Teachers’ Work Practices in Kazakhstan: Some Comparative Insights from TIMSS 2011 to Guide Curriculum Implementation
64 35
Abstract
This paper2 looks at the different norms of practice between mathematics teachers in two countries, Kazakhstan and England. These differences pose challenges and opportunities for the implementation
of a new secondary curriculum in Kazakhstan; a curriculum that has been shaped by and is grounded in prevailing practice in English educational system. The paper draws on survey data from the 2011 TIMSS
exercise and relates it to our observations of classrooms in Kazakhstan over the last 5 years. The analysis draws on various cross-national studies of teachers’ work and studies of subject departments. The
paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for successful curricula change and how it can be supported by an understanding of prevailing norms of practice. The paper also illustrates the continued
value of cross-national comparison of educational practices especially for relatively new nations. It questions the popular notion that global waves of policy solutions have washed, unimpeded and unchanged,
across national borders.
Key words: Comparative studies, teacher education, teaching practices, TIMSS.
References
1 Artigue, M., & Winsløw, C. (2010). International comparative studies on mathematics education: A viewpoint from the anthropological theory of didactics. Recherches en didactique des mathématiques, 30(1), 47-82.2 Atkin, M. & Black, P., (1997). Policy perils of International Comparisons: The TIMSS Case. Phi Delta Kappa. 78(1) pp 27.
3 Bieber, T., & Martens, K. (2011). The OECD PISA study as a soft power in education? Lessons from Switzerland and the US. European Journal of Education, 46(1), 101-116.
4 Bracey, G.W., (1998). TIMSS, Rhymes with ‘Dims,’ as in ‘Witted’. (Third International Mathematics and Science Study).Phi Delta Kappa, 79(9), pp 886+.
3 Breakspear, S. (2012). The policy impact of PISA: AN EXPLORATION OF THE NORMATIVE EFFECTS OF INTERNATIONAL BENCHMARKING IN SCHOOL SYSTEM PERFORMANCE. Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
4 Bridges, D. (Ed.). (2014). Education Reform and Internationalization. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
5 Carnoy, M., (2006). Rethinking the Comparative‒ and the International, Comparative Education Review, 50(4), 551-570.
6 Crossley, M., & Broadfoot, P. (1992). Comparative and international research in education: scope, problems and potential.British Educational Research Journal, 18(2), 99-112.
7 Davis, R.B., &Romberg,T.A., (1979). Common Practices in Present Soviet Schools in Davis, R.B., &Romberg,T.A.,Rachlin,S., & Kantowski, M.G., An Analysis of Mathematics Education in the Union of Soviet Socilaists Republics, ED182 141,ERIC/IRC, Columbus Ohio.
8 Douglas, J.A., (2014). Profiling the Flagship University Model: An Exploratory Proposal for Changing the Paradigm from Ranking to Relevancy. Research and Occasional paper series: CSHE.5.14. University of California, Berkeley. http://cshe.berkley.edu/
9 Deyoung, A. J. (2006). Problems and trends in education in Central Asia since 1990: The case of general secondary education in Kyrgyzstan. Central Asian Survey, 25(4), 499-514.
10 European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice (2015). The European Higher Education Area in 2015: Bologna Process Implementation Report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
11 Fang, Y., & Gopinathan, S. (2009). Teachers and teaching in eastern and western schools: A critical review of cross-cultural comparative studies. In Saha, L.J., &Dworkin,A.G. (eds) International handbook of research on teachers and teaching Vol 21. (pp.557-572), Springer New York.
12 Ferrini-Mundy, J., & Schmidt, W. H. (2005). International comparative studies in mathematics education: Opportunities for collaboration and challenges for researchers. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 164-175.
13 Floden, R.E., & Huberman, M., (1989). Teachers’ professional lives: the state of art. International Journal of educational research, 13, (4) pp 455-466.
14 Foshay, A. W. (1962). Brief history of IEA. AW Foshay, RL Thorndike, F. Hotyat, DA Pidgeon, & DA Walker (1962). Educational achievement of thirteen-year-olds in twelve countries. Hamburg: UNESCO Institute for Education. Retrieved October, 30, 2007.
15 Foy, P., Arora, A., & Stanco, G.M., (Eds) (2013). TIMSS 2011 User Guide for the International Database, TIMSS& PIRLS International Study Centre & IEA, Boston.
16 Gallagher, T., ( 2005). Mediating Globalization: Local responses to Political and Economic Pressures. British Educational Research Journal, 31 (1), pp 121-128.
