Education in the Pandemic

Abstract

The education sector in Ukraine, as in most other countries of the world, is facing a global challenge due to the spread of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Educational institutions are in an emergency situation and are forced to switch to distance or mixed learning. As a result, there were difficulties with the implementation of a new alternative model, according to which educational institutions have started to work and provide a wide range of their services. The purpose and novelty of the article is a systematic generalization of the results of the extreme mode of operation of educational institutions during the pandemic to adapt them to the extraordinary situation of functioning and further development. The method of research is the systematization of empirical data on individual practices of different types of educational institutions and, on this ground, determination of the possibility of combining in a holistic operation mechanism in terms of the social justice and effi ciency principles. Th e article analyzes the readiness of the education system for distance learning in the context of a pandemic, determines positions for the regulation and sustainable adjustment of educational institutions, ensuring fair access for various segments of society to online resources, the formation of positive scenarios for the education functioning in the epidemic and post-epidemic period. The paper uses the main theoretical positions formulated in the monograph “COVID 19. Great Overload” by Klaus Schwab, economist, founder and president of the World Economic Forum in Davos since 1971, and his co-author Thierry Muller, a publicist and researcher. One of the main provisions concerning education and its long-term development is that the current crisis is forcing society to realize that most decisions are based on moral and fair choices, and that in the future it is possible to move away from personal interests and create a more harmonious society. The UN materials on the analysis of the COVID-19 consequences for the education system and its reconstruction in the future are also used. The study identifies the dynamics of processes throughout the pandemic. Positive and problematic practices are given. The findings obtained from research and experience can be the basis for developing measures to help education institutions to overcome the “transition period”. The key factors of their stability are the general education services (digital libraries, online education platforms), mobilization of teaching and student contingents to work in new conditions, compliance of financial and distribution mechanisms with the requirements of the time.