Abstract:

According to the PISA 2022 Implementation Report and the first results for Slovakia published in 2023, the results of Slovak pupils in the eighth cycle of the PISA international study indicate a decrease in the average performance of Slovak pupils in mathematical and reading literacy compared to the previous cycle of PISA 2018 (in science literacy, the performance of Slovak pupils is at the same level as in 2018). This trend of decreasing scores of students in these literacies is also observed at the Faculty of Security Engineering of the University of Žilina in the context of the students' ability to actively participate in the fulfilment of educational goals in the framework of higher education studies. In this respect, both mentioned literacies seem to be key within the field of security sciences. However, our paper primarily focuses on reflecting on the decline in reading literacy scores. First, we focus on an analysis of the current educational challenges and needs of first-year students in the security sciences. Based on this analysis, we conclude that one solution feasible through innovative educational strategies is the targeted enhancement of information literacy among first-year students. In this paper, we present both specific practices leading to the strengthening of this literacy in the student body and reflect on its importance in the complex curriculum of the security sciences.

Keywords:

Information literacy, reading literacy, security sciences, activating methods in education.