17 Gonzales, P., Guzmán, J. C., Partelow, L., Pahlke, E., Jocelyn, L., Kastberg, D., & Williams, T. (2004). Highlights from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 2003. NCES 2005-005. US Department of Education.
18 Grossman, P. L., & Stodolsky, S. S. (1995). Content as Context: The Role of School Subjects in Secondary School Teaching. Educational Researcher, November pp 5-11.
19 Groundwater-Smith, S. & Sachs, J., ( 2002). The Activist Professional and the Reinstatement of Trust., Cambridge Journal of Education 32(3), pp341-358.
20 Gump, S. (2002). Getting to the Heart of Public Junior High Schools in Japan. Phi Delta Kappa 83(10), pp. 788-791.
21 Hazelkorn, E.,(2014). Striving for «World Class Excellence»: Rankings and emerging Societies. In Araya, P. & Marber, P., (Eds) Higher Education in the Global Age: Policy, Practice and Promise in Emerging Societies. Routledge, New York pp 246-270.
22 Horta, H.,(2009). Global and National Prominent Universities: Internationalization, Competiveness and the Role of the State. Higher Education. 58(3) pp 387-405.
23 Holzinger, K., & Knill, C., (2005). Causes and Conditions of Cross-National Policy Convergence. Journal of European Public Policy, 12, pp 775-796.
24 Hufton, N., & Elliott, J. (2000). Motivation to learn: The pedagogical nexus in the Russian school: Some implications for transnational research and policy borrowing. Educational Studies, 26(1), 115-136.
25 Husén, T. (1979). An international research venture in retrospect: The IEA surveys. Comparative Education Review, 371-385
26 Jarocka, M. (2012). University ranking systems–from league table to homogeneous groups of universities. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, 66, 800-805.
27 Johnson, S.M., (1990). Teachers at Work: Achieving Success in our Schools, Basic Books, New York.
28 Joldoshalieva, R. (2007). Continuing teacher professional development in post‐Soviet Kyrgyzstan. Journal of In‐Service Education, 33(3), 287-300.
29 Kehm, B. (2006). «The German «Initiative for Excellence» and the Issue of Ranking». International Higher Education. The Boston Center for International Higher Education. Number 44 Summer.
30 King, R. (2009). Governing universities globally: Organizations, regulation and rankings. Edward Elgar Publishing.
31 Kosmützky, A. (2015). In defence of international comparative studies. On the analytical and explanatory power of the nation state in international comparative higher education research. European Journal of Higher Education, (ahead-of-print), 1-17.
32 Little, J.W. (2002. Professional community and the problem of high school reform. International Journal of Educational Research, 37, pp693‒ 714.
33 Little, J.W. (2006). Professional community and professional Development in the Learning Centered School. National Education association, Washington, DC.
34 Mehisto P., (2015). Kazakhstan: From Twenty Trilingual Schools to Thousands? In Mehisto, P. & Genese, F. (eds). Building bilingual education systems: forces, mechanisms and counterweights. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
35 Mullis, I.V., Martin, M.O., Foy, P., Arora A. (2012) TIMMS 2011 International Results in Mathematics. Boston, MA: Lynch School of Education, Boston College.
36 Marginson, S. (2014). University rankings and social science. European Journal of Education, 49(1), 45-59.
37 Peak, L., (1991). Learning to go to School in Japan: the transition from home to pre-school life. University of California Press, Berkeley.
38 Riley, K., (2003). Big Change Question. Journal of Educational Change, 4, pp 419 -421.
39 Rohlen, T., (1983). Japan’s High Schools. University of California Press, Berkeley.
40 Sachs, J., (2003). The Activist Professional, Journal of Educational Change, 1, pp 77-95.
41 Sachs, J. (2012, August). Teacher Professionalism: Why Are We Still Talking About It? In 37 th ATEE Conference, Eskisehir, Turkey (pp. 33‒ 47).
42 Sahlberg, P., (2006).»Education Reform for Raising Economic Competiveness», Journal of Educational Change, 7, pp 259-287.
43 Sahlberg, P., (2011 b). «The Fourth Way of Finland», Journal of Educational Change, (12), pp 173-185.
44 Sammons, P., Day, C., Kingston, A., Gu, Q., Stobart, G., & Smees, R., (2007). Exploring Variations in Teachers’ Work, Lives and Their Effects on Pupils: Key findings and Implications from a Longitudinal Mixed Method Study. British Educational Research Journal, 33(5), pp 681-701.
