Abstract
Abstract Quality education is one of the key priorities of the Sustainable Development Goals and plays a decisive role in promoting societal sustainability and enhancing human capital. In this context, the present study examined the potential of developing students’ creative competencies and fostering future engineers and researchers in general secondary schools through the teaching of chemistry, based on the project-based learning (PBL) approach. The study, conducted between 2020 and 2024, involved secondary school students who were offered research topics across various directions. The results demonstrated increased student engagement in scientific research, a higher level of applying theoretical knowledge acquired through the school curriculum in practice, and enhanced motivation for learning chemistry. Furthermore, students’ research projects achieved high results in the Republican Scientific Research Project Competitions for school students. These findings provide evidence that the implementation of the PBL approach promotes students’ interest in technical and natural sciences while fostering the development of their creative and research competencies. Accordingly, the systematic integration of PBL within supplementary education in Kazakhstan’s schools can contribute to providing quality education and preparing highly competent future professionals.