Forming of Information Competence as a Precondition of Academic Integrity: the Role of the Library of Higher Education Institution

Abstract

The article analyzes the interdependence between the formation of students’ information competence and the enhancement of the culture of academic integrity in the educational environment. It is important to form students’ information competence not only for education but also for professional formation, self-improvement and solving of life problems in the personal sphere has been actualized. The changeability and dynamism of the information technology world, the rigorous demands of the labor market and the expectations of employers dictate the need to master by future specialists with universal knowledge, skills, personal qualities, such as professional mobility, adaptability, ability to quickly acquire new knowledge, certain orientation in the web environment and information space, which implies complex formation of information competence. The consequences of underestimating the formation of students’ information culture at the national level (for education and scientific communication in particular, and for the successful formation of the information society in general) are emphasized. The need to introduce an information culture integrated with the basics of academic writing into educational process as a compulsory discipline is underlined. The factors of promoting the formation of a moral educational environment and the rooting in it of the basic values of academic integrity are analyzed. The necessity of shifting the emphasis from the fight against plagiarism in student works to developing measures to prevent this phenomenon and enhance the information and academic culture of students is substantiated. The role and opportunities of the higher education institution’s library in creating an information space in which adherence to standards of academic integrity is undeniable value are shown. The newest interactive forms of library work and ways of presenting educational content taking into account the features of “clip-thinking” of the modern generation, such as gamification, simulation and interactive games, web quests, video lectures and more are considered.