Art literacy of masters students and masters in folk artistic culture

Introduction. The relevance of studying the phenomenon of artistic literacy is determined by the fact that the ability to understand art is a necessary skill of a modern person. Artistic literacy at work refers to the ability to study art, as well as apply this knowledge when creating your own works of art. The purpose of this article: to study the characteristics of artistic literacy of undergraduates and masters of folk art culture. Materials and methods. This study of artistic literacy was carried out through a diagnostic method. The sample members were masters and undergraduates in the field of study 51.04.02 “Folk artistic culture” in the direction “Musical heritage of the Russian people”, studying or completing their studies at I.A. Bunin Yelets State University. The sample consisted of 43 respondents (N=43). At the time of the study, 19 subjects were studying in the 1st and 2nd years of a master’s degree; 24 subjects completed their studies in this master’s program in 2021-2023. The “Artistic Literacy Scale” by I. Yucetoker was identified as a diagnostic technique, which includes 26 statements. Each statement is asked to be rated on a 5-point scale. The artistic literacy scale consists of 4 factors: “Information need”, “Research activity”, “Use of knowledge of the artistic field in scientific activity”, “Transfer of the results of scientific research into the artistic field into performance and creativity”. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS software. To process the results of the diagnostic technique, a t-test for independent samples was used. Also, to identify certain aspects of the conditions for the formation of artistic literacy, interviews were conducted with some of the study participants. Results. The level of artistic literacy among all members of the sample is quite high. There were no statistically significant differences among the groups of respondents distributed by gender (t (43) = 1.42; p > 0.05), while statistically significant differences were observed between the groups of undergraduates and masters (t (43) = 3.02; p > 0.05). Master's students demonstrate better results, which is determined by their professional experience. The main problem areas for master's students are related to the use of knowledge of the artistic sphere in scientific activities and the transfer of the results of scientific research into the artistic sphere into performance and creativity. Apparently, the process of developing functional literacy at a professional level is associated not only with receiving vocational education, but also with the first experience of professional activity. The high level of artistic literacy of master's students is due to the presence of such circumstances as passion for a certain creative and/or performing practice, extensive experience of solo or group participation in various musical or cultural projects. Scientific novelty. For the first time, based on a sample of Russian students, the results of assessing artistic literacy are shown. Practical significance. The results of the study can be used to optimize the process of organizing research work of undergraduates, as well as industrial internships.