We have collected here some common questions and their answers related to the reform in initial teacher education. If you cannot find an answer here, please send us an email with your question: address

- To which direction the operational culture of initial teacher education in Kazakhstan is being developed?

The operational culture of initial teacher education in Kazakhstan is emphasizing more strongly the active participation of students, collaboration, combining theory with practical applications, and research-based approach. Students’ individual needs and wellbeing are considered which increases their motivation for studying.

- What scientific approach has been adopted for the implementation of this project?

The project implementation approach is based on a participatory action research approach (PAR), which allows for the involvement of all stakeholders with the opportunity to express their views. The PAR approach highlights the transformation cycles (step-by-step approach) in which the participation of all key stakeholders is crucial. This involvement empowers them and the practical learning and practices they have developed demonstrate the processes and new knowledge transformed, i.e. make change explicit. Innovations created with key stakeholders have added value compared to innovations created for them; this makes the development relevant, valuable and sustainable, and increases the multiplier effect. Furthermore, a participatory approach will have profound long-term effects, as it encourages key actors to reflect on and develop not only teaching and assessment practices, but also their own understanding of the concept of teaching and learning.

- How the process of selecting educational programmes for development was conducted?

The universities (17) involved in the project were asked to provide several suggestions for educational programmes that they would like to revise or develop as part of this project. They were asked to prepare a short presentation of their proposed educational programmes in which they had to justify why these particular educational programmes should be selected. These presentations were delivered during the offline training in Astana.  The international and local key experts of the project worked on the proposed educational programmes and prepared a structured proposal on the last day of the offline week in Astana. This proposal was discussed and generally agreed, but HEIs were given the opportunity to discuss, edit and add comments if they felt that any aspects of the proposal had not been addressed. From a sustainability perspective, it is essential that proposals for educational programmes come from the HEIs themselves, taking into account their needs and areas of expertise (HEI and/or development team).

- What the list of 30 educational programmes consists of?

The list of 30 educational programmes includes 23 bachelor programmes, 5 master programmes and 1 consecutive model of pedagogical education, 1 postgraduate programme (retraining).

- Are there approaches that are common to certain groups of educational programmes, such as science and languages?

Yes, they have a particular approach which is common to all the educational programmes in these groups. For the Science programmes, the common approach is STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math). This means that all the educational programmes have a STEM approach and its principles are applied in the description of the educational modules and courses and their learning outcomes, and interaction between disciplines is ensured within the educational programmes (e.g. in the form of joint modules, project work, etc.). Furthermore, in the Languages group a common approach in all curricula is the CLIL (Subject-Language Integrated Learning) concept, which means that the future foreign language teachers are familiar with this concept and can cooperate with their colleagues to help them implement the CLIL approach in their teaching.

- Whether the project has considered an alternative path to the teaching profession?

The need for an alternative pathway to the teaching profession emerged in the first phase of the project (needs analysis), and although some examples already exist in Kazakhstan, a consecutive model of initial teacher education needed to be systematised. Hence, this project has developed a consecutive pedagogical education programme. The programme is aligned with the overall structure of the pedagogical component in all initial teacher education curricula.

- Are there cross-cutting themes across all education programmes?

There are several themes that were raised in the Stage 1 workshops and in discussions with pedagogical developers and their university teams that should be included in all teacher education programmes, and all teacher education students should develop their competencies on these themes throughout the programmes. These include: Digitalisation in education and development of digital competencies of teachers; Special education; CLIL (Subject Language Integrated Learning); STEM/interdisciplinary approach; Methodologies that promote active learning; Development of flexible/universal teaching skills; Recognition of diverse learners and inclusive education; Change management; Research.

- How the composition and roles of the curriculum development teams have been allocated?

Universities allocated to each group of curricula were identified on the basis of their presentations and proposals for their areas of interest. Each group of educational programmes has a leading HEI, which coordinates the work on the development of curricula. In addition, HEIs had slightly different roles and responsibilities in the development of curricula, as some larger HEI teams took more responsibility for several curricula in one group or even in several groups, while smaller HEI teams worked on only one or two curricula. Thus, the work was divided according to the expertise and resources of the HEIs. In each group of curricula, international and local key experts worked to facilitate and guide the writing of curricula.

- How the trilingual aspect was addressed in the project?

Curricula have been prepared in three languages, as well as other important documents/outcomes of the project.

- What are the project outcomes?

30 revised or new curricula, improved models, practices, and implementation of curricula, professional development of teacher educators, recommendations for structural change, improving the role of teachers' community.

- What was the purpose of the review and analysis of legislation and regulations on initial teacher education?

The purpose of the review is to obtain information on the legal and regulatory frameworks regulating educational development; to identify issues of discussion that will serve as a starting point for assessing the state of initial teacher education in Kazakhstan (in comparison with international practice) and to identify aspects and opportunities for improvement in this area. Thus, the review aims not only to describe the current regulatory framework, but also to provide a preliminary analysis of its effectiveness on the basis of available sources and experts' experience. The information from the review will be used in focus group interviews with key stakeholders, as well as in subsequent stages of the project in the development of a new model of initial teacher education in Kazakhstan, taking into account the national context and international practices.

- What were the aims and objectives of the Professional Development Programme to improve initial teacher education?

The project is based on the training of pedagogical developers and their university teams to ensure effectiveness of the educational reform of initial teacher education in Kazakhstan, as the participants have ownership of all developed products, models and processes, which also contributes to the sustainability of the project outcomes and effects of their implementation. The Professional Development Programme for Improvement of initial teacher education aligns with the Participatory Research Approach (PAR) for implementation. The Programme aims to support a paradigm shift towards student-centred learning and a competency-based approach in initial teacher education in Kazakhstan. This ambitious goal involves a change in the mindset of change agents, which requires a great deal of time and effort. The programme content corresponds to the themes identified from the Stage 1 needs analysis and international benchmarking, and is adapted from the experiences of selected pedagogical developers.

- What approach was followed in the development of curricula?

The process of developing curricula followed a deductive process, a process where the design would start with the identification of competence areas and competences, and then proceed to the development of modules and courses corresponding to the defined competences.

- What is the Core curriculum?

The Core Curriculum is defined as a document describing the work environment of educators, the core values and the fundamental approach to quality learning that should guide all target groups: professors, teachers, trainers, assistants, university administrators, and local education authorities.   The Core Curriculum also provides guidance for teaching and learning in all disciplines, setting out the basic pedagogical principles and competencies to which all curricula should adhere. In addition, the Core Curriculum comprises a pedagogical component that should be common to all higher teacher education programmes. For postgraduate programmes the Core Curriculum serves as the guiding document for the implementation of the programmes.

- Who developed the Core Curriculum?

The Core Curriculum has been predominantly developed by international and local key experts responsible for the development of curricula. However, content of the Core Curriculum has been further updated and modified as a result of discussions between key experts and representatives of higher education institutions on various topics within the Teacher Professional Development Programme. Based on these discussions, a common understanding has been described in the Core Curriculum in the form of guiding pedagogical principles that should form the basis for the development and implementation of all curricula.