Universities In Kazakhstan Research Articles

Language teachers’ ICT up-take in a single university in the developing country Kazakhstan

This article reports on the findings of what we consider to be the first study of its sort on the use of ICT (information and communication technology) in English, Russian, and Kazakh language teachers in a single university in Kazakhstan. Participants include 111 (English, Russian, Kazakh) instructors from three departments. The study’s goal was to look at these language teachers’ ICT use and the elements that influence their use of ICT as a teaching tool. The following study issues were addressed using questionnaires and follow-up semi-structured interviews: What is the present state of information and communication technology (ICT) use among a group of language teachers in a single university in Kazakhstan? What ICT skills do language teachers have, and what training is available? What are factors that encourage/discourage the use of ICT in their teaching and learning? Findings support the idea that most teachers have owned their own computers to be used in the class and most teachers in the study had adequate skills. However, computer use is mainly limited to PowerPoint presentations but there are patterns of creative ICT use. Positive factors affecting ICT use include willingness to ICT use in teaching and the benefits to both teachers and learners, while negative factors include inadequate professional support, poor training, and the need for a more holistic approach to ICT integration. The conclusions are that ICT is acknowledged as essential and advantageous to language learners as well as teachers from a teaching perspective and that teachers require additional training: to provide training opportunities at the institutional level to support their ICT use and to help language teachers better understand the pedagogy of technology use and incorporate ICT into their instruction. The authors propose that this type of support might be offered through professional development activities that are tailored to the context of language teaching and learning.

Pre-service teachers’ professional identity in Kazakhstan

Teacher education and professionalism are believed to be key to school reform in Kazakhstan (OECD, 2014). As a part of the school reform initiatives, Kazakhstan has been actively investing into teachers’ in-service professional development, teachers’ social support and school infrastructure. Interestingly, however, pre-service teacher education has not been part of those reform initiatives (Yakavets et al., 2017). Whilst teacher professionalism has been actively discussed at the in-service level, there is little to no research on it at the pre-service level. As such, this study aims at exploring future teachers’ professional identity i.e. what factors can influence the development of teachers’ professional identity at the pre-service level. A case study was conducted to explore Year 4 (graduating year) students’ experiences in one pedagogical university in Kazakhstan. The study outcomes indicate a link between pre-service-teachers’ professional identity, quality of students’ professional experiences and their emotions. The development professional identity is viewed as highly emotional process, wherein pedagogical universities must integrate self-reflection and emotional awareness in their academic programmes.

IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION OF ESP COURSES FOR UNIVERSITY LIBRARIANS IN CHINA AND KAZAKHSTAN

The discussed ESP module for librarians was one of eight modules developed and implemented within the DIREKT Erasmus+ project funded by the European Commission through the Capacity Building in the Higher Education Program. The aim was to improve, develop and modernise higher education systems in Asia through university cooperation. The idea behind teaching English to librarians was to equip them with an ability to provide support to academic staff and students concerning information resources, databases and research studies, which are available mainly in English. Librarians are the key link between the activities of academic staff, students and the library, therefore there is a need for librarians to reach at least an A2 level of the CEFR in English. The ESP module is aimed to develop a functional language for the library staff in authentic library situations, such as borrowing and returning books, using library jargon, providing assistance, guidance and advice in finding quality library sources and databases, referencing, citation and avoiding plagiarism. This research study aims to evaluate the implementation of the ESP module for librarians at five universities in China and Kazakhstan. Research methods applied in this study were observation, students’ questionnaires and teachers’ evaluations. To summarize the findings, it was discovered that even though the taught module was the same, there were differences in focus, teaching techniques, activities and used materials.

Investigation of the Psychological, Pedagogical and Technological Adaptation Levels of Repatriated University Students

The aim of this study is to examine the psychological, pedagogical and technological adaptation levels of repatriated students studying at different universities in Kazakhstan with a comparative and relational approach. In the research, since it is aimed to determine the psychological, pedagogical and technological adaptation levels of the repatriated students in Kazakhstan and to examine them in terms of various variables, the survey model was used. 172 repatriated students studying in different cities in Kazakhstan participated in this research in the 2022 academic year. Psychological adaptation, pedagogical adaptation and technological readiness and adaptation scales were used to collect the research data. In the analysis of the study data, Independent Samples t, ANOVA and Pearson Product Moments Correlation Coefficient techniques were used. According to the research findings, it has been seen that the psychological and pedagogical adaptation of the university students of repatriated is low, while the pedagogy technology integration, general pedagogical adaptation and technological adaptation are at a moderate level. Psychological and pedagogical adaptations of participant repatriated students differed according to gender and grade levels. However, no difference was found according to technological adaptation class level. Finally, significant and high-level relationships were found between the psychological, pedagogical and technological adaptations of the participant students.

