Universities In Kazakhstan Research Articles

Aspiring Journalists Share Practical Obstacles in Journalism Professionalism

ABSTRACT Based on interviews with 15 newsroom interns, this article examines aspiring journalists’ experiences with their mandatory internship and how the findings relate to wider journalism education and training in Central Asia. This study contributes to scholarship on this aspect of Asian journalism by expanding knowledge about why journalism becomes no more appealing for aspiring journalists once they land in professional settings. This study took place in Kazakhstan where there was a recent public call to close all journalism programs because they are perceived to fail to prepare qualified professionals and because no single media outlet fully meets professional standards [IREX 2019. Media Sustainability Index: Development of Sustainable Independent Media in Europe and Eurasia. Washington, DC: IREX]. Kazakhstan universities expect news outlets to provide their students with practical experiences, while media outlets expect to receive ready-to-work interns. In this context, aspiring journalists receive little or no professional mentorship, and that has serious negative practical implications for the profession and for democratization efforts in the region. Citing the lack of a “near-real world” internship experience, the majority of interviewed students plan to switch to other professions. The study discusses the findings in relation to symbolic interaction theory and implications for the profession and journalism education.

Mobile Blogging as A Mean to Improve Journalism Education

On the basis of new experimental data, the present paper was aimed at analyzing the effectiveness of training journalism students through the use of blogs. This study included a field survey, during which the impressions of journalism students from the introduction of blogging in the educational process were analyzed. The examination involved 71 undergraduate journalism students of two Russian and two Kazakhstan universities. Innovative teaching strategies were introduced in the training process of mentioned institutions, and the corresponding methods of conducting specialized classes were developed. The experimental data confirmed several hypotheses related to the effectiveness of blogging in journalism education. The practical significance of the obtained results lies in the fact that the proposed approach allows the effective implementation of blogs in journalism training.

Preservıce Teachers’ Opinions on the Use of Technology in Education

Educational technologies have become more important especially in the recent years. The use of technology to facilitate learning has increased over the past decade, but relevant problems in education are still on the agenda. The aim of this study is to determine the opinions of preservice teachers about using technological tools in education. Qualitative method was used in the study. The study was applied to the 32 senior students studying at the classroom teaching department of a university in Kazakhstan. Data were collected with interviews. The interview questions were prepared to get the opinions of preservice teachers studying in the classroom teaching department regarding the use of technology in educational technology, and the questions were applied by giving the final shape by the experts in their fields. According to the results, preservice teachers feel insufficient to use the internet and computer for teaching purposes. However, they stated that they are sufficient in using computers and internet search engines, they can prepare simple materials for teaching purposes and they can not prepare multi-purpose teaching devices. This difference can be overcome with individual research and project assignments that require preservice teachers to use technology for teaching purposes.

Institutional logic meets global imagining: Kazakhstan\u2019s engagement with China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative

Theoretical ideas about globalization and internationalization of higher education emphasize the tension among different ideologies of higher education. According to literature, a competition among states, economy, knowledge, and status generates this tension to drive higher education development. This theoretical understanding not only shapes our global imaginations but also permeates the organizational behavior of universities. In this paper, we focus on the institutional logics that motivate universities in Kazakhstan to engage with China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). We investigate the ways that Kazakhstani higher education interprets and responds to China’s vision of a global order. Based on interviews conducted at 10 higher education institutions (HEIs) in Kazakhstan, we argue that Kazakhstan’s engagement with the BRI circumvents the cultural connectivity and global cooperation that are embraced by Chinese policy discourse and perpetuated by academic literature. Rather, institutional leaders in Kazakhstan operate with a utilitarian logic that seeks revenue generation, links with industry, and opportunities for students in employment and further education. The pursuit of these strategic outcomes demonstrates a bilateral engagement with China rather than the multilateral cooperation envisioned by policymakers. In a higher education system dominated by the state, the institutions in our study exhibit partial agency to accrue pragmatic benefits rather than concede to isomorphic pressures or mimic internationalization from neoliberal contexts. The discrepancy between policy discourse from China and policy reception in Kazakhstan raises questions about the rhetoric of a multipolar global order and the realities of international cooperation in higher education.