45 Silova, I., (2005). «Travelling Policies: hijacked in Central Asia» European Educational Research Journal, Volume 4, Number 1, pp 5—59.
46 Siskin, L.S. (1991). Departments as Different Worlds: Subject Subculture in Secondary Schools. Educational Administration Quarterly, 27(2),pp 134-160.
47 Siskin, L.S. (1994). Realms of knowledge: Academic departments in secondary schools. London: Falmer Press.
48 Siskin, L. S., & Little, J. W. (1995). The subject department: continuities and critiques. In L. S. Siskin, & J. W. Little (Eds.), The subjects in question: Departmental organization and the high school (pp. 1–22). New York: Teachers College Press
49 Stevenson, H., & Stigler, J., (1992). The Learning Gap. New York, Summit Books.
50 Stigler, J., & Stevenson, H., (1991). How Asian teachers polish each lesson to perfection. American Educator, 15(1) pp.12-20.
51 The State Program for the Development of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2016-2019. Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as of 1st of March, 2016.
52 Takala, T., & Piattoeva, N. (2012). Changing conceptions of development assistance to education in the international discourse on post-Soviet countries. International Journal of Educational Development, 32(1), 3-10.
53 Talbert, J.E., & McLaughlin, M., ( 2002). Professional Communities and the Artisan Model of Teaching. Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice, 8 (3), pp 325-343.
54 Tan, C., (2013). Learning from Shanghai: Lessons on achieving educational Success. Springer, Dordrecht.
55 Torrance, H. ( 2003). Big Change Question. Journal of Educational Change, 4, pp 421 -425.
56 UNICEF, (2011). Teachers: a regional study on recruitment, development and salaries of teachers in the CEECIS region.Geneva, UNICEF regional office CEECIS. www.unicef.org/ceecis/UNICEF_teachers_web_pdf
57 Wenger, E., McDermott, R., & Snyder, W.M., (2002). Cultivating Communities of Practice: a guide to managing knowledge. Harvard business School Press, Boston, Mass.
58 Wineburg, S. & Grossman, P., ( 1998). Creating a Community of Learners among High School Teachers, Phi Delta Kappa 79(5), pp 350‒ 353.
59 Winter, L., Rimini, C., Soltanbekova, A., & Tynybayeva, M., (2014). Culture and Practice of Assessment in Kazakhstan: The Unified National Test, Past and Present. In Bridges, D. (Ed.). Education Reform and Internationalization. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
60 Zuzovsky, R., (2013). What works where? The relationship between instructional variables and schools’ mean scores in mathematics and science in low-, medium-, and high-achieving countries. Large-scale Assessments in Education, 1:2, pp 1-17. http://www.largescaleassessmentsineducation.com/content/1/1/2
3 Bieber, T., & Martens, K. (2011). The OECD PISA study as a soft power in education? Lessons from Switzerland and the US. European Journal of Education, 46(1), 101-116.
4 Bracey, G.W., (1998). TIMSS, Rhymes with ‘Dims,’ as in ‘Witted’. (Third International Mathematics and Science Study).Phi Delta Kappa, 79(9), pp 886+.
3 Breakspear, S. (2012). The policy impact of PISA: AN EXPLORATION OF THE NORMATIVE EFFECTS OF INTERNATIONAL BENCHMARKING IN SCHOOL SYSTEM PERFORMANCE. Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
4 Bridges, D. (Ed.). (2014). Education Reform and Internationalization. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
5 Carnoy, M., (2006). Rethinking the Comparative‒ and the International, Comparative Education Review, 50(4), 551-570.
6 Crossley, M., & Broadfoot, P. (1992). Comparative and international research in education: scope, problems and potential.British Educational Research Journal, 18(2), 99-112.
7 Davis, R.B., &Romberg,T.A., (1979). Common Practices in Present Soviet Schools in Davis, R.B., &Romberg,T.A.,Rachlin,S., & Kantowski, M.G., An Analysis of Mathematics Education in the Union of Soviet Socilaists Republics, ED182 141,ERIC/IRC, Columbus Ohio.
8 Douglas, J.A., (2014). Profiling the Flagship University Model: An Exploratory Proposal for Changing the Paradigm from Ranking to Relevancy. Research and Occasional paper series: CSHE.5.14. University of California, Berkeley. http://cshe.berkley.edu/
9 Deyoung, A. J. (2006). Problems and trends in education in Central Asia since 1990: The case of general secondary education in Kyrgyzstan. Central Asian Survey, 25(4), 499-514.
