Azerbaijan is an upper-middle-income country with a population of about 10 million people. Since its independence, Azerbaijan experienced economic problems : the transition to a market economy, economic resource scarcity, and the dependence on socialist republics. After its independence, Azerbaijan started reforming its higher education system so that it is aligned with the new economic and political structure. Because of the economic decline and resource scarcity, Azerbaijan implemented reforms that advocate for market privatization and liberalization. In 2019, the higher education landscape consisted of 40 state and 12 non-state HEIs (the State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan [SSCRA], n.d.). State universities used to be subsidized by the government, whilst private universities did not use to receive any public funding. Six HEIs have a relatively higher degree of autonomy able to define the educational content, develop admission plans and award academic degrees and titles. The Academic Council is the primary governing body, chaired by the rector.

Keeping the focus on autonomy consistent, this second exploration considers the level of competition among universities as a salient contextual element important to governance.. Competition in higher education consists of a set of organizational responses to environmental pressures. It focuses on what universities must do to attract financial resources; recruit students and staff, both foreign and domestic; be part of the global research enterprise, and, for many, pursue world class status and global rankings. It also acknowledges that higher education competition is a Western, market-driven idea.The state-extended model would seem most appropriate when low competition and low autonomy exist in tandem. The state directs higher education, provides the needed resources and may put in place policies that limit competition. Internal/external model of governance is common to those university systems with higher levels of autonomy and where competition comparatively is moderate to high. The academic focused model may be outdated. The civic model is underused in PSS countries, but may be helpful in high competition/high autonomy contexts.

Chapter 8, the final chapter, summarises the main arguments developed in the book and reiterates the case for promoting the extended framework of working with children in applied linguistics. The chapter discusses the main opportunities and challenges going forward and emphasises that future research with children needs to stay relevant and address children’s future needs and realities. Incorporating the extended framework into applied linguistics research would mean rebalancing the current trend in research and serving communities of children more directly. Future studies where researchers embrace more active roles for children will spark inspired debate and discussion, with the potential to move the field forward.

Chapter 5 discusses features of research involving children in applied linguistics. Based on a strategically selected ‘slice’ of the literature, namely, a survey of child L2 studies in five key applied linguistics journals between 2011 and 2021, a close analysis of children’s status and roles in research is undertaken. Observations are made about the type of studies (methodological solutions, tools, and approaches) dominating the field and about what is missing. Examples of studies in child second language education where children take up different types of passive roles are discussed and analysed. A handful of examples identified in the sample where the status and the roles of the children have been shifted away from entirely passive roles are also discussed. These examples are closely examined to identify the extent of active involvement that does not move beyond a ‘weak’ form of research ‘with’ children. The continuum of possibilities, research on-about-with-by children (Kellett, 2010a) is revisited here for further reflection.

Chapter 3 explores and critically evaluates the main tenets of Childhood Studies by addressing the key concepts of voice, agency, participation and children’s rights. The discussion starts by exploring the challenges of working with child voice, highlighting that voices are messy and multi-layered, heavily influenced by social, cultural and institutional discourses. Like voice, agency must also be understood within intergenerational relationships. A large part of this chapter discusses the differences between the various definitions and descriptions of participation frameworks (e.g. Fielding, 2001; Hart, 1992; Lundy, 2007; Shier, 2001) with a view to draw out actual roles children can take in research studies (such as consultants, partners or researchers in child-led research projects). Similarities and differences between research ‘with’ children and research ‘by’ children are discussed. Addressing opportunities and limitations drawn out of current debates in empirical research, the chapter highlights the most important implications and opportunities for child second language research.

