CONTROL, FREEDOM AND TRUST: SEEKING FOR A HIGHER EDUCATION MODEL IN A POST-COMMUNIST COUNTRY

Higher education in Estonia as in all post-communist countries has undergone rapid changes during the last 20 years. Soviet-type centralised model was replaced during the 1990s with liberal and sometimes even chaotic self-organisation of the whole sector. From the beginning of the new century, through the use of both financial mechanisms and quality control procedures state regulation has been strengthened. During last years the new paradigm of trust has been frequently discussed, and some first steps taken to introduce this approach, for example the replacement of control-centred curricula accreditation with quality evaluation and institutional accreditation, aimed at supporting the development of university's strategic management and quality culture. Analysis of the higher education paradigm change in the research is based on Hargreaves's Bigger, Tighter, Harder and Flatter model, which describes the large scale educational change taking place in the western world during recent decades. The article studies changes in the Estonian higher education sector and observes possible future developments originating from the EU and Estonian strategies.