Academic literacy and writing in universities of Kazakhstan: trends, problems and directions of development

Abstract

Academic literacy is becoming a fundamental competence of higher education students in the context of increasing demands on the quality of specialist training, the strengthening of the role of scientific activity and the internationalization of higher education. For Kazakhstan, the issues of developing academic literacy and academic writing are of particular importance, given the trilingual language policy, the modernization of higher education and the desire of universities to enter the global scientific and educational space. The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the essence of academic literacy, its structural components, international approaches to the formation of academic writing, as well as the specifics of the development of this competence in Kazakhstani universities. Based on the study of the practices of leading universities, regulatory documents and research from the Scopus database, the key problems and barriers preventing the formation of a sustainable academic culture are substantiated. The article is supplemented with graphical tables summarizing the differences between domestic and international experience. Recommendations on improving system solutions, teaching methods and digital infrastructure aimed at improving the quality of academic literacy of students and young researchers are presented.