Modelling a complex social phenomenon as a method of psychological research of education reform processes

The article is devoted to clarifying the specifics of using the modelling method in the study of psychological aspects of complex social phenomena, one of which is the educational reform of general secondary education. The urgency of preparing the article is caused by the revision of the role positions of parents of students and schools in the context of the educational reform «New Ukrainian School» and the request for prediction of success in developing a partnership position in their interaction. It is proved that in the study of complex social phenomena, the transdisciplinary approach and the modelling method can be used as logically combined. Based on the analysis of interdisciplinary links in modelling, the possibility of transferring knowledge to the psychological plane of scientific research is proved. This is confirmed by the consistency of the terminology and classification approach to modelling methods, the appropriate sequence of changes in its stages. The author proposes a four-stage approach to the classification of models «4+», where the first one fixes the belonging to one of the two leading classes of models, the second one divides the classes into 6 forms of implementation, the third one indicates the method of creation or type of information encoding, the fourth one fixes the dynamics of systemic changes, and the two additional ones – the field of use and the type of tasks to be solved. Such an approach reduces the existing excessive typological branching of existing models and structures the process of creating new ones. It is argued that the transdisciplinary approach and the use of modelling will create a common field of scientific interpretation of complex social phenomena and thereby reduce the risks of redundancy of research variables, which is especially important in the field of psychological knowledge. It is considered expedient to create submodels of the phenomenon under study. At the same time, a holistic vision of the research object will be preserved through a systematic approach