TEACHING MIXED-AGE GROUPS IN RURAL, UNGRADED KAZAKHSTANI SCHOOLS: TEACHERS' PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

In Kazakhstan, ungraded schools account for 56.5% of all schools (Yakavets & Dzhadrina, 2014). The State Program of Education Development for 2011-2020 (Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 2010) affirms that one out of six students in the country attends an ungraded school. According to the Multi-dimensional Review of Kazakhstan (OECD, 2016), ungraded schools tend to be understaffed, under-resourced, with students often underperforming. Thus, the challenge of teaching and learning in Kazakhstan's 4331 ungraded schools serving every sixth student (Ministry of Education and Science, 2010) has recently emerged as a growing area of policy concern in a national education system aspiring to prepare human capital capable of bringing Kazakhstan into the top 30 economies in the world. Although single and mixed-age groups in rural schools have traditionally been encapsulated under the ungraded school umbrella, each group has its peculiarities and must be addressed differently from the teaching perspective and given the complexity of the problem, the research requires focus to understand the phenomenon. The research purpose of this qualitative multiple case study inquiry is to explore the perspectives of rural teachers regarding their teaching practices before mixed-age groups to understand the factors hindering or enhancing those practices as well as to identify opportunities and challenges for teaching improvement. The study investigates teaching mixed-age groups, using in-depth interviews of five teachers, observations, and document analysis. The study aims to create awareness of the current teaching practices in some ungraded schools to indicate potential learning risks and, to underline opportunities and challenges to improve teaching practices for mixed-age groups. Furthermore, the study could enable, with evidenced adaptive ways of teaching, the continuation of essentially non-viable school to support communities.