SECONDARY SCHOOL NOVICE TEACHERS’ UNDERSTANDING AND EXPERIENCES OF BECOMING A TEACHER PROFESSIONAL IN KAZAKHSTAN: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY

Abstract

The role and status of teachers have been key agenda items of education reform in Kazakhstan since its independence. The evolving conceptualizations of teaching and teacher in Kazakhstan necessitate a deeper understanding of teachers’ perceptions of teacher professionalism and the concept of being a teacher professional. This is particularly important for novice teachers in the process of forming their professional identity. Therefore, this thesis explores novice teachers’ understanding of teacher professionalism, by identifying their perceptions of the attributes of teacher professionalism, by eliciting novice teacher reflections on themselves as teaching professionals, and by gaining insights on the contribution of initial teacher education to the development of their professionalism. This study employs a qualitative phenomenological methodology. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 novice teachers of public schools of Nur-Sultan city and this constituted the main data source for this study. An analytical inductive data analysis approach was utilized to analyze the collected data. The study revealed that novice teachers of public schools of Nur-Sultan city understand professionalism as a phenomenon that implies a strong knowledge base, limited decision-making power, and grand responsibilities for human betterment. The participants perceive the development of teacher professionalism as a process that involves ongoing learning and it starts with initial teacher education. The initial teacher education is perceived as providing a foundation and basic knowledge, which is seen as insufficient, but a necessary part of the journey towards becoming a professional. The future teachers’ preparation for the profession is hindered by challenges associated with initial teacher education, i.e. insufficient provision of pedagogical knowledge, the gap between university and school, and insufficient practicum. Another important finding of the study is that none of the participants consider themselves professionals during the initial years of teaching due to a lack of experience and practical knowledge. They rather see themselves as novice teachers proceeding towards professionalism. The knowledge generated by this study will contribute to the literature by providing a conceptualization of teacher professionalism from Kazakhstani novice teachers’ perspectives, revealing the important challenges associated with initial teacher education which causes the under-preparedness of the novice teachers and identifying the specific issues faced by novice teachers during their initial years in the profession. Based on the findings of the study implications for practice and policy are made on pre-service teacher preparation and in-service teacher professional development.