The Secondary Education Textbook Project

Working with ERC and Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools to grow capacity in developing local textbook authors.

Background

The NIS have a unique curriculum, and assessment policy within Kazakhstan and a remit to lead educational change across the country. The SET is a capacity building project, working with NIS lead authors and authors who are writing a series of world-class textbooks that exhibit advanced pedagogical practices. CPA provides subject specific support in Arts, Computer Science, Geography, History, Maths, Biology, Physics and Chemistry.
In addition, CPA is in discussion with NIS about how to work with teachers across Kazakhstan in getting the most out of these textbooks, and using formative assessment practices to ensure they support students in achieving academic success.

Challenge

This project works with over 50 Kazakhstani authors, to build their capacity in pedagogy and text book writing, via face-to-face workshops in both Astana and Kazakhstan which are undertaken trilingually through in-situ translation. Some of the key challenges of this project have been amendments to the curriculum and their impact on the textbook writing, providing training and feedback via translation and interpretation services, and embedding of understanding of enquiry-based pedagogies and formative assessment, all of which have made this project not only challenging but a dynamic and stimulating one too.

Solution

The long-term aim of the project is to support the production of textbooks across Grades 6 to 10 through building the capacity of Kazakhstani authors. The books – initially piloted in the NIS schools (a network of schools for exceptional students aged 12 to 18 throughout Kazakhstan) – will eventually be cascaded across the country to all schools. The project began in June 2014 and the first phase will end in the summer of 2016 with Grade 7 textbooks published by the IOE Press, ready for the start of the academic year. All books in this project are written and published in English and Russian and / or Kazakh, as determined by the NIS trilingual education policy. 

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