Ukraine

Before 1991, when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, its system of extraschool education included an extensive network of Palaces of Young Pioneers, Houses of Culture, Institutes of Marxism-Leninism, and cultural and sports facilities. All the educational activities provided by the system had a strong ideological flavor. In the 1990s the institutions of nonformal education discontinued the practice of indoctrinating Communist ideology through their programs and could concentrate on their educational and cultural mission. However, due to the economic crisis, the network started shrinking. Educators engaged in the system had to direct their main efforts to the survival, rather than extension, of their facilities. In the mid 1990s the network of nonformal institutions Comprised of 900 multifunctional centers of children's creative work, 500 sports schools, 250 centers of young technicians, 200 young naturalists stations, and 20 young tourists stations. Other facilities are art schools and studios, music schools, health centers, and summer camps. Independent education can be obtained through people's universities, libraries, clubs, TV, and radio programs. New offerings include aerobic and shaping courses, Internet cafes, computer games, and health centers for those who can afford it.

Special attention is given to adult education, which was largely ignored in the 1980s and 1990s. The search for better-paying jobs, ambition, or the need to acquire an additional profession urge thousands of people to take part in advanced training, refresher, or retraining courses. In 1999 over 500 state, communal, and private educational institutions in the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education and 23 other ministries and agencies offered postgraduate training and refresher courses for adults. The developing market economy produces the need for specialists in the field of economic and financial management, banking, insurance, law, and other areas. The most active enrollees in the programs of additional education are representatives of small businesses, demobilized military officers, and the unemployed.

Organizations engaged in educational research are teacher training institutions, research institutes of pedagogy and psychology, the Pedagogical Society founded in 1960, the Pedagogical Museum organized in 1948 as an exhibition, and numerous educational associations. Other public and research organizations, which participate in international programs, organize educational fairs and exhibitions, and publish periodicals, are: the Znannia ("Knowledge") Society of Ukraine, the Association of Non-State-Owned Educational Institutions of Ukraine, the International Education Fund, the Ukrainian Teachers' Creative League, and others.