Total provision of children with pre-school, elementary and secondary education remains a very relevant problem for the main part of the world. This is because pre-school and school education (raising, teaching and development) is the main social base for the moral, cultural, professional and socio-political accomplishment of a person, for adaptability of an individual to the higher civilization, for readiness to ensure own personal wellbeing in socially and class multi-layered and morally diverse society.
Development of full-fledged functioning children organizations and general education schools with methodologically and educationally ensured continuity between them, with simultaneously resolved issue of provision with highly qualified pedagogic educators, with academic-methodical base and facilities also remains to be a problem of global significance. At this the requirement of time is observance of Constitution and of state legislative acts stating that kindergarten and school are secular social institutes. Only socially accomplished person will become a creator of progress of post-industrial and informational society, rather than its destructor and impeding factor.
Timely cultural and educational development of every single child becomes a specially important aspect of policy of contemporary Kazakhstani society, actively jointing the global processes and simultaneously performing the multi-sided internal national transformation.
Due to socio-historical situation Kazakhstan only within the last century had to undertake several socio- economical overhauls and modernizations: at the time of the former Soviet Union, in fact skipping the capitalism, the industrial-agrarian society has been built; in 1990 s there was a transition tom socially differentiated and market-oriented society; starting from 21st century modernization is characterized by national transformation of social relations with consideration of requirements of globalizing modern world and of innovative socio-economical needs of Kazakhstan. Once again we have to select the shortest path, which, within the compressed socio-historical span will lead to post-industrial and at the same time informational development. To resolve this especially complicated task the state industrial-innovative program is aimed, built on the grounds of analysis of global and domestic experience and of needs of transforming the Kazakhstani society. Social time becomes the most important factors, it is necessary to prepare the human factor without delays for implementation of this strategy.
1990 s were the period of not only constructing the politically independent young state, but also of essential deviation form industrial economical state, which was dictated to the country by the external factors mainly. The main of them is the sudden breakage of economical connections between the former Soviet Republics (afterwards becoming the new Eurasian states) and an acute restructuring of the economy. That period was characterized by mass closure of pre-school educational institutions of the country.
State policy of modern Kazakhstan is aimed at combining the elements of three levels of social development. These are industrial, post-industrial and informational stage. Economically developed Western countries gradually pass through those stages. Factually, many of them already exist in the informational society, where not only provision, but consuming the information to a greater degree takes the first place meaning for the life and activities of the human being. Having powerful scientific and technical opportunities in place, the most developed states unilaterally influence other countries, including Kazakhstan. This is facilitated not only by the presence of regional political and economical unions, but also by possessing the advantageous achievements of science and the latest technological processes. Seven states, in the beginning of the new century already managed 90.5% of computer equipment, 87% registered scientific discoveries. As the result the forefront of globalization is represented by biotechnology, microelectronics, telecommunications, optical electronics, digital technology and genetic engineering. There is a simultaneous impact of factors of psychological human relations by means of applying such traditional means as religious ideology, ethic counteraction, producing and dissemination of psychotropic substances, as well as various methods of communicative technology.
Another characteristics of globalization is that the global processes in the sphere of entrepreneurship, financial flows, trans- and supra-national economical subjects and educational relations factually do not recognize geographical borders. In those conditions not only positive trends of world development are manifested, but negative ones as well. Levels of development of countries and regions engaged in the global process are not equal, there are breakdowns in the sphere of moral and spiritual culture of a human being and of human relations. Therefore the scholars of Western countries wan the world on necessity of outrunning the coming negative consequences of scientific and technical revolution and in all ways facilitating the dialogue and mutual interaction of two cultures, being East and West. Probably, Kazakhstan, factually being the Eurasian social area, will become one of the leading subjects of implementing this all-humanity task. A guarantee for this could be a successful implementation of Kazkahstan-2030 state strategy, in particular, of industrial-innovative development of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The primary task is development of education and science, raising the social potential of the state, mastering the latest technologies in the sphere of processing the raw materials.
