Working Students in Kazakhstan: Their Experiences and Academic Studies

Abstract

The working students pursuing degrees in Kazakhstani universities choose full-time study along with employment following their economic, societal, and personal needs. Such students’ working status may be challenging for them. Along with valuable experiences and benefits associated with the combination of work and academic studies, their efforts pose significant challenges that require their peers, colleagues, employers, faculty, and administration to be supportive. The aim of this research is to assess the understanding of the perceptions of full-time undergraduate students about the role of working on their academic successes. This is explicated by the need to understand the perspectives of full-time undergraduate students who are concurrently engaged in paid work in connection with the impact of work on academic performance in the context of Kazakhstan. In assessing this explication, the study employed a qualitative research methodology for data collection. The data collection included fifteen working students regarding the experiences, challenges, benefits, and support from the university and employers to the working students in Kazakhstan. The selection was done using a purposive sampling technique. The results indicated that external factors such as universities and policymakers are central to the attainment of work-study balance, depending on the prevailing or developed policies geared towards supporting the students.