Information culture in education : scientific landscape of foreign studies

Objektive: The aim is to study the scientific landscape of foreign dissertation researches, the subjects of which are related to information culture in education; to identify the specificity of definitions and interpretations of the concepts of «Information Culture», «Information Literacy» in the pedagogical context; to study the key concepts and theories that foreign colleagues rely on in their research; to identify gaps in foreign studies from the position of developing a scientific and methodological system for the development of information culture of a teacher of vocational education. Materials and methods. In order to actualize the topic of our research, this article presents the results of the analysis of the full texts of foreign doctoral dissertations for the period from 1990 to 2024 (the search was carried out using the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database), conducted using some elements of the PRISMA methodology, designed to prepare a systematic review. Dissertations were analyzed based on the criteria we developed. Content analysis of sources and comparative method were also used. Results. The study established the dynamics of the growth of research interest in the problem: after sporadic works in the 1990s and early 2000s, there is a significant increase in the number of defended dissertations since 2015. The dominance of the term «Information Literacy» in the foreign academic discourse on this topic has been revealed. Its content is revealed mainly through the standards of the American Library Association (ALA) and the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), in particular ACRL Standards (2000) and, in recent years, ACRL Framework (2016), emphasizing conceptual thresholds and metacognitive aspects. The concept of «Information Culture» as a separate, clearly defined construct is much less common in the analyzed works. The range of theoretical and methodological foundations of foreign studies is systematized. It is found that the authors rely on constructivist and sociocultural learning theories (J. Bruner, L.S. Vygotsky), the concepts of critical information literacy (J. Elmborg), lifelong learning, B. Bloom's taxonomy, self-efficacy theory (A. Bandura), the concepts of social and professional capital, the theory of communities of practice (E. Wenger), as well as specific models, such as «Seven Facets of Information Literacy» (Ch. Bruce). It is stated that the main attention in foreign dissertations is paid to the formation of information literacy in students (different levels of education) and the role of librarians in this process. The issues of developing complex scientific and methodological systems of information culture development (as a phenomenon that includes not only knowledge and skills, but also values, motivation, behavioral norms in the information environment) for teachers of professional education remain an insufficiently researched area in the foreign dissertation landscape of the period under consideration. Conclusion. The purpose of the research has been achieved. The gaps in foreign dissertation research from the position of developing a scientific and methodological system of developing information culture of a teacher of vocational education have been revealed. Despite the considerable attention to the Information Culture / Literacy of students and other categories of students, complex models and systems aimed at the formation and development of information culture (including its axiological, motivational, and reflexive components) in teachers of vocational education are insufficiently presented.