Developing Functional Literacy in Primary School Students Through Integrated Methods

Аннотация

This article highlights the importance of developing functional literacy in primary school students. It presents both theoretical foundations and practical recommendations on how to enhance students' knowledge and skills through integrated approaches. These approaches aim to improve the effectiveness of education, ensure interdisciplinary connections, and strengthen students' ability to independently solve real-life problems. Keywords: Functional literacy, integrated approach, primary education, interdisciplinary connection, practical skills. "an individual's capacity to independently solve Introduction: In the current era of globalization, there problems based on information, engage in is an increasing demand for human capital quality, communication within a social environment, and tackle particularly in terms of education quality and its everyday tasks autonomously" (OECD, 2019). This form practical effectiveness. From this perspective, the of literacy extends beyond theoretical knowledge, primary education system should not only build emphasizing the flexible application of that knowledge students' knowledge base but also teach them to make in practical contexts. informed decisions in daily life, express their thoughts coherently, and analyze information. This is directly Academic literature identifies the following core related to the concept of functional literacy. components of functional literacy: Functional literacy is not merely the ability to recognize 1. Textual literacy – the ability to understand, letters and read; it involves applying acquired interpret, and evaluate different types of texts. knowledge in real-life situations, working with 2. Numerical literacy – the ability to analyze numerical information, critical thinking, and problem-solving data and draw conclusions from it. skills. Utilizing integrated methods is of urgent 3. Information and digital literacy – the conscious use importance in developing such competencies. of technologies and information tools. Functional literacy refers to an individual's ability to 4. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills. effectively apply basic literacy skills such as reading, writing, and arithmetic in daily life activities, social 5. Socio-cultural and civic literacy. interactions, information processing, and analysis. This Thus, functional literacy is a comprehensive set of skills term was first widely introduced into scientific that contributes to the development of a well-rounded, discourse in the second half of the 20th century by active, independent, and socially adaptable individual. UNESCO and other international organizations. In scientific sources, functional literacy is described as International Journal of Pedagogics 13 https://theusajournals.com/index.php/ijp International Journal of Pedagogics (ISSN: 2771-2281) The concept of functional literacy lies at the heart of In the Decree of the President of the Republic of modern pedagogy and educational strategies. Uzbekistan dated January 28, 2022 No. UP-60 Educational theorists such as V.S. Lednev, Z.Kh. "Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan for 2022- Nazarova, and John Dewey evaluate the effectiveness 2026," the development of functional literacy, the of education not only by the assimilation of knowledge training of students according to PISA and other but also by its application in practice and relevance to international programs has been raised to the level of real-life situations. state policy. Development of functional literacy in primary Functional literacy is a set of practical skills that prepare education: a modern individual to apply knowledge to real-life situations. It is a strategic educational direction that • forms the basis of the principle of personality- should be continuously developed, starting from oriented education; primary education. From a scientific perspective, this • Accelerates the student's socialization process; literacy is not only an indicator of one's knowledge level • Strengthens the foundations of creative and critical but also a measure of personal development, problem- thinking; solving ability, and social engagement. • Creates the basis for future competitiveness in the In modern education, the integrated approach is being labor market; formed as one of the important methodological • Allows high results in international assessment principles of the pedagogical process. This approach systems (PISA, PIRLS). serves the formation of students' knowledge, skills, and competencies in a holistic, integral system. Integrated International experience shows that the formation of education is the process of providing knowledge based functional literacy from an early age requires a on the natural connection between various disciplines, comprehensive approach at the stages of preschool types of activities, or forms of teaching. and primary education. In developed countries, this literacy is defined as a central element of curricula. The main goal of the int