Creative and research competence as a factor of professional training of future teachers: Perspective of learning technology

One of the main current objectives of countries is to achieve a high level of quality in higher education that meets the needs of the labor market problems of industrial-innovative development of the country, the identity and relevant international best practices in the field of education. This study aims to provide a comprehensive review on creative and research competence as a factor of professional training of future teachers according to perspective of learning technology. Document analysis as a qualitative research method was used in the study. It should be noted that in the framework of the Bologna process and the integration of Kazakhstan universities into the European higher education area in recent years, increasing attention is paid to the competence approach which refers to development of key competencies of teacher candidates in the training of future profession. For future teachers, it is necessary to be able to be creative in solving a variety of pedagogical technological problems in addition to mastering the specialized knowledge. Creative competencies of the future teachers play a crucial role in their future professional life. Results are discussed with relevant literature and implications for future research and practices are presented. 
 
 Keywords: Learning technology, creative competence, research competence, future teachers.

Innovative infrastructure of the university: small innovative enterprise

Currently, most Kazakhstani universities have identified a new direction of development for themselves and are being transformed into universities of an innovative and entrepreneurial type. This implies the creation of an innovative infrastructure and the formation of an innovative development strategy. The article discusses one of the elements of the innovation infrastructure of universities - a small innovative enterprise. The significant role of innovation in the modern economy is undeniable. The creation of competitive products with a high degree of science intensity is impossible without the use of innovations. This fact applies to the sphere of education as well as to any branch of the economy.The creation and development of small innovative enterprises can act as one of the tools for developing modern universities in Kazakhstan since it creates conditions for the active involvement of students in innovative activities and forms entrepreneurial potential. As a result of the creation and development of small innovative enterprises in universities, the material and technical base, educational and pedagogical elements are improved. Through the development of small innovative enterprises, universities strengthen their competitive positions and can also enter new markets. By acquiring patent rights, universities can ensure a competitive position in the creation of knowledge-intensive goods and services. To strengthen the innovative potential of the university, it is possible to manage intellectual property and develop know-how. Thus, the creation and development of small innovative enterprises in Kazakhstani universities is a mechanism for providing innovative infrastructure and realizing entrepreneurial potential.

Psychological and pedagogical adaptation of students- repatriates in the conditions of higher education

The article is devοted tο the urgent prοblem οf psychοlοgical and pedagοgical adaptatiοn οf repatriate students in the hοlistic pedagοgical prοcess οf the university. The fοreign and dοmestic experience οf the οrganizatiοn οf the prοcess οf psychοlοgical and pedagοgical adaptatiοn οf student-repatriates is analyzed. Accοrding tο the authοrs, the prοcess οf entry οf repatriates intο a new sοciο-cultural space, adaptatiοn tο the educatiοnal prοcess, the fοrmatiοn οf new persοnal qualities, all this requires psychοlοgical and pedagοgical suppοrt during the studying at higher educatiοnal institutiοn. The cultural transmissiοn is analyzed as a prοcess due tο which culture is transmitted frοm previοus generatiοns tο subsequent οnes thrοugh studying. The features οf the adaptatiοn prοcess, the interactiοn οf the teacher and student in the learning prοcess are cοnsidered.In the authοrs’ οpiniοn, the prοcess οf adaptatiοn and integratiοn οf repatriate students intο the educatiοnal prοcess οf a Kazakhstan university is a dynamic system based οn ideas abοut individual experience and ways tο enter anοther culture, and pedagοgically οrganized activity that prοvides awareness and understanding οf the cοntent οf the sοciοcultural, educatiοnal and intercultural situatiοn. Adaptatiοn οf repatriate students tο the whοle educatiοnal prοcess οf the university is a cοmplex multi-faceted prοcess, which is necessary tο build in the cοncept οf cοmprehensive apprοach.

