This paper is on the beginning teachers’ professional socialization in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan.  It is based on a qualitative study which develops an in-depth understanding of the experiences, beliefs and practices of beginning teachers in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan, with a particular focus on examining how they learn to become teachers, what challenges they come across while working in their initial stages at school, and how they address those challenges.  To understand beginning teachers’ professional socialization, I set out to explore two main questions: (a) What challenges do beginning teachers in Kyrgyzstan encounter? and (b) How do they address these challenges?

There is no shortage of literature and research on beginning teachers’ challenges from developed countries.  Understanding the crucial beginning period in teachers’ working lives has received a great deal of attention.  Many researchers point out that the initial experiences of beginning teachers are the most challenging and influential in their future careers (Bullough, 1997; Knowles, 1988).  I examine the beginning teachers’ challenges using three realms (contexts) of beginning teachers’ work: classroom, school and community; these realms help us understand teachers’ work separately and in-depth.  They came from the study of many scholars who have examined teachers’ work in different settings (Jordell, 1987; Thiessen & Anderson, 1999; Zeichner & Gore, 1999).  Many scholars have suggested that beginning teachers employ different social strategies (Lacey, 1977; Zeichner & Tabachnick, 1985), micropolitical tactics (Blase, 1997) or coping strategies (Bullough, 1989) when they come across challenges in their initial period of work. 

However, there is a paucity of in-depth studies of beginning teachers in developing countries (Avalos, 1993); in particular little research exists to give insights into beginning teachers’ particular challenges and how they address those challenges in developing country contexts. 

This study contributes to the general discussion of who beginning teachers are as learners, what and how they learn, and how their learning can be fostered (Feiman-Nemser & Remillard, 1996).  The study also provides an understanding of the systemic and socio-economic challenges of beginning teachers in the context of post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan.  It helps the reader better understand how wider societal forces interact and frame the development of beginning teachers.  This context of changing socio-economic conditions and cultural norms differs from those in industrialized countries or other developing countries: Kyrgyzstan has been experiencing dramatic changes since the early 1990s.  The wider context also encompasses a rapid change in the teaching workforce, including an increasing percentage of newer staff members, for demographic and socio-economic reasons.  This study also contributes to the literature on challenges that beginning teachers face and their strategies for addressing those challenges in different circumstances, specifically in Kyrgyzstan, which is undergoing stressful socio-political and economic changes.  The study also enables an understanding of whether Kyrgyz beginning teachers’ strategies are different from those described in the Western literature. 

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