European Education Area Research Articles

Rethinking EU‐level goals: different strategies to improve national performance toward the European Education Area objectives

Rethinking EU‐level goals: different strategies to improve national performance toward the European Education Area objectives

A European experiment in governing teacher education and training: the case of the Erasmus+ Teacher academies

ABSTRACT This exploratory paper contributes to the literature on European Union (EU) soft governance by discussing the recent EU policy initiative “Erasmus+ Teacher Academies” as a case of experimentalist governance. Asking what makes this initiative a case of experimentalist governance, the paper demonstrates how it constitutes an experiment in terms of governance as well as the development of teaching and learning. In particular, we identify and discuss the properties of the initiative regarding the four key tenets of experimentalist governance: i) setting of common framework goals related to the European Education Area; ii) delegation of responsibility to networks, comprising initial teacher education and professional development providers, schools, government units, and other types of organisations, in finding ways to meet framework goals; iii) regular reporting and peer review, orchestrated by the European Commission; and iv) periodical re-evaluation of framework goals, measures and methods by a widening array of stakeholders. Considering the conditions for governing teacher education and training in the EU context, we discuss the perspectives for policy learning generated by the Academies, the “shadow of hierarchy” potentially giving direction to the initiative, and the ambition to include the teaching profession in EU policy-making.

Espace européen de l’éducation : renforcer la recherche en pédagogie universitaire pour aller à la quête d’environnements informatiques et de pratiques éducatives novatrices

In the digital age, technological developments have emerged, which have prompted researchers and education practitioners to readapt to the new digital context. Research in university pedagogy has been extensive, with the aim of inserting this new digital culture into recent reforms. Computer systems accompanied by technological devices have been put into effect in order to demonstrate pedagogical innovation through the use of pioneering educational practices. According to the strategic framework of the European Education Area, the Member States of the European Union must set new objectives based not only on the strengthening of the means of strategic cooperation and synergies, in particular the European Research Area and the Bologna Process, but also on the setting of objectives and indicators of progress towards the achievement of the European Education Area. While taking into account the renewal of the university context in terms of education and training in the European area, it would be interesting to focus on the essential contribution of the Francophone University Agency (AUF) in the renewal of university pedagogy and training. Then digital pedagogical innovation (DPI) is carried out through networks and online computer systems. Finally, given the internationalization and digitalization of education, innovative pedagogical practices have emerged in the higher cycle. The implementation of learning management systems, whether in a blended learning model environment or in an open and distance learning environment, plays an essential role at the personal level in the development of learning strategies, but also at the collective level in the cultivation of professional competences.

The model of integration of higher education of Ukraine into the European Educational Area

The model of integration of higher education of Ukraine into the European Educational Area

Towards an invisible marginalisation of disadvantaged adult learners? Analysing the resource mobilisation strategies of the EU member states for achieving the European Education Area, 2025

The EU policies about what to achieve and how to achieve through the education and training of adults have developed like norms for the EU member states which they find difficult to flout. With the declaration to achieve the European Education Area (EEA) by 2025 and its targets by 2025 and 2030, the EU has laid down a framework for developing the future education systems in the member states. The paper argues that in its present form, the unintended consequences of the EU EEA policy are not only enhancing the Matthew Effect but will also make the disadvantaged learners invisible in the long run. Therefore, by encouraging the member states to adopt a narrow approach of target achievement irrespective of the needs of the marginalised adult learners, and not including the concerns of these adult learners in its own policy, the EU appears to do the opposite of what it claims to promote through the EEA.

THE ROLE OF EUROPEAN INTEGRATION IN INNOVATION MANAGEMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION

This article delves into the strategic imperative for Ukrainian higher education institutions (HEIs) to align with the European Education Area (EEA), a process underscored by the Ukrainian Strategy for the Development of Higher Education for 2022-2032. The integration into the EEA promises manifold advantages for Ukrainian education, economy, and society, including adherence to European standards, accreditation recognition, and expanded opportunities for students and educators. This paper conducts a comprehensive analysis of recent research and publications, highlighting the need for innovation in higher education to enhance the competitiveness of Ukrainian science in the European context. The article stresses the role of HEIs in forming an innovative infrastructure that interlinks their internal structure and external relations, thereby enhancing educational outcomes. The article identifies key unresolved issues, including the systematic and purposeful process of educational innovation required for effective integration into the EEA. The paper sets objectives focused on creating conditions for seamless integration into European educational standards and approaches. It also presents a detailed analysis of the European experience in innovation, highlighting various programs and areas that aid in the integration of European higher education. Furthermore, the article discusses the negative factors impacting innovation management in Ukrainian universities due to European integration, ranging from funding discrepancies to the impact of war. Conversely, it also outlines the strengths of Ukrainian universities, such as their resilient adaptability and strong STEM foundations, which can be leveraged in the context of European integration. In conclusion, the paper argues that the integration of Ukrainian higher education into the EEA is a strategic step that requires a comprehensive and systematic approach. It calls for future research to analyze the synergies and discrepancies between European and Ukrainian educational standards and to examine international risk management practices in educational governance.

