Functional literacy of a postgraduate student as a condition for substantiating the validity of a dissertation research in pedagogy

Statement of the problem. A retrospective analysis of research on improving the quality of dissertation research shows the enduring relevance of this problem and the interest of scientists in solving it. A number of state-level legal acts define the strategy for the development of science and education in the Russian Federation, which is focused on the global goal of achieving a leading position in the world through the intellectual development of human resources. Within the framework of this strategic goal, the article addresses the issue of improving the quality of scientific research in the field of pedagogical sciences conducted by postgraduate students during the preparation of their dissertations for defense. The purpose of the research presented in this article is to update the importance of a postgraduate student’s functional literacy in order to substantiate the reliability of pedagogical research, to reveal its essence, and to identify the requirements for enriching the content of postgraduate training aimed at developing this phenomenon. Methodology (materials and methods).The methodological basis of the study is a systems approach to uncovering the systemic unity of the components of postgraduate students’ functional literacy to substantiate the validity of the dissertation research results; an activity-based approach, which determines the need to use active methods in developing postgraduate students’ functional literacy; and a competency-based approach, which allows for the identification of functional literacy as a result of postgraduate students’ learning, manifested in their activities. The research methods include analysis of the educational environment for training highly qualified personnel, pedagogical observation, and surveys of students-researchers and postgraduate students’ scientific advisors. Research results consist in the identification of requirements for the functional literacy of a postgraduate student in terms of substantiating the reliability of pedagogical research results, that proves the scientific significance of the work. The results of the work can be used to develop and modify postgraduate training programs in order to improve the quality of such programs.