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DEVELOPMENT OF PRESCHOOL EDUCATION IN UKRAINE IN THE LATE NINETEENTH AND EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURIES

The article analyzes the peculiarities of the development of preschool education in Ukraine in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It is established that the intensive development of these issues in the period under study was facilitated by such factors as: socio-political, socio-economic, organizational and pedagogical.
Keywords: preschool education, development, factors, Ukraine.

Tanko T. P.
Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor,
H. S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University, Kharkiv, Ukraine

Tararak N. G.
Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor,
H. S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University, Kharkiv, Ukraine

10.34142//2708-4809.SIUTY.2022.210

According to scientific sources, the formation and further development of preschool education in Ukraine took place in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and was closely linked to the socio-economic, cultural and historical processes that were taking place in the country at that time. These included: the rapid development of various sectors of society; the unification of efforts of state and public institutions and organizations to provide highly qualified personnel for industry, agriculture, and education; a change in the view of the role of women in society; increased public activity to open women’s education institutions and motivate women to pursue education and further teaching; and the first state reforms in the field of women’s education.

The “Preliminary Rules of Public Education” that existed at that time and provided for the division of the territory of Ukraine into educational districts contributed to the intensive development of education in different regions of the Ukrainian state.

It was during this period that the development of preschool education in Ukraine was associated with the opening of the first women’s schools in the provinces. Thus, in the second half of the nineteenth century, women’s Sunday schools became widespread, which were intended for women of all ages and social status. It is known that it was in the Kharkiv region that a private Sunday school for women, headed by X. D. Alchevska [1]. There were also secondary schools for women at that time. It was in the second half of the nineteenth century that the first Mariinsky gymnasium in the Kharkiv province was opened (1860) and the first women’s diocesan school (1854).

It should also be emphasized that in the 70s of the nineteenth century, the development of preschool education in Ukraine was promoted by both zemstvos and individuals and societies.

Zemstvos carried out diverse activities, namely: allocated funds for the maintenance of educational institutions, provided assistance to charitable societies, took care of the material and financial support of educational institutions, advanced training of preschool teachers, organized preschool and out-of-school education, equipped libraries, held public readings, etc.

At the end of the nineteenth century, the active development of preschool education was facilitated by the formation of a system of state social care for preschoolers, the creation and support of kindergartens at factories and plants, the publication of special pedagogical collections for educators and teachers, the development of subject talks for preschool children about the garden, orchard, field, river, the opening of libraries at orphanages, the opening of special educational institutions and pedagogical courses for the training of teachers and educators at orphanages by charitable societies and departments.

It is also worth noting that the development of preschool education in this period was also associated with the opening of pedagogical courses for preschool teachers and preschool education institutions whose premises met hygiene standards, etc.

The study and synthesis of scientific and pedagogical sources allows us to state that the development of the theory and practice of preschool education was facilitated by various pedagogical societies that were established in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in Kyiv. These societies included the Kyiv Society of People’s Kindergartens and the Froebel Pedagogical Society. In particular, the Froebel Society took an active part in the first All-Russian Toy Exhibition in 1890. Games, lesson plans, and children’s works were widely presented at this exhibition (7 Ukrainian kindergartens participated).

In 1896, the Froebel Society presented children’s handicrafts, samples of the work of students of the nanny school, its printed publications, explanatory notes on the activities of the courses and the kindergarten that was created at the society.

The society also took an active part in the World Pedagogical Exhibition held in 1900 in Paris. This exhibition featured handmade works of kindergartens run by the society, students of the courses, as well as photo albums that demonstrated the work of both pedagogical courses and the school of nannies and summer colonies, and presented reports of the societies that had been awarded prizes.

The period under study is characterized by the widespread development of preschool institutions, which is associated with the massive involvement of women in the industrial sphere, the intensification of the activities of various organizations for the care of children, and the opening of free public kindergartens.

Issues of organizing preschool education in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were raised at various congresses on public education. For example, at the first and second congresses of technical education figures, reports by K. Tsyrul and A. Kataev were devoted to these issues. In 1904, at the third congress on public education, O. Klokova, the head of the St. Petersburg Froebel Society, made a report specifically devoted to the opening and operation of kindergartens. The speaker drew attention to such important issues of that period as: dissemination of information about the activities of kindergartens and their locations; the need to establish a close relationship between kindergarten and family; and the development of free public kindergartens, which were specially opened for children of the poor and workers.

A significant contribution to the development of preschool education was also made by the Froebel Pedagogical Institute, which began operating in Kyiv in 1907. It was a higher education institution that provided special training for kindergarten teachers and offered pedagogical courses on a regular basis.

It is worth noting that the Society of People’s Kindergartens organized special courses in preschool education and held exhibitions “Preschool Education” and “Children’s Labor” in 1908-1910, which showcased the works of children who were in kindergartens, children’s books, games and toys, manuals and equipment for kindergartens, etc., games and readings for children, and lectures and reports on the theory and experience of raising young children by the organizers. These were the first events of this type in Ukraine [3].

The dissemination and further development of preschool education in Ukraine was also facilitated by the publication of the journal “Preschool Education” (1911), which disseminated data on the needs of public kindergartens and encouraged cooperation with them and became in demand among specialists in preschool education and was of interest to all segments of the population [3].

The study and synthesis of scientific and pedagogical sources indicate that in the 20-30s of the twentieth century the government of the Ukrainian Republic began to create a broad system of educational institutions.

It was during this period that public education was faced with the need to build new institutions for children. Thanks to the active support of the state, in 1921 the kindergarten became the leading type of preschool education institution. In addition to kindergartens, preschool education in the 1920s also included summer and winter playgrounds, the organization of preschool groups, evening children’s rooms at clubs, kindergartens and seasonal playgrounds in villages.

The development of the first draft of the kindergarten program, which was published in 1932, and the adoption of the government decree “On Measures to Regulate the Work of Kindergartens”, which established a 9-hour working day for kindergartens, were important for the further development of preschool education in Ukraine.

Thus, the development of preschool education in Ukraine in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was associated with: certain socio-political and socio-economic factors, congresses on public education, expansion of the network of preschool education institutions, establishment of pedagogical courses and the Froebel Pedagogical Institute, formation of a state system for social care of preschoolers, publication of special pedagogical collections and a journal on preschool education, and others.

List of references

1. The joy of a teacher-creator. Preschool education. 1966. № 11. С. 21-22.
2. Development of preschool education in Kharkiv region. Preschool education. 1955. № 11. С. 20.
3. Stupak F.Y. Activity of Charitable Societies of Kyiv in the Second Half of the XIX – Early XX Centuries: PhD thesis. Kyiv, 1997. 23 с.