Read more