Educational games have emerged as powerful tools in contemporary pedagogy, leveraging interactive and engaging platforms to enhance children's intellectual abilities. This research explores the multifaceted implications of educational games on cognitive development focusing on critical thinking, problem-solving skills and knowledge retention among children. This study used a mixed-data collection strategy. The goal of this research was to determine the impact of developed educational game technology on improving children's intellectual abilities. The study included 43 participants. According to the study, children have an average level of intellectual development. In this regard, training preschool-aged children required modifications to the content, procedural and personal aspects of learning for children using educational game technology. The study's findings revealed that incorporating educational game technological advances into the process of training children improved their cognitive abilities. Teachers can improve their teaching strategies using the useful tools and materials provided by the study's findings on the usage of educational games to support children' intellectual development. This research underscores the importance of integrating educational games into curricula to maximize their intellectual benefits and prepare children for future academic and life challenges.

The research examines the effects of critical thinking instruction on preschool children aged 5–6 years regarding their cognitive activities. The study employed a quasi-experimental approach in three Astana preschools in Kazakhstan to work with 120 children who formed equal experimental and control groups. The experimental group received structured lessons that included problem-based tasks, collaborative discussions, and reflective questioning. The researchers used the Cognitive Activity Map and argumentation tests to assess cognitive and metacognitive development in the participants. The experimental group demonstrated substantial growth in analytical reasoning, initiative, and reflective thinking abilities, while their high cognitive activity levels increased from 12% to 50%. The research demonstrates that critical thinking pedagogy leads to significant improvements in young children’s independent thinking abilities and their capacity to handle complex mental operations. The research highlights the need to implement these pedagogical approaches in preschool curricula and training programs to enhance children’s readiness for formal education.

The readiness of preschool teachers to ensure children’s digital safety (DS) is currently one of the overarching challenges for early childhood education (ECE) systems. Unfortunately, developing countries, particularly Kazakhstan, do not necessarily possess the required resources to run preschool educational programs to ensure children’s DS. This study explores pre-service early childhood educators’ (PSECEs) cognitive, affective, and behavioral attitudes toward supporting DS of preschool children. It also considered PSECEs perceptions of their role and responsibility in supporting preschool children’s DS and their readiness to address these issues in their future professional practice. The research adopted a cross-sectional mixed-methods design without instructional intervention. The study was carried out at the Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University in Almaty, Kazakhstan, with 344 participants in the experiment. The findings highlight the interrelated nature of cognitive, affective, and behavioral components of study participants’ attitudes. Study participants had strong affective engagement. However, the results revealed a noticeable imbalance between emotional concern and practical readiness. This research highlighted that DS content in preschool teacher education programs has not kept up to date with global digital advances. Consequently, there is a need to adopt coherent content of practice-oriented approaches to DS in preschool teacher education programs. This paper further extends the body of theory on PSECEs attitudes toward supporting DS of preschool children and provides new insights into the educator candidates’ cognitive, affective, and behavioral attitudes.

Preschool years are critical for a child’s future learning and development. One of the most important challenges when a child enters kindergarten is adaptation. Negative experiences during this period might affect a child’s adaptation to school and may have long-term consequences. Leveraging game-based technologies can transform early education, making it more engaging, personalized, and effective, thus ensuring better preparedness for formal schooling. This study evaluates the effectiveness of game-based technologies in improving the social, emotional, and cognitive adaptation of young children to preschool settings in Kazakhstan. By employing a comprehensive mixed-methods approach, this research provides robust evidence of the efficiency of game-based technologies in supporting young children's adaptation to preschool environments in Kazakhstan. The study included two groups of children: an experimental group (EG) (n=70) and a control group (CG) (n=70). The positive outcomes suggest that incorporating game-based learning into early childhood education can considerably improve the overall preschool experience, and better prepare children for future academic challenges. The study’s findings provide valuable guidance for educators looking to improve early childhood education.