DISCURSIVE TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE STRATEGIC GOVERNANCE OF EDUCATION POLICY IN THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA: COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF STATE EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES

Abstract

The organizational foundation of state policy in the field of education in the Republic of Armenia is the State Programme for Education Development, which is approved by the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia upon submission by the Government. This article undertakes a critical discourse analysis of the State Programme for the Development of Education of the Republic of Armenia until 2030, adopted on November 16, 2022 (HO-441-N), which defines the strategic priorities of state policy in the field of education. The current strategic document is comparatively analyzed alongside the State Programme for Education Development 2011–2015, approved on June 23, 2011 (HO-246-N). The aim of the comparative analysis is to reveal how the relationship between education, the state, and the citizen is discursively constructed and reformulated over time, and how ideological shifts are represented within these policy texts. The examined state programmes on education development reflect the political thinking of two distinct historical periods. The earlier programme emerged during a phase characterized by relative stabilization and institutional consolidation, whereas the current programme operates within new security-driven, global, and crisis-oriented conditions. Although both programmes declare objectives related to improving educational quality and promoting systemic development, their linguistic and ideological structures differ substantially. The analysis demonstrates that the language of educational policy is far from neutral; rather, it actively participates in legitimizing particular governance regimes and in redefining the organizational configuration of state power.