Home – Home – Jornals – "Philosophy of Education" 2017 number 3

The concept of «educational space» in recent years is one of the most used in the scientific literature. Nevertheless, today there is no methodological unity in the matter of its categorical definition. The author presents his understanding of the modern educational space as well as the criteria by which it can be characterized. The material of the research are normative documents and prognostic assessments belonging to key institutions responsible for the present and future of educational policy as well as the educational environment itself (mainly domestic ones). This approach allows us to identify the direction of changes in modern education as a socio-cultural complex of interactions and practices. To identify the characteristics and key features of the modern educational space, the author turns to the analysis of key trends in modern education. This allows, first, to determine the coordinate system in which the formation is located. It makes possible to determine the topological characteristics of the phenomenon being analyzed. Secondly, the systematic and large scale of modern education in all its forms (including the claim of «life-long education») allows us to draw a conclusion about the spatial nature of education as a phenomenon of social and political reality. The increase in the mass character of education is accompanied by an increase in the individual dimension of the educational process, which means the formation of a new type of relationship within the space of the reproduction of knowledge and innovations. An important factor in the process of transforming the educational space is also the widespread use of information and technology tools, which probably speeds up the process of introducing change. At the same time, geographical expansion (increase in coverage) of the educational space can be accompanied by a functional contraction and even the «withering away» of certain elements. The analysis of changing elements allows the author to distinguish unchanged (at least, relatively stable) features in the educational space. From the point of view of the content of education, we are talking about unification, the tendency to eliminate barriers, and non-dogmatism. The form of educational attitudes and practices remains the same, but the form itself can receive new content, according to some predictions. Finally, on the basis of the dynamics of the development of education, the author concludes that today we are seeing the formation of a fundamentally new educational space which is different from the Modern age. Under these circumstances, special attention should be paid to the axiological component of education as a necessary component of the future global educational space.