A RESOURCE-ORIENTED APPROACH TO DEVELOPING CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS IN FUTURE MILITARY PROFESSIONALS

Abstract

This article provides a theoretical justification for the specifics of a resource-oriented approach to developing critical thinking competencies among future military professionals within the vocational education system. The relevance of this study stems from the fact that modern military-professional activities unfold in conditions of high information density, time constraints, risk, uncertainty, and constant changes in the operational context. Under such circumstances, critical thinking cannot be viewed merely as a universal intellectual skill or a general component of education; it takes on the significance of a professional competency that ensures a future military specialist’s ability to analyze data, identify contradictions, verify the basis of judgments, recognize cognitive biases, align decisions with available resources, and responsibly justify their own position. The study clarifies the concept of critical thinking as an element of a military specialist’s intellectual culture, combining cognitive operations, reflective control, ethical responsibility, the discipline of evidence-based reasoning, and a willingness to revise judgments. The study highlights the significance of a resource-oriented approach as an educational framework, within which instructional resources, dialogic procedures, varied tasks, and problem-based and project-based activities are organized not merely for the accumulation of information, but to develop the ability to work with data critically, evidence-based, and in a professionally sound manner. It has been demonstrated that the effectiveness of this approach depends on methodically managed access to sources, organized educational dialogue, the gradual increase in the complexity of learning situations, the use of case studies and project-based tasks, as well as an assessment system focused on the quality of reasoning rather than on the reproductive correctness of the answer. It is concluded that the resource-oriented approach creates an environment conducive to the development of critical thinking competencies among future military specialists, provided that resources, tasks, discussions, and assessment are integrated into a coherent pedagogical system of professional development.