Key Stakeholders’ Perspectives and Experiences of 12-Year Schooling Reform in the Context of Kazakhstan: A Long-Term Pilot Implementation (original) (raw)

Educational change is a multidimensional complex process that affects curriculum, teaching, and learning, and requires people involved to alter their beliefs and behaviors (Fullan, 2015, pp. 27-28). On the other hand, sustainability and the outcome of educational changes are influenced by key stakeholders' beliefs about the change and their engagement in the implementation process. Teachers' engagement depends on their ideologies, values, and beliefs (Wallace & Priestley, 2011), their professional experience (Hargreaves, 2005a), and the implementation of the reform (Clement, 2014). During educational change, teachers experience job intensification, an increase in the number of tasks along with the simultaneous limitation of time and resources (Ballet & Kelchtermans, 2008; Valli & Buese, 2007), and the requirement of new knowledge and skills (Fullan, 2015). Furthermore, the implementation of reform depends on the headmaster's or principal's qualities, leadership, and ability to manage the complexities of change (Fullan, 2015). Research highlights the role of students in the process (DeFur & Korinek, 2010; Mitra, 2018). When students are not provided with sufficient information about the change or when their experiences are overlooked, they may "become the school's most powerful protectors of the past" (Hargreaves, 2007, p. 2). Students may point out the processes that do not work effectively and inform their parents about innovations (Levin, 2000). The inclusion of students in the reform process supports the prevailing paradigm of student-centered learning. According to Levin (2000), constructivist learning requires students to ask questions and to be engaged in discussions on different issues, including those happening at school. Thus, reform initiatives should be evaluated in terms of how they change students' engagement and participation (Rudduck & Flutter, 2000). The success of any educational initiative requires the cooperation of all of the stakeholders involved from the headmaster to the students (e.g.