The main thing in a contemporary society is a human factor, its knowledge and morality, the intellectual potential. “Social potential” implies education, professional mobility, general and social culture, biological, psychic and social health of the generation being raised. Social culture is composed not only of education, but, first of all, by being oriented towards the interests of Kazakhstani society and of the modern integrated world, morally justified patriotism, readiness to integrate the individual and social interests, readiness to search for and to find the information necessary to do so, as well as adequate self-realization. These are the main decisive elements of social potential of Kazakhstani society. And children are the main resource of social potential. Moreover it is so in Kazakhstan, where the natural growth of population is behind of the demographical need of the society, and where each child is, so to speak, represents the “golden fund” of the country. Socio- historical time insists to consider in an integral mutual connection the quantity and quality of natural growth and socialization of the result of natural growth. Here’s where the pattern comes from: mandatory pre-school education is the first level of state project of national system of education of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Necessity of continuous and successive educational process is conditioned by the following vital needs:
The national system of education, as long as the social state develops, take functions of not only educational institutions – simultaneously it serves as a factor of social protection of all children, adolescents and youth in the socially multi-layered society. Especially at the beginning level: society delegated to the kindergartens the responsibility of educating, teaching, providing medical aid when necessary, providing nutritious catering by the necessity, giving all children without exceptions, equal starting education, culture and competencies, which will allow them to fruitfully study in the general education school.
The necessity of ensuring the right of each child for the timely obtaining the education and for involvement into the culture. Kazakhstan is vast in territory, with regions significantly differing in their levels of socio- economical development. Equalizing levels of development of the regions, levels of development of children and adolescents of city and rural areas starts from the pre-school education.
Kazakhstan is a multi-ethnic state, the country of diverse ethnic mentalities, of educational and cultural traditions. Interests of the state, tasks of industrial-innovative development require to shift some of previous patterns, when education of children during their pre-school years takes he second place in the lifetime plans of the family. The important task of pre-school education is providing to all children starting from the age of 3 with education and culture, raising the diversely developed human, regardless of ethnic, race or religious affiliation of family and of social environment.
Interests of intensive industrial-innovative and spiritual-cultural development of Kazakhstani society do not allow to stretch the period of social maturing of the growing generation. Therefore, the pre-school period of life, with consideration of psychological and biological specifics of children, ahs to be filled with the qualitatively new content of pre-school education, labor activity skills, abilities to orient children for the perspective of post-industrial, informational, and at the same time, highly moral development.
Forth coming is the transition to the 12-year secondary school education. In these conditions the full- fledged pre-school education for all children is an inevitable social reality, and pre-school and school education comprise an integral wholeness. At the moment, considering the mass approach to 12-year school education, the general educational school is interested in pre-school education for all children without exceptions. This is the reason for acuteness of the issue of total provision of quality pre-school education to children and of creation of pre-school education, outrunning the problems in its content. It is not accidentally, that such respected international organizations as UNESCO and UNICEF pay their attention to adequacy of quality and quantity, and make those indicators the main criteria of assessing the education for pre-school age children. Opening the Republican scientific-practical center “Pre-school childhood”, development of the program “We go to the kindergarten”, the taken path towards resurrecting the privatized or abandoned buildings of former kindergartens are he important steps in this direction.
Essential changes take place in the ethno-demographical structure of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Two ethnic groups – Kazakhs and Russians, comprise the main part of population. The number of Turkic languages speaking Kazakhstanis is growing, including Uzbeks, Uigurs, Azerbaijanis. And by the end of 2009 the Kazakh ethnos amounted to 63% of population of the country. The latter fact draws the attention of all political, economical and educational structures. If we consider the fact, that the main part of rural inhabitants and the majority of marginal groups of city population are comprised of Kazakh families, issues of education and raising the young generation of Kazakh ethnos represent an especially relevant nation-wide problem. All other Kazakhstani ethnic groups are not indifferent to this problem, on the contrary, it becomes apparent, that socially, economically and culturally stable perspective of Kazakhstan is as never before related to general and intellectual development of Kazakh ethnos and its young generation. Therefore, the timely provision of all children of rural and city areas with a quality pre-school education is not only an issue of the national education system, but also a problem of industrial-innovative development and competitiveness of the country as a whole. It is necessary to correct the priorities in organizing pre-school education, bring them in compliance with ethno-demographical realities of Kazakhstani society.
“Cadre resolve it all”. The role of innovative and multi-sided educated pedagogic cadre is especially growing, taking into consideration the socio-political, spiritual-moral and scientific-technological aspects of country and global community development. Identity of the nearest perspective of policy of pre-school education and of domestic cadre provision remains quite an acute and relevant problem.
