Secondary education in Ukraine and France: current trends

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V.O. Sukhomlynskyi State Scientific and Pedagogical Library of Ukraine

Secondary education in Ukraine and France: current trends

Alla Durdas

Researcher of the Department of Pedagogical Source Studies and Biographistics

Annotation

The article deals with the current trends in the transformation of general secondary education in Ukraine and France, the role of the European integration processes in these transformations and prospects for further development of secondary education in Ukraine and France. The role of globalization, which affects all spheres of public life, including secondary education, has been revealed. The humanization of education, an integral part of the reform and democratization of public life, has been identified as an important trend in the development of general secondary education in Ukraine at the beginning of the 21st century. The shift of emphasis from the teacher's educational activity to educational and cognitive, labor, artistic, exploratory, research and other teacher's activities in cooperation with a pupil has been noted. The article mentions the introduction of child-centeredness in teaching, i.e. orientation to the needs of a pupil. An important trend in the education of the 21st century is the tendency to continuity of education, the essence of which is constant deepening of general and professional training, the transformation of education into a process that lasts throughout life. Informatization of education is mentioned in the article as a global trend. The article reveals the features of the French secondary education. Modern tendencies in the French secondary education have been characterized, in particular an obligatory inclusion of a pupil into professional activity. The trend in French secondary education concerning the moral education of the French schoolchildren and division of the complex of moral education into four meaningful groups have been noted: the main categories of morality; public life and respect for others; thrifty attitude to the property of others, especially to the public property; self-esteem, etc. The extension of the period of compulsory education for schoolchildren under 18 in France has been emphasized.

Keywords: trends; transformation; secondary education; globalization; European integration; humanization, moral education, personality-oriented learning.

Анотація

Алла Петрівна Дурдас

науковий співробітник

відділу педагогічного джерелознавства та біографістики Державної науково-педагогічної бібліотеки ім. В.О. Сухомлинського

м. Київ, Україна

У статті розкрито сучасні тенденції трансформації системи загальної середньої освіти України та Франції, зазначено роль євроінтеграційних процесів у цих трансформаціях та перспективи подальшого розвитку середньої освіти в Україні та у Франції. Проаналізовано роль глобалізації, яка впливає на всі сфери суспільного життя, включаючи середню освіту. Важливою тенденцією розвитку загальної середньої освіти в Україні на початку ХХІ століття визначено гуманізацію освіти - невід'ємну частину реформування та демократизації суспільного життя. Унаочнено зміщення акцентів із навчальної діяльності педагога на навчально-пізнавальну, трудову, художню, пошукову, дослідницьку та інші діяльності вчителя у співпраці з учнем. У статті продемонстровано запровадження у навчанні дитиноцентризму, тобто орієнтації на потреби учня. Підкреслено, що найважливішою тенденцією в освіті XXI століття є тенденція до безперервності освіти, сутність якої полягає у постійному поглибленні загальноосвітньої і фахової підготовки, перетворенні набуття освіти у процес, що триває упродовж всього життя людини. Інформатизацію освіти у статті продемонстровано як глобальну тенденцію у всьому світі. Зокрема розкрито особливості французької середньої освіти. Охарактеризовано сучасні тенденції у французькій середній освіті, йдеться про обов'язкове включення учня в професійну діяльність. Відзначено тенденцію у французькій середній освіті, яка стосується морального виховання французьких школярів та розділення комплексу морального виховання на чотири змістовні групи: основні категорії моралі; громадське життя та повага до інших; ощадливе ставлення до власності інших, особливо державної; повага особистості до себе, тощо. Зазначено продовження терміну обов'язкового навчання школярів у Франції - до 18 років.

Ключові слова: тенденції; трансформація; середня освіта; глобалізація; євроінтеграція; гуманізація; моральне виховання; особистісно-орієнтоване навчання.

