School leadership and capacity building in Kazakhstan

Yakavets, Natallia; Frost, David M.; Khoroshash, Aidar

doi:10.1080/13603124.2015.1066869

Cited by 22 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Walker and Dimmock (2006: 126) suggest that ‘leadership learning’ is conceptualised as the processes, contexts and mechanisms within particular courses or programmes that target how school leaders best learn. Our research on school leadership in Kazakhstan also shows that the way Kazakhstani school principals respond to the demands of educational reform depends on variations in the school context (see Yakavets et al, 2015). Furthermore, Glatter (1991: 226) suggests that school leadership development policies ‘must be closely related to the actual work and functioning of the school;…need to extend over a considerable period of time; [that] preparation and follow-up are crucially important; [that] they should foster a “team development” approach and make considerable use of experience-based methods, rather than simply relying on formal “courses”‘.…”

Section: International Evidence Of Leadership Learning and Developmentmentioning

confidence: 72%

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Negotiating the principles and practice of school leadership

Yakavets¹

2016

Educational Management Administration & Leadership

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This paper aims to provide an account of how school leaders in Kazakhstan learn about leadership and management, and what strategies are in place to support leadership development. The paper draws on empirical data collected over three years, derived mainly from interviews and focus groups with school leaders and teachers. The findings suggest that a hierarchical education system and strict policy regulations diminish the likelihood that the changes needed to encourage leadership practice by teachers will take place. The paper examines Kazakhstani school leaders’ learning opportunities, and focuses on the implications of borrowing leadership theories from the West. The key argument is that, if genuine change is to occur, these leaders will require time and space for critical reflection about what it is they need to learn and to do. The paper raises important issues about the conceptualisation of leadership learning and development in non-Western contexts.

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Section: International Evidence Of Leadership Learning and Developmentmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…. ] of sharing practice and discussing key issues in the practice of leadership' (Frost et al, 2014: 235;Yakavets et al, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Negotiating the principles and practice of school leadership

Yakavets¹

2016

Educational Management Administration & Leadership

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“…The model's emphasis on administrative support is not arbitrary, as scholars across the world have argued school capacity building is essential for improving teacher working conditions and student outcomes, with principals being best suited to build faculty capacity (Bryk, Sebring, Allensworth, Luppescu, & Easton, 2010;Yakavets, Frost, & Khoroshash, 2017). For example, Arar and Arar (2016) emphasize the mentorship role of principals in Arab schools to help teachers grow and develop teaching and pedagogic skills.…”

Section: Principal As the Talent Developermentioning

confidence: 99%

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2020

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Many, if not most, of my writing comes from experience, as it does for many scholars-either observing situations and events, being among those involved in these, and the many discussions with students and colleagues about the experiences they have gone through in many countries I have visited or worked in. This topic of mentoring and the related role of role modelling initially came to me shortly after doing my doctorate in a mentoring mode with Christopher Hodgkinson in Canada, and my ideas about this were reinforced when I was mentored in informal postdoctoral work with Wolfgang Mommsen in Germany in the 1990s. Since that time, I have mentored some of my doctoral students, particularly in the last few years working with several in the Arabian Gulf. It was time for me to revisit my research and understanding of this topic after going through several years of research trips, guest lecturing and collaborative projects in Western, Central and Eastern Europe, followed by several years in the Gulf learning about the embeddedness of such roles in

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“…malokomplektnaya shkola) located in rural areas and often characterised by a low quality of education (Ministry of Education and Science [MoES], 2010). Another important characteristic of the school system in Kazakhstan is the presence of government-funded schools for gifted and talented pupils (Yakavets, 2014;Yakavets, et al, 2015). These schools operate under the umbrella of three major networks: the Autonomous Educational Organisation Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools (AEONIS); the Republican Research and Practical Centre, otherwise known as 'Daryn', and the Kazakh-Turkish Lyceum.…”

Section: Recent Educational Policy In Kazakhstanmentioning

confidence: 99%

Societal culture and the changing role of school principals in the post-Soviet era

Yakavets

2016

JEA

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Purpose-The aim of this paper is to explore the impact of societal and cultural factors on the practices and perceptions of school principals in Kazakhstan. Design/methodology/approach-The paper draws on empirical data collected in Kazakhstan over two years in the course of an international, collaborative, multi-stranded project. Findings-The findings support the claim that educational policies and practice are deeply embedded in the national culture, which is an evolving mixture of traditional Kazakh, Russian and diverse ethnic, Soviet and paternalistic cultures. These various societal characteristics exemplify various aspects of the tensions between traditional forms of social organisation, the Soviet legacy, and the sort of educational development promoted by Western educational and international organisations, which now plays an important role in Kazakhstan. Research limitations/implications-The analysis, though limited in scope, has nevertheless yielded insights into important differences and similarities amongst rural and urban schools and explored the effects of societal cultural factors that shape the practices of school leaders on the periphery of the system. Originality/value-The paper provides an empirically grounded illustration of the way in which societal culture and cultural norms shape the role of school principals, and how schools cope with a top-down policy in Kazakhstan. By contrasting the norms that shape both existing practice and the reform agenda, the paper offers some explanations for how cultural norms represent both strengths and weaknesses when applied to the process of change in a post-Soviet context.

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School leadership and capacity building in Kazakhstan

Cited by 22 publications

References 34 publications

Negotiating the principles and practice of school leadership

Negotiating the principles and practice of school leadership

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Societal culture and the changing role of school principals in the post-Soviet era

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