The Potential of Textbooks for the Development of Transversal Skills (in the Imagination of Apprenticeship)

Abstract

The article highlights the results of studying the ideas of 8th and 9th-grade students about the possibility of acquiring cross-cutting skills with the help of a textbook in a generalized sense. To achieve the goal of the research, a survey method was used using a questionnaire developed by the author, which contained 23 items (descriptors of transversal skills), which were evaluated by the degree of agreement with the proposed statement on a Likert ordinal scale. The results of the survey were analyzed by different samples (separated by age and gender) using statistical methods, which, in particular, made it possible to determine the presence of gender differences in the studied phenomenon. According to the analysis of the individual and generalized rank matrices based on the relevant features, the skills, the development of which, according to the respondents, is facilitated by working with the textbook, have been determined. At the same time, it was found that the respondents negatively evaluated the possibility of mastering transversal skills related to the regulation of emotions, decision-making, interaction with others, as well as the ability to compare different opinions and views in the process of working with textbooks. Based on the results of the factor analysis, five-factor models of cross-cutting skills significant for the respondents, which, according to the students, should be formed with the help of the textbook, were built. They were separated into the following groups (classified): 1) communicative and emotional regulation in the conditions of interactions (to this group include comprehensive skills to logically substantiate a position, express one's own opinion, constructively manage emotions, show initiative); 2) media literacy (ability to read with understanding, think critically and systematically); 3) responsible interaction (ability to cooperate with others); 4) informed decision-making (ability to make decisions, choose ways to solve problems, assess risks) 5) evaluation (self-evaluation). The analysis of the answers of the respondents as active users of textbooks made it possible to determine the directions of solving the identified problems in the educational and activity field of forming cross-cutting skills with the use of textbooks.