The Bologna Process and Problems in Higher Education System of Kazakhstan

AbstractNation states, nowadays, have to integrate with the world due to impositions and propositions of globalization to every aspects of life. Education systems, one of the domains of globalization, have experienced this obligation deeply. Therefore, states and governments have prepared their education systems with a national point of view in order to meet this demand of the era. On the other hand, at both national and international level, it is expected that standards in higher education should be determined, systems should be complied with these standards and integrate themselves. However, this integration process becomes rather slow and painful for countries whose education system, e.g. Kazakhstan, stuck in first Soviet then post-Soviet and now international standards. Kazakhstan's effort to become a part of globalizing education area like Bologna is an obvious example. In 2010, Kazakhstan joined the European Higher Education Area which was formed as part of the integration process on education first including EU Member States then other countries with some territory in Continental Europe. With 47 member countries, Bologna Process has become the largest cooperative education area of the world. Kazakhstan's inclusion to this Process creates hope about fundamental changes in education system of Kazakhstan. However, integration studies go ahead very slowly due to many incomplete obstacles. With this study, it is expected, in general, to emphasize the effect of globalization on higher education systems of countries newly establishing their nation states as Kazakhstan and, in particular, to research why Kazakhstan could not become a part of the process despite included Bologna Process of higher education. In other words, the aim is to review critically whether globalization is effective in Kazakhstan – one of the neighboring countries that globalization creates specific activity – and as an example of this whether Bologna Process is effective in higher education area, and to examine the reasons of Kazakhstan's inclusion to Bologna Process in spite of not implementing crucial principles of the Process. The research method is based on comparative analysis examining 10 action lines of the Bologna Process and how effective the basic principles are in higher education system of Kazakhstan