Analysis of Prospective Primary School Teachers' Attitudes towards Mobile Learning Tools and Acceptance of Mobile Learning

Although the use of mobile technologies in education is rapidly becoming widespread, there are limited findings about the attitudes, competencies and acceptance behaviors of prospective teachers who use and will use these technologies. However, prospective teachers will be the implementers of new technologies such as mobile learning in education when they start their teaching profession in the future. In this study, it was aimed to examine prospective teachers' attitudes towards mobile learning and their mobile learning acceptance behaviors in terms of some variables. The study was conducted by cross-sectional survey method with the participation of prospective teachers studying at two universities in Kazakhstan. The study was composed of 260 prospective teachers at different grade levels. According to the findings of the study, the acceptance behaviors of prospective teachers towards mobile technologies were found to be moderate, while their attitudes towards these technologies were found to be positive and high. In the study, it was found that prospective teachers' attitudes towards mobile learning and mobile learning acceptance behaviors showed significant differences according to gender and grade level. Finally, it was found that attitudes towards mobile learning predicted mobile learning acceptance behaviors significantly and positively in Kazakhstani prospective teachers

Faculty engagement in university-industry research partnerships: findings from a developing country

ABSTRACT University-industry research partnerships are crucial for promoting university entrepreneurship. Faculty as key instigators play a critical role in developing such partnerships. Previous studies demonstrate that faculty engagement depends on a diverse set of factors. Drawing on individual interviews with 76 faculty members from eight public and private universities in Kazakhstan, this study explores factors affecting faculty decisions to engage in industry research partnerships in a developing country. Applying the personal engagement theory, we found that despite perceiving industry partnerships as personally meaningful and being driven by extrinsic and intrinsic motivations, faculty engagement in industry research partnerships in Kazakhstan is limited. The reasons for this are faculty members’ feelings of low safety and availability caused by structural-, organisational- and individual-level barriers and challenges. We also found that some of these barriers and challenges can be more specific for developing countries that tend to have immature economies, suffer from corruption, have limited research capacity, and invest less in research activities.

An Analysis and Evaluation of Public and Local Administration Educational Program: the Case of Kazakhstan Universities

The purpose of the research is to conduct an in-depth analysis and evaluation of existing “the Public and Local Administration” (PA) educational programs across the universities of Kazakhstan. This study was carried out with the support of the Astana Civil Service Hub. The object of the research is 120 universities, 45 of which train personnel in 48 educational programs within the bachelor’s degree (PA), and 38 universities have 73 master’s degree programs in PA major. Only six universities provide eight doctoral educational programs respectively. The Academy of Public Administration (APA) under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan gives an opportunity to obtain a specialized PhD profile degree in PA. In the course of the study, the number of methods such as: comparative analysis, observation, induction and deduction, logical approach, and interviews were engaged. Current research has analyzed the higher education sources in the field of PA, namely educational programs from the open platforms of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, along with syllabuses, regulatory educational legal acts, legislation in the field of PA and expert interviews. The findings come from calculating the ratio of disciplines according to the components of which the taught disciplines were distributed: management, economics, law, public policy, digital knowledge, and interdisciplinary disciplines. Results indicate that the PA undegraduate programs (39 universities out of 45) are mainly synchronized with economic educational programs. The research will be continued with regard to the assessment of the academic personnel and research capacity of universities within PA educational programs, alongside with an analysis of the APA training programs correspondingly.