VALUE ORIENTATIONS AS A BASIC CONSTRUCT FOR THE FORMATION OF PROFESSIONAL WORLDVIEW OF THE FUTURE MUSIC TEACHER

The article reveals that the current stage of social development requires a radical renewal of the content of higher art education, in which axiological priorities should become decisive in the professional training of future music teachers. It has been found that this problem is especially exacerbated by the integration aspirations of our country to join the Common European Educational Area, in which the individual is formed as a subject of culture, his or her spiritual and value sphere develops, etc. This requires a transition from a knowledge-centered to a culture-centered model of higher education, where a person is formed as a subject of culture, develops its spiritual and valuable sphere, etc.Therefore, the problem of spiritual and value formation of a personality through music is actualized in the content of post-nonclassical higher art education, creating prerequisites for the formation of such a phenomenon as a holistic professional worldview in future music teachers. The analysis of the structural components (cognitive-educative, emotional-valuable, activity-practical and professional-reflective) of this phenomenon has shown that the basic construct of professional worldview is the system of value orientations of the individual.In order to study the dynamics in the formation of value orientations of students of music specialties, the second stage of a special experimental study was conducted at the Anatolii Avdiievskyi Faculty of Arts of Dragomanov Ukrainian State University. In the course of the empirical study, using the methods of observation, questionnaires, interviews, testing, diachronic analysis, ranking, etc., it was confirmed that studentsʼ orientations towards professional values were the most stable, reflecting the main focus of their motives, interests and needs for future professional activities.
 Keywords: values; value orientations; professional worldview; axiological priorities; theoretical construct; music teacher; post-nonclassical; higher art education.

The role of the European educational area in ensuring the quality of higher education

The European educational space combines national features with the main task of ensuring the quality of higher education – modernization of methods for evaluating the training of an education seeker, and monitoring his achievements, where the main evaluator is the customer and the labor market. The role of the European educational space in ensuring the quality of higher education is clarified. The priority value of higher education is shown. Let's highlight the means that ensure the implementation of such a strategy. The main basis for ensuring the quality of higher education is academic integrity, compliance with the rules of the educational process, creating an atmosphere that is favorable for the education of all categories of students of the educational process, and providing equal opportunities for all students to obtain a quality education. The definition of academic integrity is given. The most typical models of professional training to ensure the quality of higher education in the countries of the European Union are shown. The factors that ensure the quality of higher education in the countries of the European Union and increase the chances of employment of specialists are singled out. The functions of the European Higher Education Area are listed.

SHARE OF THE POPULATION WITH HIGHER EDUCATION IN BACAU - RANK OF THE COUNTY IN ROMANIA

The present paper starts from the analysis of the degree of education in higher education in Romania in recent years and the highlighting of the gaps between the Member States of the European Union, with an emphasis on the existing imbalances between the different areas of the country. Thus, if the European Commission defined as desirable a "European Education Area" in which by 2030 at least 45% of young people aged between 25 and 34 will have graduated from a university education program, in Romania the latest data indicate a level below 23% and slightly decreasing in recent years, compared to the European average of 41.2%. The last population census from the end of 2021 indicates for the North-East Region a proportion of only 14.6% of the population aged 20 and over who have completed higher education in the total population of this age group, being the last region in the country, but also from the EU. The dynamics between the last two censuses confirm the lowest increase in this indicator for the poorest region, with +21.4% compared to the Romanian average of +25%. Within the region, Bacău county, with an average of 13.2% at the last census, has the lowest dynamics not only in the region but also in the country, with an increase of only 11.1% of this proportion.

Globalization of the education space in EU countries and Great Britain through radical information reform

The article reveals the main principles of globalization of the educational space in the EU countries and Great Britain through radical information reformation. The action plan, which includes the six dimensions disclosed in the article, is of great importance from 2020 to 2025 for the formation of the European Education Area (European Education Area), in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic and for the development of innovativeness. Measures developed by the European Commission to achieve the specified dimensions are proposed (increasing and monitoring the quality of education; paying attention to gender sensitivity and inclusiveness in education; modernizing digital transformations in education, increasing the competence and motivation of specialists involved in the educational field). The importance and necessity for the education of distance learning programs based on educational models that are known all over the world (in the example of Great Britain) is shown. In the field of information, constant changes and improvements are taking place, leading to the emergence of a qualitatively new type of social system. The information society is the main and necessary in the educational space, therefore the article shows the basic prerequisites of technological, spatial, economic, cultural, and political approaches to the improvement of the information society.

