Building Communicative Competencies for Future Leaders: An Analysis of Public Administration Curricula in Kazakhstan

Abstract

This study aims to identify issues related to developing communicative competencies among public servants by examining the educational programs, catalogs of academic disciplines, and competency models of graduate programs in Public and Local Administration at universities in Kazakhstan. We analyzed publicly available information from higher education institutions' web pages on training programs, course descriptions, and key competencies in relevant fields. It was revealed that universities in Kazakhstan provide limited information about their programs, thus we referred to comprehensive data from unified higher ed platform from Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The analysis indicates that program administrators often neglect communicative competencies while building curricula. In most cases, they are subject to specific courses such as Governance Psychology and Human Resources, with the content varying considerably from one university to another. The Academy of Public Administration under the President of Kazakhstan is the only institution offering robust courses dedicated to this area. The expected outcomes include skills in public speaking, interaction with the public and media, business correspondence, conflict resolution, and knowledge of organizational culture and ethical behavior. Considering the importance and growing attention to the effect of the communication skills of civil servants for public satisfaction, this study concludes that Kazakh universities should ensure the inclusion of communication competencies into Public Administration programs. Such additions could enhance the preparation of prospective public servants, aiding them in their professional roles and during employment selection processes.