INSTITUTIONALIZING SCHOOL INTEGRITY: A CONCEPTUAL MODEL FOR ANTI-CORRUPTION EDUCATION IN ARMENIA

Lilit Matevosyan

doi:10.24234/miopap.v13i1.133

Authors

Lilit Matevosyan Khachatur Abovyan Armenian State Pedagogical University https://orcid.org/0009-0008-2111-4070

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24234/miopap.v13i1.133

Keywords:

anti-corruption education, institutionalization, school integrity, organizational culture, transparency, Armenia

Abstract

This paper examines the institutionalization of anti-corruption education in general education schools in the Republic of Armenia, focusing on the gap between policy commitments and school-level implementation. Armenia's 2023–2026 Anti-Corruption Strategy explicitly includes curriculum development, teacher training, and non-formal school initiatives; monitoring evidence nevertheless indicates uneven implementation of several education-related measures.

The study employs a qualitative conceptual design combining structured document analysis with a purposive comparative review of Armenian policy and monitoring documents and international experience. It identifies three interrelated dimensions of effective anti-corruption education: content, organizational mechanisms, and institutional culture.

The analysis indicates that policy commitments and curricular measures alone are unlikely to generate sustainable behavioral change when they are not aligned with transparent school governance and integrity-supporting institutional norms. Drawing on the Armenian evidence and comparative cases, the paper proposes a three-level institutional model linking what students learn, how schools are governed, and which norms are reinforced in everyday practice.

The study's scientific contribution lies in treating alignment across these three levels as the core unit of institutionalization and in translating the model into measurable indicators that can support future empirical validation and policy implementation.

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