Developing geopolitical literacy through Model United Nations in secondary geography education: a quasi-experimental study in Kazakhstan

Geopolitical literacy sits at the heart of geography teaching these days, with students pressed to untangle worldwide processes, judge international questions with some sharpness, and form decent conclusions inside an ever tighter global weave. The classic teacher at the front setup often leaves holes though. Analytical strength, joint work, and problem solving, skills that matter when cracking open today's geopolitical riddles, end up shortchanged in many cases. This inquiry checked whether Model United Nations (MUN) simulations might serve as practical training to build geopolitical literacy for secondary students in Kazakhstan. A quasi-experimental setup was used, 54 Grade 11 students divided into an experimental group of 29 and a control group of 25. Across eight weeks the experimental group worked through MUN tasks folded into geography lessons while the control group followed usual instruction. A checked instrument measured geopolitical literacy on cognitive, skills and affective sides, with analysis resting on descriptive numbers, independent samples t-tests and effect size figures. At the initial stage, pupils in the experimental group demonstrated slightly higher overall scores for geopolitical literacy than those in the control group; however, this difference was not statistically significant: t(52) = 0.402, p = 0.689, whilst the effect size was small. Gains appeared across all three dimensions in the experimental group, with practical skills and affective engagement standing out most, which hints at sharper critical thought, evidence-based reasoning, stronger communication and negotiation, joint decision making, plus wider global awareness. Student views matched these patterns, showing solid motivation, rising confidence and real involvement the whole way through. The work brings a fresh angle to existing studies, among the earliest empirical checks of MUN within secondary geography classes in Kazakhstan, and it treats geopolitical literacy as a layered construct that mixes cognitive knowledge with practical abilities and affective leanings. The findings support experiential learning and constructivist ideas, they indicate that simulation-based approaches can bolster competency focused geography teaching and help form citizens equipped to handle geopolitical issues that keep growing more complex.