Yuriy Balkin

Type of the article: Theoretical Article

Abstract
Digital transformation has become a strategic prerequisite for improving the quality, accessibility, resilience, and competitiveness of education systems, creating a need for a coherent framework to integrate and assess heterogeneous evidence, particularly in Ukraine under wartime conditions. The purpose of this study is to develop and substantiate a methodological framework for the integrated assessment of digital transformation in education in Ukraine by systematizing its key determinants and establishing a conceptual basis for the Integral Digital Transformation Index of Education. The study employs the synthesis of international and national evidence, comparative analysis of existing assessment approaches, conceptual modeling, and a systems approach to organize complementary evidence according to its analytical level and methodological role. The study proposes a three-stage methodological architecture comprising the identification, classification, and conceptual grouping of potential indicators; a conceptual Delphi-based procedure for expert assessment and weighting; and subsequent integral aggregation for the future calculation of the Integral Digital Transformation Index of Education. The architecture distinguishes four interconnected determinants (digital infrastructure, digital competencies, digital educational resources and technologies, and digital potential for innovative development) and differentiates education-specific indicators from broader contextual and diagnostic evidence. Thus, the proposed concept provides a transparent, reproducible, and war-conditions-sensitive methodological framework and requires further empirical testing and validation for future implementation. In particular, future research should determine the final set of indicators, implement the Delphi procedure, establish empirically derived weighting coefficients, perform integral aggregation, and assess the reliability, sensitivity, stability, and temporal comparability of the resulting Integral Digital Transformation Index of Education.