UNIVERSITY STRATEGIC RESPONSE TO PANDEMIC CHALLENGES: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW AND THE CASE OF KAZAKHSTAN

The purpose of the article is to answer three main questions of the study: (1) What is the opinion of scientists on the response measures of universities to the challenges of the pandemic? (2) What measures that aff ected the higher education sector were taken by the authorized bodies in Kazakhstan during the pandemic? (3) What measures were taken by the universities of Kazakhstan during the pandemic to minimize the risks of the spread of the disease and ensure the quality of the services provided?
Methodology. Authors used the method of systematic literature review and content analysis of government regulations and academic policies of universities.
Originality / value of the research. The study contributes to understanding the responses of universities to crisis situations such as the pandemic based on a systematic review of the literature. The article also provides a detailed and chronological analysis of the measures taken by state bodies and universities in Kazakhstan to ensure the quality of education during a pandemic.
Findings. According to a review of the scientifi c literature, leadership qualities and building eff ective communication on the part of university leaders played a key role in successfully overcoming the crisis at the beginning of the pandemic. Also of particular importance was the promotion of a culture of trust and compassion. In Kazakhstan, the main role of the crisis manager was played by the Ministry of Education and Science, which timely initiated changes in the documents regulating the process of higher education. Some universities have also taken additional measures to minimize the risks from the pandemic and ensure the quality of education.

1. Chen, X., Zou, D. and Xie, H. (2020). Fifty years of British Journal of Educational Technology: A topic modeling based bibliometric perspective. British Journal of Educational Technology, 51(3), 692-708.

2. King, E. and Boyatt, R. (2015). Exploring factors that infl uence adoption of e-learning within higher education. British Journal of Educational Technology, 46(6), 1272-1280.

3. Watty, K., McKay, J. and Ngo, L. (2016). Innovators or inhibitors? Accounting faculty resistance to new educational technologies in higher education. Journal of Accounting Education, 36, 1-15.

4. Agasisti, T. and Soncin, M. (2021). Higher education in troubled times: on the impact of COVID-19 in Italy. Studies in Higher Education, 46(1), 86-95.

5. Aagaard, E. M. and Earnest, M. (2021). Educational leadership in the time of a pandemic: Lessons from two institutions. FASEB BioAdvances, 3(3), 182-188.

6. McNamara, A. (2021). Crisis Management in Higher Education in the Time of COVID-19: The Case of Actor Training: 3. Education Sciences, 11(3), 132.

7. Talanov, S. L., Kushnarev, F. Yu., Berezin, D. T. and Rumyanceva, E. S. (2020). Vliyanie COVID-19 na sistemu vysshego obrazovaniya. Alma Mater (Vestnik Vysshej Shkoly), 10, 12-22 (In Russian).

8. Babbar, M. and Gupta, T. (2022). Response of educational institutions to COVID-19 pandemic: An intercountry comparison. Policy Futures in Education, 20(4), 469–491.

9. Freeman, S. et al. (2021). COVID-19 Response Strategies at Large Institutes of Higher Education in the United States: A Landscape Analysis, Fall 2020. Journal of Adolescent Health, 68(4), 683–685.

10. L'vovich, A. A. and Vasil'evna, R. L. (2020). Distancionnye obrazovatel'nye tekhnologii i transformaciya vysshego obrazovaniya v usloviyah pandemii COVID-19: Vozmozhnosti, vyzovy, perspektivy: 2. Izvestiya Vysshih Uchebnyh Zavedenij. Sociologiya Ekonomika Politika, 2, 43-52.

11. DeMartino, L. and Weiser, S. G. (2021). Administrative Leadership in Times of a Global Health Crisis: Voices and Images from the Field. Frontiers in Education, 6, 617857, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.617857.

12. Rapanta, C. et al. (2021). Balancing Technology, Pedagogy and the New Normal: Post-pandemic Challenges for Higher Education. Postdigital Science and Education, 3(3), 715–742.

13. Yokuş, G. (2022). Developing a guiding model of educational leadership in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic: A grounded theory study. Participatory Educational Research, 9(1), 362–387.

14. PGGSV № 25 ot 16.03.2020 «O merah po obespecheniyu bezopasnosti naseleniya Respubliki Kazahstan v sootvetstvii s Ukazom Prezidenta Respubliki Kazahstan «O vvedenii chrezvychajnogo polozheniya v RK» ot 15 marta 2020». (2020). Information system «PARAGRAPH». Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https:// online.zakon.kz/Document/?doc_id=33742464 (In Russian).

15. PGGSV № 44 ot 3.07.2020 «O vvedenii strogih ogranichitel'nyh karantinnyh mer merah». (2020). Information system «PARAGRAPH». Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://online.zakon.kz/ Document/?doc_id=34276342 (In Russian).

16. Itogi dvuhletnej bor'by s koronavirusom v Kazahstane. (2022). Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/dsm/press/news/ details/339997?lang=ru (In Russian).

17. PGGSV № 68 ot 25.12.2020 «Ob ogranichitel'nyh karantinnyh merah i poetapnom ih smyagchenii». (2020). Information system «PARAGRAPH». Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://online.zakon.kz/Document/?doc_id=35809683 (In Russian).

18. PGGSV № 7 ot 26.02.2021 «O provedenii pilota po vnedreniyu mobil'nogo prilozheniya «Ashyq» na ob"ektah predprinimatel'stva v gorodah Nur-Sultan, Almaty i Karaganda». (2021). Information system «PARAGRAPH». Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://online.zakon.kz/Document/?doc_id=36196466 (In Russian).

19. Pravitel'stvo rassmotrelo hod podgotovki k nachalu uchebnogo goda. (2021). Offi cial Information Source of the Prime Minister of the RK. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://primeminister.kz/ru/news/pravitelstvo-rassmotrelo-hod-podgotovki-k-nachalu-uchebnogo-goda-1173341 (In Russian).

20. PGGSV № 13 ot 14.03.2022 «O snyatii ogranichitel'nyh meropriyatij v organizaciyah obrazovaniya». (2022). Information system «PARAGRAPH». Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://online.zakon.kz/Document/ ?doc_id=34125607 (In Russian).

21. Prikaz MON RK № 135 ot 8 aprelya 2020 goda «O dopolnitel'nyh merah po obespecheniyu kachestva obrazovaniya pri perekhode uchebnogo processa na distancionnye obrazovatel'nye tekhnologiina period pandemii koronavirusnoj infekcii COVID-19». (2020). Information system «PARAGRAPH». Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://online.zakon.kz/Document/?doc_id=39442167 (In Russian).

22. Prikaz MON RK № 179 ot 04.05.2020 goda «Metodicheskie rekomendacii po organizacii promezhutochnoj i itogovoj attestacii v organizaciyah vysshego i (ili) poslevuzovskogo obrazovaniya v period pandemii koronavirusnoj infekcii COVID-19». (2020). Information system «PARAGRAPH». Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://online.zakon.kz/Document/?doc_id=37333643 (In Russian).

23. Putevki na otdyh i skidki na obuchenie: chto predlagayut vuzy studentam za vakcinaciyu (2022). Sputnik. Retrieved September 28, 2022, from https://ru.sputnik.kz/20210701/Putevki-na-otdykh-i-skidki-naobuchenie-chto-predlagayut-vuzy-studentam-za-vaktsinatsiyu-17496664.html (In Russian).