Description of the system Out-of-School Education

Description of the system Out-of-School Education

Out-of-School Education

In June 2000, in accordance to the Constitution of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada [Supreme Council] of Ukraine had adopted the Law of Ukraine "On out-of-school education". This law defines the state policy in the sphere of out-of-school education, its legal, social, economic, organizational, educational and training bases.

The State policy. The network of out-of-school education, being an integral part of the system of continuous education, is formed up in the following directions:

Provision of citizens' right to obtain out-of-school education;
Creation of conditions for obtaining of knowledge, abilities and skills in out-of-school education institutions during the time, which is free from studies at general education or other training institutions; as well as for the development of aptitudes and talents of pupils and students;
Satisfaction of their interests, spiritual requirements and needs in vocational guidance;
Creation of norms and legal basis of further development of out-of-school education and of activities of out-of-school education institutions.

Principles. Out-of-school education is based on the principles of: humanization, unity of all-human and national values, democratization, scientific and system approaches, continuity, sequence and integration, heterogeneity of way-of-life approaches, capacity of variations, free will, accessibility, independence and activeness of personality, practical targeting of out-of-school education and upbringing.

Strategy. Strategy of the development of the network of out-of-school education institutions is targeted at the regulation of relations between bodies of state power and training institutions, institutions and organizations, at defining the curricula, forms and methods of out-of-school education of pupils and students, as well as at creating conditions for charity activities of legal entities and individuals.

Structure. The policy, principles and strategy are implemented through the system of out-of-school education, which includes state, municipal, private out-of-school education institutions; other education institutions such as centers of out-of-school education for extra-school and extra- institution hours.

Statistics. The situation in the country substantially influences conditions and activities of institutions of education, culture, and sports, which provide pupils and students with out-of-school training in accordance with their interests. Such situation requires their reforming in accordance to the state order, interests and demand of children, their parents and the wide public. In spite of economic crisis and due to efforts of central and local bodies of executive power, we have partially managed to stop the shortening of network of out-of-school education institutions. For the last three years their network had been relatively stable.

One can see the increase in growth rate regarding the number of pupils and students in the centers and schools of aesthetic upbringing of youth (140 per cent), other types of out-of-school education institutions (43.5 per cent). A shortening was apparently related to a contingent of pupils and students of: centers, stations and clubs of technical creativity (35.5 per cent), young naturalists (16 per cent), regional tourists and researchers of local lore, economy and history (13.7 per cent), flotillas (39.3 per cent), centers of patriotic upbringing of youth (20 per cent), children and youth clubs of physical training (57.7 per cent). The main reason lies in the lack of corresponding financial and material inputs needed for proper functioning of those institutions.

The system of out-of-school education encompasses nowadays about 1.2 million children and youth all throughout Ukraine. The main trends of the system are: regional tourism, research of local lore, economy and history; ecologic and naturalistic; scientific and technical; artistic and esthetical, etc.

In 2000 every 5^th school age child was also a student of the out-of-school education institution.