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In 2020 international and national economies have reached a milestone in their development. A new decade started with the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit the world economy and affected higher education and the labour market interaction. A national model of higher education interaction with the labour market has been shaped under the influence of global trends and challenges of the past decades, e.g. globalisation, marketisation, internationalisation and Europeanisation. The COVID-19 pandemic caused new transformations and digitalisation. The present study explores Ukraine’s higher education interaction with the labour market in the past decade. The research focuses on analysing the trends in higher education and the labour market in the pre-pandemic time. This interdisciplinary research integrates findings and perspectives from analytical reports, statistic data, and original surveys conducted in 2015 and 2020. The current state of play in the national higher education interaction with the labour market is described as an imbalanced model. It resulted in a supply and demand mismatch, a high unemployment rate of higher education graduates, educational and labour migration increase, and entrants’ reduction due to the demographic and economic crisis. It is concluded that on the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ukraine gradually lost modern factors of economic growth – human and intellectual capital. In turn, the Coronavirus crisis caused new challenges – remote working, an emergency transition of higher education to a digitally-based format and online distance learning. These trends will likely widen the gap between national higher education and the labour market.

The article considers modern approaches to assessment at schools based on the analysis of various assessment scales (range from three to one hundred points). The pedagogical regularities influencing the choice of assessment scales are determined, in particular: 1) increase of quantitative parameters of the assessment scale; 2) the use of a tribal rating scale for one-element answers; 3) the use of indirect evaluation with a significant amount of evaluation scale; 4) application of mathematical methods of transition from qualitative parameters to quantitative indicators of estimation; 5) taking into account the level of structure of the subject and the relationship between learning and development of subjects of study. Finally, we propose three secondary school testing and evaluation systems models that provide mathematical, humanities and general education. To identify the causal effects from different assessment scales, we conduct an educational experiment and a large-scale online survey in Ukrainian schools from 2019-2021. As a result of experimental research, we allocate the essential elements of testing and estimation activity: educational parameters, the structure of components of knowledge of a subject, criteria, a scale of estimations, an interval scale of transition to assessments, forms of final and local testing. The findings suggest that the developed approaches to assessing high school students’ educational achievements are more effective than traditional ones. They encourage schoolchildren motivation to learn, in particular, in performing independent (especially homework) tasks. The obtained data confirm the need to use new approaches to assessing student achievement.

The article presents the quality assurance of higher education in France and reveals the system structure peculiar features. The authors characterize the activity of national agencies for external and internal quality assessment. We show that the formation of French quality assurance in higher education has lasted for three decades. The periodization of the quality assurance shaping in higher education is determined based on reforming the principal national agency for quality. The article illustrates the national legislative documents that regulate external and internal French quality assurance. We believe that a specific feature of the French system of quality assurance in higher education is its subordination to agencies (ENQA and EQAR) at the EU level. The article reveals that the French system of quality assurance in higher education is regulated by legal documents («Standards and recommendations for quality assurance in the EHEA»(ESG)) at the European level; a number of national laws, including the Law on Finance (2001), the Law on Freedom and Responsibility of Universities (2007), the Law on Higher Education and Research (2013); national recommendations and handbooks that form the norms and procedures for assessing the quality of universities. Higher education quality assurance is provided through external assessment and internal self-assessment by universities at the national level. The specificity of the French external quality assessment system’s structure lies in the variety of external agencies and their powers. The High Council for Evaluation in Research and Higher Education (Hcéres) is an independent body. The others external agencies are the Inspectorate General for Public Administration of Education and Training (IGAENR), the Commission of Chartered Engineers (CTI), the Commission for the Evaluation of Management Training and Diplomas (CEFDG) and the Advisory National Commission of University Institutes of Technology (CCN-IUT). National external assessment agencies have a sectoral focus and work in a specific segment, relying on internal quality control procedures. Internal self-assessment is mandatory for all French universities that issue state-recognized diplomas.

On the basis of the system analysis of the implementation in the Concept for the development of the national innovation system, developed and approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in 2009, it is stated that its efficiency is rather low. It is established that the main reason for this is inconsistent and low effectiveness of state, educational, scientific and innovation policy. It is proved that Ukraine needs today a new systemic innovation development strategy that should combine the efforts of power, business, education, science and become a guarantor of dialogue between them. The place and role of the educational-scientific subsystem in the national strategy of innovation development are outlined and the main problems of higher education and vocational education in the context of the training of innovative-oriented specialists are identified. It is substantiated that domestic education, in particular, higher education, can become the most important indicator of the quality of life in society, react effectively to exponential technologies and promote technological change in the business environment by making five radical steps. Realizing them, Ukrainian society has a chance in the medium term to ensure the introduction of the latest innovative technologies and to become significantly closer to the level and way of organizing the life of developed countries.

