People
Zhuldyz Amankulova, PhD
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Affiliate Faculty, CIDE; Post Doctoral Associate, International Initiatives
Zhuldyz Amankulova, PhD, is a graduate of the doctoral program in Comparative and International Development Education at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities' Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development.
PhD, Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development: Comparative and International Development Education, 2023
MSc Educational Leadership: Higher Education, Nazarbayev University, 2015
MSc Economics and Business, Kazakh University of Economics, Finance and International Trade, 2010
BA Foreign Philology: English language and literature, Eurasian National University named after L.N. Gumilyov, 2008
- Higher education access and equity
- Social reproduction theory
- Internationalization of higher education
- Postsocialist education transformations in the former Soviet Union
I am currently a Post-Doctoral Associate and Program Director at the UMN College of Education and Human Development (CEHD). I am also an Affiliate Faculty and Graduate Faculty in the CEHD Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development. My expertise encompasses comparative and international education, higher education, and sociology of education. As a bi-discoursal scholar with experience in both U.S. and Kazakh intellectual traditions, I am particularly interested in merging these ways of knowing to re- examine theory and build methods for education research in post-socialist contexts.
Building on my personal and professional experiences of witnessing significant disparities in education and career opportunities through attending both rural and urban schools, elite and non-elite universities, in my doctoral dissertation, I studied how students’ transitions into and out of the university can be structured to maximize academic and career success. I identified and explained socioeconomic factors that facilitate or constrain educational and career aspirations of youth from rural or lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Specifically, I drew on life history narratives of youth from rural or lower socioeconomic backgrounds who had graduated from prestigious universities in Kazakhstan to examine how the graduates used social capital in pursuing their education and career. My research makes significant theoretical contributions by challenging the centrality of western notions about social capital while highlighting circumstances that improve retention and employment of youth. My dissertation was awarded with multiple fellowships at the UMN including the most prestigious Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship.
I have a strong record of research and publications and a proven track record of securing external grant funding as well as over ten years of experience teaching and developing program curricula at the higher education level in Kazakhstan and the U.S. In addition, I am the mother of three young boys. I love getting to know new people from different backgrounds and enjoy attending and facilitating cross cultural events with my family.
Awards, fellowships, and grants
- UMN CEHD Global Signature Grant: Education for sustainable development in Higher Education, 2022-2023
- Grant-in-Aid, OVPR and Laura Jane Musser Fund Intercultural Harmony Initiative Grant: Portraits of Home: Documenting the changing landscape of Minnesota’s fasting growing county, 2021-2023
- Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, University of Minnesota, 2022-2023
- Cogan Graduate Research Fellowship, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, 2021
- American Council for International Education’s US-Kazakhstan University Partnerships Program Grant: English Language Integration in Higher Education Pedagogy: A Partnership Between M. Auezov South Kazakhstan University (SKU) and University of Minnesota, 2020-2021
- Frank R. Braun Fellowship, College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, 2020
University service
CEHD Faculty Search Committee, 2023
CEHD Graduate student parents and caregiver’s support, 2020-current
- creating an alliance to advocate for supporting graduate student parents and caregivers in CEHD in collaboration with two other fellow graduate students
Vice President of Communication, 2016-2017
- GradSEHD, College of Education and Human Development
Professional service
CIES New Scholars Committee, 2020-2021
CIES Eurasia Special Interest Group—Secretary, 2019-2021
Amankulova, Z. & Whitsel, C. (forthcoming). Experiences of students from underprivileged backgrounds in Central Asia: The case of the first-year students in an elite university in Kazakhstan. In A. Kuzhabekova & Kataeva Z. (Eds). Higher Education in Central Asia. Palgrave MacMillan.
Fahning, H.I., Tzenis, J., Mujic F.E., Amankulova, Z., & Purry, A. (forthcoming). Liberatory praxis among rural youth. Teachers College Press.
Amankulova, Z. (2024). Higher education aspirations and agency of Kazakhstani youth from rural or lower socioeconomic backgrounds. European Education, 56(3-4), 211-225. https://doi.org/10.1080/10564934.2024.2446217
Whitsel, C. & Amankulova, Z. (2024). Exploring social class differences in urban parents’ school choices in Kazakhstan. European Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/10564934.2024.2360932
Kuzhabekova, A., & Amankulova, Z. (2024). International student agency in emergency: Insights from government-funded students from Kazakhstan. Journal of International Students, 14(3), 131-148. https://doi.org/10.32674/jis.v14i3.6107
Kuzhabekova, A. & Amankulova, Z. (2023). Supporting sponsored international students during COVID-19 pandemic: Insights from a study of Kazakhstani “Bolashak” Scholarship recipients. European Education, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/10564934.2023.2217803
Seithers, L., Amankulova, Z., & Johnstone, C. (2022). "Rules you have to know": International and domestic student encounters with institutional habitus through group work." Journal of International Students 12(2). doi.org/10.32674/jis.v12i2.1651
Amankulova, Z. (2022). Cultivating community. In L.A.Arasaratnam-Smith and D. K. Deardorff (Eds.). Developing Intercultural Competence: International Students’ Stories and Self Reflection.
