REFORM OF SCHOOL CHEMISTRY EDUCATION IN UKRAINE: REGULATORY AND LEGAL ASPECT (END OF THE 20TH – BEGINNING OF THE 21ST CENTURY)

Abstract

The reform of school chemistry education in Ukraine at the turn of the 20th–21st centuries took place in conditions of profound socio-political and cultural transformations that accompanied the formation of an independent state and the reorientation of the education system to democratic, humanistic and personally oriented principles. Based on historical and pedagogical analysis, a comprehensive study of the regulatory and legal principles that regulated the development of chemistry education in general education schools was carried out. The main attention was paid to the content and structure of such key documents as the Law of Ukraine “On Education” (1991), the Law of Ukraine “On General Secondary Education” (1999), the State Standard of Basic and Complete General Secondary Education (2004), the Concept of General Secondary Education (12-year school, 2001), as well as the Concept of Implementation of State Policy in the Field of Reforming General Secondary Education “New Ukrainian School” (2017).

It is analyzed how these documents influenced the formation of educational programs, the development of curricula and textbooks in chemistry, determining the volume and logic of presenting educational material. The main directions of modernization of chemistry teaching methods are determined, in particular: the transition from a knowledge paradigm to a competency-based approach, strengthening the practical and experimental component of training, the introduction of integrated courses and interdisciplinary connections. The gradual evolution towards the profiling of high school and the individualization of educational trajectories is traced. A number of contradictions in regulatory support are identified, in particular regarding the ratio between the fundamentality and applicability of the content of training, as well as between innovative approaches and the real possibilities of the educational industry. Based on the generalization of the research results, promising directions for improving the regulatory framework of chemical education in the context of modern challenges and European integration processes are formulated.

The article examines the process of evolution of chemistry textbooks in Ukraine since the early 1990s, in particular the changes that occurred as a result of educational reforms. The growth in the number of textbooks published by publishing houses such as Perun, Academy, Geneza and others is analyzed, and their impact on updating the content of education. Special attention is paid to the adaptation of textbooks to different educational levels, the introduction of interactive teaching methods, the development of critical thinking and experimental skills of students. The importance of the competency-based approach, the integration of interdisciplinary connections and the inclusive component in modern chemistry textbooks is considered. The role of the methodological apparatus in ensuring effective learning and the consistency of textbooks with current curricula and state education standards is separately emphasized.