Thesis is devoted to revealing the tendencies of innovative school networks development in the USA in the late XX – early XXI century in the context of determining the theoretical foundations, normative-legal support, content and organization of their activities in the investigated period. The state of investigated problem in the national scientific thought is considered. The following aspects of consideration of innovative school networks as an educational phenomenon are distinguished and characterized: theoretical-methodological, socio-philosophical, educational-political, managerial, didactic-technological, professional-pedagogical and comparative-pedagogical. The conceptual-terminological apparatus of research is described. The scientific content of the basic concepts of research (“innovation”, “educational innovation”, “network society”, “network”) is specified. It is proved that innovative school network represents dynamic integrity of interrelated actors representing scientific, educational, social and cultural organizations, created with the aim of developing and introducing new educational products, expanding innovative educational and cultural space of the network participants, exchanging information, knowledge and ideas, ensuring the possibility of self-development of participants in network interaction, improving the quality and efficiency of the learning process in the context of implementing the goals of educational reforms. In the context of determining tendencies in development of theoretical foundations of innovative school networks activity in the USA, the precondition of their historical development is demonstrated by the needs for intensification of educational reforms in the country, diversification of the reform strategies; an interconnected set of methodological approaches that underlie the theory and practice of schools networking in the USA during the investigated period (organizational, systems, transformational, synergetic, integration) is outlined; the theories of network organization of education are characterized, in particular: constructivist organizational theory, theory of social capital, theory of new social movements, Durkheimian network theory.
The tendencies in development of normative-legal support for innovative school networks activity in the USA during the investigated period are highlighted. The leading tendencies are: regulation of establishment and functioning of innovative school networks within the framework of documents of educational reforms; development of state-public partnership in support of innovative school networks, their transformation into an actual direction of diversification of educational reform strategies, implementation of “inside-out” and “bottom-up” reform initiatives; implementation of teacher leadership development programs; expansion of autonomy of education institutions and their network associations through introduction of school-based management programs. The tendencies in development of content and organization of innovative school networks activity in the USA during the investigated period are highlighted. The tendencies of development of the content of US innovative school networks activity are singled out: ensuring high literacy and numeracy outcomes for all students; formation of an educational environment free from violence and drugs; introduction of high standards of content of education, learning outcomes and material provision of educational process; taking into account educational opportunities and interests of students in the educational process; application of active teaching methods; development of technologies for inclusive and gifted education. The tendencies of development of US innovative school networks activity organization are described: formation of networking skills in actors of innovative school networks; diversification and modernization of ways to disseminate information within and outside the network; increasing the efficiency of using shared resources; use of network approaches and technologies in organization of the system of continuing professional development of teachers and school administration. The possibilities of using the elements of progressive experience of American educational system in the aspect of the investigated problem in Ukraine at the national, local and institutional levels with identification of the legislative, scientific-methodological, organizational-pedagogical and managerial aspects of the proposed recommendations are determined.
