Formation of technological literacy in primary school students based on the STEAM approach to technological education.

The subject of the research is the process of forming technological literacy in younger schoolchildren based on the STEAM approach to technological education. The object of the research is technological education for younger schoolchildren. Particular attention is paid to justifying the need for targeted formation of technological literacy in younger schoolchildren as a component of functional literacy, defining its structural and content characteristics, and revealing the pedagogical potential of the STEAM approach, which unites science (S), technology (T), engineering (E), art (A), and mathematics (M) into a unified system for technological education as a mechanism for forming technological literacy in younger schoolchildren. The goal of the research is to develop a structural and content model for forming technological literacy in younger schoolchildren based on the STEAM approach to technological education. The leading idea of the model is the STEAM approach to technological education, which includes a simplified engineering design process. Research methods: analytical review of scientific sources and current domestic regulatory documents in the field of forming functional literacy in younger schoolchildren, analysis and generalization of data, pedagogical modeling. The main conclusions of the research: a structural and content model for forming technological literacy in younger schoolchildren based on the STEAM approach to technological education has been developed, which includes the component of "technological literacy" in the structure of functional literacy for younger schoolchildren; it is content-wise presented by the author's additional general development program for forming technological literacy in younger schoolchildren based on the STEAM approach. The scientific novelty lies in the following: for the first time, it is proposed to include the technological component in the structure of functional literacy for younger schoolchildren, defining its structural and content characteristics; taking into account foreign experience in technological education for younger schoolchildren, an additional general development program for technological education has been developed and presented. An innovative aspect of the program is the formation of technological literacy in younger schoolchildren based on the STEAM approach to technological education through the integration of knowledge from other subject areas: mathematics, environmental science, visual arts; as well as at the preparatory level from physics, chemistry, biology, etc., implementing a simplified engineering design process in technological education for younger schoolchildren, project and research activities, and the creation of prototypes of the gaming environment.

functional literacy, technological literacy, technology, technological education, elementary school students, STEM approach, structural-content model, author’s program, simplified engineering design, research