European model of digital governance in the education sector: administrative and legal standards and prospects for their implementation in Ukraine
Abstract
The article presents a comprehensive study of the administrative and legal foundations of the European model of digital governance in the education sector and identifies the prospects for its implementation in Ukraine. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to adapt national legislation to the contemporary standards of the European Union in the context of the digital transformation of public administration and Ukraine’s European integration process. The purpose of the article is to analyze the European administrative and legal standards of digital governance in the education sector, identify the specific features of their implementation in the Member States of the European Union, assess the current state of the legal framework governing the digital transformation of education in Ukraine, and substantiate directions for improving national legislation in accordance with modern European approaches. The methodological framework of the research is based on a combination of general scientific and special legal methods, including the dialectical, systemic-structural, formal legal, and comparative legal methods, as well as methods of analysis, synthesis, and legal modelling. The study establishes that the contemporary European model of digital governance in the education sector extends beyond the mere digitalization of administrative processes and represents an integrated system of legal, organizational, and information technology mechanisms founded on the principles of legality, human-centeredness, openness, accountability, interoperability, personal data protection, cybersecurity, and the safeguarding of digital rights. It is determined that the current legislation of Ukraine creates the fundamental prerequisites for the digital transformation of education; however, it remains fragmented and fails to ensure comprehensive administrative and legal regulation of the functioning of state information systems, digital educational platforms, electronic identification, and interoperability between public registers. The study substantiates the necessity of harmonizing Ukrainian legislation with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the European Interoperability Framework (EIF), the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), the European Digital Identity Framework (eIDAS 2.0), and the Interoperable Europe Act through the development of a unified administrative and legal model of digital governance in the education sector. The scientific novelty of the research lies in substantiating an administrative and legal approach to understanding the European model of digital governance in the education sector as an integrated system of regulatory, organizational, and technological mechanisms aimed at ensuring the efficient, secure, and human-centered functioning of public information systems. The article proposes conceptual directions for improving the administrative and legal framework governing the digital transformation of education in Ukraine, taking into account contemporary European standards. The practical significance of the research results lies in the possibility of their application in improving the legislation of Ukraine in the field of digital governance, developing regulatory legal acts governing the functioning of state educational information systems, harmonizing national legislation with the law of the European Union, as well as in scientific research and the educational process during the teaching of administrative law disciplines.