Insights into Kazakh Value System from Top Analytical Centers
Kazakhstan’s Research Institutions Present Survey of Population Values
The Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies (KazISS) recently hosted an expert platform where analytical centers presented their research findings on the current value orientations of the country’s residents.
According to KazISS Director Yerkin Tukumov, Kazakhstan has experienced consistent economic growth over the past decades, leading to shifts in core values and fundamental changes in society. Tukumov outlined three distinct population groups, each embodying different sets of values.
Yelena Burova, the chief research fellow at the Institute of Philosophy, Political Science, and Religious Studies of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, focused on the sociological aspects of the relationship between religious and secular values in contemporary society in Kazakhstan. She noted that religious traditions and practices are starting to contend with secular institutions, traditions, and practices, with 19% of the Kazakh population shaping their lives with a strong connection to religious values.
Aigul Zabirova, KazISS’s chief research fellow, identified six main trends in values based on the institute’s research. Family values dominated among the surveyed respondents, followed by the importance of friends, the value of free time, work, religion, and politics.
Gulmira Kurganbayeva, the head of the National Mentor Online Academy, discussed the role of modern schools in shaping values, noting that the Z and Alpha Generations especially emphasize individuality, freedom, leadership, and creativity as important values.
Speakers also highlighted various factors influencing the formation of values and changes in Kazakh society’s value system, including urbanization, socio-economic conditions, demographic and generational shifts, digitization, and the noteworthy role of the creative industry in elevating the status of the Kazakh language as a national value.
The research presented at the expert platform provides valuable insights into the evolving value orientations of Kazakhstan’s residents and sheds light on the factors shaping the country’s societal values.
