The professional development of the ukrainian university teachers in terms of the current european educational policy

Abstract

Since the restoration of independence in Ukraine in 1991, much has changed with regard to higher education. Radical social and economic developments took place in the early 1990s and in subsequent years, university education was significantly influenced by the educational policy of the European . University teachers are viewed as key actors in implementing changes, solving problems and achieving goals in higher education. The focus of this research is how university teachers themselves experience and interpret changes in their work and how they cope with changes. A qualitative research strategy is adopted along with a phenomenological approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten long-serving university teachers. In the study, eight main themes of change and various activities for coping with change were identified. One of the most significant changes relates to the students. It can be concluded that the work of Ukrainian university teachers has become increasingly complex, as the variety of tasks and what is required of them primarily relates to growing societal changes, globalization and Europeanization. Although it must be admitted that the investigation sample is limited and its results cannot be generalised for all Ukrainian university teachers, the emerging patterns of professional development indicates the most substantial trends. In addition, these findings can help foster future research in this area.