KAZAKHSTAN IN THE CONTEXT OF THE EUROPEAN HIGHER EDUCATION AREA: OPPORTUNITIES AND PRACTICES

At present, the Bologna process is the primary mechanism of higher education reform in Europe, as well as an integration initiative. The objective of the process - the creation of a European Higher Education Area, which will lead to the emergence of a truly pan-European integration project in this area. At a realization of the Bologna Process, all European countries face different kinds of challenges that are associated with the degree of correlation of national models with pan-European ideal, and with a choice of approaches. Kazakhstan in the late 90s already fragmentary have collaborated with the Commonwealth of European partners and tried to modernize the education system according to the formula of the Bologna process. Main arguments in favor of the reforms were the quality of education, the autonomy of universities, research autonomy, the use of new financing schemes. Since 2010, graduate education model in Kazakhstan became fully uniform. Credit system of education and quality control system of education were introduced. National Accreditation Centre was opened in 2012 that has been transformed into a Center of Bologna process and academic mobility of the Ministry of Education and Science. Each university has departments of academic mobility, a majority of universities have student organizations set up by the Bologna Process. Therefore, Kazakh university system in the European educational space lasts for more than 20 years. Currently, almost all the 139 universities of Kazakhstan, among which there are national, public and private, follow the principles of the Bologna Declaration. The paper presents some results of the sociological research "Bologna process in the eyes of experts" conducted in May 2015. Summing up the results of the evaluation of the quality of Kazakhstan's education, it should be noted that with regard to the main criteria for the implementation of the structural components of the Bologna Process Kazakhstan already at this stage achieved good results. All the positive trends at the same time do not release the reformation processes in the Kazakhstan education of problems and difficulties. By themselves, the reforms being driven by changes in society, requires, in turn, relying on a system of indicators showing the effectiveness / ineffectiveness of the results and thus making it possible to implement them timely coordination or specification.