Since joining Bologna Process in 2010, Kazakhstan has had an opportunity to integrate into the international education and research arena. This integration implies a compliance of local standards of higher education with the international standards, among which is the establishment of lifelong learning strategy in higher education institutions.

         The given research will focus on developing abilities and skills incorporated in a global competency, which are collectively known and referred as “lifelong learning skills” (LLL skills) within the teacher training institutions in Kazakhstan.

Research questions

The purpose of the study is to examine how the teacher training programs promote future teachers’ development as lifelong learners, to reveal the teacher educators’ perception of lifelong learning skills and how the lifelong learning skills are inco

Theoretical framework

As a theoretical framework, Hay McBer Model of Teacher Effectiveness (McBer (2000) Research into Teacher Effectiveness) will be used. Among a great variety of models, that attempt to describe effective teaching, this model is considered to be one of the most useful as it gives an in-depth and detailed description of the teacher effectiveness model, that might be used as a measure to assess the teachers’ work from professional and personal perspectives. Initially, the model was oriented to provide a framework to assess effective teaching in secondary schools, however, with a few adjustments and it can be is equally applied for teachers in the lifelong learning sector (Scales, 2013). It consists of the three main interrelated aspects of the model: teaching skills, professional characteristics and classroom climate that lead to learners’ progress. Each element falls into categories and subcategories which provides a valuable tool for teachers to assess their effectiveness.

Methodological framework.

Methodological framework chosen to guide the research design: “Theories of Action” by Argyris and Schőn (1974).  In conducting the proposed research study, the data will be collected over four phases which enables access to both academics’ espoused theories of action (what they understand and aspire to do in their practice) and theories in use (what they actually teach and assess in practice) (Argyris & Schőn, 1974). The overall research design for the proposed research includes the methods of data collection for each of the four phases. So, within the first phase semi-structured interviews will be conducted to examine teacher educators to get their perception about LLL skills implementation and practice, that will follow by the second phase, where a content analysis of curriculum documents will be done. Within the third phase, direct observation of teaching for assessing the practice of LLL skills will be accomplished. The final phase will be devoted to the analysis of the expected and unexpected results and consequences of the class observation.

This thesis adopts a qualitative case study research. Purposeful sampling strategies will be chosen for defining research participants. The sample of participants will be drawn from eight teacher educators representing four different departments of one National University in Astana city. A series of interviews will be conducted with the teaching staff to get their perception about LLL skills. Aside from interviews, a content analysis of the curriculum documents as well as a direct observation of teaching and assessment practice are planned to be conducted within a given research. Qualitative approach has been chosen as it is applied in processes that cannot be rigorously examined or measured in terms of quantity or of the amount. (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005). As Yilmaz (2013) states, qualitative approach is grounded on a constructivist epistemology and considers socially constructed dynamic reality through an in-depth description of the phenomenon from the perspectives of the research participants. It tries to recognize how social experience originates and gains meaning. Within a qualitative dimension, reality or knowledge are constructed from social and psychological perspectives. The qualitative paradigm considers the association between the knower and the known as tightly connected. Therefore, the researcher would benefit from developing a close, empathic relationship with the participants and subjects being studied. The case study strategy seemed to be relevant within the given research as it is intended to examine the higher educational institution division and its constituent units as a separate case. “Case study is a methodology used to explore a particular instance in detail …The instance has to be identifiable as having clear boundaries and could be a lesson, the teaching of a scheme of work in a school department, a university teaching department…” (Taber, 2014, p. 1875). For the emerging researcher a case study provides an excellent opportunity to gain in- depth insight into a case. It enables the researcher to collect data from a variety of sources: interview, lesson observation and document analysis and to converge the data to reveal the case (Baxter & Jack, 2008).

The deep analysis of the relevant literature on the topic demonstrates that there seems to be a shortage of empirical studies conducted to examine the students’ acquiring lifelong learning skills in the Kazakhstani context. Consequently, several issues regarding students’ development of lifelong learning skills, particularly, representing teacher training institutions and universities, remain unknown. Hence, the present study is designed to contribute to the field by examining the development of lifelong learning skills in the context of Kazakhstani higher education institutions. The results of the study will reveal to whether the future teachers representing different departments are prepared to become lifelong learners and how teacher educators’ perceptions of LLL skills differ. Altogether, the findings are expected to demonstrate the current stage of implementation of lifelong learning as a part of education policy in Kazakhstan. In the light of the findings gained within the present study, a number of recommendations will be given both for future studies in the area and for education policy.

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