Formulation of the problem

Today Ukraine's education is undergoing transformations in line with global and European trends. Given this, it is important not only to know but also to take into account the theoretical and practical experience of the European countries in educational policy, strategies and tactics for the development of schools in the XXI century. The countries which are the leaders of the European integration, including France, are of particular interest in this context. Today, reforms in the French school education are largely subordinated to the tasks of its integration into the European educational space.

At the same time, the French education system is considered to be one of the most advanced in the world. Its main features include the predominance of state educational institutions and free education for everyone, including foreigners, as well as almost the same quality of education both in the capital and in the provinces.

The analysis of recent research and publications. The problems of the development of general secondary education in independent Ukraine are studied by Ukrainian scientists:

Berezivska, O. Demianenko, V.V. Halakh, H.V. Kasianov, Y.V. Krasniakov, V. Kremen, Y.O. Molchanova, L. Ovdiyenko, N.H. Protasova, O.Y. Savchenko O.V. Sukhomlynska. Thus, L. Berezivska notes that “... The mainstream ways for reforming general secondary education became the main ones for the development of school education in independent Ukraine: definition of the state standards of all levels of general secondary education; the contents of general education and relevant basic disciplines; introduction of the integral and variant principles of training; reforming the structure of general educational institutions in accordance with the levels of education and the needs of the regions; cooperation of general educational institutions with higher educational institutions; development of a network of general educational institutions with various forms of ownership, etc. [4, p. 20]; L. Ovdiyenko emphasizes that in the modern school “along with positive achievements that have withstood the change in social transformations, many negative things have remained too”[12, p. 101 - 105]; O. Demyanenko, argues that in the context of the transformation of the space of communication and education, changes in culture in general, only a reasonable, thinking person is able to assess the observed processes, to identify their negative and positive aspects for building new educational models aimed at preserving and developing culture [6];

O. Lokshyna in her research analyzes the philosophical and theoretical foundations of the selection and structuring of the contents of school education, determines the directions for its development in the EU member states and, on the basis of this, draws conclusions about the prospects of the experience of the EU countries for the modernization of the national school [9]. N. Vyshnevska in her works highlighted the general trends in the development and improvement of educational systems in the USA, Germany, Great Britain, France and other countries. Among other things, the standardization of the contents of education has been highlighted as the dominant of most educational reforms of the 1980s - 1990s. Among the main reasons hindering the entry of the post-Soviet republics into the European community, there is a low scientific, technological, cultural and educational level of the population, stereotypes inherited from the totalitarian regime [14, p. 10-15]. education teaching professional

The Ukrainian and foreign scientists have dedicated their works to the study of the general secondary education system in France: Zh. Arutiunov, B. Vulfson, O. Hopanchuk, O. Dzhurynskyi, H. Yehorov, L. Ziaziun, B. Ilechko, A. Kalosh, N. Lavrychenko, O. Lysova, M. Leshchenko, Z. Malkova, O. Matviienko, V. Mitina, O. Ovcharuk, V. Pylypivskyi, L. Pukhovska, F. Savua, O. Sapova, I. Uvarov, A. Shopin, T. Yarkina and others. However, it should be noted that the rapid changes that are taking place in the French school in the conditions of the formation of a single European educational space require their purposeful monitoring and scientific analysis.

The purpose of the article is to study modern trends in the development of general secondary education in Ukraine and France in the context of globalization and integration processes.

Research methods

During the research, the following methods were used: the method of theoretical analysis, the dialectical method of cognition, as well as the theoretical methods of analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization of pedagogical experience, analogy and systematization.

The presentation of the main material. A characteristic feature of the development of general secondary education in Ukraine at the beginning of the third millennium is that the state authorities approach the development of strategies and programs for its development taking into account the achievements of other countries in this area in order to form a unified educational strategy for the European space. Studying the features of construction, organization and management, technology of school education, adopting the achievements and experience of the development of other national systems of secondary education, Ukraine thereby contributes to their rapprochement, mutual understanding and cooperation. [11, p.246].