Amankulova, Z. (2018). How Rurality Affects Students’ Higher Education Access in Kazakhstan. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Perspectives in Higher Education 3(1). https://www.ojed.org/jimphe
Invited Presentations at Professional Meetings, Conferences, and Classes
Collins, K. & Amankulova, Z. (2022, April 10). Culturally responsive pedagogy. John Martinson Honors College at Purdue University
Amankulova, Z. (2022, March 21). Educational and career aspirations of marginalized youth in Kazakhstan: The role of social capital. OLPD 8101: International Education and Development class, University of Minnesota Twin cities.
Amankulova, Z. (2021, April 25-May 2). Balancing academia and other aspects of life. Comparative and International Education Society 65th Annual Conference.
Amankulova, Z. (2020, May 18). Educational research implications during COVID-19. University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development, Minneapolis, MN, U.S.
Amankulova, Z. (2019, September 27). Balancing career and family life. College ofEducation and Human Development Alumni-Graduate Student Networking event, Minneapolis, MN, U.S.
Amankulova, Z. (2018, November 29). Higher Education Reforms in Kazakhstan. University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development, Minneapolis, MN, U.S.
Contributed Papers at Professional Meetings and Conferences
Amankulova, Z. (2024, April 11-14). Reconceptualizing social capital theory: Life stories of Kazakhstani youth from rural or lower socio-economic backgrounds. American Educational Research Association Annual Conference, Philadelphia, U.S.
Fahning, H., Amankulova, Z. & Mujic, E. (2024, April 11-14). Portraits of home: Youth belonging in a participatory, arts-based educational program. American Educational Research Association Annual Conference, Philadelphia, U.S.
Amankulova, Z. (2024, March 10-14). Centering youth to re-envision social capital theory: Life stories of Kazakhstani youth from rural or lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Comparative and International Education Society 68th Annual Conference, Miami, U.S. *Presentation of findings from dissertation.
Mujic, E., DeJaeghere J., Tzenis, J., Fahning, H., Amankulova, Z, Purry, A. & Winikoff, M. (2024, March 10-14). Arts-based methods as a pedagogical practice fostering affective connection among diverse youth. Comparative and International Education Society 68th Annual Conference, Miami, U.S.
Tzenis, J., DeJaeghere J., Mujic, E., Fahning, H., Amankulova, Z, Purry, A. & Winikoff, M. (2024, March 10-14). Prioritizing program design and pedagogical impact in community-engaged research with youth. Comparative and International Education Society 68th Annual Conference, Miami, U.S.
Amankulova, Z. (2023, February 14-22). Conceptualizations of social capital by rural youth in Kazakhstan. Comparative and International Education Society 67th Annual Conference, Washington D.C., U.S.
Fahning, H., Amankulova, Z, Mujic, E., DeJaeghere, J. & Tzenis, J. (2023, February 14-22). Conceptualizations of youth belonging in a rapidly changing US community. Comparative and International Education Society 67th Annual Conference, Washington D.C., U.S.
Amankulova, Z. (2022). Educational and Career Aspirations of Marginalized Youth in Kazakhstan: The Role of Social Capital. Comparative and International Education Society 66th Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN, U.S.
Turymshayeva, A. & Amankulova, Z. (2022). Boundary Spanners: Cogs in the wheels of international partnerships. University partnerships during COVID 19: What made it work? Comparative and International Education Society 66th Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN, U.S
Orr, E., Amankulova, Z., & Upadhyay, B. (2022). Evaluating International Partnerships. Collaborative partnership in an international context Lessons from USA and Kazakhstan. Comparative and International Education Society 66th Annual Conference, Minneapolis, MN, U.S
Amankulova, Z., Seithers, L., & Johnstone, C. (2019, April 14-18). “There are rules you have to know”: International students, domestic student gatekeepers, and the institutional habitus of the university [Paper presentation]. Comparative and International Education Society 63rd Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA, U.S.
Amankulova, Z. (2017, March 5-9). Transitioning from School to the University: Attitudes and experiences of the first-year undergraduate students at Nazarbayev University [Paper presentation]. Comparative and International Education Society 61 st Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA, U.S.
Kurakbayev, K., Amankulova, Z. (2015, September 7-11). From School to University: Student Transition and Europeanisation of Higher Education in Kazakhstan [Paper presentation]. European Educational Research Association conference, Budapest, Hungary.