Strategic Upgrade of the Master’s Programme “Mediation in Education” in Digital Transformation Context

The “conflict-generating capacity” of the modern world causes the need for trained mediators specializing in the productive negotiation technology and conflict management in both real and virtual domains of social relations. As a rule, currently existing mediator training programmes do not consider the intercultural contexts of the conflicts, despite their importance in the volatility and uncertainty of the digital medium. The proposed upgrade of the Master’s programme for future mediators relies upon the polyparadigmatic methodology encompassing the system and constructive, culturological, and situation approaches. Connected to the digital transformation of the society, the employment of the new model of mediators’ training in the Master’s programme of Siberian Federal University is based on the development of a networking partnership between the professional mediators’ associations and the universities of Kazakhstan and Siberia. The article elaborates on the mechanisms of providing electronic support of the Master’s programme intended to expand the teaching efficiency of e-learning in the Master’s training at the Federal University. It also presents the organizational and pedagogical conditions together with the methods of training future mediators by means of the electronic media of the university, social media and open education platforms. It provides the empirical data confirming the efficiency of the Master’s programme electronic support system developed and implemented by the authors. The article also presents the results of a psychological and pedagogical experiment in the assessment of personal qualities and professional competences of the future mediators and the results of the Master’s programme review by practicing mediators and the academic community with regard to the Target Competence Model 2025. With the results of the tests and implementation of the new practice-oriented Master’s programme of SibFU, it is now possible to develop a new culture of social interaction within a digital environment based on cooperation, mutual understanding and dialogue, constructive behaviour in a conflict

“Now I always try to stick to the point”: Socialization to and from genre knowledge in an English-medium university in Kazakhstan

This paper investigates socialization to genre knowledge in a university in Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic where the Russian language remains prevalent while Kazakh is still being revitalized and elaborated for academic purposes. The authors conducted a survey of postgraduate students (n = 53) and alumni (n = 57) along with focus groups (n = 26) in a single discipline in order to identify the self-reported extent of genre knowledge development, and processes of development and application, in English, Kazakh, and Russian. Quantitative data show students have slightly higher genre knowledge in Russian than English or Kazakh, but alumni often see English genre knowledge as more important than Russian or Kazakh in their workplaces. Qualitative data show that socialization to English genre knowledge was so successful, at times respondents underwent a process of reverse socialization of practices from English to Russian or Kazakh. In other instances, respondents directly applied skills learned in English to both Kazakh and Russian in ways that suggested they were socializing Russian- and Kazakh-speaking peers to new practices. The results suggest an ecological approach to teaching and learning English for Academic Purposes is recommended to ensure students in multilingual contexts are able to develop and negotiate communication skills among multiple languages.

The role of rankings in higher education policy: Coercive and normative isomorphism in Kazakhstani higher education

The present study aims to investigate the role of rankings in Kazakhstani higher education policy and their influence on a group of national universities in Kazakhstan. The analysis draws attention to the role of the Kazakhstani government and accreditation agencies in developing coercive and normative isomorphism in Kazakhstani higher education. The analysis of university missions and development strategies of a group of universities with a special status has revealed that national universities are pushed towards an Anglo-American model of a research university. Further research is suggested to assess the response of Kazakhstani higher education institutions (HEIs) to these coercive and normative pressures.

The Academic Mobility of Students from Kazakhstan to Japan: Problems and Prospects

Background: Despite the internationalization of higher education (IoHE) in Kazakhstan and it being among the top 15 countries sending students abroad, the level of student mobility between Kazakhstan and Japan and factors influencing it have not been well analyzed. Aim: The purpose of this study was to explore outgoing student mobility from Kazakhstan to Japan and the reasons underlining this situation. Methods: A descriptive study, involving a literature review and an analysis of data from the two largest universities in Kazakhstan together with those from the Bolashak international scholarship scheme, was performed. Results: The analysis suggested that outgoing student mobility from Kazakhstan to Japan remains at a stable but low level. The mobility of students is mainly a matter of the initiative of universities or the students themselves. The main reasons are the dependence of the policy of the IoHE on the foreign policy of Kazakhstan; the low level of pull factors for students such as affordability, recommendations from acquaintances, or lack of awareness about the country; and absence of a supportive legislative basis for the development of cooperation on higher education between the two countries. Conclusion: Given the areas of common interest economically and politically between Kazakhstan and Japan, there is potential for significantly more student mobility than there is at present.