The main and principal stimulus of this process is globalization, which is a new world trend, through which the way of life, the distribution of goods and services are becoming standardized throughout the world. Since globalization affects all the spheres of public life -- technologies and communications are improving, the nature of transport and services is changing, mass migration and resettlement of peoples is increasing, the level of economic activity is growing, capital pooling is moving beyond the borders of states and national markets, spheres and boundaries for doing business are expanding, taking into account the requirements for the development of education as a priority task not only for one or a group of countries, but for all countries of the continent. Taking this fact into account, in the European space the intensive development of the main principles of global educational policy continues, and the real integration of national educational systems, which are gradually coming closer to each other, is being carried out. This trend is also inherent in the system of general secondary education in Ukraine, because general educational institutions, primarily urban ones, participate in various projects, joint events with partners from educational institutions from different countries of Europe and the world, and this number of participants is constantly growing. [11, p.247].

According to L. Berezivska, the history of general secondary education in Ukraine has undergone a significant number of reforms and counter-reforms, during which the structure and content of school education radically changed in different socio-political and socioeconomic realities. One of the results of school reforms was the development of normative documents (laws, doctrines, concepts, standards, etc.) that provided or should have provided for the reform of general secondary education. During the years of independence, in the process of reforming and modernizing general secondary education in a democratic society, a significant number of state regulatory documents on the development of the education sector were developed which determined its theoretical and methodological foundations. [1, p. 15]. The author notes that “Reforms and counter-reforms being components of public education policy are implemented in the context of social, political, economic, and pedagogical determinants which influence their strategies.” [2, p. 20]. L. Berezivska also notes that “... After gaining state independence, one of the priorities of educational policy in Ukraine in the context of fundamental socio-political, socio-economic and pedagogical changes was the reform of general secondary education. This process took place in conditions of the struggle against the Soviet communist past for the state independence and democratic values, with Russian aggression toward Ukrainian sovereignty.” [3, p. 64].

An important trend in the development of general secondary education in Ukraine at the beginning of the XXI century is the humanization of education as an integral part of the reform and democratization of public life. By humanization of education we mean the process of creating the necessary conditions for self-realization of the student's personality in such a school which must fulfill the great mission inherent in the school at all the times of its existence: to help a person learn to live in harmony with himself or herself, with nature, with other people and with society. The tendency to humanize school education, as well as the entire education of the state as a whole, causes the introduction of the principle of child centrism, that is, the orientation of the entire educational process to the needs of a pupil. This requires the creation of a modern educational environment that will provide the necessary conditions, tools and technologies for the education of pupils, teachers and parents. In addition, it is necessary to create conditions for training pupils directly at their place of residence, including rural areas, or ensuring their regular transportation to schools. This presupposes, among other things, that the “spiritual core” of such education should be freedom -- the freedom to choose one's own educational trajectory, the teacher's freedom to choose pedagogical technologies, the freedom to create one's own curriculum, freedom and the ability to choose the type of educational institution of any form of ownership, freedom from prejudice and stereotypes, freedom from lies, free choice of textbooks or manuals, freedom to choose the form of receiving general secondary education, and finally, freedom to be oneself. All this leads to a change in the role of a teacher and a pupil, who interact as partners, where each learns and each teaches. At the same time, there is a shift in emphasis from the educational activity of a teacher to the educational and cognitive, labor, artistic, search, research and other activities of a teacher in cooperation with a pupil, that is, the activity-based approach to learning becomes the main one at a school lesson. It is the activity- based approach that provides the educational process with meaningfulness and stimulates, encourages, activates the creative development of a pupil's personality, and in a broad sense means the introduction of child-centrism in teaching, that is, orientation to a pupil's needs. In addition, this approach assumes, which is very important, the motivation for cognitive activity, and the presence of pedagogical support creates conditions for an individual's selfrealization. This enables a pupil to experience the joy of realizing his own growth and development, from achieving his or her own goals. In general, the use of the resource of freedom by school, first of all, the achievement of a new qualitative level of freedom for all participants of the educational process, is the key factor that makes it possible to dynamize the development of general secondary education and is the main criterion for assessing the success of the educational systems of the new millennium. This ensures the strengthening of its competence orientation, as one of the conditions for competitiveness, which also corresponds to the current global trends in the development of school education. However, for this, the cognitive process at school should be as individualized as possible. A fundamental and systemic reform is aimed at this, should stop negative trends and turn the Ukrainian school into a lever of social equality and cohesion, Ukraine's economic development and competitiveness. [11, p.250].

