Hi! I am Anar, and I am from Kazakhstan, a fast developing and huge country in the Central Asia. Kazakhstan aims to develop human capital that will increase national income and improve well-being of its citizens. Thus, today there is much attention paid to education system and educational leaders.

My PhD study aims to explore the leadership practices of middle level leaders, i.e. heads of department in the private universities of Kazakhstan and contribute to the research on middle level and academic leadership issues. My last work experience as an accreditation consultant in a private university meant I mainly interacted with people in leadership positions such as Vice-Rectors, academic and non-academic department leaders. Specifically, I was in charge of supporting department heads accredit their programmes with targeted national and international accreditation agencies.

Experience gained in the private university reinforced my perceptions of the pivotal role of middle level leaders for the overall success of the university. However, my interest in educational leadership arose in 2009 when I applied for an MA in Educational Leadership and Management at the University of Nottingham (Supervisor: Professor Christopher Day) after working at the University of International Relations and World Languages and American Councils for International Education in Kazakhstan. Having some middle leadership experience in the local university and non-for-profit international educational organisation increased my interest in leadership practices.

Anar Mukhtarova

PhD candidate

a.mukhtarova@warwick.ac.uk

Supervisor: Dr. Justine Mercer

Centre for Education Studies

University of Warwick
Gibbet Hill Road
Coventry
CV4 7AL