Turkey's educational policies in Central Asia and Caucasia: Perceptions of policy makers and experts

The purpose of this study is to analyze the educational policies of Turkey in Central Asia and Caucasia in the post-Soviet era in terms of their successes and failures as perceived by some of the relevant professional policy makers in this field as well as experts from various think-tank institutions in Turkey who are interested in the region. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 participants. The findings indicated that Turkey's educational polices in the Turkic republics of Central Asia and Caucasia since 1991 have provided certain benefits for both Turkey and these republics, despite the fact that there are important problems that need urgent solutions.

Research highlights▶ Turkey's educational polices in the Turkic republics of Central Asia and Caucasia have provided certain benefits for both Turkey and these republics. ▶ Great Student Exchange Project is the major aspect of Turkey's educational policies in Turkic republics of Central Asia and Caucasia. ▶ There are important problems that need urgent solutions in order to improve Great Student Exchange Project.