Information and analytical materials

“Nationwide monitoring study of the implementation of the NUS reform”

The results of the 3rd stage of the nationwide monitoring study on the introduction of the New Ukrainian School (NUS) reform, conducted by the State Scientific Institution “Institute of Educational Analytics” in cooperation with the Ministry of Education of Science of Ukraine (full research cycle – January-December 2021) are presented. The purpose of the study was to obtain relevant data on the specifics of the process of introducing new approaches to pupils’ education in general secondary education institutions in accordance with the requirements of the new State Standard for Primary Education as part of the reform of the New Ukrainian schools. The target groups of the study were teachers and parents of pupils who were teaching/studying in the 3rd grade according to the new State Standard of Primary Education. Given the epidemiological situation, the study was conducted in the form of an online questionnaire using the Google Forms service (the survey period – May-June 2021). The total number of respondents was 19,350, including 2,175 (98,18% of the total sample) teachers of the 3rd grade of general secondary education institutions and 17,175 (77,5% of the total sample) parents of third-graders. The survey was conducted on the basis of probability stratified two-stage sampling using the method of self-completion method and taking into account the region and type of area. In order to comply with the structure of the general population, a system of weights calculated according to the regional breakdown was applied to the respondents who took part in the survey. The results of the study are presented in the information and analytical materials for the following thematic clusters: organization of the educational process on the basis of the NUS; a pupil is one of the main participants in the educational process; pupils’ educational achievements; the needs of participants of the educational process for the next school year for further implementation of the NUS reform. The study found that teachers, especially those who have been working with third-graders 1 or more than 5 years, need additional competencies to have the tools to implement a number of provisions of the NUS Concept, in particular concerning methods for developing the general competence of pupils, optimizing the combination of various methods of organizing educational activities and providing inclusive education for children with special educational needs. The administration of general secondary education institutions requires special attention to the organization of quality food in the school canteen and a modern and student-friendly educational environment, especially in rural areas.

“Study on the implementation of the NUS reform in pilot schools“

The information and analytical materials present the results of the final (VII) stage of the monitoring study, conducted in the form of an online questionnaire using Google Forms in May 2021. The organizers of the research were SSI «Institute of Educational Analytics» together with the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine and with the participation of experts of the Support Team of Reforms of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine within the scope of the «Ukraine Reforms Architecture» (URA) project. The purpose of this stage of the study was to obtain reliable information on the characteristics of the process of introducing new approaches to learning in pilot classes of primary school. The target groups of the study were directors of pilot schools (142 respondents), teachers of pilot classes (187 respondents) and parents of students in pilot classes (2038 respondents). The results of the study are presented in the information and analytical materials on the following thematic clusters: the opinion of teachers and participants of the experiment on the basis of its course; the impact of the NUS reform on the educational process; the educational process in the context of distance learning; NUS and the system of further training of teachers; achievements of students as a result of experiment «transformation in the educational institution on results of NUS piloting»; evaluation of NUS reform and the need for its further implementation.

The key change in the educational institution in the context of NUS reform, according to 75% of teachers and 68% of directors, is the diversity of methods and approaches to teaching students. At the same time, the biggest achievements of the NUS reform, according to the teachers’ replies, is that in the relations «teacher-student» became predominant «cooperation» approach rather than the «dominance» approach (74%), and the competency approach (63%) was introduced. This last opinion was shared by the directors of educational institutions – 72% and 75% respectively. The third part of teachers in pilot schools considers students to be the main beneficiaries of the NUS reform. The key expectations of the NUS reform teachers are to change the approach to teaching and learning, to adapt the educational process to the needs of today’s children and to the requirements of the times, to increase the motivation of students to learn, to improve the quality of education and to develop values. Positive changes took place in the case of students who were taught according to the new State Standard for Primary Education. In the view of their teachers, they differ from their predecessors in their knowledge of cross-cutting skills and more advanced soft skills.

