Internationalization of higher education in Ukraine as an integral component of the globalization process

В епоху освітньої глобалізації необхідною умовою збереження високого рівня конкурентоспроможності на ринку освітніх послуг як окремого закладу, так і загалом національної освітньої системи є інтернаціоналізація освіти, зокрема вищої. На основі аналізу праць закордонних і вітчизняних науковців автори доходять висновку, що освітня глобалізація є складним явищем, що виникло і розвивається під сукупним впливом політичного, економічного і культурного глобалізаційних чинників. Авторами статті з'ясовано основні пріоритети, цілі, методи, інструменти, очікувані результати інтернаціоналізації системи вищої освіти в Україні з урахуванням сучасних європейських тенденцій розвитку ринку освітніх послуг. Серед пріоритетів інтернаціоналізації ринку освітніх послуг в Україні визначені: посилення позиції України на міжнародній арені; готовність України активно діяти на ринку освітніх послуг; активізація процесу інституційного розвитку вітчизняних закладів вищої освіти; розвиток міжнародної освітньо-наукової діяльності шляхом установлення сталих стратегічних партнерських зв'язків між університетами України й інших країн. Також у статті схарактеризовані чотири основні види експорту освітніх послуг, які Україна має активно розвивати: студентська мобільність, академічна мобільність, академічне партнерство, освітня експансія. Збільшення експорту освітніх послуг в напрямі Європейського Союзу повинно стати об'єктом і предметом цілеспрямованої національної політики української держави, орієнтованої на вирішення не лише освітянських, а й економічних, соціальних, політичних проблем. У контексті сучасних загальноєвропейських тенденцій розвитку вищої освіти основними напрямами розвитку системи вищої освіти в Україні автори визначають: модернізацію та впровадження нових освітніх програм та інноваційних технологій; створення належних умов для залучення кваліфікованих науково-педагогічних кадрів, закордонних також; інтернаціоналізацію науково-освітнього середовища; інтенсифікацію академічної та наукової мобільності студентів і викладачів, встановлення партнерських відносин із провідними навчальними закладами Європи і світу; розвиток і вдосконалення іншомовного середовища. internationalization educational market

Ключові слова: вища освіта, глобалізація, досвід, Європейський Союз, інтеграція, інтернаціоналізація, ринок освітніх послуг, Україна.

(статтю подано мовою оригіналу)

Granting Ukraine the official status of a candidate for joining the European Union has legally and finally established the European integration choice of the Ukrainian people at the international level. This issue emphasized the need to study, realize and apply the positive experience of the leading European countries in terms of higher education system improvement in Ukraine. In terms of globalization and European integration, the issue of adequate training of highly qualified specialists becomes not only social and cultural, but, first of all, an economic category, an important reserve for social and economic transformations in Ukraine, one of the conditions for accelerating its economic development. Internationalization of higher education is an integral component in the structure of professional training of any specialist, ensuring proper adaptation to life in the globalized world, and, as a result, increasing his/her competitiveness. In terms of European integration, the national system of higher education in Ukraine has to be oriented toward international standards and European values, and develop innovative models, technologies, and teaching methods. The new philosophy of education led to significant changes in the conceptual foundations of professional training, and modern deep social, economic, and cultural changes in Ukraine make our youth, pupils, and students similar to European ones. The above-mentioned processes actualize the need to study and apply the positive experience of leading European countries.

The famous British sociologist Anthony Giddens defines the phenomenon of "globalization" as "an objective process of gradual worldwide political, economic, cultural integration and unification; the expansion of the dimensions of a certain phenomenon to a planetary scale, as a result of which the world becomes more connected and dependent on all its subjects". According to the scientist, globalization has features that are manifested to one extent or another in all spheres it is related. The following issues are included: the strengthening of interconnectedness, interdependence, and interaction of people worldwide, however, in each sphere of human life, the process of globalization proceeds in its way, having characteristic features that are not similar to other spheres [8, p. 45].

