Anastasiya I. Ageeva

The relevance of the study is determined by the challenges of modern society, where a specialist's value is measured not only by subject knowledge but also by the ability for self-analysis, self-regulation, and responsible decision-making. These skills belong to the category of self-awareness skills. It is particularly important to develop self-awareness skills in high school students, as this period is crucial for the formation of professional identity and a personal value system. Research shows that the level of self-awareness among high school students remains low. Therefore, there is a need to find effective pedagogical technologies to solve this problem. The aim of the article is to identify and experimentally substantiate the effectiveness of an educational quest in English lessons as a means of developing self-awareness skills in 10th-grade students. The research methodology was based on a pedagogical experiment involving control (16 students) and experimental (17 students) groups. As part of the experiment, a specially designed English-language educational quest "The Incredible Theft," consisting of five story episodes, was implemented in the experimental group at Gymnasium No. 3 in Vladimir. Each episode contained tasks specifically aimed at stimulating self-analysis, self-control, and self-assessment. These tasks included creating a detective manifesto, conducting reflective discussions, analyzing internal barriers, planning and evaluating actions, and making moral choices. To assess the outcomes, pre- and post-testing using a self-awareness skills questionnaire and reflective essays were employed. A comparative analysis of the pre- and post-test results revealed a statistically significant positive trend in the experimental group. The share of students who did not demonstrate self-awareness skills decreased from 17.6% to 0%. The number of students with a high level of skill development increased fivefold, while those with an intermediate level nearly doubled. In the control group, the dynamics were insignificant and unstable. The theoretical and practical significance of the work lies in specifying the potential of quest technology for developing students' personal reflection. The practical value consists in presenting a thoroughly developed and tested model of an educational quest that teachers can adapt and use in English lessons to purposefully develop students' self-awareness skills.