Home – Home – Jornals – "Philosophy of Education" 2019 number 2

Introdustion. The article deals with the problem of modernization of Kazakhstani universities in the context of reforming the country’s higher education in the context of the concept of secondary modernization. The purpose of the work is to identify and summarize the main directions and problem points in the modernization of universities in the country, to justify the change of missions, forms and content of universities. Methodology and methods of the research. In the methodological part, the study is based on the conceptual provisions of Western theorists of higher education (Z. Bauman, M. Castells, K. Jaspers, M. Heidegger, H. Ortega-i-Gasset), whose works present the theoretical problems of the evolution of universities in a changing paradigm of social development. The research methodology is based on general scientific methods of system analysis of national regulatory documents in the field of higher education, methods of content analysis of the websites of leading Kazakhstan universities, as well as methods of comparing and summarizing foreign studies on the problems of university modernization. The results of the research. The main trends in the modernization of universities in Kazakhstan are identified and characterized, the features of the transformation of classical universities into research and business, the mechanisms and difficulties of international integration are shown. The preservation of state control in the system of national higher education, which acts as a deterrent to the modernization of universities, is noted. There is also a change in the organizational structure and academic management at universities towards the development of university democracy. The conclusion is substantiated about the necessity and practical significance of the implementation of the social function by Kazakhstani universities, which have not yet become fully the social institution of society that they are in the West. Conclusion. The author summarizes that the modernization of the country’s universities is in accordance with the principles of the Bologna process and demonstrates the desire of universities to integrate into the global educational space. A generalization of the identified main areas and problem points in the modernization activities of universities in Kazakhstan is presented.