In 2011, Kazakhstan began the wholesale reform of the educational system, that is, the curriculum, assessment, teacher development, language policy, funding mechanisms, leadership, teacher appraisal and teacher working conditions. Innovative methods of implementation were used including the use of new networks of schools. The authors were partners to the establishment of the schools of innovation (NIS), which were the experimental sites that served as models for the later translation to the whole school system that completed in 2020. Since 2016, the authors, with a team from Nazarbayev University, have systematically researched the attitudes and perceptions towards the implementation of the new curriculum so as to gain insight into the challenges on the ground and to learn about implementing such a radical transformation in mainstream schools. The case study explores the model of change, its implementation and the different perspectives of the teachers and school leaders, parents, local leaders of education, school students and the national stakeholders and policymakers.

This chapter explains what we mean by research in business studies and to discuss differences between systematic research and common sense or practical problem solving. It looks at what we mean by knowledge and why we do research, examining different research orientations and approaches and the influence of the researcher’s background and basic beliefs concerning research methods and processes. We stress the importance of learning to think and work systematically and developing analytical capabilities in order to produce accurate and reliable results. We also discuss researchers’ moral responsibility towards both their subjects and the readers of their reports.

This chapter explains what we mean by research in business studies and to discuss differences between systematic research and common sense or practical problem solving. It looks at what we mean by knowledge and why we do research, examining different research orientations and approaches and the influence of the researcher’s background and basic beliefs concerning research methods and processes. We stress the importance of learning to think and work systematically and developing analytical capabilities in order to produce accurate and reliable results. We also discuss researchers’ moral responsibility towards both their subjects and the readers of their reports.