Round table «Democratization of the education model», 18.10.2019

9:00 — 11:00, 18 October 2019
Kazakh-German University Hall, 1st floor, Nazarbayev ave., 173

Background. Recently, the education system, and especially the training system, has been raising more and more questions. A lot of reforms, some of them give results, whereas others complicate the life of all participants in the process — children, students, teachers, management staff, parents, even more. And if you
look at how the participants themselves evaluate their education process, you can often hear that it is stress, tension, heavy loads, terrible textbooks. How can the situation be changed?

The open talk is focused on education but from a different angle. Many things already have been told on the questionable quality of textbooks, UNT, etc. This seminar aims to offer to talk about education as a space of freedom that develops a personality, makes it free, creative, initiative: how to develop and reveal the potential of the young generation and to discuss the relationship between all participants in the educational process: how should relations be built to make the learning process pleasant?

Partners of the round table: Kazakh-German University, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.

Being an international university with European standards of quality, the Kazakh-German University aims to promote intercultural understanding, critical thinking, gender equality, and democratic and civic values within the education process and offers a platform to share its expertise. Previously the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung has already launched a project on inclusive education, which is understood precisely as the inclusion of all participants in the educational process in the decision-making process. In this regard, a student, a schoolchild has the same equal rights to take part in this, their desire, their interests should also be included in this process. Therefore, the question arises of the management style, the character of the relationship between all actors. And if the existing style does not meet modern requirements, what can we change?

Questions for the round table discussion:

First block: «Education as a Space of Freedom”

What is authoritarian pedagogy? What is partnership pedagogy or pedagogy developing a child’s potential? How are they built? What values and rules do these models adhere to?

The second block: «School and university as a safe space”

The rights, freedom, interests, and desires of students, schoolchildren in the educational system. The rights of students, schoolchildren to participate in the management process. Case of Narxoz University, which was one of the first to introduce the system of a «student-oriented university.» What are the successes? What changes are more difficult?

Third block: What can you start to do now?

How can a teacher, leader, ministry become a partner? How can the situation be changed, so the interaction process of all participants so that relations become less conflicting? How to guarantee a reciprocal respect for each other in these relations? What needs to be done so that all participants in the educational process feel comfortable?

Questions? n.mukhamejan@dku.kz