Comments on: Cheap labour… http://kyrgyzstan.neweurasia.net/2007/12/02/cheap-labour/ neweurasia\\\'s Kyrgyzstan blog Thu, 4 Dec 2008 22:31:24 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.3 By: CXW http://kyrgyzstan.neweurasia.net/2007/12/02/cheap-labour/#comment-29408 CXW Wed, 05 Dec 2007 12:11:09 +0000 http://kyrgyzstan.neweurasia.net/2007/12/02/cheap-labour/#comment-29408 I don't think "innate abilities" have much, if anything, to do with it. The point here is that it is particularly children in rural schools, which find it harder to attract teachers, that come off badly as a result since both the quality and quantity of teaching they receive is poor. This situation is compounded by the fact that education in rural areas often looks like a luxury and so it is not valued (because it is seen as irrelevant to their lives) as much as by some mainly urbanised minorities. One needs to be very careful to look beyond convenient ethnic labels and consider the whole range of socio-cultural and economic factors that contribute to this situation. While there may be a link between ethnicity and academic achievement due to socio-economic conditions, it is utterly incorrect to assume that ethnicity in itself is a predictor of acheivement. To help contextualise the article, please see the <a href="http://www.pisa.oecd.org/pages/0,2987,en_32252351_32235731_1_1_1_1_1,00.html" rel="nofollow">OECD PISA website</a>, and specifically the <a href="http://www.pisa.oecd.org/document/2/0,3343,en_32252351_32236191_39718850_1_1_1_1,00.html" rel="nofollow">2006 Report</a> (available for download in 2 volumes). I don’t think “innate abilities” have much, if anything, to do with it. The point here is that it is particularly children in rural schools, which find it harder to attract teachers, that come off badly as a result since both the quality and quantity of teaching they receive is poor. This situation is compounded by the fact that education in rural areas often looks like a luxury and so it is not valued (because it is seen as irrelevant to their lives) as much as by some mainly urbanised minorities.

One needs to be very careful to look beyond convenient ethnic labels and consider the whole range of socio-cultural and economic factors that contribute to this situation. While there may be a link between ethnicity and academic achievement due to socio-economic conditions, it is utterly incorrect to assume that ethnicity in itself is a predictor of acheivement.

To help contextualise the article, please see the OECD PISA website, and specifically the 2006 Report (available for download in 2 volumes).

]]> By: Global Voices Online » Kyrgyzstan: Cheap Labor http://kyrgyzstan.neweurasia.net/2007/12/02/cheap-labour/#comment-29377 Global Voices Online » Kyrgyzstan: Cheap Labor Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:33:59 +0000 http://kyrgyzstan.neweurasia.net/2007/12/02/cheap-labour/#comment-29377 [...] says that according to the report of the Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA), Kyrgyz [...] […] says that according to the report of the Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA), Kyrgyz […]

]]> By: DHDPHD http://kyrgyzstan.neweurasia.net/2007/12/02/cheap-labour/#comment-29370 DHDPHD Sun, 02 Dec 2007 18:43:15 +0000 http://kyrgyzstan.neweurasia.net/2007/12/02/cheap-labour/#comment-29370 Where is USA on these standards? Any correlation between a certain demographic and test scores? This article is vague and portrays only the population of Kyrgyzstan which are farmers. Non-farmers, especially, non-Kyrgyz remnants top many other individuals in competing for placement in Russian and Turkish Universities because their innate abilities. Where is USA on these standards? Any correlation between a certain demographic and test scores? This article is vague and portrays only the population of Kyrgyzstan which are farmers. Non-farmers, especially, non-Kyrgyz remnants top many other individuals in competing for placement in Russian and Turkish Universities because their innate abilities.

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