Management Decisions under Uncertainty Using Controlling Tools

The management decision performs three critical functions : guiding , organizing and motivating . It is obvious that the growth of the university’s potential largely depends on management processes and on the effectiveness of management decisions made in the activities of the staff of the educational organization . As practice shows in modern conditions , not many domestic leaders are familiar with the theory of development and adoption of managerial decisions . The study analyzes the main approaches to the process of making managerial decisions at the university . The expected results are related to the study of theoretical approaches and the determination of the possibility of using controlling tools . The study was conducted based on primary data that were collected through a questionnaire . The survey of respondents was conducted among the teaching staff at Almaty Management University. To solve the problem , the classic Pareto Chart tool and the modern Tree Diagram tool were used , which showed different results . In the course of the study , hypotheses were put forward , some of which needed practical confirmation . The results showed that there is no standard algorithm for the process of making managerial decisions in all universities in Kazakhstan. The resulting decision-making algorithm is not ideal and , with mass implementation , will lead to an increase in risks in the personnel management of educational organizations . However , the method of building control itself can be used by other universities since the scheme of primary and new controlling methods considered by the authors is quite flexible .

THE SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF INTERNET VOCABULARY IN CHINESE LANGUAGE

Nowadays the concept of «Internet vocabulary or Internet language» is widely used in modern electronic information space. Internet vocabulary can also be called the language of electronic communication, the language of computers and the Internet. This concept is directly related to the use of words, language culture and the quality of language use of Internet users. Chinese is one of the ten main languages widely used on the Internet in modern society. The article provides comprehensive answers to questions such as how Internet vocabulary, which is a branch of sociolinguistics, has developed in Chinese society in the last ten years, what is its impact on language learners, and what are the conditions of Internet use in China. At the same time, the theoretical principles of sociolinguistics are also discussed, the history of the development of the Internet vocabulary in the Chinese language, the ways of its creation and the ways of word formation are also considered. Many examples of Chinese Internet slang, jargon, and abbreviations commonly used in Internet language or electronic communications are given by the author. In the conclusion of the article, after researching the Internet vocabulary in Chinese, it is pointed out that the Internet vocabulary will be of great benefit to language learners in the future, and it will be very effective in Chinese teaching in Kazakhstan universities.

UNIVERSITY STRATEGIC RESPONSE TO PANDEMIC CHALLENGES: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW AND THE CASE OF KAZAKHSTAN

The purpose of the article is to answer three main questions of the study: (1) What is the opinion of scientists on the response measures of universities to the challenges of the pandemic? (2) What measures that aff ected the higher education sector were taken by the authorized bodies in Kazakhstan during the pandemic? (3) What measures were taken by the universities of Kazakhstan during the pandemic to minimize the risks of the spread of the disease and ensure the quality of the services provided?Methodology. Authors used the method of systematic literature review and content analysis of government regulations and academic policies of universities.Originality / value of the research. The study contributes to understanding the responses of universities to crisis situations such as the pandemic based on a systematic review of the literature. The article also provides a detailed and chronological analysis of the measures taken by state bodies and universities in Kazakhstan to ensure the quality of education during a pandemic.Findings. According to a review of the scientifi c literature, leadership qualities and building eff ective communication on the part of university leaders played a key role in successfully overcoming the crisis at the beginning of the pandemic. Also of particular importance was the promotion of a culture of trust and compassion. In Kazakhstan, the main role of the crisis manager was played by the Ministry of Education and Science, which timely initiated changes in the documents regulating the process of higher education. Some universities have also taken additional measures to minimize the risks from the pandemic and ensure the quality of education.

Criteria for the Development of the Aesthetic Culture of a Future Teacher of Fine Arts

The purpose of the article is to consider the specifics of the formation of the professional and aesthetic readiness of future teachers of fine arts. The empirical study involved 94 students of 1-4 years studying in the specialties "Technology and Fine Arts" and "Fine Arts and Drawing" in universities in Russia and Kazakhstan. Empirical research has revealed the predominance of algorithmic and stimulating-productive levels that are not characterized by an independent creative nature of activity, as well as the successful conscious and systematic application of analysis and assessment in new situations.
 
