Multicultural paradigms of student empowerment in educational discourses: Azerbaijan, UK and USA as case studies.

The principal goal of this paper is to examine the transformation of the university policies in Azerbaijan as they are affected by UK and USA university discourses. I develop a framework that delineates modal verbs of very strong versus neutral stance and classify them according to (a) American and British Englishes, and according to (b) traditional and student-centred educational approaches. The above-mentioned categories of modal verbs are studied through various university documentations with a preliminary aim to analyse the frequency of modal verbs' occurrence and the cultural and ideological values they denote regarding power relationships. Based on the findings, the research provides a tentative theory of the effectiveness of modalities in interpreting educational policies, in particular with regards to the empowerment or manipulation discourses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]