Formation of Online Content Patterns of Higher Education Based on Trends to Preserve Intellectual Capital Quality Decreasing in Ukraine During Wartime

Abstract

The article examines the current stage of forming online content in higher education worldwide and in Ukraine. The main goal of this paper is to develop patterns for creating educational content to improve the learning process at universities despite the full-scale war, including flexibility. To achieve these, the author used bibliometric, trends and cluster analysis. As analytical tools, Google Trends and VosViewer were chosen. The investigation is divided into three parts: study patterns of online content in higher education (HE) based on a literature review, identify trends in HE, and examine online educational content in the context of the flexible learning process at universities. The investigation stage of key trends in the development of higher education in Ukraine is initial because it demonstrates up-to-date theoretical background worldwide, and particularly in Ukraine, especially publication after 2019. The main approaches to renovating the educational system included improving distance or blended learning as a modern study pattern. The key stakeholders are students and teachers. However, teachers transform into facilitators who prepare educational content and support learners in self-directed learning based on their inquiries. As for Ukraine, the tendency was intensified because students affected by full-scale war cannot study in the traditional (in-person) way. To find how trends in HE in Ukraine during key political changes were modified in Ukraine, the author used Google Trends to search inquiries of main consumers of educational services in Ukraine concerning higher education through the keywords “university” in three languages. The customizing periods showed the reactions of the young to critical political changes in Ukraine. In such a way, attitudes towards higher education during the beginning of the Orange Revolution, the Revolution of Dignity, the war in the east of Ukraine and the full-scale war were investigated. The significant changes were noticed after February 24, 2022, compared to November 30, 2013. There was an increasing popularity of inquiries based on universities abroad and learning as a tool to get employment. The most relevant inquiries in forming online content are “distance learning” and “дистанційна освіта”. Moreover, the tendency of increasing inquiries in the Ukrainian language compared with russian inquiries of approximately 10% was found. It was confirmed that trends could be used as a tool of formation patterns of educational content. That is why the paper aims to explore terms across years such as “educational content trends”, “educational trends” (205 articles), “online content trends” (305 articles), and “educational online content trends” (25 articles) at the Web of Science (WOS) platform. Key sectors of educational online content include Education, Educational Research, Economics, Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary, Multidisciplinary Sciences, and Management categories. In addition, Ukraine leads in publishing articles in forming online educational patterns with Poland, russia, the USA, Bulgaria and others. Furthermore, “educational content trends” and “online content trends”were compared to measure theoretical gaps by cluster analysis, where the main clusters are teacher, content analysis, development, quality, educational progress, and social media. The findings of this study hold valuable implications and recommendations for the formation of online content in higher education, particularly during times of war and in post-war periods.