The indicated factors mainly condition and dictate the nearest future outlook for pre-school education in the country. Still, one more issue should be mentioned, which is participation of kindergartens in implementation of the state policy of language development. Educational prerequisites are maturing gradually. However, small amount and low material and cadre provision of Kazakh kindergartens on one hand and commercialization of existing most wealthy kindergartens on the other hand, do not allow Russian-language families to use the services of the most well-fixed kindergartens where children are raised with Kazakh language. We believe, that conscientious and targeted resolution of this issue in the industrial cities of the Republic is a vital need.
The next urgent issue is provision of financial and scientific-practical investors of pre-school education with flexible, modern, and at the same time affordable projects of small and medium kindergartens and elementary schools. Economical subjects in place are maturing, the state budget is growing, the local self- governance is developing, the interest to pre-school education from the side of foreign humane-oriented investors is increasing, socially oriented worldview and social responsibility of domestic entrepreneurs are being formed. Within the recent years a serous shift took place in this direction. Availability of ready state projects corresponding with the needs of various socio-territorial communities of the Republic started to attract local investors to the pre-school education. Subjects of private kindergartens in micro-districts, city outskirts, middle-size settlements and compactly residing village areas receive financial and organizational support from the state. Certainly, the outlooks of development of the network of pre-school educational institutions requires in-depth research of demographical perspective of regions and cities, of realities and perspectives of population distribution, of territorial development of the country.
“Pre-School Childhood” republican scientific center of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, together with other structures, is in charge of scientifically grounded resolution of the named tasks. Formation and activities of this social institution are the worthwhile achievements in the sphere of educating the pre-school age children in the country, and facilitate the scientific-practical support of children institutions operations, including the pre-school education for children of age 5 and 6 at schools.
Ground for implementation of the indicated scientific-practical measures are the State Educational Program for 2005-2010 and state program for 2010-2015, in which organizing the pre-school education for children takes a priority position.
On the other hand, the targeted interest of UNESCO [1] to establishing the social fairness in organizing the pre-school education of children in socially differentiated young state with 47% of population being rural inhabitants, serves as a certain guarantee for successful resolution of the following issues, representing interest of both parties:
Analysis of real circumstances from positions of relevant realities and criteria being already proven by social practice;
Developing by the Government of the RK the objectively reasoned and socially justified policy in the sphere of education and pre-school education including bringing the national education system of Kazakhstan in compliance with requirements of UNO, implementation of which is designed to ensure safety and civilized development of Kazakhstani society in conditions of globalization.
Positive experience of Kazakhstani society as a result of implementation of UNESCO recommendations will enrich the global experience in the sphere of pre-school education, will serve as an essential milestone for many underdeveloped and developing countries of the world.
Analysis and assessment of the situation by UNESCO are built on specific real facts retrieved from life, which excludes bias and subjectivity, they are executed by means of differentiated approach to studying the real situation and applying the methodology of socio-territorial analysis of regions by grouping them by levels of socio-economical development. Applied scientific approaches allowed to detect a number of problems at the level of regions, categorized as: “city” – “rural areas”, “ethnical characteristics of territories and of children raising”, “poverty and well-being during the pre-school childhood years”, “access”, “quality”, and “teacher – child”.
In accordance with expert evaluation by UNESCO, the factors, holding back the accessibility top organized education of children are: limitations of budget allowances, poverty of local budget, insufficient orientation of community environment towards resolution of pre-school education problems locally. At that time the republic implemented significant scientific-practical measures of reforming the contents, forms and methods of organizing education of pre-school age children with consideration of economical and territorial situation in the republic, for aligning the pre-school education in Kazakh and in other languages. This caused the development of science an practice of pre-school educations, mini-kindergartens adapted to the existing realities of social life. These forms of social organization of education, which children acutely needed in the conditions of small amount of full-fledged kindergartens, were aimed at provision and accessibility with consideration of insufficient maturity of social relations in the sphere of organizing the pre-school childhood. Lack of pre-school institutions locally at the places of children residence simply did not leave another choice.