THE ANALYSIS OF MODULE-COMPETENCE APPROACH IN EDUCATIONAL PROCESS’DESIGNOF KAZAKHSTAN AND LATVIA UNIVERSITIES

The article presents a theoretical and methodological comparative analysis of the module-competencybased approach for the educational process’designin universities in Latvia and Kazakhstan. The article is intended for a survey and analytical study of the diversification of methods, technologies in two post-Soviet countries with different educational paths. The study contains an analysis of the legal and regulatory documents for the specialties “Vocational Training”, “Design”, “Scenography”, as well as a comparative analysis of the pedagogical process organizationof the professional competence formationin Kazakhstan and Latvia. The purpose of the study is to analyze two types of educational process in universities that carry out activities within the framework of the Bologna system. The objective of the study is to identify the differences and similarities in the organization of the pedagogical process in both countries, and to determine their systems, structure and forms. The results of the study are shown in the development of conclusions for the educational process in universities of Kazakhstan.

Analysis of the External Assessment of Educational Achievements in Kazakhstan in 2019

Due to the transition to market-oriented relations, the number of universities in Kazakhstan has increased,which has led to competition at regional and national levels in higher education. To ensure thecompetitiveness of an educational institution in the market of educational services, universities developand offer new educational programs that determine the level of professional training, offer a new pricingpolicy, and introduce various innovations in the organization of education. In the article the authorsreviewed the indicators of the results of the external assessment of educational achievements (EAEA) ofHigher education for 2019. Statistical data is presented in the context of directions and disciplines basedon the results of the EAEA in 2019. A quantitative analysis was performed. A comparative analysis is alsopresented in the disciplines “Information and communication technologies” and “Foreign language (English)”,statistics of the average score in the context of directions. According to the results of EAEA you cansee the strengths and weaknesses of the level of knowledge of students and evaluate the effectiveness ofthe educational process through comparative analysis of fields, professions, disciplines among universities.The results of the EAEA allow carrying out the state monitoring, which is used to assess the qualityof education provided by the country’s universities, and determine the ratingKey words: quality of education, monitoring the quality of education, external assessment of educationalachievements, analysis.

İngilizce Öğretmeni Adaylarının Dil Öğrenme İnançlarının İncelenmesi: Türki Cumhuriyetlerde Kültürlerarası Bir Çalışma

The purpose of this study was to explore Kazakhstani and Turkish student teachers’ beliefs about English language learning, and whether there are any differences between their beliefs in terms of cultural background. The Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) was conducted with 239 student teachers enrolled in ELT programs at the universities in Kazakhstan and Turkey. This inventory included items on aptitude, nature of language learning, learning and communication strategies, and motivation. The overall difference between the beliefs of Kazakhstani and Turkish student teachers was investigated by running a Man Whitney-U test, which showed a significant and meaningful difference between Kazakhstani and Turkish student teachers’ beliefs. It was found that student teachers had shared similar beliefs about language learning, and motivations and expectations. However, they had different beliefs in terms of beliefs toward language aptitude, nature of language learning and learning and communication strategies. In light of these findings, it might be said that national origin/ethnicity does affect student teachers’ beliefs about language learning.

