Development of a Collection of Materials for the Improvement of Students’ Reading Literacy (Section: Political Science)

Although there are studies and collections on diagnostics of reading literacy in the modern Russian educational space, the problem of its formation remains poorly studied. There is a need to analyze the processes of developing reading literacy and test relevant techniques. For this purpose, as part of extracurricular activities, we developed materials for the “Olympus” course (“Political Science” section), containing tasks aimed at improving the level of reading literacy. The potential of formative tasks is associated with the involvement of critical thinking processes. This connection is expressed in dialectical unity. Critical thinking allows people to achieve higher levels of reading literacy. These concepts are related as process and result. Without these mechanisms, it is impossible to develop such a quality of a modern personality as political competence. It is expressed in knowledge about the political institutions of the state, rights, freedoms and the ability to apply the acquired theoretical knowledge in social practice. The research problem arises from the exploration of mechanisms for developing reading literacy as a crucial element of political competence. Reading literacy serves as the resulting and measurable indicator of an individual's political competence, while critical thinking acts as a procedural indicator showing skill development. To establish this relationship, we conducted an empirical study based on quantitative analysis methods and experimental testing. Our developed course incorporated methods for fostering research activities, case studies, meaningful reading, and the creation of analytical maps. The obtained results demonstrated a consistent growth in the examined indicators, revealing a direct correlation between them. Key words: reading literacy, critical thinking, political competence, case study, meaningful reading, analytical maps.