International Monetary Fund specialists distinguish four basic globalization aspects: trade and financial transactions; capital and investments movement; human migration; dissemination of knowledge. The phenomenon of globalization itself is divided into four parts: political, economic, cultural, and educational [10].

Researchers from Cambridge - D. Held, A. McGrew, D. Goldblatt, J. Perraton state that: political globalization manifests itself in all essential spheres, national-state sovereignty is based on: police powers, tax policy, foreign policy, military security; economic globalization is characterized by the strengthening of interrelationships in the sphere of production and distribution of goods and services, the formation of the international division of the labor market, the strengthening of the transnational corporations influence, as well as the spread of supranational economic organizations and unions; and cultural globalization is associated with the development of modern information infrastructure on an unprecedented scale, which provides greater opportunities for the penetration of cultural elements across borders and a significant reduction in the cost of their use; increase in the intensity, volume, and speed of cultural exchange; dissemination of mass culture; the predominance of the multinational industry of production and distribution of cultural goods [9, p. 58].

Educational globalization is a complex phenomenon that arose and is developing under the combined influence of political, economic, and cultural globalization factors. For many years, this influence has been the subject of Ukrainian (N. Avsheniuk, V. Andrushchenko, M. Zhurovskyi, I. Ziaziun, V. Kremen, A. Sbruieva) and foreign (T. Clayton, H. Daun, A. Giddens, P. Jarvis, B. Lingard, L. Sklair, A. Welch) scientists. The term educational globalization has been included in the conceptual apparatus of pedagogical science to characterize the processes affecting the determination of strategic directions for reforming the educational systems of various countries in the context of a change in the global educational paradigm [6; 7; 11-13].

We share the opinion of the Ukrainian researcher A. Sbruieva, who analyzes how political, economic, and cultural globalization affects educational globalization. According to the scientist, the influence of political globalization on the development of the educational sector is manifested in the weakening of the decisive role of the sovereign nation-state and the strengthening of the role of powerful international institutions (International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Trade Organization and others) in the field of national education policy; changes in the form of ownership of educational infrastructure, privatization of the educational services market; replacement of the form of control over the implementation of educational activities from administrative-political to market-consumer. The impact of economic globalization is manifested in the penetration of free market mechanisms into the educational sphere; transformation of education into a commodity; accession to interstate economic treaties and agreements (for example, the General Agreement on Trade in Services and others), which require compliance with clear rules regarding the creation of favorable conditions for the import and export of services (including educational ones), regulate the market of investments in the educational sphere. The impact of cultural globalization is manifested in the gradual unification of various (sometimes controversial) cultural spaces, which sets the educational sector the task of preparing a person for a full-fledged life in a global cultural environment, while simultaneously preserving the traditions of national culture and identity [5, p. 136].

In times of educational globalization, internationalization of education, in general, and higher education, in particular, is a necessary condition for maintaining a high level of competitiveness in the market of educational services for both individual institutions and the national educational system in general.

O. Nikitenko adheres to the thought that the internationalization of higher education is a gradual process that takes place at the national, branch, and institutional levels, during which the goals, functions, and mechanisms of providing educational services acquire an international character. The very concept of internationalization of higher education encompasses two aspects: internal (implementation of world educational standards; bringing curricula and programs into compliance with international norms; creation of a system of recognition of degrees and diplomas; awareness of the importance of mastering and encouraging learning/teaching in foreign languages;

development/improvement intercultural communication skills; adaptation to the peculiarities of the global academic environment) and external (academic exchange; international educational/scientific cooperation; joining scientific/ educational professional unions, associations; participation in joint educational projects, programs; institutional partnership; creation of strategic educational alliances) internationalization [3, p. 212].

The purpose of the article is to find out the main priorities, goals, methods, tools, and expected results of the internationalization of the higher education system in Ukraine, following current European trends in the development of the educational services market.

