217passed the state policy of education (1995), and the law of higher education (2002),
as well as related legislative documents, and these legislations not only focus on
higher education but also on technical and vocational education and training. In addi-
tion, several professional educational associations, such as the Mongolian Medical
Education Association (MMEA), the Mongolian Association for Higher Education
Research, the Center for International Higher Education, etc., were established. One
of the biggest achievements in higher education was the introduction of the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) International
Standard Classification of Education (ISCED 2013) in 2014.
Nowadays, all HEIs in Mongolia conduct bachelor’s degree training through 181
educational programs; this number has been reduced from 817 professional pro-
grams in accordance with an order from the MECS, because the previous tendency
to differentiate HEIs on the basis of narrow, professional training programs, has
been changing to a direction of unified, basic, broad educational programs. These
programs have great significance for HEIs, because they have a unified policy and
common terminology and offer a convenient environment for credit transfer; flexi-
ble programs; graduates with common competencies; comparability with interna-
tional HEIs; mutual recognition of diplomas; common requirements for the
development of educational programs; interrelationships; continuity of education
through undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate training; etc. As such, the num-
ber of HEIs is decreasing, due to mergers and acquisitions, in order to become more
powerful, multi-professional, and research-oriented institutions.
In association with the new context of socioeconomic development in Mongolia,
educational purpose, content, methodology, and requirements were newly deter-
mined; the subjects of educational research, including higher education, were
expanded. For example, history, philosophy, legislation, management, and psychol-
ogy of education were developed as new directions of study, and research on a
development model of Mongolian education was initiated.
Higher Education Research in Mongolia: What Publications
Does It Have?
Here, we outline the current landscape of higher education as a research field in
Mongolia, on the basis of the quantity and themes of published journal articles and
monographs. Several articles and monographs were published during transition
period, such as “Education in Mongolia” (1996) and “Theoretical and methodological
issues of Education” (1996) by Begz, “Theory and methodology of student centered
training” (1996) by Vanchigsuren, “Certain issues of educational philosophy”
(1996) by Bujidmaa and Begz, “Philosophy of education” (1997) by Khavkh,
“Management and standardization of modern higher education” (1999) by
Munkhdalai (Mongolian Academy of Science, 2000), and “Medical Education”
(2001) by Sumberzul and Oyunbileg. Research articles evaluating Mongolian
12 Higher Education Research in Mongolia During the Transition Period...