Professional development of kazakhstani rural teachers of russian language and literature in the context of digitalization of education

Abstract

Introduction. The professional development of a teacher improves the quality of education, contributes to the improvement of the teacher's skills and motivates him for further continuous professional growth. The purpose of the article is to diagnose the professional needs of Kazakhstani rural teachers of Russian language and literature and to determine the factors contributing to their professional development. Research methods. To determine the assessment of the activities, working conditions and professional development of Kazakhstani teachers, the results of the international study of the teaching staff on teaching and learning TALIS-2018 were analyzed. The method of secondary data analysis based on a large-scale study was used, as a result of which it has high validity. The SPSS statistical program was used to process an international database. In order to determine the needs of rural teachers and factors that negatively or favorably affect their professional development, a questionnaire was conducted. More than 70 rural teachers of Russian language and literature of Almaty region took part in the online survey. In addition, focus groups with teachers of the Almaty region were conducted to obtain high-quality data. The interview was processed using the decryption method, that is, transcribing audio recordings and encoding texts. Results. The article analyzes how the data of the international TALIS-2018 study were used to reform Kazakhstan's educational policy. In addition, the results of the online survey allowed the authors to conclude that rural teachers of Russian language and literature prefer to master the topics of digital technologies in education (54.5%), functional literacy and critical thinking (54.3%), assessment methods (47.1%). The professional needs of rural teachers are associated with the need to improve teaching methods (41.2%), consult with the most experienced colleagues (32.5%) and develop skills to work with children with special educational needs. Conclusion. The directions contributing to the professional growth of rural teachers of Russian language and literature and the quality of improving the academic performance of students in rural schools where there is no language environment and poor quality of Internet connection are identified: the formation of digital competencies of rural teachers, extracurricular work, mentoring and professional support, diagnostics of professional needs of rural teachers and the organization of advanced training courses, methodological support of small schools.