Imagine two children.
One brings home top marks and excels at tests. But gets lost when it comes to making independent decisions or expressing their own opinion.
Another doesn't always have perfect grades, but she knows how to work in a team, isn't afraid to ask questions, looks for solutions in difficult situations, and doesn't give up after the first mistake.
Just ten years ago, most parents would have unhesitatingly preferred the course of events in the first example. Today, the second scenario is increasingly preferred. This is precisely how the perception of quality education is changing.
The pandemic, remote learning, full-scale war, and the rapid development of technology and artificial intelligence have forced many parents to rethink the role of school in a child's life. Education is gradually ceasing to be just a system of knowledge transfer and result checking. Instead, school is increasingly becoming an environment where a child learns to live in a complex, unpredictable world.
Why the «learned - answered - got graded» model no longer works
For decades, the traditional school has been built around a clear logic: discipline, control, the right answer, and a single path for all pupils.
But the world that today's children are entering works by different rules.
The international PISA-2022 study showed that it is becoming increasingly important not only to possess academic knowledge, but also to be able to apply it in real life. For the first time, creative thinking became a separate area of assessment – one of the skills that will increasingly determine a person's professional and life success.
The OECD’s Future of Education and Skills 2030 research also contains similar findings. Among the key competencies of the future, experts name critical thinking, adaptability, responsibility, emotional resilience, and the ability to learn throughout life.
Simply put, it is no longer enough for a modern child to simply remember information well. It is much more important to learn to navigate an ever-changing world.
And this is increasingly becoming the main criterion for parents when choosing a school.
What parents are really looking for today?
«In recent years, we have seen a very noticeable change in requests. If previously parents were mainly interested in the curriculum, workload or grades, today they want to understand how their child will feel at school, how complex situations are handled here, and whether the school shares the family's values,» says co-founder of Main Point Academy, Marianna Lutsiuk.
According to her, the last few years have given Ukrainian families experiences they haven't had before: distance learning, changing schools, integration into a foreign-language environment, and familiarisation with foreign education systems.
This changed the very understanding of quality education.
«Sometimes parents come to us with very unexpected requests. One mother said at the first meeting: «I'm not worried about maths, it's important to me that my daughter isn't afraid to raise her hand or ask for clarification on a difficult topic for her.» And this is a very telling example. Parents are looking for an environment where their child can grow as a person, gaining knowledge and experience,» says Marianna Lutsi.