10 European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice (2015). The European Higher Education Area in 2015: Bologna Process Implementation Report. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
11 Fang, Y., & Gopinathan, S. (2009). Teachers and teaching in eastern and western schools: A critical review of cross-cultural comparative studies. In Saha, L.J., &Dworkin,A.G. (eds) International handbook of research on teachers and teaching Vol 21. (pp.557-572), Springer New York.
12 Ferrini-Mundy, J., & Schmidt, W. H. (2005). International comparative studies in mathematics education: Opportunities for collaboration and challenges for researchers. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 164-175.
13 Floden, R.E., & Huberman, M., (1989). Teachers’ professional lives: the state of art. International Journal of educational research, 13, (4) pp 455-466.
14 Foshay, A. W. (1962). Brief history of IEA. AW Foshay, RL Thorndike, F. Hotyat, DA Pidgeon, & DA Walker (1962). Educational achievement of thirteen-year-olds in twelve countries. Hamburg: UNESCO Institute for Education. Retrieved October, 30, 2007.
15 Foy, P., Arora, A., & Stanco, G.M., (Eds) (2013). TIMSS 2011 User Guide for the International Database, TIMSS& PIRLS International Study Centre & IEA, Boston.
16 Gallagher, T., ( 2005). Mediating Globalization: Local responses to Political and Economic Pressures. British Educational Research Journal, 31 (1), pp 121-128.
17 Gonzales, P., Guzmán, J. C., Partelow, L., Pahlke, E., Jocelyn, L., Kastberg, D., & Williams, T. (2004). Highlights from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), 2003. NCES 2005-005. US Department of Education.
18 Grossman, P. L., & Stodolsky, S. S. (1995). Content as Context: The Role of School Subjects in Secondary School Teaching. Educational Researcher, November pp 5-11.
19 Groundwater-Smith, S. & Sachs, J., ( 2002). The Activist Professional and the Reinstatement of Trust., Cambridge Journal of Education 32(3), pp341-358.
20 Gump, S. (2002). Getting to the Heart of Public Junior High Schools in Japan. Phi Delta Kappa 83(10), pp. 788-791.
21 Hazelkorn, E.,(2014). Striving for «World Class Excellence»: Rankings and emerging Societies. In Araya, P. & Marber, P., (Eds) Higher Education in the Global Age: Policy, Practice and Promise in Emerging Societies. Routledge, New York pp 246-270.
22 Horta, H.,(2009). Global and National Prominent Universities: Internationalization, Competiveness and the Role of the State. Higher Education. 58(3) pp 387-405.
23 Holzinger, K., & Knill, C., (2005). Causes and Conditions of Cross-National Policy Convergence. Journal of European Public Policy, 12, pp 775-796.
24 Hufton, N., & Elliott, J. (2000). Motivation to learn: The pedagogical nexus in the Russian school: Some implications for transnational research and policy borrowing. Educational Studies, 26(1), 115-136.
25 Husén, T. (1979). An international research venture in retrospect: The IEA surveys. Comparative Education Review, 371-385
26 Jarocka, M. (2012). University ranking systems–from league table to homogeneous groups of universities. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, 66, 800-805.
27 Johnson, S.M., (1990). Teachers at Work: Achieving Success in our Schools, Basic Books, New York.
28 Joldoshalieva, R. (2007). Continuing teacher professional development in post‐Soviet Kyrgyzstan. Journal of In‐Service Education, 33(3), 287-300.
29 Kehm, B. (2006). «The German «Initiative for Excellence» and the Issue of Ranking». International Higher Education. The Boston Center for International Higher Education. Number 44 Summer.
30 King, R. (2009). Governing universities globally: Organizations, regulation and rankings. Edward Elgar Publishing.
31 Kosmützky, A. (2015). In defence of international comparative studies. On the analytical and explanatory power of the nation state in international comparative higher education research. European Journal of Higher Education, (ahead-of-print), 1-17.
32 Little, J.W. (2002. Professional community and the problem of high school reform. International Journal of Educational Research, 37, pp693‒ 714.
33 Little, J.W. (2006). Professional community and professional Development in the Learning Centered School. National Education association, Washington, DC.
34 Mehisto P., (2015). Kazakhstan: From Twenty Trilingual Schools to Thousands? In Mehisto, P. & Genese, F. (eds). Building bilingual education systems: forces, mechanisms and counterweights. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
35 Mullis, I.V., Martin, M.O., Foy, P., Arora A. (2012) TIMMS 2011 International Results in Mathematics. Boston, MA: Lynch School of Education, Boston College.
