Educational Strategies of Mongolian Pastoral Families under Reform: a Phenomenological Analysis of Adaptation to 12-Year Schooling

Introduction. The relevance of the study is determined by the existing contradiction between Mongolia’s transition to a 12-year school education program and the socio-psychological unpreparedness of six-year-old children leading a nomadic lifestyle with their herdsmen parents to participate in this process. Since the collapse of the socialist system, the Mongolian government has been borrowing educational models from high-income countries with sedentary populations, which do not correspond to the economic opportunities of nomadic households and do not take into account their lifestyle and the socialization characteristics of their children. During the Soviet period, nomadic children attended school from the age of 8 and were better prepared for life in boarding schools. The aim of the study is to identify strategies for adaptation of nomadic families to the reduction in the age of children entering school, and to identify the socio-economic and psychological factors influencing the choice of strategy. The motives for choosing an educational strategy by nomadic families were described using a phenomenological qualitative research method and semi-structured in-depth interviews. A study of 20 families revealed three strategies for adapting to the decline in school age depending on the children’s place of residence: in a boarding school; in a family of relatives; seasonal separation of the family to accompany the child in the educational process. The economic, psychological and social costs of families due to the choice of strategies are described. Nomads view homeschooling as the primary strategy available to them for preparing their children for school. This strategy requires the organization of systematic work to provide methodological assistance to parents. Boarding schools are the dominant strategy for poor pastoralist families who have to accept that high turnover of teaching staff means that their children aged 6-8 years will be left without adequate supervision and may be subject to bullying and various forms of discrimination. Having a child live with family relatives is an alternative but not universally available strategy that increases the financial costs of the nomadic household and creates an additional burden for the host family. The strategy of seasonal separation of the family is the most favorable for the child. However, this strategy leads to a redistribution of responsibilities in the family or to a reorganization of the household. The study findings highlight the need to develop education models adapted to the nomadic lifestyle, improve communication infrastructure in rural areas, reduce the financial burden on families through government support, and create specialized preschool programs for six-year-olds.

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