Abstract
In modern social sciences and humanities, there is often ambiguity in the interpretation of students' views on gender roles. In particular, the formation of gender values among students in Kazakh society in terms of the urban-rural dichotomy has not been studied empirically enough. Although many studies have emphasised that urbanisation among students from rural areas can weaken traditional views, this position still needs clarification in specific regional and cultural contexts. Therefore, this study aims to examine students' views on gender norms in southern Kazakhstan through cultural analysis. To achieve this goal, we conducted an empirical assessment of how gender roles affect the value system. For this, we analysed survey data collected from students living in both urban and rural areas (N=556) and applied the One-Way ANOVA method to examine differences in responses to 14 statements describing gender roles and values. The empirical results showed no significant differences in the attitudes of urban and rural youth toward gender norms. The residential area factor had a negligible effect on almost all indicators (for example, F (1,554) = 0.229, p = 0.632 for Q1; p = 0.379 for Q8). This finding suggests that the assumption that urbanisation significantly alters young people's attitudes towards gender roles needs to be reconsidered. The results show that gender norms in Kazakh society are rooted in a shared cultural-axiological foundation, and that the educational system and socialisation processes contribute to changes in young people's values. Therefore, this study provides new empirical insight into cultural studies and aims to explain the transformation of gender norms within broader socio-cultural value systems.