Sociopragmatic Competence in Medical Higher Education: Structure, Criteria, and Measurement Methods

Sociopragmatic competence—the ability to use language appropriately in accordance with social, institutional, and cultural context—represents a critical yet comparatively underexplored dimension of medical professional communication. In Uzbek-medium higher education, validated structural models and assessment frameworks for this construct appear to remain limited, particularly within the Central Asian context. This study aimed to develop a theoretically grounded structural model of sociopragmatic competence for medical higher education, articulate component-specific assessment criteria, and identify appropriate measurement methods through a systematic integrative literature review conducted across Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, PubMed Central, and Google Scholar, yielding 54 sources retained for thematic synthesis following PRISMA-ScR screening procedures and employing abductive reasoning evaluated against criteria of internal coherence, theoretical grounding, and practical applicability. The study proposes the five-component MedSPC Model, organized across two hierarchical planes. The foundational plane encompasses Sociopragmatic Knowledge and Discourse Organizational Competence, while the performative plane comprises Interactional Role Competence, Face Management Competence, and Pragmatic Adaptability. The model is accompanied by a component-specific four-level assessment rubric and a Multi-Method Assessment Battery (MMAB) consisting of four complementary instruments. All components are theoretically grounded and presented as a structured research agenda subject to empirical validation. The MedSPC Model is presented not as a set of validated claims but as an empirically generative framework that produces testable hypotheses about the structure, development, and assessment of medical sociopragmatic competence, with empirical validation constituting the essential and immediate next step in this research agenda.

Hali tarjima qilinmagan