Chapter 16: Teaching as a Profession in the Kyrgyz Republic: The Quest for (Re)Building the Knowledge Base

Education and knowledge have historically been highly valued in societies like Kyrgyzstan that were once part of the Tsarist Russia and then the Soviet Union. The formal education system(s), which emerged within them during the 20th century, were universally acknowledged as one of its most significant achievements. Since national independence and its transition to a globalization and marketization, education in the Kyrgyz Republic has remained a rhetorical cornerstone for meeting the learning needs of a market-based economy and a space in which the cultural and social changes in society can be legitimized (Amsler, 2009; DeYoung, 2010). Tellingly, dramatic education reform ambitions have been voiced by all of Kyrgyzstan’s presidents: Education was argued to be a “resource for social transition” by Akayev (2003), “the most important element” of the “strategy to renewing the country” by Bakiyev (2009), and a critical “investment in the future” by Atambayev (2011).