The study explores higher medical education transformation during the COVID-19 pandemic in the world and Ukraine. It also highlights the current trends – coronavirus quarantine and digitalization of medical education. The article also aims to study international medical students’ needs and perspectives on the eve of quarantine and their attitude to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020. The research is based on surveys of first-year international medical students, chosen at random. It allowed students to provide feedback on their country of origin, satisfaction, ways of financing the study, and future career plans, as well as their attitude to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The qualitative data analysis lets advocate that coronavirus has determined a deep transformation in higher medical education and affected international medical student population. First, coronavirus has changed the role of medical students and internship. Second, it has fastened transition from traditional to digitally-based education and brought distance learning and exams worldwide. On the eve of the quarantine, Ukraine is becoming a host country for international students primarily from Asia and Africa. Among the reasons for international students’ choice of Ukraine as a place for study are their country preference, high-quality education, friends’ advice and geographical location. The international medical students consider Ukraine not only as a high-quality medical education provider but as the perspective country for postgraduate employment. Besides, the majority of first-year international medical students find remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic supporting, effective but tiring. The research creates a paradigm for future studies of the international medical students’ phenomenon.

The collective monograph analyzes the current problems of quality assurance in higher education, raises questions about the role and social function of modern universities in society. The educational foundations for the development of university education at the current stage have been highlighted, an analysis of the challenges the modern university community is facing has been carried out, and attention is focused on the digitalization of the educational space. The authors’ team focuseson updating the legal framework and its compliance with the European standards of quality assurance in higher education. Besides, they raise issues of the European requirements implementation at the Ukrainian universities, as well as discuss the quality education impact on the labour market. The researchers pay significant attention to the culturological aspects of quality assurance in higher education: the university values, academic and information culture, and academic integrity.

This paper explores the problem of harmonization of educational thesaurus which requires urgent attention in the process of creating European Higher Education Area and developing of common educational standards. All policy documents, the reports of the European Council and guidliances contain key educational terms that require proper understanding and interpretation in both the member states and in countries that are at the stage of European integration. The paper also reviews the issue of the coordination of international educational thesaurus with the national one, what raises the question if it is possible to unify educational terminology in Europe and beyond? Besides, the authors make an overview of the genesis of the competence movement in the EU, the USA, Australia and Ukraine to evaluate this question. It has become evident that there is still considerable misunderstanding of the integrated approach to concepts of competence and competency. These definitions are found to be too broad, abstract and general and not unified for higher education both on international and national levels.

The author of the article presents an analysis of the current situation of demand and supply of specialists in the European Union. The basis for the analysis is the reports of the European Commission, which widely cover this issue. It is worth noting that different EU countries feel the problems of supply and demand in different ways. Their conformity is observed only in Germany, where the number of students graduate each year and enter the labor market in search of work coincides with the requirements of employers in terms of the number of specialists. Other EU countries are in demand for specialists in the scientific, engineering and technology sectors and a quantitative shortage of teachers and doctors. The study is devoted to the questions related to factors that affect the matching between the demand and supply of teachers and doctors. Among such factors is the increase in population, health and education costs. The number of school children is the dominant factor in the demand for teachers. Another factor is educational programs that determine the demand for subject teachers. The policies and priorities of the curriculum have a dominant influence in determining the different types of teachers as well. The demand for physicians depends on the health system. The offer of doctors may differ due to differences in the industry, in particular, the accessibility of education and training for doctors, as well as the conditions of medical service. The results of this study can contribute to a deeper understanding of the current state of the regulating process of higher education interaction with the labor market in Ukraine.

The author of the article presents an analysis of the policy of graduates employment of higher education institutions in the EU. The basis for the analysis is the reports of the European Commission, which are widely covering this issue. Studies examining issues related to the regulation mechanisms of cooperation between higher education and labour market and the current state of their application in the European Higher Education Area. Among these mechanisms there are forecasting the labour market; involvement of employers in the management of higher education and evaluation of its quality; consulting services; practices and training; survey of graduates. The first component of the regu- lation mechanisms linked to graduate employability concerns labour market forecasting. This process involves estimat- ing the expected future number of jobs available in an economy. Besides there are trends to involve employers in higher education institutions’ governing bodies and in external quality assurance (QA) procedures.The results of this study may contribute to a better understanding of the current state of the process of cooperation between higher education and labour market in Ukraine.

The article analyzes the impact of policies on the development of educational systems in the European Union and Ukraine. The sources are independent reports of the European Commission, and state documents on higher education in Ukraine. A detailed study of the European Commission reports helps to identify internal and external factors, which have different effects on higher education in the European Union. The external factors include global process of internationalization of higher education and its consequences. Under internal factors we concider the Lisbon strategy and the Bologna process. One could argue that education systems in the European Union will develop under the influence of external and internal factors, where the dominant position of the Lisbon Strategy and the Bologna process will win the lead role. Since the signing of the Bologna Convention in 2005, higher education in Ukraine has been in a state of current changes. Analysis of the new Higher Education Law of Ukraine made it possible to outline the major innovations in the reforms of higher education and similar policy trends of higher education in the European Union and Ukraine.

The article presents the current trends in the preparation of students in higher education in the EU and Ukraine. These trends are identified on the basis of the analysis of legal documents (legal acts of primary and secondary law), which reflect the EU response to contemporary global changes in education: globalization and marketization. These processes require from higher education to provide new approaches to the training of students in accordance with labour market demands. The new Law on Higher Education in Ukraine directs the development of national higher education system to integration into the European Higher Education Area. The new law establishes financial principles of higher education system, creates conditions for strengthening cooperation of government agencies and businesses with universities on the principles of autonomy of higher educational institutions. An important goal is to prepare competitive human capital for national high-tech innovation and development, to provide the labour market with skilled workers. The author considers that the legal documents of the EU and Ukraine try to reflect the current trends in training of students in accordance with the processes of globalization and marketization in education.