According to the scientists, an important trend in education in the 21st century is the tendency towards continuous education, the essence of which is the constant deepening of general education and vocational training, the transformation of education into a process that continues throughout a person's life. This is due to the fact that a new type of economic development, which is asserting in the society, encourages workers to change their profession several times during their life and constantly improve their qualifications. After all, the education sector has become an influential and significant factor in the economic development of society. In addition, theoretical knowledge is also a strategic resource for Ukraine's development affecting the state's sovereignty and national security. Therefore, lifelong learning all over the world and especially in developed countries is becoming an increasingly important area of educational services. Continuity in our time is a historical necessity, and the further progress of mankind largely depends on the completeness of awareness and the degree of realization of this continuity. After all, it is impossible to stop this development: it must be understood, and education and science must lead this development. The role of education at the present stage of Ukraine's development is determined by the tasks of transition to a democratic and legal state with a market economy, elimination of the gap with highly developed, advanced countries of the world. It is precisely in the era of globalization that it becomes clear more than ever that education is a social technology for formation of a person, his or her abilities and skills. Therefore, continuity in education is the key to the socio-economic development of society, and investment in human capital is an important factor in the growth of national wealth. [11, p.251 -252].

A number of studies of trends in the development of modern school education mark the informatization of education as a global trend throughout the world. However, the irrepressible development of information and communication technologies is accompanied by the danger of losing human contacts and will inevitably lead to the degradation of human relations and communications as the basis of mutual understanding. Therefore, education in the context of the introduction of information and communication technologies is faced with the task of developing such methods and ways of teaching in which the humanitarian aspect of education is not lost -- the developmental effect in a personality's formation. After all, not a single mechanism or device has become the main factor of social life -- they only increase a person's role and importance. This is stated in the sociological research of the experts of the League of Culture, members of the strategic advisory group Osvita who in 2014 developed the draft of the Concept for the development of education in Ukraine in 2015 - 2025. Academician G. Filipchuk states that in the second half of the 20th century, the approaches of developed countries to the preparation and preservation of human resources have radically changed. Considering this, education has become a fundamental factor in the development of nations, ensuring their competitiveness and success. Noting in each country the presence of national specifics for the development of education, the creation of a favorable information and knowledge sociocultural environment, G. Filipchuk notes that in Ukraine this socially significant problem has been solved unsatisfactorily for a long time. This is confirmed by the fact that “out of 18 thousand libraries in Ukraine, only 2 thousand are built-in and connected to the Internet (11%). The absolute majority of school libraries and libraries of other educational institutions were practically ignored.” These facts indicate the presence of regressive tendencies in the information, cultural and educational spheres.

One of the peculiarities of secondary education in France is that it includes two cycles: college and lyceum. There are about 7000 colleges in this country. College is the main link in the education system. Three million children are enrolled in college every year. Training lasts four years: the sixth grade (adaptation cycle), the fifth and fourth grades (the main cycle), and the third grade (orientation cycle). Since 1975, all children have been admitted to college, regardless of their level. For this reason, over the past thirty years, the number of college pupils has grown by 1,000,000. Most children successfully complete this first stage of secondary education. Students who have reached the age of sixteen by the end of the third grade can complete their studies. [10, p. 18].

