No. 11

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The educational strategy process in Estonia and the Estonian Educational Forum

  • Olav Aarna

    Member of Board, Foundation Estonian Qualification Authority

The Estonian Educational Forum founded in Tartu in 1995 arose out of the need to involve all possible interest groups in the making of major educational policy decisions, or to put it another way, to develop, in the field of educational policy, the participatory democracy that is inherent to civic society.

From the very outset, the forum has looked for ways to avoid sudden changes in direction in educational policy – the kind of shifts that follow changes in the composition of the Riigikogu and the Government of the Republic and the appointment of new educational ministers. For the educational forum, an important measure in achieving this goal was the passage of the Estonian educational system conception in the Riigikogu. Even though no one, in the whole time the educational forum has been active, has questioned the need for a development plan, we must note with regret that for several reasons, we still have no state-adopted document entitled “educational strategy.” Despite the setbacks, the educational forum has had a significant impact on the development of the educational strategy process in Estonia and has contributed to the development of the culture of participation and involvement in Estonia.

Full article in Estonian

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