FUNCTIONAL LITERACY IN PHYSICS: BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN CURRICULUM AND INTERNATIONAL ASSESSMENT

Abstract

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the issue of developing students’ functional literacy in physics and the differences between national and international assessment approaches. The relevance of the research lies in the fact that, although a competence-based approach has been introduced into Kazakhstan’s general secondary education system, the learning objectives and assessment formats still do not fully align with PISA requirements. The authors substantiate the necessity of strengthening the practical and real-life contextual connection of educational content to enhance students’ functional literacy.

The research was conducted in three stages: document analysis, pedagogical experiment, and expert interviews. During the document analysis, the model curriculum for physics in the Republic of Kazakhstan was compared with the PISA assessment framework, revealing both content-related and methodological discrepancies. In the experimental stage, ninth-grade students were offered structured laboratory tasks adapted to the PISA format. These tasks aimed to develop students’ scientific reasoning, practical skills, and data interpretation abilities. The evaluation results showed that the functional literacy score of the experimental group was 30% higher than that of the control group (7.3 and 5.6 points). This difference was found to be statistically significant (p < 0.05), confirming the effectiveness of the structured tasks.

In the qualitative phase, interviews were conducted with 12 experienced physics teachers and 3 methodologists. Most experts identified the lack of ready-made tasks focused on functional literacy, limited instructional time, and insufficient methodological support as the main challenges. Teachers also emphasized that PISA-style contextual tasks increase students’ interest in the subject and help them connect physical knowledge with real-life situations.

The research results not only systematically describe the content differences between the national physics curriculum and the international assessment framework but also propose concrete methodological strategies to bridge these gaps. The authors justify the importance of organizing physics experiments in a problem-based format, widely introducing structured laboratory tasks, and enhancing teachers’ professional competence to effectively foster functional literacy.