Teaching values in a changing society: Kazakhstani teachers’ views on value-oriented education, citizenship, and social responsibility

Abstract

This study explores Kazakhstani teachers’ views on value-oriented education, citizenship, and social responsibility in the context of social, cultural, and technological change. Designed as a qualitative phenomenological study supplemented by descriptive quantitative data, the research was conducted with 30 teachers working in Shymkent, Kazakhstan. Participants were selected through convenience sampling, and data were collected through a semi-structured interview form between May and June 2026. The qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis, while teachers’ priority value selections were examined through frequency counts. The findings show that teachers conceptualized value-oriented education as a multidimensional process involving moral development, national identity, universal human values, citizenship awareness, and social responsibility. Teachers emphasized that digitalization, social media, globalization, multiculturalism, inclusion, and changing family structures have made value education more complex. They reported using classroom discussions, group work, project-based learning, teacher modelling, extracurricular activities, and community service to teach values. The most frequently prioritized values were responsibility, respect, and freedom. The study suggests that value-oriented education in Kazakhstan reflects a balance between traditional civic-moral values and contemporary expectations related to autonomy, diversity, and digital responsibility.