Successful school principalship during the COVID-19 crisis : the case of Kazakhstan /

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Student Theses

2023

Seidumanova, Meruyert

Thesis

The COVID-19 pandemic had an unprecedented effect on the education system in Kazakhstan, resulting in the closure of around 7,400 schools and the shift of approximately three million students to online learning (Press Centre of the Ministry of Education and Science, 2020). A qualitative study was conducted to investigate how school principals in Kazakhstan led and responded to the coronavirus crisis. The study primarily sought to answer this question: How did successful secondary school principals in Kazakhstan lead and respond to the coronavirus crisis?The study adopted qualitative research methods with 12 successful school principals interviewed in Almaty, Kazakhstan, employing a narrative approach coupled with document analysis. The findings revealed three themes capturing the principals’ meaning of the crisis: Stress and Challenges, Innovation and Transformation, Holistic Education. Additionally, six themes were identified regarding successful school principal practices. These were: Emergency leading and teaching, Pro-actively resolving challenges of remote education, Upgrading online learning, Managing the new normal for students and teachers, Acclimating to uncertainty, and Balancing between pre- and post-pandemic education. Four more themes were identified under research question three – lessons that can be learned from the experiences of school principals in Kazakhstan: Self-reliance over Bureaucracy, Collaboration is Key, Community Comes First, Adapting to Thrive.This study has implications for school leaders, policymakers, and school leadership programs. Future school principals can be informed by strategies the successful school leaders used during crises, from disruption to recovery phases. School leadership and professional development programs can benefit from the insights gained from this study by integrating change and crisis leadership training, the development of online learning strategies, prioritizing the importance of mental health, and networking and teamwork between school principals into the curriculum. Policymakers can use the findings of this study to reconsider school principals' autonomy, incorporate digital learning techniques into schools, create a national strategy for crisis mitigation, and increase funding for the renovation of old school buildings in Kazakhstan. This study holds theoretical implications for school leadership during crises as it expands and enriches existing frameworks for navigating disruptions, such as those caused by COVID-19. Moreover, the research addresses and narrows the gap in school principalship literature in post-Soviet Union Central Asian countries. Specifically, it contributes to the understanding of school leadership in Kazakhstan by revealing the impact of the Soviet legacy on the practices of principals during the COVID-19 pandemic

LG51.H43 Dr 2023eb Seidumanovam

https://educoll.lib.eduhk.hk/records/s0ePoVxm