Higher education management in Ukraine: will generation change help us transform it faster?

User Rating:  / 1
PoorBest 

Authors:

D. Nelipa, Dr. Sc. (Political), Assoc. Prof., orcid.org/0000-0002-5363-3990, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

O. Batrymenko, Dr. Sc. (Political), Assoc. Prof., orcid.org/0000-0003-0211-248X, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

S. Rudenko, Dr. Sc. (Ph.), Assoc. Prof., orcid.org/0000-0001-9069-0989, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

I. Liashenko, Cand. Sc. (Ph.), Assoc. Prof., orcid.org/0000-0003-3912-2075, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract:

Purpose. Despite relatively successful democratic transformation in various areas, Ukraine still has little progress in reforming the system of education. Changes that are taking place (e.g. new legislation is being adopted) do not have expected effect and are often too surface-oriented. The article discusses one of the possible causes for this – high median age and long term duration of university leadership. It is argued in the work that, while senior academics in educational facilities contribute by sharing profound knowledge and experience with the students, electing leaders solely on the basis of their seniority slows the pace of reforms and causes preservation of Soviet traditions in educational governance.

Methodology. The results of the study were obtained through the application of the following methods: analysis and synthesis in the study of strategies, programs, curricula, ratings, which allow analyzing the main directions of educational and scientific activity in Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv; systematic and comparative methods that were used in determining the essence and peculiarities of universities leadership.

Findings. The authors argue that among many other important factors, generation change in university leadership can help the Ukrainian universities take a leap to modernization. It is beyond any doubts that, while university governance is not a single contributing factor for success, higher educational facilities will benefit from such generation change in many ways. First, being in the system for many years, current universities’ leaders fail to think outside of the box and recognize the innovations that must be implemented. Moreover, since the average age of rectors, faculty deans and department chairs is rather high, in the Ukrainian situation it means that their career progressed during the Soviet era or in the first years of independence. Taking the position, they had a different model of governance and higher education in general, dominating in their mindsets, so made attempts to recreate them in their domains. Finally, most university leaders at different levels lack knowledge needed for effective modernization of their facilities such as management training or knowledge of foreign language. The only reason to be elected is based on academic merit, which is important but should be complemented by other skills as today the rector, dean and even department chair are doing more and more representative work, fundraising, media relations and others. Realities of the Ukrainian universities show that a generation change is an inevitable prerequisite for their successful transformation.

Originality. The work does not intend to discriminate a person solely on the basis of age or the number of years in office. However, with regard to the Ukrainian situation, a generation change entails more than simply kicking the older people out. It means minimizing the influence of Soviet legacy on the universities and new additions to it, created in the first post-Soviet years. Those, arguing for importance of ‘new blood’ in the Ukrainian governance at all levels, often state that the young and unexperienced will bring less harm by trying to innovate, than those, trying to keep status quo and resisting change. From this perspective, analysis of leadership of the Ukrainian universities demonstrates that, potentially, it could be one of the impediments to transformation.

Practical value. The obtained results allow us to affirm that a university leadership change is an inevitable prerequisite for the Ukrainian universities successful transformation.

References.

1. Bazaluk, O., 2016. Corruption in Ukraine: Rulers’ Mentality and the Destiny of the Nation, Geophilosophy of Ukraine. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 250 p.

2. Ušiak, J. and Lasicová, J., 2016. Identities of Central European States in Terms of Formation of Security Environment. Annual of Language and Politics and Politics of Identity, 10(1/2016), pp. 45‒59.

3. Yosypenko, S., 2018. Philosophy and Post-Totalitarian Practices. Future Human Image, 9, pp. 134‒144. DOI: 10.29202/fhi/9/14.

4. Bazaluk, O., 2017. Plato’s and Isocrates’ Traditions in the Development of Educational Theories in the History of Culture. Annals of the University of Craiova – Philosophy Series, 40(2 ⁄ 2017), pp. 5‒18.

5. Liashenko, I., Rudenko, S., 2018. The Management Features of the University Preparatory Department. Naukovyi Visnyk Natsionalnoho Hirnychoho Universytetu, 1, pp. 163‒168. DOI: 10.29202/nvngu/2018-1/6.

6. Rudenko, S., Sapeńko, R., Bazaluk, O. and Tytarenko, V., 2018. Management Features of International Educational Projects Between Universities of Poland and Ukraine. Naukovyi Visnyk Natsionalnoho Hirnychoho Universytetu, 2, pp. 142‒147. DOI: 10.29202/nvngu/ 2018-2/21.

7. Selingo, J., Chheng, S. and Clark, C., 2017. Pathways to the university presidency: The future of higher education leadership. Deloitte University Press. Available at: <https://dupress.deloitte.com/dup-us-en/industry/public-sector/college-presidency-higher-education-leadership.html> [Accessed 15 August 2017].

8. Verstyuk, I., 2017. Rector’s business. How Kyiv University has developed ivy of corruption. Novoe Vremya. Available at <http://nv.ua/ukr/ukraine/politics/rektorskij-biznes-jak-kijivskij-universitet-obris-pljushchem-koruptsiji-1517799.html> [Accessed 24 August 2017].

9. Ginsberg, B., 2016. College presidents should come from academia. The New York Times. Available at: <https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2016/03/01/college-presidents-with-business-world-ties/college-presidents-should-come-from-academia> [Accessed 15 August 2017].

10. Derounian, J., 2012. University administration should enable, not disable, learning. The Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2012/jul/31/the-role-of-university-administrators> [Accessed 15 August 2017].

11. Pstuszek, A., 2018. The Social Potential of the Polish Art in the Transformation Period. Future Human Image, 9, pp. 82‒91. DOI: 10.29202/fhi/9/8.

12. Shaw, M., 2014. Switchmen of reform: competing conceptions of public higher education governance in Poland. University of Minnesota. Available at: <https://conservancy.umn.edu/handle/11299/181662> [Acce­ssed 11 July 2017].

13. Nelipa, D. and Batrymenko, O., 2017. Strategy, management model and educational scientific civil servants training program in postgraduate studies of the university. Naukovyi Visnyk Natsionalnoho Hirnychoho Universytetu, 2, pp. 178‒183.

14. Bazaluk, О., Svyrydenko, D. and Terepyshchyi, S., 2017. Structural-Functional Models of Integration and Reintegration of Ukrainian Educational Landscape. Naukovyi Visnyk Natsionalnoho Hirnychoho Universytetu, 5, pp. 163‒168.

15. Fatkhutdinov, V. and Bazaluk, O., 2018. The Importance of the Brain Neuro-Programming Technologies in National and Regional Security Strategies. Philosophy and Cosmology, 20, рр. 74‒82. DOI: 10.29202/phil-cosm/20/6.

 повний текст / full article



Visitors

6226996
Today
This Month
All days
828
53673
6226996

Guest Book

If you have questions, comments or suggestions, you can write them in our "Guest Book"

Registration data

ISSN (print) 2071-2227,
ISSN (online) 2223-2362.
Journal was registered by Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.
Registration number КВ No.17742-6592PR dated April 27, 2011.

Contacts

D.Yavornytskyi ave.,19, pavilion 3, room 24-а, Dnipro, 49005
Tel.: +38 (056) 746 32 79.
e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
You are here: Home Authors and readers journal headlines EngCat Archive 2018 Contents №3 2018 Economy and management Higher education management in Ukraine: will generation change help us transform it faster?