Information and analytical skills as complex phenomenon: theoretical framework and level-based approach

The digital transformation of education and the increasing volume of information flows necessitate a deep comprehension of information. This requires a shift in focus - from discussing students’ informational and analytical skills separately to substantiating the concept of “informational and analytical skills”. This concept cannot be reduced to a sum of informational and analytical skills as it represents a complex and integrative phenomenon. The research problem lies in the absence of a unified theoretical and methodological approach to defining and structuring information and analytical skills (IAS) as an independent pedagogical category, as well as in the insufficient development of their relationships with the requirements of modern educational standards. The study aims to substantiate the IAS as a separate group of skills, to identify their structural components, to propose levels of IAS formation, and to prove the correspondence of this category to the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard for Secondary General Education (FGOS SOO) regarding meta-subject learning outcomes. The study employs a theoretical and methodological analysis of the literature, a comparative analysis of the nature and characteristics of informational and analytical skills in relation to the Federal State Educational Standard for Secondary General Education to assess the validity of distinguishing this category of skills. The authors offer a definition of informational and analytical skills, which encompasses instrumental, cognitive, and reflexive components; identify five levels of skill development: basic, operational, methodological, critical-reflexive, and strategic. The study substantiates the alignment of informational and analytical skills with the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard for Secondary General Education, reinforcing the necessity of fostering these skills within the general education system. The findings confirm the hypothesis that informational and analytical skills should be recognized as an independent category.