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Biography
Dr Natallia Yakavets is an Assistant Professor and Postgraduate Research (PGR) Coordinator in the Centre for Research in Educational Leadership and Management (CRELM) at the 糖心原创. Prior to joining Nottingham, she was a Senior Research Associate at the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education, where she worked from 2012.
Natallia's research focuses on educational leadership, policy, and reform in transitional and post-Soviet contexts, with particular emphasis on the relationship between leadership, educational improvement, and equity. Her broader research interests include system-level educational change, inter-agency and school-to-school collaboration, leadership preparation and professional learning, and inclusive leadership for equity and social justice. Through her scholarship, she aims to deepen understanding of how educational leaders and systems navigate complex social, political, and institutional challenges while promoting sustainable improvement and more equitable educational opportunities.
During her time at Cambridge, Natallia collaborated extensively with colleagues at Nazarbayev University's Graduate School of Education in Astana, Kazakhstan. Together, they conducted multi-year mixed-methods research examining how schools across Kazakhstan responded to and enacted nationwide educational reforms. This work has contributed to national policy discussions, strengthened the evidence base for system-wide improvement, and informed large-scale capacity-building initiatives across the country. The findings are documented in Mapping Education Change in Kazakhstan (Cambridge University Press, 2023).
Natallia has also served as an international consultant for UNICEF, contributing to the design and piloting of an early warning system to help prevent school dropout in Kazakhstan. This initiative led to the development of a practical guide for social pedagogues and educational staff, supporting the implementation of preventative and data-informed approaches within schools. Her research contributes to understanding how educational systems can support sustainable improvement, advance equity, and foster inclusion in diverse and rapidly changing contexts.
Expertise Summary
Educational leadership; Education policy and reform
Leadership development in transitional societies
Teacher education, pedagogy, and teacher agency
Collaboration, partnership and networks
Inclusive leadership for social justice and equity
Teaching Summary
Natallia teaches on the MA Educational Leadership and Management programme at the 糖心原创, where she convenes the online module Issues in Educational Leadership and supervises… read more
Research Summary
Natallia has worked on large collaborative research projects with teams in diverse contexts (e.g., England, Central Asia) and has extensive international experience in educational research, needs… read more
Recent Publications
YAKAVETS, N., GREANY, T. and ADKINS, M., 2026. British Educational Research Journal.
GREANY, T., ADKINS, M. and YAKAVETS,N., 2025.
MCLAUGHLIN, C., WINTER, L. and YAKAVETS, N., 2023. Cambridge University Press.
YAKAVETS, N., WINTER., L., KAMBATYROVA, A. and RAMAZANOVA, A., 2023. Piloting the renewed content of education. In: MCLAUGHLIN, C., WINTER, L. and YAKAVETS, N., eds., Mapping Educational Change in Kazakhstan Cambridge University Press. 95-111
Natallia teaches on the MA Educational Leadership and Management programme at the 糖心原创, where she convenes the online module Issues in Educational Leadership and supervises master's dissertations.
Prior to joining the 糖心原创, Natallia taught on the MPhil in Educational Leadership and Improvement at the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education and supervised MPhil dissertations. She also served as an internal examiner for PhD vivas and EdD upgrade reviews.
Natallia has extensive experience in designing and delivering high-quality, research-led teaching and learning programmes across higher education, including master's, doctoral, and professional education.
Natallia currently co-supervises PhD and EdD researchers within CRELM.
Current Research
Natallia has worked on large collaborative research projects with teams in diverse contexts (e.g., England, Central Asia) and has extensive international experience in educational research, needs assessment, monitoring and evaluation of educational initiatives and comparative perspectives. She is interested how education policy translated into practice and how school leaders make decision and support equity and inclusion.
Natallia was a co-investigator working with Prof Toby Greany (PI) and Dr Mike Adkins on the evaluation of the Western Excellence in Learning and Leadership programme (WELL 2021-2024), year 3. Funder Cumbria County Council.
See (2025) Report Greany, T., Adkins, M., & Yakavets, N. (2025, January 23). Western Excellence in Learning and Leadership (WELL) - Final Programme Evaluation Report.
Past Research
Co-investigator: "Translation and continuity of educational innovations in the secondary education system in Kazakhstan" (a longitudinal study: 2018-2020).
Co-investigator and lead international consultant on UNICEF project: 'The institutional consultancy to support the Ministry of Education in review and improvement of existing early warning mechanism for preventing, identifying, and responding to school dropouts" (2018-2021).