Analysis of European Financial Interventions to Strengthen Education in Romania

The European Union's education policy supports actions in the field of education through specific funding mechanisms at the Member State level with the aim of contributing to addressing common challenges and building the 'European Education Area'. The study aims to analyse the funding programmes in the field of education, for preschool and compulsory education, implemented in Romania in the period 2014-2022, from the Structural and Investment Funds of the European Union. For this purpose, through secondary data, an analysis of the main funding programmes was carried out. The results of this study outline an overview of the main components of the funding programmes in the field of education.

Power to the Faculty Approach in the Bologna Process: How does the European Approach to accreditation of joint programs enhance innovation capacity?

The article analyses how the application of the new system for the accreditation of joint master’s programmes helps to improve the quality of training in accordance with requirements in the context of Europeanisation and globalisation of the educational space. The processes of democratization taking place in the European space, the active formation of public institutions, the strategy of integrating the countries of the Western Balkans and the Eastern Partnership into the European community, including the European educational space, put forward new requirements for higher education, in which the need to ensure a high quality of education is clearly visible, meeting European standards.In the context of the formation of a knowledge society, higher education in the field of political science is becoming a priority in the development of the countries of the Eastern Partnership and the European Community. The development tasks of this sphere are ambiguous, manifesting themselves in complex and contradictory relations with society. Experiencing the influence of modern trends in social development, the sphere of higher education in the field of political science becomes at the same time their active participant, driving force and catalyst.In an environment of growing globalisation, which is manifested in the intensification of competition on a global scale, there is a strengthening of the positions of the EU member states. The decisive factor in overcoming the secondary position of Europe in the market of educational services is the unification of the efforts of all European countries aimed at achieving the competitiveness of higher education. The embodiment of this idea is the Bologna Process, which aims to create a common European education area.

Beyond Bologna? Infrastructuring quality in European higher education

Applying qualitative methods, this paper examines the burgeoning of quality assurance databases, processes and networks of actors in the field of higher education in Europe. Our main argument is that there has been a move from the Bologna Process being the near singular focus for European-level coordination and harmonisation of higher education, towards the making of a much more diverse and complex quality assurance and evaluation infrastructure. This infrastructure involves a range of distinct but interdependent actors and processes and contains explicit and implicit interlinkages with the production of wider policy agendas, such as the rise of the European Education Area. The aim of this paper is to analyse the growth and complexity of Quality Assurance (QA) in higher education (HE) in Europe, as a way of understanding the multifaceted and continuously developing process of Europeanisation.

TENDENCIES OF HIGHER EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT: EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE

This paper represents an attempt to conduct research of modern tendencies, strategies and directions of education development within the perspective of the European Union. The main aim of the research is to learn more about the policy of the European Union concerning the general development of education, forming of favorable educational environment and protecting the rights of its citizens for education and professional development. The study relies on the theoretical methods of scientific research. The main source of the analysis, generalization and description is represented by various documents, recommendations, programmes, and guidelines issued by the European Commission, the European Pillar of Social Rights, the European Educational Area, the European Research Area, the European Skills Agenda, Europe 2020. 
 In the course of the study, the works of foreign researchers have been analyzed, which helped to view the topic of interest from different perspectives. The results of the study highlight the fact that the sphere of education has undergone its major changes due to the circumstances caused by the pandemic. In Ukraine, the great number of obstacles in education has appeared due to war, which made qualitative education impossible for many Ukrainians. Because of this, it is certainly important to study foreign experience in order to develop new working schemes and models for the sake of keeping education abreast of time and being in line with students’ and teachers’ needs. In the result of the conducted research, it is found that the European Commission has managed to develop a programme to support the future of its education. The main tendencies, strategies and priorities of the European Union concerning the further development of education are represented and described. 
 Key competences and basic skills for people’s personal and professional development throughout life developed by the European Commission and EU Member States are analyzed.

Докторантското обучение в България в светлината на Болонския процес и Европейското образователно пространство

Abstract: Doctoral training is a key prerequisite for building the European Education Area. The article aims to provide an overview and an analysis of doctoral training in Bulgaria in the context of the Bologna Process and the European Education Area. The mains tasks are to outline the perspectives and challenges facing doctoral education, while at the same time attempting to derive recommendations for optimizing the educational and research process within doctoral education in Bulgaria. To achieve these aims, desk research and secondary data analysis were used, as well as content analysis of administrative and legal documents. The working hypothesis is that although the national-level regulatory framework is largely in line with European standards and guidelines, there are gaps in the implementation of the Bologna Process tools. Key words: doctoral training; Bologna Process; European Education Area; europeanization of education; European university alliances.

