Mass education refers to the large-scale, systematized provision of schooling to broad populations rather than to small social elites, typically through publicly organized institutions, standardized curricula, and age-graded progression [1][2][3]. It denotes an education model in which access is expanded toward near-universal participation, especially at primary and lower-secondary levels, with formal governance, teacher professionalization, and common certification structures [1][2]. Mass education is characterized by state or state-regulated coordination, compulsory attendance frameworks, and institutional mechanisms designed to educate large cohorts efficiently and comparably across regions and social groups [2][3]. In historical and policy analysis, the term identifies the shift from selective schooling to population-wide education systems and is used to examine how expansion, standardization, and inclusion shape equity, citizenship formation, and social stratification.
Education and Social Development in Ukraine • Education • Social Sciences • Social Sciences