The
Teacher Leadership in Kazakhstan (TLK)
initiative
Teacher Leadership in Kazakhstan (TLK)
initiative
The TLK initiative, funded by the Soros-Kazakhstan Foundation is a three-year enterprise designed to spread the idea and practice of 'non-positional teacher leadership' to the whole education system in Kazakhstan.
A team of 32 facilitators were inducted in August 2019 and are now leading school-based groups in Nur-Sultan, Koksehtau, Almaty and Taraz. In these groups, facilitators are enabling a total of 180 teachers to exercise leadership. Following two sessions in which teachers were supported to identify a professional concern, reflect on their school culture and develop an action plan to address their concern, they engaged in a regional Network Event where they were able to consult with colleagues more widely to build and share knowledge about teaching and learning and leadership.
Teachers are looking forward to sharing their leadership stories in the upcoming International Teacher Leadership Congress, which is set to take place in Nur-Sultan city, Kazakhstan in early May 2020.
A team of 32 facilitators were inducted in August 2019 and are now leading school-based groups in Nur-Sultan, Koksehtau, Almaty and Taraz. In these groups, facilitators are enabling a total of 180 teachers to exercise leadership. Following two sessions in which teachers were supported to identify a professional concern, reflect on their school culture and develop an action plan to address their concern, they engaged in a regional Network Event where they were able to consult with colleagues more widely to build and share knowledge about teaching and learning and leadership.
Teachers are looking forward to sharing their leadership stories in the upcoming International Teacher Leadership Congress, which is set to take place in Nur-Sultan city, Kazakhstan in early May 2020.
The TLK Strategy Group This group is responsible for the leadership and management of the initiative. It consists of three individuals: Gulbadan Zakayeva and Aigul Bekbolatova who belong to School For All, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) and Gulmira Qanay, who is based at Nazarbayev University. Resources for Facilitators
Those participating in the TLK initiative as facilitators can access resources by clicking on the button below. |
Partners The HertsCam Network in the UK are key partners providing support and expertise for the duration of the project. Resources for School Directors
Those participating in the TLK initiative as school directors can access resources by clicking on the button below. |
Launching the Teacher Leadership in Kazakhstan initiative
In the middle of August, a team of six from HertsCam travelled to Kazakhstan to help launch this exciting TLK initiative. The 3-day Induction Conference was held at Nazarbayev University in the capital city, Astana, which has recently been officially re-named as Nur-Sultan. The project, funded by the Soros Foundation, will extend over three years in order to bring non-positional teacher leadership to most regions of the country. The participants in the Induction Conference included the school directors (principals / headteachers) of the sixteen schools from four regions (Astana, Kokshetau, Almaty and Taraz) and two facilitators from each school.
The event began with welcoming remarks and a presentation by Saule Kalikova from the Soros Foundation. She had first learnt about HertsCam and TLDW in 2010 when she met David Frost who had travelled to Almaty, a major city in the south of the country, to do research. The dialogue started during that visit continued in various locations including Baku and Belgrade. Along the way, one of the HertsCam books was translated into Russian, courtesy of the Soros Foundation. Then came the proposal for the TLK initiative which involves HertsCam working with a Kazakhstan based NGO (non-governmental organisation) called School for All, and Gulmira Qanay who is now based at Nazarbayev University. Saule’s presentation clearly reflected her passionate commitment to non-positional approach which is so inclusive. David Frost made a presentation about the nature of non-positional teacher leadership.
Following his presentation, David was interviewed by a national TV programme. He as quizzed about the possible conflict between the idea of inviting teachers to identify the agenda for change and the priorities mandated by the national reforms. He argued that there is no conflict. If a teacher is enabled to reflect on what really matters to them, they would reflect in the school situation and would have conversations with colleagues to shape their development focus. The item about the conference that was aired on TV shortly after the conference can be viewed on YouTube (but you might want to fast forward to the 7th minute of the show). https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=e0NrkZnCxMM
Once the preliminaries were finished the school directors and the facilitators went to separate rooms for workshops. The Facilitators’ workshops were led by Sheila Ball and Emma Anderson-Payne and the school directors’ workshops were led by Val Hill and Tracy Gaiteri. Paul Barnet floated between the two groups, managing the process as a whole.
Non-positional teacher leadership seems at first glance to be an unrealistic prospect in a country that is more accustomed to centralised control, but the evidence from earlier experiments in the cities of Taraz and Kokshetau, were compelling. The workshop activities were also effective in enabling both school directors and designated facilitators to understand the power of the sleeping giant of teacher leadership.
In the final plenary session on the third day, the joy and enthusiasm were palpable. Representatives from each of the four participating regions came forward to express thanks to the HertsCam team and their commitment to making a success of the initiative. Schools were awarded certificates to recognise their participation and the atmosphere was celebratory.
Once the preliminaries were finished the school directors and the facilitators went to separate rooms for workshops. The Facilitators’ workshops were led by Sheila Ball and Emma Anderson-Payne and the school directors’ workshops were led by Val Hill and Tracy Gaiteri. Paul Barnet floated between the two groups, managing the process as a whole.
Non-positional teacher leadership seems at first glance to be an unrealistic prospect in a country that is more accustomed to centralised control, but the evidence from earlier experiments in the cities of Taraz and Kokshetau, were compelling. The workshop activities were also effective in enabling both school directors and designated facilitators to understand the power of the sleeping giant of teacher leadership.
In the final plenary session on the third day, the joy and enthusiasm were palpable. Representatives from each of the four participating regions came forward to express thanks to the HertsCam team and their commitment to making a success of the initiative. Schools were awarded certificates to recognise their participation and the atmosphere was celebratory.