The paper is based on a qualitative study on Kazakhstan's national culture. Series of interviews were held to identify the cultural traits within the nation, which show that it has a strong leaning towards learning and education. It has implications on learning within businesses, organizations and the nation. The paper also explores how Kazakhstan can learn from the Asian Tigers, particularly from Singapore. Like it or not, the way we think, feel or act are all influenced by our culture, and sometimes we may not even be aware of it. We have internalized or are socialized as such. Just as individuals have personalities, groups of people have or share a particular culture."The core of culture" (Hofstede, 1991: 8; Borromeo, 1996: 51) and "an integral component of culture" are the values (Low, 2002: 5), actions or behavior of a group of people, that are normally influenced by a set of values, and are close to heart. In other words, they are the key beliefs that we cherish or hold dear.
The primary objective of this paper is to identify any cultural inclinations or traits within the Kazakhstan national culture towards learning and/ or emphasis on education. The Chinese proverb, "learning from other's strong points to offset one's shortcomings" is relevant here. The paper also intends to find out ways in which the Republic can tap the emphasis on learning, education, and any cultural strength while exploring the lessons that can be gleaned from the Asian Tigers.
Looking at the Chinese culture, this researcher believes that there is heavy emphasis on education (Low, 2002). While studying a particular culture, one has to read the stories associated with it, its proverbs, sayings and maxims. These proverbs can in fact cast some insights, and they reflect the wisdom of that particular culture (Low, 2002). Likewise in this research, the proverbs were also called for while going through the Kazakhstani culture. The proverbs after all reflect certain values, and more importantly, as mentioned by Kim (1991: Introduction, quoting Francis Bacon), they are "the genius, wit and spirit of a nation".
Low (2002), the researcher highlighted many of the Chinese sayings on learning and education. One saying goes, "If a son is uneducated, his dad is to blame", meaning that the parents are important in their kids' education. Parents like to advise their children using proverbs like: "If you do not study hard when young, you'll end up bewailing your failures as you grow up", especially when they are found to be lazy and not studying. Interestingly, such sayings are told to encourage them to study hard. Another proverb goes like this: "A jade stone is useless before it is processed; a man is good-for-nothing until he is educated." This emphasizes the need and importance of education. |