By the beginning of the new millennium, the total number of students in secondary and higher schools in France reached 15,000,000 and made up approximately 25% of the country's population (from 60 million inhabitants). Two million of them are students. Today the well-structured secondary school system (elementary school - college - lyceum) is characterized by a greater continuity between the primary and secondary levels than it was before. Already at the stage of the йcole maternelle which children start to attend from the age of two, the main trends inherent in the entire education system are laid: an increase in the period of study and “expansion” of pupils' coverage. Secondary school includes two cycles. Almost all children (from 11 to 15 years old) go through four classes in college, the organization of education in which has been unified since 1975. At the end of grade 3, a pupil chooses one of three areas of study in the lyceum -- general, technical or vocationally oriented. [10, p. 18].

Regarding current trends in the French secondary education, it is worth noting that the French school today is characterized by the mandatory inclusion of the student in professional activities. By the beginning of the new millennium, only 10% of secondary school pupils had finished school without any craft specialization (for comparison: in the sixties their number reached 30%). Another trend in the development of secondary education system, reinforced legislatively at the state level, is the receipt of a bachelor's degree by the largest number of lyceum pupils. In the Law on education off 1989, the figure of 80% was mentioned -- the number of school leavers who passed the bachelor's exam. [10, p. 18].

Another trend that concerns the moral education of the French schoolchildren is mentioned in the candidate's thesis of M. Shabinsky's “Civic education of primary school pupils in France” (2011). It is said in the study that at the elementary school stage, the French teachers divide the complex of moral education into four groups (the main categories of morality; social life and respect for others; economical attitude to the property of others, especially the public property, an individual's self-respect (moral, mental, physical level).

They are implemented through the program of the course “Civic and Moral Education” which does not only cover certain issues of political science and law, but also provides for moral, patriotic, environmental, labor and physical education, teaching the basics of maintaining health and safety of life [13]. The researcher identifies the tendency for the development of family civic education, which is associated with an increase in the intellectual, educational and cultural level of the French family due to the state's desire to revive interaction with the family to optimize the learning process, upbringing and socialization of a child [13].

In France, since the beginning of the academic year--2020, the period of compulsory education has been extended to 18 years (earlier -- up to 16 years), to prevent young people from the situation when they are neither at school nor at work. The relevant decree defines the conditions that must be met for the fulfillment of this obligation, the grounds for exemption from the obligation, and also specifies the role of the local missions (local representations) responsible for its implementation and monitoring [7].

Another innovation in the French secondary education system is the generalization of education for sustainable development within the school curriculum. The High Council for Curricula (Conseil supйrieur des programmes, CSP), first of all, recommends an interdisciplinary approach to teaching content on sustainable development, climate change and biodiversity, in order to teach pupils a scientific mind and develop their sensitive relationships with the world [8].

The CSP reaffirms the importance of relying on observation -- the starting point of a scientific approach -- and stresses the need to develop a rational attitude of pupils toward their approach to environmental issues. The CSP also suggested the so-called “five green threads”: air, water, fire, earth and life, which can be constructed around thematic poles at the intersection of scientific, artistic and literary discourse [8].

Conclusions

Thus, we can conclude that the main strategic direction of the development of the school education system in Ukraine consists in creation of conditions for the development and formation of a person, his or her personality, society and civilization as a whole, since education is designed to teach a person to find his or her place in life, society and culture. The main trend of modern education is the gradual replacement of teaching by cognitive activity, which should become the leading one, where the pupil's personality is in the center of attention of a teacher, psychologist, and also where pupils discover and construct knowledge that does not exist yet. The creation of a creatively intellectual environment in this way will contribute to solving the problem of personality-oriented education, which reflects the humanistic direction in philosophy, psychology and pedagogy. This is how education systems are built in the developed democracies. The experience of the French secondary education is insufficiently studied in the domestic scientific literature but it raises a considerable interest among researchers in the educational sphere, thus it will become the subject of further scientific research.

Reference

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