Teachers’ perceptions and practices towards differentiated instruction in an intellectual school in south Kazakhstan

Abstract

In the multicultural society of the 21st century, the diversity of learners is an indisputable fact, and nobody can deny that differences exist between students in terms of their academic performance and learning outcomes. Therefore, teachers have to deal with different learners in their regular classrooms, and differentiated instruction is necessary to offer the best learning opportunities for all (Coubergs, Struyven,Vanthournout & Engels, 2017). Implementation of differentiated teaching approaches into practice to meet the needs of learners is currently one of the widespread issues that require many teachers to modify and alter their perceptions and practices towards teaching and learning. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore teachers’ perceptions and practices about differentiated instruction in one of the intellectual schools in southern Kazakhstan. Through reviewing relevant empirical research literature and conducting qualitative research, this study aimed to identify what teachers’ understanding of differentiated instruction was, and to investigate how they practiced it and what issues they faced using differentiated instruction. To carry out a thorough analysis of the problem in one of the southern Kazakhstani secondary schools, a case study approach was conducted. Eight teachers from different departments of the school, specifically from Social science, Natural Sciences and Languages departments were interviewed individually and their lessons were observed. A focus group discussion with five other teachers of different subjects was conducted to triangulate the research results. The collected qualitative data were analyzed through key point coding (initial and focused) and via field notes (descriptive and reflective). Findings from the research may enable teachers to define the core of the problem, it may provide about some measures to be taken in schools in Kazakhstan, and may particularly encourage teachers and practitioners to make changes in terms of teaching and learning.