The objective is the scientific and theoretical basis of the pedagogical conditions of the ethnic component in the contents of a higher education institution and the identification of the effectiveness of its implementation. The article conducts a theoretical and methodological analysis of the theory under study, reveals the essence of the concept of "ethnic component in the contents of a higher education institution", defines approaches, pedagogical conditions for the formation of an ethnic component in the contents of an institution of higher education, and presents a set of principles for its structuring. An experiment was carried out regarding the pedagogical conditions of the ethnic component in the contents of higher education. The results depicted the stages of formation and development of the ethnic component, the history of Kazakh education and the leading trends in current global practice are characterised.