Emerging regions, persisting rhetoric of educational aid: The impact of the Asian Development Bank on educational policy making in Kazakhstan

This study explores the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) discourses and practices in the context of its educational sector support in Kazakhstan. Drawing on the document analysis and interviews with the ADB staff and Kazakhstan's education officials, the article examines ADB's discursive and operational frameworks in this Central Asian country. The findings indicate that the ADB had a significant impact on educational policy formation in Kazakhstan by establishing and maintaining boundaries of educational policy discussions. Findings suggest that, despite the emerging discourse on new aid modalities, the rhetoric of educational aid persists in regions such as post-Soviet Central Asia.