Do children speaking indigenous and regional languages benefit equally from updated curricula? A report on a longitudinal quasi-experimental pilot study in Central Asia
Zholymbekova A. Courtney M.G.R. Rakhymbayeva Z. Shilibekova A. Ozhayeva A.
December 2024Elsevier Ltd
Studies in Educational Evaluation
2024#83
This study examined the effects of an updated curriculum on the literacy and numeracy development of indigenous and regional language speaking children in Kazakhstan. A quasi-experimentally designed pilot study involved 1717 students from 27 schools. Multilevel parallel linear growth models were used to analyze the impact of the updated curriculum on the co-developmental trajectories of numeracy and literacy from Grade 1 to 3. We found that the benefits of the updated curriculum were experienced equally for both the indigenous Kazakh- and Russian-speaking children. We suggest that modern reform efforts should not assume school-based inadequacies a priori but first test for the equivalent advantage of planned curricula across varying school conditions. We also suggest that other jurisdictions where multiple languages of instruction exist might consider adopting some of the changes implemented in Kazakhstans new curriculum for the purpose of improving literacy and numeracy outcomes in early elementary school.
Child literacy and numeracy , Educational reforms , Multi-level linear growth modelling , Rasch modelling , Updated curricula
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Graduate School of Education, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan
Institutional Research, Office of the Provost-Institutional Effectiveness, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan
Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools (NISs), Astana, Kazakhstan
Graduate School of Education
Institutional Research
Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools (NISs)
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