The Relationship Between Facilitation, Group Work, and Perceived Readiness for Research Activities

Abstract

In the context of the modernization of the higher education system in the Republic of Kazakhstan and the growing importance of research preparation for future teachers, particular attention is being paid to students’ readiness for research activities. This is due to the expectation that contemporary teachers should be able to reflect on their own pedagogical practice, work with scholarly literature, formulate and substantiate professional judgments, and interact with professional communities. In the present study, perceived readiness for research activities is defined as students’ subjective assessment of their ability to perform research tasks and participate in various forms of research work. Perceived readiness for research activities may be associated both with students’ individual resources and with characteristics of the educational environment.

The study aimed to examine the relationships between facilitation, group work, and students’ perceived readiness for research activities, as well as to test the mediating roles of autonomy and academic writing skills in these relationships. The study employed a cross-sectional design and relied on students’ self-reports. The study involved 164 students enrolled in the educational program “Foreign Language: Two Foreign Languages.” Students’ perceived readiness for research activities, facilitation, group work, autonomy, and academic writing skills were assessed. Hierarchical regression analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to examine the relationships among the variables.

The regression analysis showed that facilitation and group work were positively associated with perceived readiness for research activities and jointly accounted for 28% of its variance. Mediation analysis revealed statistically significant indirect associations between facilitation and perceived readiness through both autonomy and academic writing skills. For group work, a statistically significant indirect pathway was identified through academic writing skills, whereas the indirect pathway through autonomy was not statistically significant. After accounting for the mediators, the direct associations of facilitation and group work with perceived readiness were not statistically significant. Among the variables included in the mediation model, academic writing skills demonstrated the strongest association with perceived readiness for research activities.

The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of taking the identified relationships into account when organizing students’ research preparation, particularly when designing pedagogical support and collaborative forms of work that promote autonomy and the development of academic writing skills.