Functional literacy initiatives in Kazakhstan: How should teacher education respond?

The term PISA shock was initially associated with Germany’s response to a disappointing performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). This shockwave later spread beyond Europe, reaching Central Asia, particularly Kazakhstan. Poor results in international assessments measuring students’ functional literacy (FL) achievements have sparked intense public debate in Kazakhstan and prompted significant government initiatives to modernize the education system. Despite policy ambitions, the performance of Kazakhstani students remains stagnant. This study employed a systematic literature review to examine the gap between FL initiatives and the preparedness of teacher education to address related challenges. The review also sought to explore how the gap affects students’ development of FL and their performance. The findings reveal that school reforms face obstacles due to inadequate preparation, short timelines, policy inconsistencies, and teacher readiness issues, resulting in limited impact. The article discusses potential reasons for these shortcomings and offers policy recommendations relevant to countries with low-to-middle PISA outcomes.