Ainura Smailova, Urmatbek M. Tynaliev, Malik Borbugulov and Gulzat Sadyrova
This study examines the factors influencing educational aspirations among adolescents in secondary and high schools across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan (officially Kyrgyz Republic), and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the factors influencing educational aspirations among adolescents in secondary and high schools across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan (officially Kyrgyz Republic), and Tajikistan, with a focus on their aspirations for higher and postgraduate education. Through an analysis of a sample comprising 1360 students from grades 7 to 11, the research explores the likelihood of these students pursuing tertiary education.
Design/methodology/approach
The ordered logit regression models were used to analyze the impact of variables related to family background, including parents’ education, family support and SES, and school grade. Additionally, the Exploratory Factor Analysis was utilized to distill a smaller set of underlying factors or constructs from the measured variables.
Findings
The findings indicate that the mother's education level is significantly more influential compared to the father's education in shaping adolescents' aspirations for higher and postgraduate education in the Central Asian context. Additionally, hypotheses concerning the influence of family socioeconomic status (SES), family support, and grade-level differences on adolescents' higher educational aspirations have only been partially confirmed.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, no prior research work has indicated a significant impact of a mother's education on the educational aspirations of her offspring in the Central Asian region. This trend is consistent with the concept of educational hypogamy, wherein mothers possess higher educational levels than fathers, a phenomenon that is gaining prominence in contemporary family dynamics.
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Urmatbek M. Tynaliev and Carolyn Erdener
The purpose of this study is to analyze the money attitudes among students at English-language business schools in the transitioning Central Asian nations of the former USSR…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to analyze the money attitudes among students at English-language business schools in the transitioning Central Asian nations of the former USSR, namely, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
Design/methodology/approach
The survey was carried out in 2017, using previously established measures of Love of Money survey questionnaire. Over 300 undergraduate students in English-language business degree programs in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan participated in the survey. A few hypotheses were tested using three-way MANOVA to test the influence of three factors (country, gender and student years). In addition, post hoc analysis, and one- and two-way ANOVA methods were used for multiple comparisons.
Findings
The results showed evidence of increasing convergence among students who are farther along in the program. Some statistically significant differences were also found, mainly in regard to gender differences in money attitudes across countries and student levels. The results of statistical analysis suggest a need for further research on attitudes and values related to money in the modern nation states of Central Asia.
Originality/value
This study is one of first attempts to study the values and attitudes regarding money among the first generation of business students who were born and grew up after their respective countries gained independence. The findings imply the development of a relatively homogeneous labor pool for business organizations across regions that are characterized by increasing differentiation among countries within the region.