 Received: 11 September 2022 / Accepted: 17 February 2022 / Published: 5 March 2023

Professional value orientations of university students in the specialty «Foreign language» (based on the results of a sociological study)

Profound changes in modern society and the development of market relations in it have led to a change in the system of life values of citizens of any country. Changes in value orientations have a sig-nificant impact on the professional self-determination of the new generation, which requires other types of career guidance work with young people that differ from previous forms, taking into account their worldview attitudes, and unstable labor market conditions. The purpose of the research is to determine the spectrum of the main value orientations of students, the role and significance of the labor values of students majoring in «Foreign Languages» at universities in Kazakhstan, Russia and China for successful self-realization in the labor market. The main empirical part of the sociological research is a survey conducted by the method of questioning students studying at full-time departments of the Faculty of Foreign Languages of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (Kazakhstan), Saratov State University named after N. G. Chernyshevsky (Russia) and Dalian University of Foreign Languages (China). The total number of respondents is 300 people. The article comprehensively analyzes the value structure that has changed under the influence of external causes, and the views of young people on professional preferences, their attitude to the pro-fession being mastered and its role in the implementation of individual life plans. The factors of socio-professional self-determination of students are revealed. According to the results of the sociological  research, for the youth of Kazakhstan and Russia, the importance in future work is an interesting job, and for Chinese students – the opportunity to develop skills in work. It was revealed that graduates who participated in the research of three countries in the specialty “Foreign language” have such common values as: “achieving their interests, goals”, as well as “conscious choice of profession” and “work only in their chosen specialty”. Key words: youth, values, value orientations, foreign language, choice of profession.

Teaching a foreign language for professional purposes: overview of the experience of Kazakhstani teachers and methodologists

The study of problems of teaching a foreign language does not lose its relevance among Kazakhstan researchers in connection with the pace of development of the modern labor market. The need to participate in international scientific conferences, to study and analyze the results of scientific research presented in foreign sources, to communicate and exchange experiences with foreign colleagues have become part of today's reality for the professional development of specialists in all areas of human activity. Representatives of all kinds of specializations face these professionally significant situations, where the use of a foreign language is a self-evident condition for achieving profession-related goals and meeting professional needs. In this regard, this paper examines the problem of teaching a foreign language for professional purposes to students of non-linguistic universities in Kazakhstan. In this study, general theoretical methods of research were applied: analysis, synthesis, generalization. In the course of this research, the following results were achieved: (а) theoretical review and analysis of professional foreign language training models proposed by Kazakhstani researchers for technical, financial and economic, agroeconomic profiles were carried out; (b) the principles that most closely determine the success of the process of teaching a foreign language for professional purposes have been identified and systematized; (c) a basic set of tasks and exercises to improve the effectiveness of the process of learning a foreign language for professional purposes was proposed based on the synthesis of the experience of domestic researchers. Keywords: foreign language education, foreign language teaching, English for professional purposes, professional communication

Daily distribution of meteor flight frequency according to radio observations

The paper considers the problem of studying the daily distribution of the passage of meteoroids by radio observation. The advantages of the chosen method of registration over the classical optical and photographic methods of observation are considered. A voluminous series of data was obtained using a registration facility implemented on the basis of the Center for Astrophysical Research at the North Kazakhstan University named after Manash Kozybayev. Processing, analysis and systematization of the obtained data on meteor phenomena have been carried out. Based on the obtained observational data, on the basis of the Center for Astrophysical Research at the North Kazakhstan University named after Manash Kozybayev, using the Multi VirAnalyzer program, namely the Date Recorder, the daily distribution of the meteor flight frequency was calculated. Also, with the help of the Microsoft Excel software application, diagrams of the daily distribution of the meteor passage frequency were constructed. During the analysis of the obtained diagrams of the daily distribution of the meteor passage frequency, the peak and average daily values of meteor activity were determined. Based on the daily distribution, diagrams of the frequency of meteor passages were constructed for certain months during which the Perseid and Leonid meteor showers are active. A clear correlation with the results of studies of other laboratories of a similar line of research is shown.

Evaluation of Communication and Collaboration Processes for Creating an Integrative STEAM Space at the Saginov Technical University

This article discusses the project on capacity building for training of engineering and technical specialists via STEAM technologies at the Saginov Karaganda Technical University (STU) in Kazakhstan. The project, entitled “Capacity building of engineers innovative training via STEAM education” was supported by the fund under the "Research in the field of education and science for 2021-2023” priority of the Science Committee of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Grant No. AP092600338). The current research presented in this article addresses the issues of assessing the level of professional communication and collaboration skills among teaching staff. The article describes the identified communication gaps and recommendations in three areas of training, presents the key statements of the theory of communication and collaboration formulated on the basis of the results obtained within the integrated educational STEAM space, structured as the core of the STEAM education framework. Additionally, a list of competencies according to advanced STEAM approaches have been developed.

