TEACHER APPRAISAL FOR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING: PERSPECTIVES FROM ONE SECONDARY SCHOOL IN KAZAKHSTAN

Abstract

Much attention has been focused on educational accountability globally. Therefore, teacher appraisal has become a high-stake teacher certification process in many contexts with the growing demand to enhance the quality of education. Countries have started implementing teacher appraisal policies and practices to meet these requirements. However, in many countries including Kazakhstan, the accountability purpose of teacher appraisal (attestation) prevails and therefore it fails to improve teachers’ professional learning and development. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has repeatedly identified the specific need for Kazakhstan to link teacher appraisal practices to high-quality professional development opportunities to improve teacher classroom practice. Thus, Kazakhstan has invested in teacher quality by initiating and launching the law on teacher status, developing professional standards, and increasing teacher salaries through its new teacher appraisal policy. However, since these initiatives have been taken recently, there exist gaps in understanding how the newly introduced teacher appraisal works, especially in the mainstream schools in Kazakhstan. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore teachers’ and school leaders’ perceptions of teacher appraisal and its influences on teachers’ professional learning in a secondary mainstream school in Kazakhstan. Using the principles of adult learning theory as a framework, the data were collected through 23 one-on-one semi-structured interviews with 15 research participants, observations of teacher appraisal meetings, and analysis of relevant documents. The study findings revealed that teacher appraisal enhances career development, engages teachers in multiple professional development opportunities, encourages teacher leadership, and motivates teachers to stay on the job. Also, the study revealed that the current teacher appraisal in Kazakhstan prioritizes breadth over depth of appraisal practices thus making teachers more accountable for their performativity rather than continuous learning. Although these findings reflect some principles of adult learning theory, they are hardly self-directed and based on teachers’ individual needs. By exploring current teacher appraisal and its influences on teacher learning through the lens of adult learning theory, this study contributes to the current understanding of teacher appraisal and its influences on teacher professional learning. The study also offers useful insights to the policymakers, school leaders, and teachers about the conceptualization and practices of teacher appraisal in Kazakhstan.