Nazarbayev University undergraduate students’ perceptions of their research preparedness: First steps into research capacity building

Abstract

Established in 2010 as Kazakhstan’s flagship “world-class” research university, Nazarbayev University (NU) was designed to integrate research into undergraduate education and to contribute to the development of national research capacity. This study examines how NU’s first cohorts of undergraduate students perceived their research preparedness and learns about intentions to pursue graduate study in their final year of the program. Drawing on the conceptualization of research preparedness as a multidimensional construct, the study explores students’ learning motivation, perceptions of the research environment, research self-efficacy, research orientation, and the types of research activities they have undertaken. Results from an online cross-sectional survey administered to final-year undergraduate students across three NU schools in 2015 were analyzed descriptively. The findings indicate that students generally reported high levels of motivation, confidence in research-related skills, and positive perceptions of institutional research support. Most respondents expressed intentions to pursue graduate study. However, weaker perceptions of belonging to a research community and challenges related to self-regulation and time management were evident. No significant gender- or discipline-based differences were found in perceived research preparedness. Although limited by a small sample and self-reported measures, this study contributes to the higher education literature by documenting an early stage of undergraduate research capacity building in Kazakhstan and by offering a baseline snapshot of how national ambitions, which began at a single university, to cultivate research-ready graduates are translated into students’ academic experiences.