THE PROBLEM OF ORGANIZATION AND CONTENT OF NON-FORMAL EDUCATION IN FOREIGN SCIENTIFIC PERIODICALS (1960–2021 YEARS)
Authors:   Zhytomyr Ivan Franko State University, Pavlyk Nadiia 
Published: July 2022

The study presents the results of quantitative analysis of bibliographic sources on the search word-combination "non-formal education" in open access foreign journals in order to study the history of non-formal education as a scientific term. Data were collected using the EBSCO search resource; the key word-combination of the search was "Non formal education" in the field of education and social sciences. The search time limits cover the period from January 1960 to July 2021. Methods of quantitative analysis of publications in open access foreign journals; monitoring references to the term "non-formal education" in scientific publications; analysis and comparison of data on the study of non-formal education with the subsequent synthesis of hypotheses and conclusions were applied. Conclusions are substantiated that Ukrainian scientific area lacks research on the history of the emergence and spread of non-formal education as a methodologically new educational paradigm and social phenomenon. The lack of established periodization of the formation of non-formal education in Ukraine and abroad leads to the spread of contradictory author's ideas. It is established that the first publications mentioning non-formal education (1964; 1972; 1982) coincide in time with the introduction of the strategy of mass education in most European countries (60-70s of the twentieth century). The use of the term "non-formal education" was associated with a description of the state of access of certain categories of the population to education and the corresponding way of life, which may characterize the correlation between non-formal education and social work. Non-formal education as a part of the scientific apparatus of research began in the field of social sciences, but has become more popular in the field of education and pedagogical research. Quantitative data of publications indicating non-formal education in the scientific apparatus of research mean the possibility of periodization of the formation of non-formal education in the research of foreign authors. The article identifies four stages depending on the number of publications, their content, and the direction of research: 1) the middle of the twentieth century-1980s − the stage of considering non-formal education as a tool of social changes, a means of overcoming the crisis in education and giving it a more mass character taking into account the social status and individual characteristics of different categories of the population; 2) 1980s-1990s − the stage of transfer the term "non-formal education" in the field of pedagogical research; 3) 1990s-2010s − the stage of origin and spread of the concept of lifelong learning, accompanied by growing interest in nonformal education as a form of lifelong learning; 4) 2010s-2020s − the stage of rapid growth in the number of publications on non-formal education, which reflects the scientific interest in the application of non-formal education for social transformations and responses of the information society.