Going round in circles: Increasing status of teacher occupation in Kazakhstan

Abstract

Teachers as an essential part of education system contribute crucially to its quality, moreover, the status of teaching profession indicates how the society values the education. The article provides a critical discourse analysis of the Program for Education Development 2011-2020 with regards to improvement of status of teaching profession in Kazakhstan. The study concentrates on the gaps between the planned and realized outcomes of the Program of Educational Development in Kazakhstan from the point of view of 50 teachers interviewed. The study targeted low qualification of teachers and insufficient oversight of teacher practice as central factors, which lead to low Teacher Status. Focusing on the tension between teachers and policy makers over the teacher status, which remains unchanged, the research revealed the subcourses of law qualification of teachers, identifying low payment, low academic preparation and lack of selectivity of future teachers as subcourses. The article examines the planned and realized outcomes of the initiatives such as launching three level professional training for teachers, issuing vouchers to teachers for their professional development, performance-based payment, increasing enrolment entrance barrier to Pedagogical Universities and teachers? compulsory attestation once in 5 years, which lead to going round in circles. The implications of the study are in providing new insights on the issue of status of teaching profession and determining the reasons of slow progress in status of teaching profession, which needs further exploration in the global scale.