Educational autonomy of general secondary education institution as a way to improve the quality of education

Abstract

The features of the introduction of educational autonomy in general secondary education institutions as a way to increase the efficiency of educational services and improve their quality have been analysed in the paper. The current Law «On Education» (2017) determines the autonomy of educational institutions, their independence and responsibility in making decisions on educational, organizational, financial, staffing and other issues. The educational agent is an individual or a legal person (institution of education, enterprise, establishment, organization) that conducts educational activities. Namely, the educational agent has a right to independently make decisions on any issues within its autonomy established by this Law, special Laws and/or constituent documents, in particular regarding issues that are not regulated by the legislation. The Law «On Complete General Secondary Education» consolidates and expands the autonomy of general secondary education institutions and elaborates on each of its types – academic, organizational, staffing and financial. The transition to greater autonomy and freedom continues in Ukrainian schools. Until recently, directors of educational institutions had to coordinate their actions with higher governing bodies: programmes, plans, structure of the educational process, estimates, tariffs, appointments and dismissals of employees. That is, heads were unable to influence changes being responsible for the quality of educational activities and the quality of education. Decisions were made from outside, not by those who know best the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities, priority areas of activity of the educational institution. The possibilities of autonomy are related to the strategy of school development and to each other. Hence, changes in one will mean changes in the other one. Currently, Ukraine is taking confident steps to develop a system of quality assurance in education to build public confidence in educational institutions and ensure a high level of quality education in schools. The desire of heads of educational institutions to gain full autonomy for the institution is clear and logical, understanding that it is one of the ways to improve the efficiency of educational services, improve their quality. The Law of Ukraine «On Complete General Secondary Education» consolidated and expanded the autonomous powers of general secondary education institutions. It is our considered opinion that the introduction of school autonomy will help institutions to build their own system for assessing the quality of performance of their educational tasks. Analysis of the studied issue proves its relevance and the need for further study.