Multicultural education in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan: General trends and national peculiarities

The objective of this study consists in the comparative analysis of the theory and practice of multicultural education in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan. The work is performed within the scope of comparative educational research methodology. Main attention is paid to the comparative analysis of the legal framework and concepts of multicultural education, as well as to the content of multicultural education in higher education institutions. The article identifies and describes the general trends and national peculiarities of multicultural education in the partner countries. Both in Russia and in Kazakhstan, the multicultural education refers to a relatively new field of pedagogical knowledge and is an alternative to international education. In contrast to the Western tradition, the Russian and Kazakh pedagogical theory and practice consider multicultural education mainly in the context of ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity of modern society. The authors relate the further prospects of the development of multicultural education in the partner countries to the activation of the state’s policy in this area, implementation of an appropriate pedagogical education, improvement of the theoretical foundations of multicultural education and provision of technological support for teachers in correspondence with changing socio-cultural concepts. The research results are of interest to a wide range of experts in the field of education, and extend the possibility to assess the development of education systems in Russia and Kazakhstan. © 2016 Zhumadullaevaet al