This study provides a critical review and assessment of the problems of enhancing the research activity at a Kazakhstani pedagogical university that prepares future teachers. The aim of this study is to provide a rationale for the relevance of scientific and methodological support for increasing the research activity of teachers at pedagogical universities through the systematic integration of practitioner action research into professional practice. The value of action research is related to the change in and improvement of the professional practice of teachers based on the convergence of practice-oriented science and science-oriented practice. This work is in response to the gap in the professional preparation of future teachers, particularly in terms of developing research competencies and equipping future teachers with knowledge about action research. This is in marked contrast to in-service teachers who have been exposed to action research through the whole country’s ongoing reform of teacher education. Using a large survey of academic staff, the paper identifies the key factors influencing the research activity of university teachers. The findings from the survey and the narrative review suggest a willingness and openness to new ways of working among staff, which would make it possible to increase the research activity of university teachers themselves by integrating non-formal forms of research such as action research into their practice.

Modern university education is aimed at training competitive specialists capable of ensuring sustainable socioeconomic development of the country. The realization of this goal is possible subject to the integration of innovative strategies and training technologies that meet the new challenges and trends of the global educational system. The purpose of the study was to study and systematize innovative strategies and technologies for training specialists. The main areas of research were: identification of priority strategies for introducing innovations, research dynamics on this problem, systematization of the semantic blocks of publications on the problem of integrating innovative strategies and technologies. Content analysis and thematic analysis of publications of the journal “Pedagogical Sciences” of the MDPI data platform SCOPUS and the database of journals in the direction of “Education, Pedagogical Sciences,” recommended for publication by the Committee for Quality Assurance in Science and Higher Education of the Ministry of Higher Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan. A comparative analysis of the international and Kazakhstani databases of publications made it possible to identify the specifics of the semantic and substantive blocks of Kazakhstani research and priorities in the use of educational technologies. The value of the study lies in determining the prospects for integrating the world experience of innovation into the higher education system of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of expanding the range of technologies and teaching methods used by university teachers.

The study was conducted with the aim of identifying the possibilities for implementing the informal research method of Action Research into the educational process of a pedagogical university as a tool for enhancing the research activity of university teachers in Kazakhstan. The significance of mastering this method by pedagogical university faculty is grounded in their ability to disseminate their experience, involving students—future teachers—in a cyclical process of continuous research and transformation of their pedagogical practices. As a result of the literature review, the advantages of Action Research were highlighted, particularly in terms of activating personal, professional, and environmental resources that were previously underutilized in traditional formal research formats. The relevance of the study lies in the necessity to examine global experiences with informal research methods, focusing on the feasibility of their implementation with consideration of the specific context of Kazakhstan. The article describes the process of conceptualizing the informal method of Action Research, diagnosing awareness and demand for this method among young pedagogical university faculty, developing and testing a program for its implementation, evaluating its effectiveness, ensuring post-course support, and determining the prospects for integrating the method on a national scale. Methods such as surveys, pilot studies, formative experiments, and Action Research tools were applied. A pilot implementation of Action Research was conducted to develop the research activity of young faculty members at Abai University, considering their needs within the framework of a modular professional development program titled “Action Research – the Foundation for Developing a Pedagogue-Researcher Model.” Analysis of the results confirmed the effectiveness of implementing the method in enhancing the research activity of teachers and transforming them into researcher-teachers. Based on the review and feedback analysis, the prospects for the expanded integration of informal research methods into the practice of education in Kazakhstan were identified.