EDUCATIONAL SPACE DEMOCRATIZATION: THE EXPERIENCE OF THE UNIVERSITIES OF UKRAINE ; ДЕМОКРАТИЗАЦІЯ ОСВІТНЬОГО ПРОСТОРУ: ДОСВІД УНІВЕРСИТЕТІВ УКРАЇНИ

Abstract

This article shows the relevance of the problem of democratization of education which is aimed at democratic culture developing as a basis for the development of civil society through the implementation of democratic principles in all aspects of life and promoting self-government. Education as the main source of information should provide understanding and awareness of democratic processes in all spheres of public life. Democratization of education is a key component of the process of democratization of society. Various aspects of democratization of the educational space have repeatedly been the subject of scientific research of the Ukrainian scholars (B.Chyzhevskyi, L.Lebedyk, T.Zhyzhko, T.Matusevych, and L.Kolesnyk). The purpose of the article is to explore the practical experience of democratization of the educational space of Ukrainian universities, presented at the final international online conference "Democracy and Education: Teaching and Learning Democracy in Primary School and in Teacher Education" within the project "Development of the Culture of Democracy in Teacher Education in Ukraine, Norway and Palestine". The authors conclude that democratic transformations taking place in Ukraine change not only the educational environment at the level of training, but also at the level of building communication between all participants in the educational process, including higher education institutions, as exemplified by the participation of Ukrainian universities in the project "Development of the Culture of Democracy in Teacher Education in Ukraine, Norway and Palestine". Higher pedagogical education, first of all training of future primary school teachers of the new Ukrainian school, is one of the factors of long-term social changes. The experience presented by the universities of Ukraine at the conference shows that pedagogical education is at the forefront of democratization of the educational space of our state. Despite the fact that each university moves towards building democracy in its own way, outlined in the participants' reports, the authors admit that democratization is gradually permeating the educational space at all levels – from the philosophy of education, educational institutions to teaching methods and educational practice. ; Статтю присвячено актуальній проблемі розвитку вищої освіти України – її демократизації. Визначено роль демократичного освітнього середовища як невід'ємної частини інноваційного потенціалу, що створює певні передумови для інноваційної діяльності закладу вищої освіти. Описано міжнародний проєкт «Розвиток культури демократії в педагогічній освіті в Україні, Норвегії та Палестині» та особливості участі в ньому представників університетів України. Детально представлено досвід університетів-учасників проєкту з розбудови демократичного освітнього простору в закладах вищої освіти, презентований на міжнародній підсумковій конференції «Демократія та освіта: викладання та навчання демократії в початковій школі та педагогічній освіті».