Higher Education in Azerbaijan: Exploring Student Engagement and the Development of Higher Order Thinking

It has been over three decades since Azerbaijani higher education transitioned from the Soviet-style system to a modern education system, yet there has been limited research on how educational reforms and transformation have influenced student development. Azerbaijan has made significant strides in its education system by adopting international standards since independence. In democratic education, universities play a significant role in the intellectual and non-intellectual socialisation, which fosters creative and critical thinking. Employing Weidman’s model of socialisation and Mezirow’s transformative learning theories, this research aims to explore how student engagement with faculty and peers, as well as organisational structure and norms, contribute to the development of autonomous thinkers in Azerbaijani higher education. The qualitative research in the form of semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 participants using snowball sampling. The research findings reveal that, despite some progress in education, organisational structures and norms, the persistence of ineffective teaching methods, and a lack of adequate course materials continue to impede the development of students as autonomous thinkers.