Transformations in Turkmen higher education: current opportunities and challenges at a new university

ABSTRACT

This article consists of two major parts. It begins with a brief summary of the philosophy and history of higher education in Turkmenistan since its independence in 1991. This discussion is based on available mass media accounts and existing research. It also provides some regional comparisons between the Republic of Turkmenistan and its Central Asian neighbours. This part concludes with a description of the current Turkmen higher education landscape. The second part uses an ethnographic case-study approach to describe daily organizational, academic and cultural life, a ‘sense of place’, at one of the several higher education institutions in Turkmenistan which is a pioneer in trying to globalize the system. The case study is particularly focused on changes and challenges associated with moving from a traditionally dominated top-down specialist degree towards the bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes and credit-hour system that this institution is attempting to implement.

KEYWORDS:

• Turkmenistan
• higher education
• university
• globalization
• Central Asia

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.