ORGANIZATION OF SCHOOL EDUCATION IN ANCIENT RUS FROM THE HISTORICAL, PEDAGOGICAL AND ETHNOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

The process of rethinking the development of national education for the purpose of establishing the statehood of Ukraine, raising patriotic Ukrainians who thoroughly know their history, culture, and traditions are important in modern conditions. Historical and cultural assets and educational traditions act as an effective factor in the national and patriotic upbringing of higher education students, forming civic and cultural values and competences in them. Of course, the most effective is the appeal to the origins of the spirituality and culture of our people – Ancient Rus. The purpose of the article is to carry out a historical and pedagogical analysis of the development and formation of Ancient Rus school education, to clarify the prerequisites for the spread of writing by the Kiev princes, a close connection with the best European and Ukrainian folk educational traditions. It has been established that the development of ideas about education and upbringing in the period of Ancient Rus has national significance. The study showed that during the reigns of Volodymyr the Great and Yaroslav the Wise, education became an important priority of state and religious policy. It was found out that Yaroslav the Wise was the first prince of Kyiv who introduced international mobility, attracting European monarchs to study at the higher school of “book learning” under Sophia of Kyiv in 1037. It was shown that the educational activities of Prince Yaroslav and his family left a noticeable mark in the history of Ukrainian culture. After all, Ancient Rus was not inferior in education to the European countries of that time. It is proven that the ancient Russian education has close integration ties with the culture of Byzantium, the “seven liberal arts”, foreign languages, and sports are included in the content of education. The analysis of ethnographic materials confirms the appeal to folk experience, folk customs and traditions of starting school on the Naum holiday, based on the practical needs of Ukrainians as skilled farmers. The important trends of the Ancient Rus educational tradition of that time are traced – nationalism, humanism, democracy, Europeanism, inextricable connection with work and life.