INSTITUTIONAL AUDIT AS A TOOL FOR ENSURING THE QUALITY OF SCHOOL EDUCATION

Abstract

The given article regards the theoretical approaches to ensuring the quality of high education by means of institutional audit. Emphasis is placed on the need to provide quality educational services in a civilized society, in accordance with which the importance of institutional audit in Ukrainian legislation is determined. The audit is designed to ensure the quality of educational services in general secondary education, so its active implementation in the educational process is the key to effective development of the educational sphere. The quality of education is a basis for ensuring and improving the quality of human life, which is the key objective of the state. The article analyzes the scientific views on the notion of “quality of education” and addresses the legislative interpretation of the quality of education and tools for its provision. Having analyzed the scientific notion of “quality of education”, we consider the following definition to be the most appropriate: the quality of education is a multifaceted model of social standards and requirements related to a personality, which changes in the course of time; to the educational environment where the personality’s development and improvement takes place; and to the system of education that implements it at certain stages of the personality’s learning. On a legislative level, the system of education quality management includes the following components: − system of quality management in educational institutions (internal system of education quality management); − external system of education quality management; − system of quality management of the activity of managerial bodies and institutions in charge of external education quality management. Institutional audit as a tool for ensuring the quality of education is aimed at helping schools to become more efficient and to further develop and sustain an education quality culture that is based on transparency, innovation and partnership of all the participants of the educational process.