Using repertory grids when preparing adolescents for research activities

The author raises the problem of conscious choice of research topics by the students. Despite the importance of educational research in the educational process, its organization in practice is often formal and superficial; therefore, its influence on the development of personal meanings of students is not great. One of the possible solutions to this problem is using the repertory grid technique when choosing a research topic. The aim of the work is to adapt the repertory grid technique of G. Kelly to help students choose a research topic, as well as develop self-knowledge and self-reflection skills. The methodological basis of the study was the works of the American psychologist G. Kelly on the theory of personal constructs, and the Role Construct Repertory Test, or Test of Personal Constructs developed on their basis. The paper describes an adapted algorithm of the repertory grid technique, including a preparatory stage, a stage of construct generation, a stage of grid construction, analysis and recommendations, and an example of a fragment of a possible grid. The analysis of the obtained data is carried out in three directions: quantitative (assessment of the complexity of the personality semantic organization and the structure of preferences), qualitative (identification of dominant meanings, contradictions and hierarchy of constructs), and thematic analysis (grouping of topics according to similar criteria). The author has analyzed separately strategies for work with difficulties arising during testing, including the polysemy of interpretation of many constructs, resistance to reflection, superficiality of answers and taboo nature of some research topics. The practical significance of the work lies in the fact that the proposed adaptation of the test of personal constructs can be used to organize academic and research activities of schoolchildren when choosing a research topic, as well as a tool for self-reflection of adolescents.