Abstract
This study examines the development of technical competencies among future electrical power engineers through professionally oriented physics education. A quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test design with experimental and control groups was used. The study involved 60 undergraduate students enrolled in an Electrical Power Engineering programme at Almaty University of Power Engineering and Telecommunications named after G. Daukeyev, with 30 students in each group. The experimental group received physics instruction enriched with professionally oriented problems, laboratory activities, and engineering interpretation tasks, whereas the control group studied the same physics content through traditional instruction. The assessment included professionally oriented practical tasks, a questionnaire, and calculation- and graph-based assignments, with a maximum composite score of 100 points. The methodological framework combined systemic, competency-based, synergistic, and practice-based approaches. At baseline, the experimental and control groups demonstrated comparable results, with mean scores of 43.8 ± 8.6 and 44.2 ± 9.3, respectively; the difference was not statistically significant ( p = 0.852). After the intervention, the mean score increased to 75.7 ± 10.8 in the experimental group and to 52.5 ± 8.1 in the control group. The mean gain was 32.0 ± 15.0 percentage points in the experimental group and 8.3 ± 7.9 percentage points in the control group. The between-group difference in gain scores was statistically significant ( p < 0.001), with a large effect size (Cohen's d = 1.98). These findings provide evidence that professionally oriented physics education can contribute to the development of technical competencies among future electrical power engineers. The proposed approach may be applied in the design of physics courses, laboratory activities, and assessment materials aligned with the professional tasks of electrical power engineering.