FORMATION OF DIGITAL AND MEDIA COMPETENCES IN VOCATIONAL AND HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS WITHIN A STEAM-ORIENTED EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

The article presents a theoretical and empirical analysis of the problem of developing digital and media competences among students of vocational and higher education within a STEAM-oriented educational environment. The relevance of the study is determined by the processes of digital transformation in education, the growing role of the media environment, and the need to train professionals capable of critical, responsible, and productive use of digital and media tools in their professional activities. The paper analyzes contemporary scholarly approaches to defining the concepts of digital competence and media competence and substantiates their integrated nature within the competence-based paradigm of education. A STEAM-oriented educational environment is considered as a holistic system of organizational, didactic, and technological conditions that ensures interdisciplinary integration of learning content, activation of project-based and research activities, and purposeful use of digital and media technologies. The results of a survey conducted among vocational and higher education students are presented, demonstrating a positive impact of the STEAM-oriented educational environment on the development of digital and media competences, critical thinking, interdisciplinary skills, and information literacy. At the same time, the findings indicate the need for further enhancement of the practical component of the educational process. The study substantiates pedagogical conditions for the formation of digital and media competences, including meaningful integration of digital and media education components into the curriculum, intensification of project-based and research activities, development of a critical attitude toward information and media content, pedagogical facilitation, and orientation of learning tasks toward professionally significant outcomes. It is argued that the implementation of these conditions ensures a transition from fragmented acquisition of digital skills to the holistic and conscious development of competences that are relevant to the demands of contemporary digital society.