Secondary Curriculum Reform in Kazakhstan: Art Teachers’ Insights and Challenges

• In Event: School education in Central Asia: Academic achievement, educational leadership, and curricular reform

Proposal

Secondary Curriculum Reform in Kazakhstan: Art Teachers’ Insights and Challenges

Abstract
This paper presents findings from a survey investigating Kazakhstani art teachers’ perspectives on the ongoing secondary curriculum reform. Since 2016, Kazakhstan has implemented wide-scale reforms aimed at aligning education with 21st-century skills and international standards, prioritizing STEM subjects, competency-based learning, and critical thinking. While over 230,000 teachers have been retrained overall in the country, art education has been marginalized, with reduced instructional hours and limited resources. Using survey data collected from art teachers across rural and urban public schools and Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools (NIS), this study explores two guiding questions: (1) What challenges do Kazakhstani art teachers face in delivering the art curriculum? (2) How have reforms shaped their experiences? Findings indicate systemic inequities, resource disparities, and professional identity struggles among art educators. The study contributes to global debates on arts-based education reform and equity in post-Soviet contexts.

Objectives and Context / Theoretical Framework
Kazakhstan has undergone a profound transformation of its secondary education system over the past three decades. Emerging from its Soviet legacy, the country has reoriented education to meet international benchmarks, guided by Kazakhstan 2050 and the Education Development State Programs (2011–2020, 2021–2025). Since 2016, the competency-based curriculum has shifted pedagogy toward critical thinking, student-centered learning, and functional literacy. Despite large-scale investments and teacher training (231,662 teachers trained through Orleu centers, with additional training at NIS), research by OECD and others (Tajik et al., 2021) reveals ongoing disparities between rural and urban schools in terms of infrastructure, resources, and teacher support. These inequalities are magnified in art education, which has historically been underdeveloped in Kazakhstan’s policy landscape (Almukhamedov and Kozhagulov, 2020). Since 2016, instructional hours for art have been reduced by about 20%, with visual arts and crafts as the main offerings. High school electives in art remain rare, primarily due to resource shortages. By contrast, NIS schools—elite, well-equipped institutions established in 2008 in collaboration with Cambridge International Education—offer integrated art curricula and extracurricular opportunities. While NIS aims to share best practices with the public school system, translation to under-resourced contexts has been uneven.
The study draws on comparative perspectives from research on the U.S. No Child Left Behind (NCLB) reform, which similarly marginalized arts within accountability-driven priorities, situating Kazakhstan’s case within a broader global discussion on arts education reform.

Research Questions
This study seeks to address the following questions:
What challenges do Kazakhstani art teachers meet when delivering the art curriculum?
What are the experiences of art teachers due to the recent reforms?

Methods and Data Sources
Design:
The study employs a survey-based design, adapting instruments from research on U.S. art teachers’ perceptions under NCLB. Questions were localized for Kazakhstan’s reform context and piloted with several teachers prior to distribution.
Survey administration:
Conducted in Kazakh and Russian, reflecting the multilingual policy environment.
Distributed via Google Forms, with duplicate responses eliminated through respondent email verification. Shared in two open Facebook groups for art educators (4,000+ and 1,000+ members), a WhatsApp group of 60+ rural teachers (regional representatives), and a private WhatsApp group including all 56 NIS art teachers nationwide.

Participants
According to the Bureau of National Statistics, Kazakhstan employs 7,461 art teachers in “Artistic Labor” and 1,333 teachers in “Visual Arts and Drawing” across public schools. The study also targets all 56 NIS art teachers. The design seeks to capture representation across rural/urban divides and between NIS and mainstream public schools.

Internal validity
Bilingual versions of the survey were carefully cross-checked to ensure conceptual equivalence, and responses will be translated into English for analysis. Participation is voluntary and confidential.

Findings (Preliminary)
Although data collection is ongoing, early responses reveal several patterns.
● Marginalization of the arts. Teachers report reduced class hours, limited access to materials, and the perception of art as nonessential compared to STEM.
● Professional challenges. Teachers struggle to adapt to competency-based curricula in art, citing lack of guidance on assessment frameworks.
● Urban–rural disparities. Rural teachers report acute shortages of resources, professional development opportunities, and extracurricular options.
● Identity and morale. Art teachers often feel undervalued within their schools, though many emphasize their strong personal commitment to fostering creativity.
● NIS experiences. Teachers in NIS describe greater integration of art within the curriculum, interdisciplinary possibilities, and exposure to international practices, but highlight difficulties in scaling these models across the broader system.

Significance and Implications
This study makes an important contribution to both educational research and policy by bringing forward the often-overlooked perspectives of art teachers. Their voices provide critical insights for policymakers, offering evidence that can help address systemic inequities and strengthen the role of the arts within Kazakhstan’s national reforms. At the same time, Kazakhstan’s experience resonates with broader global debates: like many countries, its reform agenda has prioritized accountability and STEM subjects, frequently sidelining the arts. By highlighting these parallels, the study situates Kazakhstan within a worldwide discussion about the marginalization of creative subjects.
Equally significant is the equity dimension revealed through the survey. The disparities between rural and urban schools - especially in resources, professional development, and extracurricular opportunities - raise urgent questions about fairness and access in the reform process. In doing so, they point to the necessity of ensuring that creativity, imagination, and innovation remain central components of 21st-century education.

Conclusion
Kazakhstan’s curriculum reform represents both opportunity and challenge. While reforms emphasize critical thinking and innovation, the systemic marginalization of art education risks undermining creativity and holistic learning. Art teachers’ perspectives—shaped by cuts in curriculum time, inequities in resources, and professional challenges—are crucial for understanding the lived realities of reform.
By documenting these insights, the study advances international debates on equity in education reform and contributes to efforts to reposition art not as peripheral but as integral to holistic, globally relevant, and equitable schooling.


References
Almuhkamedov, B. & Kozhagulov, A. (2020, April 16). Art education or art for all as one of the UNESCO strategies (from Kazakhstan examples). [Paper presentation]. First International Scientific and Practical Conference, Nizhnyvartovsk, Russia.

Authors

• Gulzhan Oralova, FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

• Darkan Seitmoldinov, Nazarbayev Intellectual schools

• Bakhytzhan Duissenova, Creative School named after Bibigul Tulegenova