TRILINGUAL EDUCATION POLICY IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KAZAKHSTAN: TEACHERS’ BELIEFS AND CLASSROOM PRACTICES

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative PhD study is to explore how secondary school teachers in Kazakhstan interpret and appropriate trilingual education policy. The goal of the new policy is that future generations will be at least trilingual (Kazakh, Russian, and English). However, there is not yet an explicit written trilingual education policy or clear guidance for implementation in schools. This study examined three research questions: 1) How do teachers understand the language policy and trilingual education policy in particular in the context of Kazakhstan? 2) What do teachers think the policy means for their classroom practices? and 3) How do teachers appropriate the trilingual language policy in their own classrooms? The sample included ten teachers who teach Sciences and Mathematics in English and five History of Kazakhstan teachers who teach in Kazakh in five schools located in historically Russian- speaking areas. The conceptual framework draws upon a language policy and planning “onion” (Ricento & Hornberger, 1996), internal and external supports and hindrances pertinent to teacher beliefs and practices (Buehl & Beck, 2015), a policy interpretation and policy appropriation lens (D. C. Johnson, 2013), teacher agency (Biesta, Priestley, & Robinson, 2015), and linguistic culture (Schiffman, 1996, 2006). The findings stem from the data collected through interviews with teachers and observations of classes they teach. It was found that teachers perceive their roles as appropriators of trilingual policy and exercise agency through the lens of their own beliefs. Teachers’ personal qualities fuelled by the ideology of patriotism and the national competitiveness agenda serve as a foundation for their agency. Their explicit aim is helping students to learn new subject content and acquire linguistic competences. Against the difficulties teachers face, including lack of ready-for-use textbooks and adequate training in L2 methodologies as well as limited linguistic proficiency, they find ways and spaces for making modifications in teaching for the benefit of their students. In the context of Kazakhstan, it is critical to recognise teacher agency in policy processes. Their beliefs about policy and the ways they affect their classroom practices should be taken into account at other policy levels and research.