36 Marginson, S. (2014). University rankings and social science. European Journal of Education, 49(1), 45-59.
37 Peak, L., (1991). Learning to go to School in Japan: the transition from home to pre-school life. University of California Press, Berkeley.
38 Riley, K., (2003). Big Change Question. Journal of Educational Change, 4, pp 419 -421.
39 Rohlen, T., (1983). Japan’s High Schools. University of California Press, Berkeley.
40 Sachs, J., (2003). The Activist Professional, Journal of Educational Change, 1, pp 77-95.
41 Sachs, J. (2012, August). Teacher Professionalism: Why Are We Still Talking About It? In 37 th ATEE Conference, Eskisehir, Turkey (pp. 33‒ 47).
42 Sahlberg, P., (2006).»Education Reform for Raising Economic Competiveness», Journal of Educational Change, 7, pp 259-287.
43 Sahlberg, P., (2011 b). «The Fourth Way of Finland», Journal of Educational Change, (12), pp 173-185.
44 Sammons, P., Day, C., Kingston, A., Gu, Q., Stobart, G., & Smees, R., (2007). Exploring Variations in Teachers’ Work, Lives and Their Effects on Pupils: Key findings and Implications from a Longitudinal Mixed Method Study. British Educational Research Journal, 33(5), pp 681-701.
45 Silova, I., (2005). «Travelling Policies: hijacked in Central Asia» European Educational Research Journal, Volume 4, Number 1, pp 5—59.
46 Siskin, L.S. (1991). Departments as Different Worlds: Subject Subculture in Secondary Schools. Educational Administration Quarterly, 27(2),pp 134-160.
47 Siskin, L.S. (1994). Realms of knowledge: Academic departments in secondary schools. London: Falmer Press.
48 Siskin, L. S., & Little, J. W. (1995). The subject department: continuities and critiques. In L. S. Siskin, & J. W. Little (Eds.), The subjects in question: Departmental organization and the high school (pp. 1–22). New York: Teachers College Press
49 Stevenson, H., & Stigler, J., (1992). The Learning Gap. New York, Summit Books.
50 Stigler, J., & Stevenson, H., (1991). How Asian teachers polish each lesson to perfection. American Educator, 15(1) pp.12-20.
51 The State Program for the Development of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2016-2019. Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as of 1st of March, 2016.
52 Takala, T., & Piattoeva, N. (2012). Changing conceptions of development assistance to education in the international discourse on post-Soviet countries. International Journal of Educational Development, 32(1), 3-10.
53 Talbert, J.E., & McLaughlin, M., ( 2002). Professional Communities and the Artisan Model of Teaching. Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice, 8 (3), pp 325-343.
54 Tan, C., (2013). Learning from Shanghai: Lessons on achieving educational Success. Springer, Dordrecht.
55 Torrance, H. ( 2003). Big Change Question. Journal of Educational Change, 4, pp 421 -425.
56 UNICEF, (2011). Teachers: a regional study on recruitment, development and salaries of teachers in the CEECIS region.Geneva, UNICEF regional office CEECIS. www.unicef.org/ceecis/UNICEF_teachers_web_pdf
57 Wenger, E., McDermott, R., & Snyder, W.M., (2002). Cultivating Communities of Practice: a guide to managing knowledge. Harvard business School Press, Boston, Mass.
58 Wineburg, S. & Grossman, P., ( 1998). Creating a Community of Learners among High School Teachers, Phi Delta Kappa 79(5), pp 350‒ 353.
59 Winter, L., Rimini, C., Soltanbekova, A., & Tynybayeva, M., (2014). Culture and Practice of Assessment in Kazakhstan: The Unified National Test, Past and Present. In Bridges, D. (Ed.). Education Reform and Internationalization. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
60 Zuzovsky, R., (2013). What works where? The relationship between instructional variables and schools’ mean scores in mathematics and science in low-, medium-, and high-achieving countries. Large-scale Assessments in Education, 1:2, pp 1-17. http://www.largescaleassessmentsineducation.com/content/1/1/2
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Ruby, A., & McLaughlin, C. (2018). Teachers’ Work Practices in Kazakhstan: Some Comparative Insights from TIMSS 2011 to Guide Curriculum Implementation. Journal of Educational Sciences, 53(4), 31–42. Retrieved from https://bulletin-pedagogic-sc.kaznu.kz/index.php/1-ped/article/view/450
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