The advantages of higher education internationalization are obvious: unification of educational and scientific resources (especially expensive and difficult to reach); avoidance of duplication or excessive copying of scientific research topics; universalization of knowledge; facilitating access to higher education; the emergence of international quality standards and increasing the innovativeness of higher education; expansion and strengthening of international cooperation; activation of academic mobility of teachers and students; deepening the knowledge base of institutions and participants in the educational process; expanding the boundaries of scientific research; enrichment of educational programs. The presence of students, teachers, and scientists from different countries in higher education institutions expands the cultural horizons of local representatives, and the education of foreign students has a positive effect on the development of their country of origin and contributes to global economic and political stability.

The purpose of the national strategy for the internationalization of education should be the Europeanization of the Ukrainian educational services market, and its main objectives are to increase the competitiveness of Ukrainian academic institutions of higher education and scientific research; expand the opportunities of domestic higher education institutions to enter the international educational market; active participation in the development of the European system of higher education; positioning of Ukraine as one of the powerful members in the European market of education and science; increasing the level of development of domestic educational and research infrastructure to European standards.

In practice, European scientific and educational resources, programs, and institutions are uniting to solve problems that are peculiar to various directions of higher education internationalization. Based on the characteristics of this process and following the positions of different countries regarding the directions of participation in the process of providing educational services in the European market, I. Abdulkerimov defines three types of orientation: the import of educational services, the export of educational services, and the import-export of educational services. The rapid development of the educational services market observed during the last decade is a direct consequence of the fact that in many countries higher education is becoming more and more popular due to the expansion of the scope of use of modern information and communication technologies, the recognition of the idea of the development of a knowledge-based economy, the increase the internationalization of the labor market and, as a result, the growing need for skilled labor. Accordingly, the ways of providing educational services are diversifying, where, along with the development of the mobility of students and teachers, the mobility of educational programs and institutions is developing [1, p. 289].

Internationalization of higher education in Ukraine contributes to the diversification of sources and increase of financial income due to the involving of foreign students for non-budget studies; diversification of curricula by including in their programs partial training of domestic students in foreign partner institutions; increasing the efficiency of using own and partner educational and research resources; improving the quality of education and research by involving students and teachers in the process of knowledge exchange.

The following main priorities, goals, methods, and development tools, as well as the expected results of the internationalization of the market of educational services in Ukraine have to be considered.

1. The priority of strengthening Ukraine S position in the international arena is aimed at full integration into the European educational space through the development of marketing and communications strategies to support the growth of demand for domestic education services provided in Ukraine and beyond. The result will be the strengthening of Ukraine's influence on the European educational services market.

2. The priority of Ukraine S readiness to act on the educational services market is aimed at increasing the number of export directions of domestic education by collecting, studying, and using information about the educational needs of different countries. The result will be the expansion of the capabilities of the national system of higher education due to the diversification of foreign markets of educational services.

3. The priority of institutional development of domestic institutions of higher education is aimed at strengthening the educational attractiveness of Ukrainian universities by ensuring a high level of education and the quality of the stay of foreign students in Ukraine. The result will be an increase in the openness of Ukrainian higher education institutions, strengthening of international cooperation, and an increase in the multiculturalism of society.

4. The priority of the development of international educational and scientific activity is aimed at increasing the level of academic mobility of students and teachers of Ukrainian universities through the internationalization of curricula, the creation of joint educational programs, and the implementation of joint research projects. The result will be the establishment of permanent strategic partnership relations between the universities of Ukraine and other countries.

Recently, a new form of internationalization of higher education has emerged, which consists in moving educational institutions and educational programs across the border. This form of export of educational services, which was called "cross-border education", corresponds to educational activities when the students of education are physically outside the borders of the country in which the institution issuing diplomas and awarding degrees is located. The most popular forms of mobility of institutions are the opening of a network of foreign branches by well-known European universities or the establishment of new universities by foreigners independently or in partnership with national institutions. The mobility of educational programs involves the presence of distance education courses offered by a foreign university, joint courses and training programs offered by a domestic institution and its foreign partner institution, as well as franchising of educational courses and programs [2, p. 69].

