REFORMS ON SCHOOL EDUCATION EXTENSION IN THE EU COUNTRIES: ON EXPERIENCE OF IMPLEMENTATION

Abstract

Attention is drawn to the relevance for Ukraine to study the experience of foreign countries, primarily, of the European ones under conditions of general secondary education cardinal reforms, in particular extension of school education duration up to 12 years outlined in the draft Law of Ukraine “On Education” (2016). The current prospect of introducing a 12-year school has caused debate among the Ukrainian society up to its rejection. At the same time, a 12-year (or longer duration) secondary school turned into an imperative within the EU’s borders, without questioning the European societies. Globalization of the late 20-th – early 21-st century forms a new, market-oriented dimension of the educational systems in Europe. Education begins to be considered from the point of view of knowledge society building and knowledge-based economy developing, which, accordingly, actualizes the question of the duration of education. The duration of school education is directly related to the economic and social development of the country. Brussels’s position on the strategic importance of education in the 21-st century forms a general tendency for further extension of the duration of schooling by Member States, both within compulsory and full secondary education. A conclusion is made both about the universal nature of the school education extension tendency and the variability of models that countries use with regard to the national specifics. Variability characterizes the approaches of countries to extend the duration of education, which occurred both at the expense of increasing the age of compulsory education, or / and by reducing the age of enrollment of children in primary school. The analysis carried out in the framework of the article did not reveal the rigid opposition of the scientific community of foreign countries against increasing the duration of education, although some studies refer to certain discussion points.