Ukrainian Pedagogues of the 19th Century: Contribution to the Development of Modern Pedagogy

Abstract

The article aims at revealing the contribution of 19th century Ukrainian pedagogues to the development of pedagogy as a science. The most prominent cultural figures of that time and their pedagogical legacy were under the consideration from the following aspects: their social and pedagogical activity; peculiar features of their pedagogical theories; their impact on the development of pedagogical ideas in forth-coming centuries. To achieve it, there were used methods of historiography, identification, analysis and systematization. The choice of the 19th century was determined by its great educational role in the social life which was reflected in its name “Enlightenment”. The lack of native land, national identity, integrity of Ukrainians as a people did not prevent the intellectual elite of the nation to search the ways of cultural unity and revival. The effective tool in it was the introduction of national education into masses of people. In their educational activity they applied the didactic principles: visibility of learning, conscious and active learning, consecutive and systematic learning, firmness of knowledge acquisition, connection with real life, the use of both synthetic and analytical methods of learning and teaching. The research proved that Ukrainian pedagogy was developing according to the major European trends in education, e.g. secularization of education, attention to family education, expanding the content of general education. Yet, there were unique national pedagogical ideas of using the Ukrainian language, a mother tongue, for teaching Ukrainian children; introducing Ukrainian folklore into the educational process; liquidating the class inequality; nursing the child’s soul. Their achievements are still important today. Addressing the origins of Ukrainian pedagogy can assist in achieving the goal of educating and upbringing younger generation who respects their native land and tries to preserve their history. Thus, the argument of the outmost importance in this research is that the current state of modern pedagogy greatly depends on its historical background.