The challenge of maximizing student learning has been paramount in many societies. This issue has become especially salient in the context of drastic social and political changes that have taken place in countries such as Kyrgyzstan. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, teachers and students are confronted with new ways of thinking, which are challenging their understanding of how to promote efficient learning. In this paper, the challenges of applying and developing a new approach to learning, the student-centered approach, will be discussed within the framework of a Normative Theory of Social Change.