FORMATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL SCIENCE COMPETENCIES OF STUDENTS OF NATURAL SCIENCE SPECIALTIES THROUGH THE USE OF PRIMEVAL FORESTS AS AN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE

Abstract

The paper substantiates the relevance of reorienting Ukrainian education toward a competency-based approach, in which the formation of key life competencies becomes the primary learning outcome. It is demonstrated that such a transformation is particularly significant for natural science education, as it involves the development of a holistic scientific understanding of the environment, the ability to act effectively in problem situations, and the formation of stable value-based attitudes toward nature. Within the regulatory and methodological framework, it is emphasized that contemporary educational reforms – particularly the focus on STEM approaches and the integration of content within educational fields – highlight the need to identify authentic educational environments capable of supporting experiential and inquiry-based learning. It is determined that the primeval forests of the Carpathian region, as minimally disturbed ecosystems with the status of UNESCO World Natural Heritage sites, possess exceptional didactic and axiological potential. The study demonstrates that incorporating primeval forests into the educational process ensures the comprehensive development of the structural components of natural science competence: cognitive (mastery of concepts such as biogeocenosis, landscape organization, and biogeochemical cycles), operational and activity-based (field measurements, geobotanical descriptions, cartographic work, and the use of GPS technologies), and value-motivational (the formation of environmental awareness, responsible nature management, and civic engagement in heritage conservation). Primeval forests are interpreted as a “living laboratory” and a “natural textbook,” where abstract concepts become tangible through direct observation of interactions between biotic and abiotic components, processes of wood decomposition, competition, and natural selection. The feasibility of implementing inquiry-based learning within primeval forest environments is substantiated. Problem formulation, hypothesis development, empirical data collection and analysis, interpretation, and collective discussion of results position learners as active subjects of knowledge construction while fostering critical thinking and communication skills. The potential of primeval forests as a natural STEM space for interdisciplinary integration of biology, geography, chemistry, physics, and mathematics is highlighted. The study concludes that integrating primeval forests into the educational process is an effective pathway for modernizing natural science education and fostering environmentally responsible behavior.