MONGOLIAN HIGHER EDUCATION REFORM DURING THE TRANSITION TO A DEMOCRATIC AND MARKET-BASED SOCIETY 1990-2010

This study examines reform in the higher education sector in Mongolia in the first decade of its transition from a socialist, planned economy to a democratic and market-based society as well as its implications for the first decade of the new millennium. Mongolia, though not a Soviet republic, had a Russian-style education system. In order to study the education reform process, this dissertation analyses the historical development of education in Mongolia with special emphasis on external influences in government policy making. The study examines the education reform process, focusing particularly on higher education as reflected in educational laws, government policy documents, donors' project documents and related studies. This study employs a policy borrowing framework to assess reform processes in Mongolian higher education during the period of transition from a centrally planned economy under Communist rule to a free market democratic society. Main findings are that early initiatives related to decentralization and expanding the private higher education sector were not sustained due to changing political regimes that did not always carry forward reform programs agreed to by their predecessors. Findings are interpreted with respect to their implications for understanding higher education reform using a policy borrowing framework