The analytical materials present the fourth stage monitoring study results of the teachers` readiness to implement the New Ukrainian School Concept, conducted by SSI “Institute of Educational Analytics” with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine in October 2021. The study was conducted through an online survey using the Google Forms service, its target audience was teachers who in the 2021-2022 academic year began to teach 1st grade students according to the new Primary Education State Standard (PESS) and were not involved in the pilot implementation in 2017-2021. In total, 2080 1st grade teachers of various types of general secondary education institutions took part in the survey. The research results in analytical materials are presented by the following thematic blocks: teachers` readiness to teach, educational environment, educational process, teaching methods and techniques, conditions for teaching children with special educational needs, readiness for distance learning, teachers’ attitude to innovation processes in Ukrainian education.

The study showed that the majority of teachers (99,8%) were trained to teach in NUS and the new PESS. In particular, 80,6 % of respondents – full-time training for NUS teachers on the basis of regional / city institutes of postgraduate pedagogical education, 75,2% – distance training for NUS teachers on the EdEra platform. Many teachers had both forms of training. 13,0% of study participants in 2019-2020 received a certificate of pedagogical workers, another 5,1% got it in 2021, and 38,3% plan to get it. At the same time, 42,2% of teachers said they did not plan to be certified. Regarding the self-assessment of the level of teachers’ readiness to teach according to the new PESS, 98,6% of the respondents feel prepared “completely and faster”, only one-third of them are «fully trained». The following results were also obtained for individual components of NUS and in accordance with the new PESS for the total indicator “fully and quickly prepared”: competence approach (99,1% of teachers), class organization (99,2% of teachers), integration (97,2% of teachers), development of critical thinking (97,7% of respondents), written practices (96,4% of teachers), methods of teaching mathematics (99,2% of teachers), literacy (99,3% of respondents). 72% of teachers consider themselves ready to teach children with special educational needs according to the total indicator (completely and faster). About 55% of teachers stated that the educational environment of their classroom is partially equipped for the new PESS implementation, and almost every fourth respondent said that the classroom equipment fully fits the requirements of the new standard. Also, 20,4% of teachers of urban general secondary education institutions and 11,2% of teachers of rural general secondary education institutions complained that the class area is insufficient to create a comfortable educational space.

Information and analytical materials present the results of periodic monitoring research on students` professional orientation in general secondary institutions, conducted by the SSI “Institute of Educational Analytics” with initiative and support of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (full cycle – August-December 2021). The purpose of the study was to obtain relevant statistics on the career guidance work aimed at creating conditions for students to make informed choices about their future careers in general secondary education institutions. The target group of the research were deputy managers and class teachers of 8th and 9th grades. The survey was conducted in the form of an online survey using the Google Forms service (survey period – September-October 2021). The total number of respondents totaled 2 772 persons: 894 deputy managers of general secondary education institutions, 1 878 class teachers of 8th and 9th grades. The survey was conducted based on probabilistic stratified two-stage sampling using the method of self-completion and taking into account the region and type of area. In order to comply with the general population structure, a system of weights calculated according to the regional types was applied to the respondents who took part in the survey. The research results are presented in analytical materials by thematic blocks: organization of career guidance work in general secondary education institutions and its effectiveness; professional development of pedagogical staff who responsible for the organization of career guidance work, and their needs to improve the professional level in career guidance. According to the study results, for high-quality and effective organization of career guidance work, postgraduate pedagogical education institutes should develop modern guidelines for the organization of career guidance work in general secondary education, which will consider the students` needs and interests and reflect the needs of the modern labor market; organize thematic training for persons responsible for the organization of career guidance work in general secondary education institutions; general secondary education institutions should actively use the resources of career centers and employment centers. In addition, the need to train career counselors in higher education institutions for general secondary education institutions was identified, as well as the development and introduction of thematic modules/courses on career guidance content for future teachers into the educational process is a matter of necessity.