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Literature in language education: exploring teachers’ beliefs, practices, creativity, and literary competence

ABSTRACT Given the growing movement in support of blurring the divisions between language and literature teaching, it has become increasingly vital to understand what language teachers think of literature as a language resource, the approaches they employ when teaching with it, the extent to which they can appreciate, understand, analyse, and interpret literary texts, that is, their literary competence, and whether certain traits predict such competence. Yet, research into the use of literature in language education has been primarily concerned with learners rather than teachers. This article reports on an online questionnaire-based study that explored the creativity, orientations towards literature, teaching approaches, and beliefs regarding literature of 170 language teachers in Central Asia and how these elements predicted their literary competence. Participants worked at universities in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan and were teaching Chinese, English, French, German, Russian, and Spanish as foreign languages. The findings revealed that their reading habits and creativity statistically significantly predicted their literary competence while their selection of texts was partly at odds with their professed orientations towards literature.

Applying Terror Management Theory to Explain International Faculty Responses to COVID-19 Control Measures

The paper analyses an institutional approach and international faculty responses to implementation of social-distancing measures during COVID-19 on a residential campus of an international university in Kazakhstan. Terror-Management Theory is used to interpret the behavioral responses of the faculty. The theory predicts three types of international faculty responses to the conscious fear of death from COVID-19 – death avoidance, death acceptance, and death negation. These responses determine the extent of compliance with social distance-control measures. In addition three anxiety-buffering mechanisms proposed by the theory – commitment to particular worldviews, self-esteem enhancement and maintenance of social connections – serve as factors of variation in responses. Implications are drawn from the results about the relevance of the theory to the analysis of campus population responses to COVID-19-control measures on domestic and international campuses. Recommendations for university administrators at international universities are made about managing the three types of responses.

Perceptions of digital competence in learning and teaching English in the context of online education

Digital competence has become a crucial capability in the learning process, in the working place, and in personal communication. The aim of the article is to explore master students’ perceptions of their digital competence by identifying frequency, expertise, and satisfaction in using information communication technologies (ICT) in their learning process when studying at university and teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in the context of online education. The sample comprised 49 master students who participated in distant evening classes at a private university in Kazakhstan while working simultaneously as teachers of English in various educational institutions during the day. Master students’ perceptions of digital competence is one of the approaches to reveal the gaps in students’ digital competence development necessary for learning and teaching EFL online. The main research tool for data collection was the online survey allowing the master students to measure their level of digital competence. Evident from the results, the majority of respondents are digitally competent; yet there is a cohort of master students who scored low on ICT skills needed for teaching and admitted the necessity of improvement. Also, according to the findings, the respondents’ frequency, expertise, and satisfaction level by their digital competence needed in the learning is higher than that in teaching. This can also imply that even though the frequency and expertise in using digital technologies for learning contributes to the development of the expertise in using them for conducting their own classes, master students need special training on the use of ICT for pedagogical purposes.

РЕКОМЕНДАЦИИ И ПРОГНОЗЫ ИЗ ОПЫТА РАЗВИТИЯ ПРЕДПРИНИМАТЕЛЬСКОГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ В РК

The article considers the study of the success of organizations and the implementation of development strategies for entrepreneurial universities in Kazakhstan. The relevance of the study is the problems of transition to the University 3.0 model and related innovations in the higher education system. The purpose of the study covers forecasting the development of entrepreneurial universities based on the analysis of their activities. The research methodology is based on the results of the analysis of studies of Kazakh scientists on the examples of the development of entrepreneurial universities, the implementation of their strategies, as well as on the practical experience of studying the opinions of students and teaching staff of entrepreneurial universities in the years. Astana, Almaty and Pavlodar. The value of the study is given by the analysis and generalization of the results of theoretical and practical studies of Kazakhstani entrepreneurial universities, forecasting their development, as well as recommendations for improving the prospects for the development of entrepreneurial universities. The results of the study can be useful for implementing the strategies of entrepreneurial universities and drawing up a general concept for the development of an entrepreneurial direction in universities. The provisions discussed in the article are based on the results of work on collecting, systematizing and analyzing sources in order to identify mechanisms for the transition from universities 2.0 to universities 3.0.