Adapting Environmental and Participatory Science Education in Kazakhstan: Two Complementary Case Studies

Kazakhstan faces growing water security and environmental management challenges and needs more practice-oriented environmental science education. This study examines two complementary Kazakhstan-based cases. Case Study 1 analyzes faculty and student surveys from the 2022 Science with a Purpose project, which delivered short courses in water quality, air quality, remediation, sampling methods, and scientific communication. Case Study 2 examines the 2025 pilot adaptation of the Nebraska-based Know Your Well (KYW) participatory-science model. An exploratory comparative two-case-study design drew on survey responses, project documentation, instructional materials, participant feedback, workflow analysis, and two illustrative laboratory water analyses. In Case Study 1, 22 of 25 faculty members responded (88.0%); student response rates were 14 of 18 (77.8%) before and 10 of 18 (55.6%) after the courses. Participants generally rated practice-oriented content positively. In the KYW pilot (N = 15), 14 participants (93.3%) reported that the training met expectations, and 14 (93.3%) considered the skills fully or partially applicable. The pilot demonstrated a feasible workflow linking preparation, field activity, sample handling, and laboratory-supported interpretation. Although the findings do not establish national representativeness, intervention effects, long-term learning outcomes, or large-scale monitoring impact, they support complementary capacity-building pathways for Kazakhstan.