FACILITATION ACTIVITY IN THE EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT: RESULTS OF AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON ITS AWARENESS AND THE NEED FOR IMPLEMENTATION

Abstract

The article substantiates the relevance of facilitation activity in the context of the transformation of modern education, which is characterized by the affirmation of humanistic values, partnership-based interaction, and subject–subject relationships among participants in the educational process. The evolution of the concept of «facilitation» is analyzed – from its emergence within the framework of humanistic psychology to its contemporary pedagogical interpretation as a professional activity aimed at creating a psychologically safe environment, supporting personal self-development, and organizing effective group interaction. It is determined that pedagogical facilitation functions as an integrative phenomenon combining the managerial toolkit of an educational institution leader with the pedagogical technology of a teacher or lecturer focused on the development of learners. The purpose of the article is to analyze the results of an empirical study examining the level of awareness and attitudes toward facilitation activity among school principals, teachers of general secondary education institutions, university lecturers, and students of pedagogical specialties. To achieve this goal, a set of theoretical methods (analysis, synthesis, and generalization of scientific sources) and empirical methods (questionnaire survey, quantitative and qualitative data analysis) were employed. The survey was conducted using the Google Forms service and involved 420 respondents representing different categories of educational stakeholders. The findings reveal variability in the understanding of the essence of facilitation – from perceiving it as a process of supporting learning through collective discussion to interpreting it as a management style based on the principles of self-organization and partnership. The majority of respondents recognize the importance of pedagogical facilitation in creating situations of success, fostering personal potential, developing responsibility, and ensuring productive communication. It has been established that facilitation approaches are implemented both in instructional and managerial activities, integrating into various formats of educational interaction. At the same time, a certain proportion of respondents demonstrated an insufficient level of awareness regarding the theoretical foundations of facilitation, which highlights the need for the systematic development of facilitation competence. The generalization of the obtained data provides grounds to assert that facilitation activity is regarded as a universal tool for modernizing the educational process and improving school management practices. Prospects for further research are associated with the development and testing of models for implementing facilitation technologies, as well as with evaluating their impact on the quality of education and the professional development of educators.