Professional development of teachers is the basis for rural school transformation

    • 28 march, 2025

      Professional development of teachers is the basis for rural school transformation

      Important initiatives are being implemented in Kazakhstan to develop rural schools, develop teachers’ leadership skills and support leadership among girls. These issues were widely discussed at the conference “Transformation of rural schools: Development of professional communities of teachers in Kazakhstan”, which was held in Almaty.

      The event was organized within the framework of the pilot project “Auyldyk mektep shamy”, aimed at supporting rural schools and developing professional communities of teachers through pedagogical leadership. “Today, an important conference is being held at the Kazakh National Women's Teacher Training University.

      The “Auyldyk mektep shamy” project was implemented in rural schools of the Mangistau, Atyrau and Almaty regions. One of the key objectives of the project is to systematically ensure the professional development of teachers at school. The concept of “Lifelong learning” is being actively implemented in our country, and within the framework of this strategy, the university is introducing large-scale initiatives to prepare future teachers. One of such initiatives is the lesson study method. In addition, the projects that school teachers develop and implement address important issues both in the education system and in society as a whole. Each teacher, working on their development initiative, makes real changes to the school environment during the school year. Today's conference provides an opportunity to get acquainted with these projects and innovations proposed by teachers. The University will continue to support the professional development of teachers and will continue its work in this direction. This is one of our key goals," said QyzPU Rector Gulmira Qanay.

      The conference was attended by teachers, school principals, education experts, representatives of government, international and non-governmental organizations. The participants discussed the key results of the project, successful practices in transforming rural education and prospects for further development of the professional community of teachers in Kazakhstan.

      "Work on the development of rural schools is carried out systematically. Various educational initiatives are being implemented in different regions of the country, modern schools are being built, their material and technical base is being updated. However, in order to ensure high-quality education, it is first of all necessary to improve the qualifications of teachers. In this context, the pilot project "Auyldyk mektep shamy" is one of the significant initiatives aimed at strengthening the potential of rural schools. Holding the final conference at the Kazakh National Women's Teacher Training University is also of particular importance, since this university is the leading institution for training qualified teachers," said Zhomart Karambayev, Deputy Chairman of the Secondary Education Committee of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

      The "Auyldyk mektep shamy" project is being implemented with the support of the UNESCO Regional Office in Almaty and the National Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan for UNESCO and ISESCO. The HertsCam professional community (Cambridge, UK), the Kazakh National Women's Teacher Training University (responsible for teacher certification) and the independent TeachersLab platform (responsible for supporting the project facilitators) are also participating in the project.
      "This project was launched with the financial support of the National Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan for UNESCO and ISESCO.

      Its key feature is the development of professional communities in rural schools through support for teacher leadership. Over the course of the year, teachers selected topical issues within their schools, created professional communities, discussed pressing issues and looked for ways to solve them. The project provided various support tools. For example, specially trained facilitators worked in schools to organize sessions, help teachers discuss complex issues and find effective solutions. Using research methods, teachers developed and implemented their own projects. Today's conference is dedicated to presenting these initiatives," said Meirgul Alpysbayeva, National Educational Programme Specialist at the UNESCO Almaty Regional Office.

      At the end of the conference, teachers presented their research projects in a poster session. Among them were projects aimed at teaching Kazakh, Russian and English languages, developing schoolchildren's learning skills and increasing interest in subjects.
      The "Auyldyk Mektep Shamy" project is an important step in the development of rural education. The final conference demonstrated a high level of involvement of rural teachers in the process of improving education and their desire to master new methods.

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