Думи на водещите броя

Думи на водещите броя

Resisting Europeanisation: Poland’s education policy and its impact on the European Education Area

Since the 2004 accession to the European Union (EU), Poland, like many other post-communist countries, have gone through a significant process of convergence to the EU institutions, laws and processes. In this process, the European values, policies and institutions have become an important reference point for the legitimacy of major national system reforms. In education, there have been a significant number of reforms aligned with ‘European standards’ as integration with the EU was seen as a priority for Poland’s national interest. This paper is interested in the changing policy discourses that have been defining and legitimising Poland’s education policy objectives, with a particular attention given to the idea of ‘quality education’ and the role of education. In this way, it is also interested in the processes of Europeanisation and de-Europeanisation – turning away from ‘EU-isation’ of policies. The emerging picture from the analysis illustrates the tensions between the neoliberal and populist policy discourses pursued by a variety of Polish governments, including significant policy shifts under the government of the Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS) (Law and Justice) coalition.

QUALITY OF HIGHER EDUCATION: RESEARCH CONCEPTS AND SCIENTIFIC APPROACHES

This article is dedicated to defining the concept of the quality of education, particularly higher education, within the context of various research concepts. It emphasizes that the quality of higher education is a complex, multidimensional, and multi-level phenomenon with a comprehensive and systemic nature. The article explores three main research concepts: socially and historically determined quality of education, subjective perception as a value depending on stakeholders' understanding, and education quality as a systemic object of managerial influence. It highlights that the quality of higher education is ensured by several key parameters: the quality of the teaching staff, the quality of teaching (implementation of cutting-edge technologies by academic staff in the professional training process), the state of material and technical infrastructure, laboratory equipment of higher education institutions, and financial support. The article analyzes regulatory and strategic declarative documents of the European Union and the European Higher Education Area, as well as strategic and legal acts of Ukraine. It establishes that the issue of education quality is evolving and improving within the framework of adopting and implementing a series of documents in the European Educational Area. It underscores that education quality is a national priority and a prerequisite for the national security of the state, complying with international norms and the requirements of Ukrainian legislation regarding citizens' right to education. The article emphasizes that contemporary civilization and national challenges of the 21st century necessitate the search for new methodological approaches to enhancing the quality of higher education, including its digitization.

The European path of KPI: integration into the family of European universities

Abstract. The article addresses the international affairs of the National Technical University of Ukraine ‘Ihor Sikorskyi Kyiv Polytechnic Institute’ (KPI) amidst martial law. The scope and forms of the KPI’s international engagement changed when Ukraine was granted the candidate status for the European Union membership, and the international community recognised that our country is in the vanguard of the struggle for the values of civilisation. The author of the article emphasises the respect for Ukraine demonstrated not only at high-level meetings, where words of solidarity with Ukraine were spoken, but also in cooperation agreements with universities of Finland, Germany, Slovenia, the UK, the US, and the polytechnic universities of Bucharest, Poznań, and Warsaw. At a time of limited budgetary funding, foreign sources of financial support become virtually the only means by which the University can develop its educational, scientific, and research facilities and stimulate its staff. And for the faculties, institutes, and academic departments, they ensure confidence in the ability to compete for applicants, the allocation of financial resources, the influence on the science and education policy within particular branches of knowledge, the content of educational programmes, and the capacity for preserving scientific and pedagogical schools. The KPI has experienced positive quantitative and qualitative changes in its project and grant activities as the Ukrainian academic environment began to gradually bridge the mental gap with Europe. Integration into the European education and research area does not only mean a potential increase in the number of education and science projects and financing, which all departments and all academic staff of KPI should experience. At the same time, it is also a civilizational change that affects all aspects of the University’s activities. Thus, joining the family of European universities is an important task for the international activities of NTUU KPI in the coming years. Keywords: Ihor Sikorskyi Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, Europe, integration, universities alliances, educational and research area, international affairs, civilizational change.

THE ROLE OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL ADMINISTRATIONS IN IMPLEMENTING THE EU STRATEGY FOR UNIVERSITIES

Just like in the Renaissance, today’s universities are the ones leading the paradigm shift, this time towards the green and digital transition. The Commission proposed in 2022 a “European Strategy for Universities” that contributes in the achievement of the European Education Area by 2025. The European Committee of the Regions appreciated the approach suggested, requesting though a wider local and regional dimension, considering that universities play an important role in the sustainable and resilient development.