The article focuses on theoretical foundations of the formation of primary school students’ research skills in the educational process of the New Ukrainian School; it presents the peculiarities of psychological and pedagogical support for students’ research in primary education. Research skills are defined as the ability of a primary school student to observe, compare, analyse, research, synthesise the acquired knowledge with the formed readiness to perform new tasks productively. It is proved that the components of research skills include teaching methods and techniques based on cooperation, principles of continuous developmental interaction between teachers and students, formation of their research framework, behaviour, practical research skills, actualizing intellectual sphere, curiosity, insight and rational thought. The author proves that the realities of today require radical thinking, in the context of research alternatives, and updating certain aspects of the educational process in general secondary education, emphasizing the actualization of personally transformative meaning of research in primary school students. It requires, in its turn, cognitive cooperation, which will provide stimulating, generative learning, an accelerated transition to new, modified structures of knowledge and research behaviour. At the ascertaining stage of the pedagogical experiment the target orientations concerning the process and state of formation of primary school students’ research skills in the educational process of the New Ukrainian school are investigated. They are as follows: determination of their cognitive needs, desires for independent creative research activity; desire to work in a group of young researchers, experiment; knowledge of how to work with information on planning research; hypotheses; research presentations; diagnostics of difficulties in mastering theoretical knowledge, practical skills and competencies in research. The results of the analysis of the primary school students’ research skills formation in the educational process of the New Ukrainian School, the results of the ascertaining stage of the pedagogical experiment showed insufficient and even low level of the formation of the studied phenomenon.
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