Предизвикателствата пред българската образователна система в постсоциалистическия период
Challenges Facing the Bulgarian Education System in the Post-Socialist Period

Summary/Abstract: The assessment of the current state of the educational system in Bulgaria does not meet the European and national expectations, based on a number of indicators. The main objective of this research is to compare and analyze the dynamics of the system in the period after the changes of 1989 and based on the revealed trends, to identify and rank its challenges, given their importance for the quality of the social capital, created by the system. Objects of the study are the main elements, including the inputs and outputs of the system of preschool and school education in the country: from ISCED-0 to ISCED-3, according to UNESCO’s International Standard Classification of Education. The author uses official data, comparative analyzes and assessments of the National Statistical Institute, Eurostat and other European institutions, the World Bank, as well as publications by Bulgarian experts. The results disprove the hypothesis that the decrease in the country’s population in the post-socialist period is the main reason for the reduction in the number of schools and teaching staff. Among the most important challenges facing the Bulgarian education system, the problems at the system’s input (the school infrastructure, predominantly, at the MSCO-0 level) stand out, as well as the quantity of basic elements of the system, such as teachers and schools. Emphasis is placed on the geospatial aspect of the ongoing deepening of the identified challenges.

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