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UNESCO conducted an induction workshop within the project of “Remote and rural schools” (RARS)
On January 29 and 30, an introductory seminar for teachers and principals from rural schools in Atyrau, Mangystau and Almaty regions on teacher leadership was held in Almaty with the support of the National Commission for UNESCO and IСESCO, the UNESCO Regional Office in Almaty, , the Kazakh National Women's Pedagogical University and the independent platform for teachers “”.
The induction workshop was led by Dr. David Frost and a team from the HertsCam International Network (UK), who introduced the concept of the Teacher Led Development Work and non-positional teacher leadership through development of professional learning circles within the schools. The HertsCam network has been successfully implementing this concept for many years and it is also in line with the strategic priorities of improving the professionalism of rural teachers, as outlined in the Education Development Concept for 2022-2026 of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The RARS project aims to improve the professional development of rural teachers by creating professional learning communities of teachers in the field. In the long term and with successful implementation of the project, the initiative will have a positive impact on the quality of education.
As part of the UNESCO’s pilot project, 11 secondary schools from Almaty, Atyrau and Mangystau regions were included in the project and teachers, who will serve as facilitators in the project, as well as school principals, attended the 2-day workshop.
This project is very interesting, mobilizes teachers, inspires, motivates, because this project develops the creativity and initiative of the teachers. And we expect that thanks to this project, our students will be more aware, they will run to school with greater interest and eagerness, teachers will also be interested, and parents will also really like this project. This project has a lot of opportunities that can be implemented in a modern rural school.
In the project, with the support of experienced facilitators, teachers choose a specific problem to find solutions together with their colleagues and implement a project that enhances their professional growth.
Today’s workshop sets a new horizon for teachers in Kazakhstan. Usually, teachers are told what to do from the top and their professionalism in a way is dictated that way. In that sense, the project on teacher leadership provides a unique opportunity for teachers to create, practice, collaborate and lead without external aid or instructions. During this workshop teachers learnt how to better manage their professionalism and become more professional using their own professional and personal strengths and apply that in practice.
The RARS project is really exciting. We are getting a lot of insights; a big transformation is happening. We are strengthening our professional education by adopting experience from foreign specialists. Thank you very much. Training for the development of leadership of teachers in Kazakhstan, organized by UNESCO, has kicked off successfully. As a result, we want to bring innovation to our school and contribute to its development.
