READING COMPETENCE OF UKRAINIAN SCHOOLCHILDREN THROUGH THE PRISM OF MATERIALS PROVIDED BY INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH OF QUALITY OF EDUCATION PISA

Abstract

The article analyzes international research of quality of education provided by PISA, emphasizing the importance of such research, because according to foreign educational experts the list of language skills in XXI century includes, in particular, the ability to «read and critically analyze different materials, novels, poems, plays, essays and news», «to form and defend your position, opinion». The author draws attention to one aspect of the study – students' reading literacy, identifies key provisions that should be taken into account in practice of educational activities of Ukrainian language and literature teachers, as well as scientist-methodologists in the development of methods for growing a competent reader at Ukrainian language and literature lessons at school. The tasks offered to students in the research process are analyzed and characterized. The key skills that teachers need to pay attention to are identified and commented on. Critical comments and suggestions on terminological differences, peculiarities of methods and organization of educational process in Ukraine were made. In particular, attention was drawn to the different interpretations of the term «reading» in PISA studies and in Ukrainian linguistics; there is a need among international and domestic researchers in correlation of the terms «reading competence» and «reading literacy». In Ukraine, education is still subject matter (although subjects are combined into categories), according to the reporting materials, in foreign countries educational process does not have division into subjects. At the time of the monitoring the State standard of general and secondary education does not include reading competence in the list of key competences, so its formation is restricted to subjects of language and literature. The text of the new State Standard should include terms «reader skill», «reader incompetence», «skillful reader», «incompetent reader». Taking these and other differences into account will help improve our results in the future.