All of those involved in these two symposia are involved in trying to bring about changes in teachers’ working practices through a reform programme in Kazakhstan. We occupy different positions in the process – as Kazakhstani teachers learning in international contexts, as facilitator/lecturer in a university, as a doctoral researcher and as advisors to the key decision makers. We are all interested in different aspects of this process of change and reform: How teachers learn about their working practices in international placements or internships; how teachers’ practices are shaped by deep cultural influences and how measures of change such as TIMMS measures illuminate the differences in practices in different contexts. We drawing on previous studies and conceptions of teachers working lives by Huberman (1989), Floden & Huberman (1989), Moore Johnston (1990) and more recently by Sachs (2003) and Day & Gu, (2010). The aim of the papers is to illuminate the process and factors involved in changing teachers’ practices. The papers in the symposium begin with an international comparison using TIMMS data on Maths in Year 8, then uses the same questions as TIMMS to examine how teachers involved in an internship programme view the differences. Participants in these internships programme examine the learning occurring from the perspectives of the course facilitator and the learners. There is also a paper examining a strong cultural notion of the people of the circle as a strong influence on practice and there is also a paper on professional development.

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