UNESCO analysis showed, that in the least socio-economically developed regions the share of attendance of preparatory-school education programs within kindergartens by children of age 5 and 6 amounted to 9%, and of preparatory school classes – 42%; in relatively well-fixed regions those indicators amounted to 34% and 24% accordingly (2005). Children residing at territories with the lesser level of socio-economical development (representing 47.6% children before 7 years of age) only the level of pre-school education as offered. The same situation relates to organizing mini-kindergartens, the excessive creation of which, in our view, may serve as a factor, impeding the development of full-fledged kindergartens.
UNESCO) research group fairly underlined the gap of provision with pre-school education between city and rural areas. The correlation of 32.9 % to 5.6% speaks for itself. Real facts support the necessity of reassessment of priorities of development of children organizations from the position of economical and demographical realities, without weakening the wholesome provision of timely education to all children.
Affordability and quality, are the main goals for pre-school education at the present socio-historical moment. And the policy of providing a quality access should be accompanied by clear definitions of strategy of development of territorial-geographical communities, population distribution and demographical perspectives in the regions of the Republic, to which attention should be paid by “Pre-School Childhood” republican scientific center.
As we understand, perspectives of development of pre-school age children education in Kazakhstan even more actualize the necessity of developing the architectural and construction projects of kindergarten buildings, being diverse in capacity – small, medium and large ones, as well as infrastructure of kindergartens and school-kindergartens efficient in the territorial-geographical conditions of Kazakhstan. In this direction it is worth paying attention and actively advancing an important step, when from the side of heads of the Department of Pre-school and Secondary Education of the MES of the RK the attention was paid to “ALTAI” techno-park – the scientific-technological center of Eastern Kazakhstan State Technical University named after D.Serikbayev. The project laboratory of this university undertook a scientific-practical work in this direction.
UNESCO report set aims for Kazakhstan to implement one more acute measure, based on the following principles:
Social equality, prevention of social and class differentiation during the pre-school childhood years; Observance and implementation of requirements of state standard for all children with no exceptions;
Social and political security of children of all Kazakhstani ethnic groups. At this it is recommended to pay a special attention to children from Kazakh families, comprising the main part of rural inhabitants and the least economically developed regional territories.
The report underlined the topical necessity of closer interaction of three agencies, being the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Healthcare and the Ministry of Social Security, along with importance of finding the mechanisms of coordination of their activities in the best interests of children of the country. At this the accents were stressed fairly: to the status of children of poor groups of population; to provision of full-fledged education to children from the poor regions and territorial communities; to education of rural area children, which is the measure of ensuring the equality of citizens and ethnic groups, of equal access of children to publicly organized pre-school education; to the necessity of correcting the practice of organizing the preparatory education by assigning priorities to preparatory groups of pre-school organizations, rather than to preparatory classes at school; to delivery of education in the conditions of a mini-kindergarten not as a strategy, but rather as a measure, dictated by the economical condition of the country. To be based on the assumption, that rural children and children coming form poor families I fact need the fundamental resolution of their educational problem; pre-school education is resolved in the process “educator-child”. Therefore the adequacy of professional training of qualified pedagogical cadre with the policy of childhood education in Kazakhstan is one of the strategic tasks for the state; pre-school education should not be an institution, supporting the social and class differentiation of the society, on the contrary, the system of pre-school education should become a factor of equalizing the levels of human development, providing the equal start, smoothening the social and class differences.
Modern Kazakhstan, successfully implementing the process of transformation of the society with consideration of challenges of global world, undergoes a stage of reorienting the economy from raw material based to innovative-industrial one and is in need further in mutual interaction of science and practice, of state and business in implementing the state program of education, the priority direction of which is timely intellectual and moral development of children of the country. The state program stipulates the full provision of children of 3 years of age with full-fledged pre-school educational institutions.
- Expert evaluation of “UNESCO report on review of policy in the sphere of pre-school education and raising in Kazakhstan”. – Paris, May
- Kaldybayeva T.Z. “Institution of pre-school education (sociological analysis on the materials of the Republic of Kazakhstan)”. – Saratov: SSTU,
- Saimasayeva G.A. “Social problems of raising children of pre-school age in the Republic of Kazakhstan” / Sociology of morality - collection of scientific articles of the Inte3rnational scientific-practical conference “patriotism as a logical component of social culture of innovatively developing moden Kazakhstani culture” (Ust-Kamenogorsk, June 27- 28 2007). –Media-Alias, – p. 126-131.