Teachers’ experiences and perceptions of Universal Design for Learning in one NIS school in Kazakhstan

As classrooms become more diverse teachers are becoming more aware of the necessity to meet learners needs and interests in the teaching and learning process. There are significant challenges that teachers face while working in a diverse classroom settings such as overloaded classrooms, lack of time, different levels of knowledge, behavioral problems and lack of explicit knowledge on inclusive pedagogies and inclusive education in general. Moreover, in Kazakhstan, the process of educational reform in the area of inclusive education is a recent initiative. Little attention has been paid so far to the issue of inclusive pedagogies that are employed by teachers to meet the needs of different learners. The present study addressed this problem focusing on Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and its basic principles by investigating teachers’ perception and understanding of UDL, how they employ its main principles such as multiple means of representation, expression and engagement , and challenges that they face while working with students with diverse needs in one Nazarbayev Intellectual School in Kazakhstan. Data of the present study were obtained through semistructured interviews. A total of six teachers were recruited using a probability sampling technique. The results demonstrate that teachers are not aware of the concept of UDL and its basic principles. However, they employ those principles in their practice since it is a common practice that they use differentiated approach which highly resonates with UDL and its principles. Additionally, the study revealed that the main challenge that they face while teaching diverse learners is different levels of knowledge that make it difficult to design tasks. The study further illustrates the limitations of sample size and potential biases during analysis. Recommendations for further research are given