The dissertation presents for the first time a holistic analysis of the problem of forming information literacy of future interior designers in higher education institutions of the PRC, in particular: theoretical understanding of key concepts, comparative review of educational programs of different types of educational institutions, description of practical approaches and technologies used to develop students’ competencies in the field of design.
The relevance of the study of the outlined problem is enhanced by the need to resolve the contradictions between: the growing requirements of the modern information and digital society for the training of highly qualified interior design specialists and the insufficient level of information literacy among future interior designers; the need to update the content, models, forms, and methods of professional training, taking into account digital transformation changes and the lack of systematic Ukrainian scientific developments in this area; the ideas and valuable experience accumulated by the Chinese higher education system in the formation of information literacy of future interior designers and the insufficient attention of the Ukrainian scientific and pedagogical community to their analysis, generalization and identification of promising opportunities for creative use in Ukrainian universities.
The scientific novelty of the research results is that for the first time, the theoretical principles of forming information literacy of future interior designers in higher education institutions of the PRC have been substantiated. The stages of the formation and development of ideas for training future interior designers in universities in the PRC are identified and analyzed: Stage I – «initial» (late 19th – early 20th centuries until 1910); Stage II – «architectural design» (1910s – early 1930s); Stage III – «stagnation» early 1930s - 1949); Stage IV – «demand» (1949 – 1960s); Stage V – «decline» (1960 – late 1970s); Stage VI – «revival» (late 1970s – 1990s); Stage VII – «rapid development» (1990s – 2000s); Stage VIII – «information and digital technologies» (2000 – present).
In the dissertation, based on the analysis and generalization of reference and scientific and pedagogical sources of Ukraine and the PRC regarding the interpretation of key definitions of the study («information», «literacy», «infomedia literacy», «information competence», «information culture», «information literacy», «interior designers»), the author’s definition of the concept under study is substantiated and proposed: information literacy of future interior designers is an integral characteristic of professional competence, which involves the ability to identify one’s own information needs, search and analytically process data from various sources, critically assess their quality, reliability and relevance; and also encompasses the ability to effectively and ethically apply modern information and digital technologies, including artificial intelligence and virtual reality technologies, in order to generate creative ideas, make original design decisions and solve professional problems in the field of interior design.
It was found that the requirements for knowledge, skills and competencies of future interior designers in higher education institutions of the PRC are defined in the «National Quality Standard for Teaching Bachelor’s Degrees in Ordinary Colleges and Universities» (clause 4, revised in 2018) and the «National Professional Standard for Interior Designers» (revised in 2023). At the same time, it was clarified that each educational institution has the right to establish additional requirements for applicants in the relevant specialties in training programs. The potential of digital technologies and artificial intelligence technologies as effective means of forming information literacy of future interior designers in higher education institutions of China is determined and characterized.