Information Visualization in the Educational Process: Current Trends

The rapid development of computer visualization techniques as well as virtual and augmented reality has led to the possibility of perfect data visualization and the creation of a special virtual space for educating new generation. Simultaneously, the increase in the amount of data to be processed requires a proper selection and presentation of data for solving specific problems. Education sets such tasks as 1) improving the efficiency of presenting information and its assimilation by stu-dents, and 2) increasing the convenience and quality of the teachers’ work. The purpose of this study is to test an acceleration and improvement of the teacher’s response to students studying with more productive visualized learning material. Meanwhile, the created visualization system was based on minimizing the efforts and costs of its preparation and constant support. Only free cloud-based services and visualization tools were used. Students were given the opportunity to con-stantly, in real time control their learning process and create education markers with the help of perspicuous visual environment. To create a visualization system, already existing works on the implementation and verification of the system was used. The study was based on the results of applying this technology. A survey of 300 students from three universities in China, Russia and Kazakhstan was conducted. The control group consisted of 150 students from the same universi-ties who did not use visualization to master the same educational material. Ac-cording to the results of the study, students who used information visualization showed a sharp increase in the subjective assessment of the speed and quality of their learning (58.58% and 37.73%, respectively, of the total number of partici-pants gave a high rating, while in the control group – only12.25%). Further, the level of anxiety associated with an assimilation of new language material was significantly decreased (13.54% in the study group did not feel anxiety, while on-ly 7% – in the control group).

Project-Oriented Approach of Personnel Management in Higher Educational Institutions of Kazakhstan

Improving the quality of education in Kazakhstan causes a number of factors, and first of all, it is the reform of the existing system of personnel management of higher education, where the main element is the development of the university staff. Improving the competitiveness of Kazakhstan's universities at the international level takes place primarily due to the project-oriented approach to the creation of innovative universities. The purpose of the work is to investigate the importance and necessity of the project-oriented approach as a set of knowledge, techniques, and skills of the university staff in the course of the management actions and decisions that determine the development and effectiveness of the educational institution. The authors revealed the lack of consistency, fragmentation, and fragility in the research of the issue of the project-oriented approach in the management of the university personnel. The methods of theoretical research and system analysis determined that the project-oriented approach to the personnel management in higher education institution from the perspective of personal activity approach to the work of teachers is optimal, effective and even necessary to obtain the quality result of the university. The paper clearly presents the organization of the management of the university staff, where a starting point is a project-oriented approach to the process of training students, staff development, reveals the algorithms and features of embedding technology project-oriented approach in the educational process, and reveals its content. The paper also discusses the motivation of the teacher, the reasons preventing to foresee innovations in the work, as well as compares the models of personnel management of the universities in Europe and Kazakhstan.

TEACHERS’ PERCEPTION OF LMS SCHOOLOGY IN FACE-TOFACE AND ONLINE TEACHING MODES: ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

For decades, scholars have debated which model of education is superior. Some argue that online is beneficial and others argue that online is less effective than traditional face-to-face. The study presents a lived experience of teachers’ perception of face-to-face and online teaching applying Learning Management System (LMS) Schoology. Presented paper deals with possible positive and negative experiences of English language teachers using Schoology during online and traditional face-to-face teaching. The study takes place in one of the universities in southern Kazakhstan. “Schoology” was chosen as a platform to ease and support the teaching process. The aim of the study is to identify teachers’ perceptions of the Schoology in online and traditional teaching styles. Participants were asked to answer a questionnaire about their perception of the Schoology and informal observations took place. The advantages and disadvantages of online education were additionally revealed in this study. The study is qualitative research with two teachers that uses open-ended questions and analyzed employing acceptance theory

DOES DISCUSSION HAVE EFFECT ON STUDENTS’ RESPONSES?

Peer instruction teaching method has become an efficient learning strategy at all education grades. Peer teaching method developed by Eric Mazur can be defined as a technique in which participants actively participate in the education process by discussing in a peer group and helping each other in the group during the lesson. The aim of the present research was to investigate the effect of discussion in peer instruction techniques during the lecture. The application was carried out five weeks with 30 students in the first-course education mathematics students in an introduction to mathematical analysis lesson at Suleyman Demirel University in Kazakhstan. Concept test questions were asked to students during the lecture. We analyzed the answers of 32 multiple-choice conceptual different questions. We measured the data by using a t-test (p=.000). The results showed the discussion has a significant influence on the change of students’ responses from inaccurate to accurate answers as previous studies.Keywords: Peer instruction, active learning method, discussion.

