it gives an analysis of recent efforts to upgrade the quality of teachers and discusses the barriers to change that the country faces particularly in rural areas to provide children in kazakhstan with good quality teaching further the chapter offers a description of the pre and inservice training of teachers and efforts made to attract higher level applicants to system with comparisons to successful programmes in other countries it also looks at the conditions of work of school principals discusses their importance for educational change in kazakhstan and looks at the role of teachers in policy formulation the chapter concludes with recommendations on improving policies for teachers and school leadership