Svetlana Ershova

Recently, the activities of educational organizations and their directors are increasingly influenced by external and internal factors, which creates uncertainty regarding attainability of the set educational objectives. The growth in the number of initiated educational projects and programs enhances the negative level of influence of already existing factors on the effectiveness of the educational organization. Risk management is an iterative process that helps protect the values of educational institutions, make optimal decisions and improve effectiveness of work. The low level of organizations’ project maturity in the education system today has not made it possible to develop an adapted system of coordinated actions for the management of an educational organization in the field of risk. However, when launching an educational project or program, there are successful risk management practices that require theoretical understanding. In this regard, consideration of the principles and structure of risk management in educational systems is of particular importance and relevance. Accordingly, the purpose of the article is to describe the principles and structure of risk management in educational projects and programs. The leading approach in this case is the systemic activity-oriented approach, which ensures the organization of an integral process of risk management in educational systems, increasing the productivity of the process and supporting the achievement of the goals of the project and program. As a result of the study, the authors of the article highlight the principles and structure of risk management in educational projects and programs that form eight characteristics of effective risk management and five components of the risk management structure. The theoretical significance of the article is due to the contribution to the development of scientific ideas about risk management in educational projects and programs. Practical use of the research results makes it possible to build more effective work on risk management in educational projects and programs.