Post-Soviet Moral Education: The Case of Kyrgyzstan

Overview & Synopsis

The Republic of Kyrgyzstan became a free and democratic state after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since that time, Kyrgyzstan has redefined and renegotiated what education in its society should be. Although numerous internal and external initiatives have sought to reshape Kyrgyzstan's curriculum and instructional strategies, these projects have paid little attention to moral education and its role in educational reform for democracy. The international moral education study presented here sought a better understanding of curricular gaps, policy alternatives, and unique possibilities and approaches based on different social, cultural, economic, and historical perspectives. A cross-cultural civic education curriculum development project held at the University of Iowa with Kyrgyz educators offered the opportunity to investigate the problems associated with reinventing moral education in Kyrgyzstan after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. These Kyrgyz educators' perspectives-drawn from interviews, observations, and cognitive mapping tools-provided a picture of the complexities involved in Kyrgyz moral education. This study also provides a foundation for future educational reforms and initiatives, as the findings exposed the challenges and promises of democratically-oriented moral education in post-Soviet states and their relation to other democracies.