We describe the four main types of export of educational services:

1) the largest segment of the market is occupied by student mobility (full course of study abroad with the receipt of a diploma from a foreign institution; completion of a partial course of study with the receipt of a diploma from a domestic institution or double diploma; study under exchange programs);

2) the oldest traditional type in the academic community, which today is rapidly spreading with the growth of internationalization, is academic mobility (teaching in a foreign institution or a foreign branch of one's university);

3) academic partnership is developing rapidly (a joint course or program with a foreign institution; distance learning; sale or franchising of a separate course or program to a foreign institution);

4) the most procedurally complex, but rather promising and rapidly growing type of export of educational services are educational expansion (opening of foreign branches by an institution; acquisition of a foreign institution or its part; establishment of a company providing educational services abroad).

According to E. Pavliuchenko, the current trends in the development of the educational services market demonstrate that countries that previously did not consider the internationalization of higher education as part of the state development strategy are now forced to define themselves and find themselves in the developing global educational space. However, despite the objectivity and clear irreversibility of the process of internationalization of higher education, it does not always lead to active and effective interstate cooperation for mutual enrichment and exchange of experience in the educational field. Obstacles often arise on the way to the internationalization of higher education, which complicate the adaptation of already existing and the development of new own internationalization strategies, in particular, the presence of cultural barriers; the absence or limitation of a transparent legislative framework regarding the introduction of cross-border education and its quality assessment; lack of criteria for comparability of higher education systems and programs. The main problem lies in the different possibilities of countries to respond to globalization processes, the erasure of national borders, and the need to enter the world's educational environment. A low level or transition period of economic development, language barriers, weak technological capabilities, lack of political stability, and, as a result, a low level of education of the population lead to the fact that certain countries risk being on the periphery of world educational trends [4, p. 359].

We should also note that a necessary condition for the successful life of a person in the era of globalization is the ability to operate in foreign languages, because the very phenomenon of globalization, in particular, involves the interpenetration of material and spiritual components of various social cultures, and the most important condition for the assimilation of other cultures is the mastery of their basic forms, first of all, in their languages. Within the educational policy of the EU, it is considered necessary to study at least two foreign languages, and one of them, as a rule, is English, which traditionally acts as the language of international communication not only in Europe but also throughout the world, since English-language communicative competence is not only a subject of everyday use for any educated person, as well as a necessary tool for forming a sense of "European identity" among citizens. The implementation of the principle of lifelong learning is the main direction of the development of the European higher education system. In the Action Program of the European Union in the field of lifelong learning, foreign language communicative competence is given special importance, and the language direction is assigned to the interdisciplinary part, that is, the one that permeates all stages of education.

Note that at the current stage of socio-economic development, Ukraine successfully exports its educational services mainly to the countries of Central Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. In the context of European integration, our state is mostly an importer of educational services. Therefore, the increase in the export of educational services to the EU should become the object and subject of a purposeful national policy of the Ukrainian state, focused on solving not only educational but also economic, social, and political problems. The activation of activities in this area, in particular, the mobility of students and the cross-border activities of universities, should bring the state economic profit associated with the high market value of providing services on the international educational market. Several European countries have made international educational activities an essential part of national strategies for socio-economic development, using education as a powerful source of revenue for the budget. This is a good example for us because the market value of the internationalization of higher education is not limited to income from tuition fees, the provision of scientific services, etc. The stay of foreigners in the country makes a significant contribution to the national economy of the host country, and such factors as the creation of new jobs, the development of educational and research infrastructure, and the increase in the potential of the higher education system can be considered as powerful long-term investments in the economy of Ukraine.