Supporting Doctoral Students’ Publication Requirements: How Supervisors Understand and Practice Their Roles in Kazakhstan

• In Event: Higher education in Central Asia: Student experiences, faculty-student collaboration, and internationalization

Proposal

Title: Supporting Doctoral Students’ Publication Requirements: How Supervisors Understand and Practice Their Roles in Kazakhstan

Type of Presentation: Formal Paper Presentation
Type of Study: Empirical research
Presenters: Duishon Shamatov and Kanat Baikenov

Introduction
Doctoral education worldwide increasingly emphasizes accountability, research productivity, and global competitiveness and many reforms are being conducted in this regard. Central to these reforms is the publication requirement, which obliges candidates to publish in indexed journals before graduation. While common in many Global North contexts, its adoption in Kazakhstan marks a significant departure from the country’s Soviet academic traditions (Kuzhabekova, 2020). Supervisors play a pivotal role in mediating between policy, institutions, and students, yet their perspectives remain underexplored. This paper examines how supervisors adapt their practices under the publication requirement, highlighting strategies, constraints, and implications for doctoral education.
Study Background
Kazakhstan introduced the PhD in 2005, joined the Bologna Process in 2010, and mandated international publications for doctoral completion in 2011. The policy was intended to align with international standards and improve research quality, but it has generated challenges: limited research infrastructure, weak publishing opportunities in social sciences, English-language barriers, and shifting regulations. Supervisors are required not only to guide research but also to help students navigate these structural obstacles.
State of Current Research
Scholarship on doctoral supervision emphasizes the tension between student independence and supervisory guidance (Lee, 2008; Manathunga & Goozee, 2007). In contexts with mandatory publication, supervision often shifts toward functional and pragmatic strategies (Cargill et al., 2018; Horta & Li, 2023). Studies in Kazakhstan remain limited, focusing mainly on policy reforms rather than supervisors’ lived experiences (Asanova, 2018; Kuzhabekova, 2020). By examining supervisory practices, this study addresses a gap in the literature on doctoral education in non-Western contexts.
Theoretical Framework
The analysis draws on Lee’s (2008) typology of supervisory approaches (functional, enculturation, emancipation, critical thinking, and relationship-building) and Giddens’ (1984) Structuration Theory, which highlights the interplay of structural constraints and individual agency. Together, these frameworks reveal not only what supervisors do but also why strategies evolve under institutional pressures.
Methodology
The study employed a qualitative design to capture supervisors’ lived experiences. The sample included 30 doctoral supervisors from 14 universities (national, public, and private) across STEM and social sciences. Maximum variation sampling ensured diversity in academic rank and generational background. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in Kazakh and Russian, both face-to-face and via Zoom. Data were analyzed through two-cycle coding (Saldana, 2016), enabling cross-case comparison of strategies and contexts.
Findings and Discussion
The study identified eight supervisory strategies in response to the publication requirement: (1) strict timelines and accountability; (2) promoting autonomy by treating PhD students as independent researchers; (3) selecting topics likely to yield publications; (4) facilitating networks and journal connections; (5) gatekeeping against predatory publishing; (6) involving undergraduate and master’s students in doctoral projects; (7) fostering international co-supervision; and (8) integrating students into funded projects. Generational differences emerged: senior supervisors often stressed independence, while younger faculty emphasized collaboration. Disciplinary variations were also clear: STEM supervisors relied on lab-based projects with clearer publication pathways, whereas social science supervisors faced greater obstacles due to fewer indexed journals. Viewed through structuration theory, supervisors exercised agency by reshaping constraints, for example, securing international collaborations or embedding students in grant projects.
Contributions
This paper contributes in three ways. First, it documents supervisory practices in a reforming, resource-constrained system, filling a gap in doctoral education research. Second, it integrates Lee’s supervisory typology with structuration theory to explain both strategies and underlying conditions. Third, it offers practical insights for policy, suggesting the need for writing support, stable regulations, expanded local journals, and more opportunities for international collaboration.
Conclusion and Implications
Kazakhstan’s publication requirement has reshaped doctoral supervision, pushing faculty toward pragmatic, functional, and enculturation-focused approaches. While these strategies help students succeed, they risk narrowing the supervisory role and limiting critical or emancipatory elements. Policy reforms should support methodological and writing development, create stable and transparent guidelines, and diversify legitimate publication outlets. Kazakhstan’s case illustrates how global reforms are reinterpreted locally, offering lessons for other systems adopting publication-based doctoral models.
References
Asanova, D. (2018). Analysis of the PhD programme development in Kazakhstan. Khabarshy, 132.
Cargill, M., Gao, X., Wang, X., & O’Connor, P. (2018). Preparing Chinese graduate students of science facing an international publication requirement. English for Specific Purposes, 52, 13–26.
Giddens, A. (1984). The constitution of society: Outline of the theory of structuration. University of California Press.
Horta, H., & Li, H. (2023). Nothing but publishing: The overriding goal of PhD students in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau. Studies in Higher Education, 48(2), 263–282.
Kuzhabekova, A. (2020). Doctoral education in Kazakhstan. In Yudkevich, M., Altbach, P., & De Wit, H. (Eds.), Trends and issues in doctoral education worldwide. SAGE.
Lee, A. (2008). How are doctoral students supervised? Studies in Higher Education, 33(3), 267–281.
Manathunga, C., & Goozee, J. (2007). Challenging the dual assumption of the ‘always/already’ autonomous student and effective supervisor. Teaching in Higher Education, 12(3), 309–322.
Saldana, J. (2016). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. SAGE.

Authors

• Duishon Ali Shamatov

• Kanat Baikenov, Nazarbayev University