Volodymyr Bozhynskyi
https://orcid.org/0009-0007-0661-5451
Yevhen Nikolaiev
https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6317-6250
STATE REGULATION FRAMEWORK FOR TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN UKRAINE: KEY TRENDS AND SHORTCOMINGS
Full text (pdf)
Language: Ukrainian
Abstract. The system of teachers’ professional development in Ukraine is undergoing changes aimed at expanding opportunities for teachers to choose professional development activities according to their own needs from a wider range of education providers. The relevance of the study is driven by the need to overcome the “quality vacuum” in educational services that has emerged as a result of market deregulation and to introduce digital solutions to ensure quality. The purpose of the article is to identify key historical trends in the regulatory framework for teachers’ continuous professional development and to assess the impact of the 2025 government initiatives on the system’s further development. The research methodology combines a historical analysis of legislative evolution, a formal legal analysis of new normative acts, and a comparative approach contrasting Ukrainian realities with the EU recommendations on introducing micro-credentials. The article identifies three stages in the evolution of state regulation: post-Soviet inertia, comprehensive liberalisation, and the current stage of digitalisation and the search for a balanced model of teacher learning throughout their careers. The main regulatory acts introducing a unified information system for teachers’ professional development and an experimental financing mechanism based on the “money follows the teacher” principle are analysed. The essence of partial professional qualifications is explained as a tool for implementing the European approach to micro-credentials. Based on an analysis of the draft Conceptual Framework for Teachers’ Continuous Professional Growth (2025), strategic vectors of change are outlined: institutionalisation of teacher induction, diversification of career paths, and the introduction of horizontal career opportunities for teachers. We conclude that the current regulatory framework is characterised by a shift from administrative control to a supervisory model in which digitalisation serves as a tool for quality verification and ensuring transparency in the financing of teacher development activities.
Keywords: professional development, professional development training, state regulation, partial qualifications, micro-credentials, digitalisation of education, teacher induction, “money follows the teacher” principle.
https://doi.org/10.32987/2617-8532-2025-4-16-29
Keywords: professional development, professional development training, state regulation, partial qualifications, micro-credentials, digitalisation of education, teacher induction, “money follows the teacher” principle.
https://doi.org/10.32987/2617-8532-2025-4-16-29
References:
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10. Khoruzha, L., & Bozhynskyi, V. (2025). State regulation of general secondary education in Ukraine: historical context. Educological discourse, 49(2), 46-60. DOI: https://doi.org/10.28925/2312-5829/2025.2.5 [in Ukrainian]
11. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. (2017). On education (Act No. 2145-VIII, September 5). Retrieved from https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2145-19#Text [in Ukrainian].
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13. Semyhina, T., Rashkevych, Yu., Reznik, H., & Stepankova, N.. (2024). Recommendations for the implementation of micro-qualifications in Ukraine. Retrieved from https://cred4teach.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Ukraine_UA_National_Framework_Micro-Credentials.pdf [in Ukrainian].
14. Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. (2025). On the implementation of a pilot project for the procurement of services for the professional development and supervision of teaching staff in general secondary education institutions (Resolution No. 1439, November 5). Retrieved from https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1439-2025-п [in Ukrainian].
2. European Union. (2020). Council conclusions on European teachers and trainers for the future. Official Journal of the European Union, C 193/04. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=uriserv:OJ.C_.2020.193.01.0011.01.ENG.
3. Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. (2019). Certain issues concerning the professional development of teaching and academic staff (Resolution No. 800, August 21). Retrieved from https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/800-2019-%D0%BF [in Ukrainian].
4. Kyrylenko, P. (2025). The right of scientific and teaching employees to improve qualifications: current problems. Zbìrnik Naukovih Pracʹ HarkìvsʹKogo NacìonalʹNogo Pedagogìčnogo Unìversitetu ìmenì G. S. Skovorodi. Pravo, 41, 366-373. DOI: https://doi.org/10.34142/23121661.2025.41.40 [in Ukrainian].
5. Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. (2025). The Ministry of Education and Science proposes for public discussion the “Conceptual Foundations for the Continuous Professional Development of Teaching Staff in General Secondary Education Institutions”. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/4hyyk6m2 [in Ukrainian].
6. European Union. (2020). Council Recommendation of 24 November 2020 on vocational education and training (VET) for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience. Official Journal of the European Union, C 417/01. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=oj:JOC_2020_417_R_0001.
7. European Union. (2022). Council Recommendation of 16 June 2022 on a European approach to micro-credentials for lifelong learning and employability. Official Journal of the European Union, C 243/02. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=oj:JOC_2022_243_R_0002.
8. Birch, P. (Ed.). (2021). Teachers in Europe – Careers, development and well-being. Publications Office of the European Union. Retrieved from https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2797/997402.
9. Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. (2025). On amendments to the Procedure for professional development of teaching and academic staff (Resolution No. 1343, October 22). Retrieved from https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1343-2025-%D0%BF#n2 [in Ukrainian].
10. Khoruzha, L., & Bozhynskyi, V. (2025). State regulation of general secondary education in Ukraine: historical context. Educological discourse, 49(2), 46-60. DOI: https://doi.org/10.28925/2312-5829/2025.2.5 [in Ukrainian]
11. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. (2017). On education (Act No. 2145-VIII, September 5). Retrieved from https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2145-19#Text [in Ukrainian].
12. Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. (2020). On complete general secondary education (Act No. 463-IX, January 16). Retrieved from https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/463-20#Text [in Ukrainian].
13. Semyhina, T., Rashkevych, Yu., Reznik, H., & Stepankova, N.. (2024). Recommendations for the implementation of micro-qualifications in Ukraine. Retrieved from https://cred4teach.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Ukraine_UA_National_Framework_Micro-Credentials.pdf [in Ukrainian].
14. Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. (2025). On the implementation of a pilot project for the procurement of services for the professional development and supervision of teaching staff in general secondary education institutions (Resolution No. 1439, November 5). Retrieved from https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1439-2025-п [in Ukrainian].