INDEPENDENT EVALUATION OF THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION: SOCIAL EXPERTISE IN FOREIGN AND RUSSIAN PRACTICE

Abstract

The aim of the study – the comparative characteristic of the Russian and foreign practice of public expertise of the quality of general education for the scientific substantiation of its specificity as a social phenomenon and a tool to assess the quality of education. Methods. The methods involve the reliance on the concept of public good, socially-relevant activities, revealing the social function and nature of education, and also the methodological principles of humanitarian expertise. Understanding and generalization of the contents publications on a subject (placed on the Internet and in periodicals) are designed on the basis of methods of a deconstruction, the problem and comparative analysis with search depth no more than 5 years. Results. The analysis revealed a general trend of growth of attention to evaluation of education by the society under the influence of external (for education) factors. In Russia, this is due to a request from the state, change of the legislative base of education and is accompanied by a higher level of regulation. Objects of social expertise of education in Russia and abroad, as a whole, coincide –these are the aspects of quality, availability, openness of general education. Russian practice shows the offset of the target orientation of assessment from performing the monitoring functions in relation to school to formulating of cohesive positions to solve the problems of education, which is common for the practice of social expertise of Western countries. The value of foreign practice involves the diversity of customers, demand for public evaluation as a tool by the parent community, public organizations, and research universities. Scientific novelty. The objectives, objects and subjects of an independent assessment of the quality of general education are clarified. Comprehensive theoretical basis for designing models of public expertise in the context, the development of scientific ideas and technologies in the field of humanitarian expertise are described. Practical significance. The results and conclusions of the study have contributed to the development of the practice of independent evaluation of the quality of general education in different countries, increasing the demand for expert assessments by the state, society, and consumers of educational services.