SUPERVISORY BOARDS IN STRUCTURE OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION: PRACTICE REVIEW IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The problems of formation and activity of supervisory boards at vocational education institutions in Ukraine is insufficiently disclosed in the theoretical and practical aspects. The government's initiatives to establish supervisory boards in the Lviv region of Ukraine update the study of existing practices with the identification of problematic aspects for further improvement. The legal support for the functioning of supervisory boards in the education system of Ukraine in the article is analysed. The main focus is on the drafts of the Strategy for the Development of Vocational Education 2023, as well as the Standard Regulations on the Supervisory Board of Vocational Education. The essence of supervisory boards is determined – as advisory-consulting, controlling and coordination-communication formations at educational institutions (including vocational), which operate on a permanent basis and unite stakeholders in the field of strategic development of this institution. The main disadvantagesof the current supervisory boards at vocational education institutions in Ukraine are summarized. There are the lack of information about their results, the uncertain practice of institutional representation. In this regard, it is proposed to vary the inclusion of representatives of the internal and external environment of the institution in the supervisory board. The internal environment should be formed by a representative of the teaching staff who do not hold a managerial position, a representative of the student government, a representative of the trade union organization. The external environment of the supervisory board should be maximally represented by different spheres. It is recommended that the supervisory board include representatives of the central and regional authorities, a representative of the local government, a representative of the educational and methodological center of vocational education of the region, representatives of a public organization, employer or its supervisory board, higher education institution with related specialization, foreign organization, as well as the scientific environment. The recommendations emphasize the need to form the legal basis for the activities of supervisory boards in the system of strategic development of vocational education in Ukraine.