Exploring Social Class Differences in Urban Parents’ School Choices in Kazakhstan

Abstract

A diverse education market has formed in Kazakhstan since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Previous studies of educational choice in Central Asia have laid a general foundation, but greater insight into class differences has not been studied in Central Asia. We utilize data collected in 2015 from over 300 households in six cities in Kazakhstan to compare social class and ethnic differences in parents’ choices in the educational market. We found only slight differences in school choice based on social class, as measured by wealth and parental education. Ethnic differences were also slight.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Based on information from 2019, List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan—Wikipedia.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Zhuldyz Amankulova

Zhuldyz Amankulova, Ph.D. is a Post-Doctoral Associate at the College of Education and Human Development of the University of Minnesota. My research interests include higher education access and equity, higher education internationalization, and postsocialist education transformations in the former Soviet Union.

Christopher Whitsel

Christopher Whitsel, Ph.D. is a Professor of Sociology at North Dakota State University. His research focuses on trends in educational inequality and access to education in Central Asia. His recent published work includes, Polarization during Institutional Decline: Variation in Educational Attainment in Post-Soviet Central Asia, Parents' Perspectives on the Educational Market in Central Asia, and Missing Pieces: Factors Affecting Girls' School Attendance in Tajikistan, among others.