Тeacher Professionalism and Leadership: Developing Teacher Leadership in Four Schools in Kazakhstan

Abstract

This paper provides an account of an action-based study , which was conducted with the purpose to develop teacher leadership in four schools in Kazakhstan. By drawing on a nonpositional approach to teacher leadership , this study sought bottom-up approaches to educational reform, school leadership and professional development in schools in Kazakhstan. The nine-month intervention programme, which was called the Teacher Leadership for Learning and Collaboration, introduced strategies and created conditions for teachers to lead educational improvement at classroom, school and system level. Teachers' leadership projects had an impact on classroom and whole-school practices. The outcomes of this study indicate that there is a need for revisiting teachers' professional roles in schools and transforming schools into a learning organisation. As such, educational reform and improvement requires building local capacity, which may involve creating conditions for leadership development and teacher empowerment within schools.