Denicheva O. The tendencies of liberal education content reforms in the gymnasiums of Austria

The historical and pedagogical analysis of the problem of liberal education content reforming in the gymnasiums of Austria (in the second half of the XX century- the first decade of the XXI century) is represented in the scientific thesis. The main aspects of liberal education content reforms in the gymnasiums of Austria are determined. The ideology formation of the implemented reforms in the sphere of liberal education is influenced by the political and economic development processes in Western European region. The reforms in the system of secondary education were conducted in the contradiction between the political forces intention to provide transformations in the selective character of education system and the necessity to keep a traditional division of educational levels. The changes caused by social and ethnic diversity of post-war society influenced on the transformations in the content of Liberal education. The contiguous character of the reforms in the sphere of Liberal education in the second half of the XX century - the first decade of the XXI century is determined by the development of several political cycles (forming the government that included two major parties in Austria: the Austrian People's Party and the Social Democratic Party). The factors of liberal education reforms in Austria are characterized. Among them are political, social-economical, religious and cultural. The tendencies of liberal education content reforms in Austria are highlighted. They are: the tendency to multiculturalism, the implementation of competence-based approach, the process of individualization and differentiation; integration; health maintenance. The establishment of international organizations such as the European Economic Community (1957) and the European Union (1993) made a significant impact on the migration flow development. It led to the free territorial displacement which was followed by the permanent and temporary relocation. It was noted that the migration flow in Austria caused some changes in the life of native population. The positive changes include: jobs, expanding infrastructure, small and medium-sized businesses development. Negative changes are: deficit of experienced specialists and active population growth. The influence of migration flow on Liberal education reforms is analyzed. The need of migrants' native languages implementation in educational process in Austria is determined. The importance of gender equality and religious tolerance among the students of gymnasiums is highlighted. It is proved that the tendencies of education reforming focus on the resource searching for learning languages and organizing bilingual classes for migrants. The peculiarities of Liberal Arts content transformations in the gymnasiums are examined. The specific character of secondary education structure in the gymnasiums is analyzed. The changes in the content of Liberal Arts block in the gymnasiums of different types are studied. The prospects for the use of Austrian experience in liberal education content reforms in Ukraine are predicted. The recommendations for the implementation of positive Austrian experience are given.