Unified educational space of the EAEU member states

Abstract

The article deals with the issues of integration of individual national educational systems and the formation of a single Eurasian educational space. The purpose of the article is to assess the degree of readiness of the national higher education systems of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states for consistent integration. The assessment was conducted employing the tools of mathematical statistics. At the first stage, the authors formalized the national education system parameters in the form of a scorecard. At the second stage of the study, a comparative analysis of educational systems was carried out based on enlarged groups of quantitative and qualitative indicators. To conduct a comparative analysis of educational systems the authors used comparative logical, descriptive, and cluster analysis methods. According to the analysis results, Armenia and Belarus turned out to be the countries, most close to each other in terms of the totality of qualitative and quantitative indicators of national higher education systems. The conducted analysis allows concluding that Belarus can integrate with other countries most easily. Armenia is ranked the second country capable of such integration. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are in the third and fourth places, respectively. According to the results of the cluster analysis, Russia has shown a minimal degree of integration of the higher education system with other EAEU countries, as it is the leader in terms of several qualitative and quantitative indicators. The authors have empirically proved that the EAEU member states have similar approaches to the organization of the higher education system and can hypothetically be united into a single educational cluster within a single Eurasian educational space.