EDUCATIONAL SPACE OF A RURAL COMMUNITY UNDER THE CONDITIONS OF NATIONAL EDUCATION SYSTEM REFORM: URGENT CHALLENGES AND OPERATIONAL MEASURES

Abstract

The ongoing decentralization of governmental powers in Ukraine and the implementation of reforms in the national education system are shifting the focus of systemic management of educational service provision to the local self-government bodies of united territorial communities. This primarily entails the reorganization of both individual educational institutions and the entire educational network of the local community. The ultimate goal is to adapt the local educational space of the united community to the continuous changes in the national educational paradigm.

In this way, global challenges facing education in modern society inevitably require synchronized responses at the local community level—particularly in the context of managing regional educational networks and providing them with adequate resources and staffing. As a result, by expanding the powers of territorial communities in the field of education, the state effectively delegates the resolution of global educational issues to local authorities. This shift aims to improve the quality, accessibility, and efficiency of educational services provided to community residents, taking into account the specific characteristics of rural communities—such as low student enrollment, lack of resource support, shortage of creative teachers, significant geographical spread, and multiethnic composition of the population.

These outlined challenges necessitate operational solutions regarding: improving the quality of public educational services provided to rural community residents, and/or reorganizing inefficient educational networks within rural communities. Recognizing the current challenges in the process of modernizing the educational space of rural united territorial communities—and the urgent need to find operational solutions for adapting these communities' educational environments to changes in educational standards and regulations—it becomes essential to develop recommendations for optimizing the structural framework of rural educational networks and to design strategies for the development of individual educational institutions, particularly in terms of their material and technical support.