Abstract
The professional development of a teacher improves the quality of education, contributes to the improvement of the teacher’s skills and motivates him for further continuous professional growth. The purpose of the article is to diagnose the professional needs of Kazakhstani rural teachers of Russian language and literature and to identify factors contributing to their professional development. To determine the assessment of the activities, working conditions and professional development of Kazakhstani teachers in comparison with other countries, the results of the international study of the teaching staff on teaching and learning TALIS-2018 were analyzed. The method of secondary data analysis based on a large-scale study was used, as a result of which it has high validity. In addition, a survey was conducted to determine the needs of rural teachers and factors that negatively or favorably affect their professional development. More than 70 rural teachers of Russian language and literature of Almaty region took part in the online survey. The article analyzes how the data of the international TALIS-2018 study were used to reform Kazakhstan’s educational policy. In addition, the results of the online survey allowed the authors to conclude that rural teachers of Russian language and literature prefer to master the topics of digital technologies in education (54.5%), functional literacy and critical thinking (54.3%), assessment methods (47.1%). The professional needs of rural teachers are associated with the need to improve teaching methods (41.2%), consult with the most experienced colleagues (32.5%) and develop skills to work with children with special educational needs. Key words: TALIS-2018, rural teachers, Russian language and literature, professional development, professional needs