This paper presents a comparative analysis of the strategies employed over the last decade by governments of five
Central Asia republics—Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan—to raise educational
quality at the primary and secondary levels. Data are drawn from a 2002 cross-national study sponsored by the Asian
Development Bank that examined recent education reform efforts across these countries. Using a globalization
perspective, a comparison of countries on 14 strategies that were most commonly used by these countries suggested that
efforts to raise education quality met with mixed results. While raising the quality of education was a popular cause and
a safe political goal, it proved to be an elusive target.
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