Teachers’ Experiences of the Updated Pedagogy within the Scope of the Curriculum Reform: A Case Study of Two Mainstream Schools in Kazakhstan

Abstract

During the early period of independence, the school education in Kazakhstan experienced various difficulties, such as ineffective curriculum and assessment practices inherited from Soviet times, as well as traditional teaching and learning approaches that formed overall teachers’ pedagogy. The State requested The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to review the curriculum of secondary school. The OECD reported that the school curriculum was mostly teacher-centred, and students obtained factual knowledge without knowing its practical implication. Therefore, Kazakhstan initiated the most drastic and far-reaching reform in secondary school education called the Updated Curriculum. This study aimed to obtain a detailed insight into the teachers’ actual experiences of the updated pedagogy within the scope of the curriculum reform in one urban and one rural mainstream school. The study employed a qualitative case study research design. The interview method was applied to answer the central research question: “How do teachers experience the pedagogic shift associated with the Updated Curriculum?” Eight teachers, four teachers from a rural and four from an urban mainstream school in Kostanay region were interviewed to explore teachers’ experiences of the updated pedagogy thoroughly. The findings of the study demonstrated that teachers in both schools had gained rich experiences of implementing the renewed pedagogy advocated by the reform. Most of them have positive attitudes and perceptions, although some teachers possess a negative attitude toward the Updated Curriculum. Nevertheless, teachers attempt to deliver the renewed curriculum, apply the updated assessment practice, and rely more on student-centred teaching approaches in their contextual realities. However, there are specific limitations such as issues with the updated subject programmes, discrepancies in some textbooks, big-class sizes, insufficient technical facilities and resources, and a lack of continuous support from reform officers. These constraints are also an integral aspect that sustains teachers’ overall experiences of the Updated pedagogy.