EUROPEAN EDUCATIONAL AREA AS AN INTEGRATION PERSPECTIVE FOR UKRAINIAN EDUCATION

Abstract

The paper analyses the EU’s initiative to build more sustainable and inclusive education and training systems in the Member States within the European Education Area format. The author states the relevance of the study in the context of Ukraine’s obtaining the status of a candidate for EU membership in 2022 and the beginning of harmonization of the national legal system with the “acquis communautaire”, including the science and education sector. Research on the European Education Area is intended to support the implementation of Ukraine’s strategic goals of European integration of the national education. To achieve the aim, the document analysis method was applied, i. e. the EU documents regulating the legal framework and determining the directions of the European Education Area development aa well as the legislative and strategic documents of Ukraine regulating the process of the European integration of the national education. The analysis of monographic studies made it possible to comprehend the nature of the academic discourse on the issue. The evolution of the European Education Area from a list of principles for removing obstacles to mobility to a holistic concept covering policy goals for European cooperation in education and training with a specific time frame, a system for managing this cooperation and a system for monitoring the achievement of goals and indicators, which is a compass for further policy reforms, is characterized. The importance of the synergy of the European Education Area is stated. It is realized through vertical and horizontal interactions (both between the EU and its Member States in the format of cooperation in the education and training sector and national educational ecosystems towards achieving common goals outlined in the Strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training towards the European Education Area and beyond (2021–2030)); with other areas (the European Research Area and the European Higher Education Area), frameworks (European Reference Framework of Key Competences for Lifelong Learning; the European Qualifications Framework), initiatives (the European Skills
Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience; the Digital Education Action Plan 2021–2027 – Resetting education and training for the digital age) ensures the effectiveness of its implementation. Innovative practices of harmonizing the Member States national education systems with the priorities of the European Education Area require further research. It is concluded that today the European Education Area embodies the education of the future, it is designed to work both at the pan-European and individual levels, education stages, within life wide and lifelong learning. The prospect of Ukraine’s membership in the EU obliges us to intensify the synchronization of national education development priorities with those of the EU.