The Kyrgyz Republic, also called Kyrgyzstan, is a small, mountainous, landlocked country. The population of the Kyrgyz Republic is 6,500,000, with almost 35% of population under 15 years of age. The economy of Kyrgyzstan has faced an economic and financial crisis after the collapse of the Soviet Union. GDP per capita declined by almost 50%, from $1,096 in 1990 to $535 in 1995, and recovered to the 1990 level only in 2018. The higher education in Kyrgyzstan represents a very diversified system with 33 public and 40 private educational institutions as of 2020. As part of educational reforms, Kyrgyzstan aims to promote the principles of the Bologna Process. Kyrgyzstan’s 1992 Law "On Education" introduced tuition fees for students to study in higher education. The governance of higher education institutions varies based on the status of universities- public, private, or universities established based on international treaties/agreements. Most public higher education institutions are governed by the Academic Councils and headed by rectors of universities

Since 2004, Estonia has been a member of European Union (EU) and NATO. Trade in goods and services contribute 73% of Estonian GDP (OECD, 2020). Estonia is one of the most digitally advanced countries in the world in e-government service. There are 19 public and private universities and professional higher education institutions in Estonia. Six are public universities; one is a privately owned university; seven are professional higher education institutions, and five are private professional higher education institutions. The total number of students in Estonia has been declining for the past ten years due to negative birth rates as well as emigration and Estonians pursuing higher education abroad. Estonia scores highly in European University Association’s (2016) University Autonomy Scorecard. The University Council is responsible for the long-term and sustainable development of the university as well as for making important economic, financial and assets-related decisions, ensuring the achievement of objectives of the university. Its membership includes individuals from the universities as well as outside of it.

University governance broadly construed is intended to make universities better by framing and solving problems, making decisions, ensuring fidelity to stated goals and holding institutions accountable, but also advancing strategy, counseling university leaders, advocating on behalf of the universities and serving as a bridge to relevant external stakeholders, which can be represented by the state, the community, or a combination of both, depending on the context. This chapter explores four dliemmas of governance and how the four models resolve them and it identifies a set of novel dilemmas from the post-Soviet context. Itts recommendations focus on developing policy contexts that are consistent between levels of autonomy and capacity and between autonomy and competition; and then aligning governace models with contextual factors to heighten governance effectiveness.

Armenia is a country of approximately 3 million people . In the spring of 2018, peaceful street protests led to the ouster of the country’s long-time leader when he tried to extend it rule, dubbed the Velvet Revolution. since the 2009 recession the economy has been a different story with low economic growth, stagnated poverty reduction and increasing economic disparities. Before 2009 the average growth per capita was 12.3%, and after the recession growth was 3.2%. During Soviet times, public universities were under ideological and administrative control of the state, although Armenian higher education has centuries-old roots.Armenian higher education consists of 61 universities, 24 of which are public, including 16 universities, 12 foundations and 4 state noncommercial organizations. Public universities operate under a variety of laws, including the 1999 Law on Education, the 2004 Law on Higher Education and Post Graduate Education, the Law on State Non-Commercial Organizations 2002-2003 (SNCO), and the Law on Foundations (2002), which applies to some universities. Different laws pertain to different public universities depending on their classification.

Chapter 6 addresses the gap identified in the previous chapters and asks the following question: based on the previous chapters and the overview of the field, what kind of research is needed now in applied linguistics? Seventeen studies are used to showcase children’s roles that illustrate varying degrees of active participation. Studies in the three main categories identified in Chapter 3 are included. Building on examples taken from other disciplines, such as climate change education, health care, geography or social work, tools and approaches are introduced with a commentary about how these ideas might be incorporated or further built on when addressing research in child second language classrooms and beyond. The chapter offers ideas and raises awareness among researchers about the variety of opportunities to incorporate the new extended framework when working with children in applied linguistics.

Belarus is a country of approximately 9.5 million people. The country is aging, with the number of citizens above the age of 60 increasing by 14 percent in the next decade. There will be a corresponding decline in the country’s student-age population. The Lukashenko government has been in power since 1994. The government has kept in place many of the Soviet policies, including state ownership (SOE) over much of the economy. Belarusian higher education includes 51 higher education institutions (HEIs) of which 42 are public or state and 9 private or non-state (Belsat, 2019). The overwhelming majority of the 268,100 students are enrolled in public universities. The university sector is strongly controlled by the State, similar to other economic sectors. For instance, 65 percent of the undergraduate curriculum is a “national component,” as is 30 percent of Master’s degree program curricula and newly introduced undergraduate programs have only a 50 percent requirement. The primary governance body is the University Council. The rector, who is appointed by the government, chairs the Council.