SOCIAL JUSTICE IN EDUCATION: ACCESSIBILITY ASPECT

The article analyzes the problem of accessibility of education. Education accessibility has become of great relevance in the European Union in recent decades, when the attention has been paid to its integral influence in shaping social, cultural, economic and political situation. Education accessibility enhances each country’s or region‘s intellectual potential and promotes integration into the economic competitiveness of the area, not only in the context of the European countries, but also in international forums. This decade, all EU member states launched a decentralization of education management by promoting employment and reducing unemployment. In the Republic of Lithuania, on the basis of the principle of subsidiary, education decentralization and responsible management are under implementation; schools, municipal and state functions are redistributed, municipality responsibility to education accessibility has increased. The priority direction of education reform in the Republic of Lithuania is the development of infrastructure, i.e., the reorganization of the network of education services and the optimization that would guarantee access to learning. Education accessibility is particularly relevant for socially marginalized and poor citizens. KEYWORDS: social justice, education accessibility, social stratification. DOI:  http://dx.doi.org/ 10.15181/atee.v2i0.944