Ukrainian and European Information Systems on Education: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

The relevance of this study stems from the increasing contribution of digitalization in setting up an effective education policy and the need to achieve comparability of the Ukrainian education statistics with European standards. In the present-day context of digitalization of public administration, information systems are a core tool for collection, processing, and analysis of data used in decision-making. In Ukraine, this function is performed by the software-hardware complex “Computer-Aided Information Complex of Education Management” (CAICEM) and the Integrated Official Online Base on Education (IOOBE), which form the framework for the national infrastructure for information on education. The article’s objective is to assess the architecture and functionality of Ukrainian information systems on education, and to compare them with information systems for education management in EU countries, in order to determine their development prospects and ways to enhance comparability of data. Methods of comparative and system analysis used by the author allowed to identify structural features, functionalities, and analytical capacities of the studied systems. The analysis covers architectural principles of CAICEM and IOOBE, their interactions, the level of their integration with other official registers, applicability for constructing statistical indicators and support for evidence-based policy. It was found that the Ukrainian model employed a two-level structure, with IOOBE performing the registering function and CAICEM ensuring the analytical contour for the Information System for Education Management (ISEM). A comparison with European systems showed their compliance with general conceptions of ISEM buildup, but identified the need in extension of disaggregation of data, development of longitude tracking of students, enhancement of interoperability and introduction of international standards for data exchange. The results of this study demonstrate technological readiness of Ukrainian systems to the integration into the European statistical space, and outline the main prospects of their modernization, including the development of forecasting analytics, integration with labor market registers, and broadening the scope of socio-economic indicators.