School infrastructure and working conditions of Kazakhstani mainstream urban and rural schools. A tool for retention or a reason for attrition of novice teachers?

Abstract

Each year the Kazakhstani teacher education system provides a surplus number of future teachers and only a fraction of them actually enter the profession. The majority of teachers find teaching jobs in urban regions, causing a dearth in rural regions and in English language subject. The study implied the qualitative research method and semi-structured interviews as a means of data collection. The study described lived experiences of English language novice teachers of urban and rural mainstream schools in North Kazakhstan during their first five years of work. The research specifically focused on how sufficient or insufficient school infrastructure and favorable or disadvantageous working conditions affected novice teachers’ productivity and motivation and their retention or attrition decisions. Also, the study investigates the impact of school infrastructure on students’ learning based on novice teachers’ observations. Moreover, the analysis of the results provided a description of similarities and differences between rural and urban schools’ novice teachers’ experiences with school infrastructure and working conditions. The gaps in the literature emphasize the lack of research on influence of latter aspects specifically on novice teachers in urban and rural schools. Regarding Kazakhstan’s context, such a phenomenon and its effect on novice teachers has not been studied before. It was found that working conditions, in particular, factors of workload, relationships with colleagues, and salary are key factors in teachers’ retention or attrition. School infrastructure is also an important component for teaching and learning and have an impact on novice teachers’ motivation and productivity. With insufficient school infrastructure teachers feel more dissatisfied and they have to improvise, collaborate, and make adjustments to their teaching practice. The findings of the study will serve as the basis for developing scientifically based decisions to increase retention of novice teachers, as well as to strengthen support for the teaching staff and improve their working environment.