Factors affecting the college speciality selection of Kazakhstani students

In this talk we discuss factors that influence and impact Kazakhstani students when it comes to decide major selection.To analyse and study factors,we surveyed 314 students over 16 universities of Kazakhstan (including private, semi-government and government universities). In the previous joint work with (Assanbayeva & Kadyrov, 2020) factor analysis resulted 9 scales,namely,teacher impact,occupation salary impact,external impact,personal interest impact,personal skills impact,national test impact,university cost impact,parents impact,state grant impact.The main aim of the present work is to investigate main factors that influenced the Kazakhstani students most.The next goal is to find any differences in terms of gender when it comes to major selection factors.As most participants were among Suleyman Demirel University,we also wanted to see if there any differences between factors that influence Suleyman Demirel University students major selection to students of other local universities.The statistical data analysis show that students found themselves to be the most influential by 6 factors out of 9 ,namely,influence of state grant, influence of university cost, occupation salary impact, national test impact, influence of personal interest and influence of personal skills.Findings also suggested that, there is no difference between these 6 factors depending on gender.Also,no differences were found among university and factors.

Академическая дипломатия ЕС в Казахстане (на материалах ЕНУ им. Л.Н. Гумилева)

At the present stage of the European Union‟s development academic diplomacy is one of the important components of its foreign policy. The proposed article highlights the main directions of Kazakhstan‟s cooperation with the European Union in education and science. As it is known, every year the EU allocates millions of euros for educational projects for young people, teachers and scientific researches. Thus, over the past four years, the European Union has allocated more than 35 million euros for projects to increase the potential of higher education in Kazakhstan under the Erasmus program, which is one of the most popular programs and is positioned as a result of the EU educational programs evolution. The program is implemented by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) in Brussels, as well as by the national agencies of 34 participating countries. In Kazakhstan there is a National Office "Erasmus," which is headed by Shaizada Tasbulatova and represents Kazakhstan‟s four main directions for higher education institutions: international credit mobility of students and university employees; Erasmus Mundus master‟s degrees; Higher education capacity-building projects; Jean Monet European Integration Program. According to the Erasmus National Office, Kazakhstan universities account for 65% of international credit mobility projects in Central Asia. Kazakhstan Universities actively take part in international credit mobility (MIC) projects that allow students, master‟s students and doctoral students to study and undergo internship in the European countries for the period from three months to one year. The Faculty members of Kazakhstan universities are not an exception. Representatives of Faculty members of domestic educational institutions have an opportunity to receive a fellowship for teaching or advanced training in a foreign university for a period of five days to two months. The total amount of the fellowship for four years (2015 2018) for MIC projects with the participation of Kazakhstan universities amounted to 11,338,545 euros. This amount provided funding for 3,224 students and Faculty members mobility. The L.N. Gumilyov ENU is a participant of the International Credit Mobility program since 2015. During this time, more than 200 people took part in the mobility program and received training and internships in 36 universities in Europe. In the 2018-2019 academic year, 31 students attended 16 universities in Belgium, Latvia, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Poland, and Turkey. The priority of the university management is to increase the number of partner universities, thus giving more chances to talented students. The Credit Mobility program at our university is very popular among students and Faculty members. This circumstance contributed to the careful selection of applicants during the competition process. A bright illustration of this was the fact that in 2018 there were approved only ten out of eighty-three projects for increasing the potential of higher education. To date, The L. N. Gumilyov ENU has prepared 12 projects to increase the potential of higher education and has become a Kazakhstan‟s leader on this indicator, which allowed highlighting the priorities of EU academic diplomacy on the materials of this university in the proposed article. In early April 2019, the subject of a special pride of our university was the official opening of the representative office of The L. N. Gumilyov ENU in the EU. In the European media, this news aroused a wide resonance.