The National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan continues its series of publications dedicated to the outstanding achievements of domestic scientists.

As part of the project, the Academy is presenting the laureates of six named prizes, whose research makes a significant contribution to the development of science and technology. In previous posts, you have already met the laureates of the K.I. Satpayev and Ch.Ch. Valikhanov Prizes. Today, our post is dedicated to the Ybyrai Altynsarin Prize—an outstanding Kazakh educator, ethnographer, and founder of the secular education system, who laid the foundation for domestic pedagogical science.

In 2025, the Y. Prize will be awarded to.Altynsarin Prize for the best scientific research and work in the field of pedagogy was awarded to PhD Sarmurzin Yerbol Zhanbyrbaevich from the Karaganda National Research University named after Academician E. A. Buketov for the scientific work: «Teacher status in Kazakhstan: Policy, leadership, and professional identity».

The research focuses on the status of teachers in Kazakhstan within the context of educational policy, school leadership, and professional identity. The author employs a mixed-methods research design. Data sources include a questionnaire survey of teachers, semi-structured interviews with school principals, and an analysis of regulatory documents. The relevance of the study is driven by the 2019 Law "On the Status of the Teacher," which declares an expansion of rights; however, this is often negated by a rigid system of bureaucratic accountability. Such a context necessitates examining the coherence between the legislative intent and the managerial routines of schools. The abstract and introduction highlight these contradictions and state a reliance on international literature regarding occupational status and merit recognition.

The primary innovation of the work lies in a new approach to understanding teacher status. It is examined through three interconnected dimensions: prestige, public evaluation, and cultural perspectives. Furthermore, increased attention is paid to how school leadership constructs this status. This occurs when teachers are recognized, trusted, granted autonomy, have their workload distributed fairly, and have their interests protected.

One of the chapters addresses the reputation of teachers in the media. Social networks help teachers showcase themselves, but they also carry the risk of surveillance and harassment. Additionally, TALIS 2024 data has been incorporated to compare Kazakhstan's results with other countries. The findings of the monograph indicate that a teacher's professional status depends on the alignment of symbolic signals, material conditions, and institutional regimes. Regulatory declarations without managerial trust and autonomy breed cynicism, while material incentives without changes in management practices fail to produce a sustainable effect. Administrators' interpretations of legal norms vary, resulting in an uneven distribution of recognition and workload. According to the survey data, often only one-third of teachers receive recognition for quality work. The sample included 122 respondents from fifteen regions. The reliability of the conclusions is confirmed by a triangulation of sources and analysis procedures: thematic coding and cross-verification.

The practical significance of the results lies in clarifying the link between policy and everyday school organization, as well as demonstrating the managerial practices through which professional dignity and staff retention are fostered. The conclusions are suitable for adjusting school leadership development programs with an emphasis on recognizing merit, expanding autonomy, and protecting educators from external pressure. The research materials can be applied in monitoring the implementation of the law, developing status indicators, updating training programs, and conducting comparative assessments relying on the TALIS 2024 dataset.

As part of the study, the main results were published in a monograph and a series of articles in high-impact international journals included in the first quartile (Q1) of the Scopus and Web of Science databases. Major scientific publications (monographs, book chapters, articles, reviews, intellectual property) published based on the results of the work over the last five years:

Teacher status in Kazakhstan: Policy, leadership, and professional identity. – Publishing House of Karaganda National Research University named after academician Ye.A. Buketov, – 2025. – URL: https://vestnik.buketov.edu.kz/publishing-activities-ru ISBN 978-601-362-404-4
Teachers are not Imams: The impact of social media on the status of teachers in Kazakhstan // International Journal of Educational Development. – 2025. – DOI: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2025.103220
Enhancing teacher status in Kazakhstan: The role of school leaders and policy support // International Journal of Educational Development. – 2024. – DOI: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2024.103142
"I Feel Abandoned": Exploring School Principals' Professional Development in Kazakhstan // Asia-Pacific Education Researcher. – 2022. – DOI: 10.1007/s40299-022-00682-1

The impact of OECD research on the education system of Kazakhstan // Asia Pacific Education Review. – 2021. – DOI: 10.1007/s12564-021-09715-8

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