The goal of the program is to contribute to systemic changes in Ukraine’s educational sphere, with these changes to be directed on bringing it closer to the best European practices, raising the quality of the education and its transformation into means for shaping of civil society.

During the recent years the main focus of the program concentrated on the following: activity on implementation of the national system of independent external testing (know-how, technology and logistics of the system of independent external testing were developed; after its experimental implementation, the system was passed to the Ministry of Education and Science. In 2008, the system of Independent External Testing was implemented on the nationwide level and along with that, representatives of the IRF and experts will be constantly involved into its implementation); analysis of problems and working out recommendations regarding implementation of inclusive education; implementation of foundations of university autonomy (a package of documents with legal substantiation of university autonomy was developed; a public discussion on university self-government and autonomy was initiated; a number of public and expert events regarding clarification and popularization of the basic foundations of university autonomy were conducted (self-government, financial independence, public control, assessment of quality of education, transparency and effectiveness of management); development of a network of public platforms to facilitate educational reforms (on the basis of Poltava and Odesa Institutes of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education, local centers of the Ukrainian School Heads Association and local educational NGOs); expert provision of amendments to legislation on education in the direction of its reforming and facilitation of training of specialists in the sphere of legislation on education; facilitation of quality changes in the content of liberal arts education.

2010 Program Budget - $ 450 000

2010-2011 Program priorities:

• Promote dialogue between the public and government on designing a strategy for education development in Ukraine.
• Provide expert support for changes to educational legislation and reform; supporting the training of experts on educational legislation, preventing corruption in the educational sphere.
• Make changes in the system of education management and financing (decentralizing the system and introducing institutional autonomy of the subjects of educational activity)
• Develop the system for education quality monitoring and assessment, ensure that consumers of educational services influence the quality of education, ensure that the public as well as experts influence the development of the system for controlling and improving education quality;
• Support the development of various forms of inclusive education to introduce basics of socialization and equal access to quality education for children with special needs;
• Provide qualitative changes to the content of humanities aimed at overcoming ethnic and cultural exclusivity, xenophobia, intolerance to the “Other” and in introducing the concepts of multiculturalism, ethnic, gender and cultural tolerance.

The program activities are carried out by:

• implementation of operation projects and negotiated grants,
• supporting competition and tender grants;
• supporting non-competitive initiatives.

Program target audience:

• students;
• post-graduate students;
• scientists;
• teachers of higher education establishments;
• students and teachers of secondary education establishments;
• social organizations involved into solving of educational problems;
• scientific institutions.

Component “Law and Education”

• Monitoring and analyzing legal support for the educational process in Ukraine in the context of European standards and the Bologna process.
• Discussing changes and amendments to educational legislation and policy with a broad spectrum of the public.
• Monitoring adherence to regulatory norms in the educational sphere and fundamental legal rights and obligations of participants of the educational process; supporting student and NGO initiatives to battle and prevent corruption at higher educational establishments.
• Developing, approbating and implementing educational programs, training courses and programs on issues of educational rights, legislation and policy.
• Developing informational resources for the component “Law and Education.”

Component “Management and Finance in Education: Prospects for Changes”

• Presenting and discussing the analytical report with interested parties (Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, Odesa), Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance.
• Finalizing the analytical report and developing recommendations on how to improve the system of educational financing and management.
• Discussing the recommendations with government bodies and the public during expert seminars.
• Activity within this component will be carried out by means of cooperation with the program Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative (LGI), Kyiv City Board of Education, local education administrations in Lviv, Odessa and Karkiv.

Component “Introducing Inclusive Education in Ukraine”

• Lobbying for changes in the legislation on the creation of conditions to deliver high quality education to special needs children within comprehensive educational establishments.
• Developing and introducing a system of inclusive assessment.
• Creating resource centers at specialized schools and boarding schools.
• Developing methods for adapting independent external testing materials for children with special educational needs.
• Strengthening the potential of public organizations acting to protect the rights of children with special needs, creating a network of such organizations.

Component “Creating an Independent System of Monitoring the Quality of Education”

• Creating an analytical-expert platform for developing recommendations on educational policy related to the external testing system.
• Carrying out an independent audit and expert assessment of the state system of external assessment.
• Developing independent expert recommendation based on statistical monitoring studies of external assessment.
• Developing techniques for adapting external assessment for children with special needs (in cooperation with a broad spectrum of public organizations).
• Carrying out an informational campaign on the social importance of external assessment and the results of a public evaluation of the system of external assessment.

Component “School of Tolerance: History and Civil Education”

• Developing, publishing and discussing the expert paper “History Education in Ukraine: Roads to the School of Tolerance”.
• Developing recommendations for content changes to history programs and textbooks.
• Testing recommendations with teacher’s groups.
• Carrying out field studies with focus groups (teachers, pupils, parents, authors, editors).
• Developing training programs and educational courses in cultural tolerance for history teachers, teacher-trainers, textbook authors, and publishers.
• Developing a national register of criteria for evaluating educational literature in history and integrating it with the official permission process that approves the use of literature in the educational process.
• Translating and publishing methodological and research studies on problems associated with writing history textbooks.
• Activity within this component will be carried out by means of operational activity through negotiated grants, competitions and operational projects.