DOI: 10.20535/2307-5244.51.2020.220179
State Service of Education Quality of Ukraine
Khmelnytskyi Humanitarian-Pedagogical Academy
The purpose of the study is to analyze the activities of the society «Prosvita» in
Podillia within the context of the education system of the early XX century. It was
shown that the pedagogical as well as cultural and educational activities of the
society «Prosvita» had a significant impact on the process of Ukrainian national
character formation within the social and educational life of the region. This process
took place in reading of historical papers and holding lectures in Ukranian
language. Also, the process of Ukrainization manifected itself in the demands of
«Prosvita» members to implement Ukrainian language in the educational process
and to include the basic subjects about Ukrainian culture in the curriculum
and create the departments and cources of Ukrainian studies involving the teachers
and lecturers with pro-Ukrainian position. Also, the members of «Prosvita»
society strived for cooperation with the local Ukrainian democratic authorities
in order to promote the process of Ukrainization. In this research the authors
show that the «Prosvita» societies have paid great attention to the elimination
of illiteracy through the organization of stationary educational establishments,
and by the creation of Sunday and evening schools as well as courses for adults.
The members of the society «Prosvita» conducted lectures for adults aiming for
satisfying the needs of the population in pedagogical, cultural, socio-political,
medical, and economic knowledge. The «Prosvita» societies played an important
role in the formation and the development of educational institutions in Podillia,
particularly, through the opening of pre-school education institutions, primary
schools, gymnasiums, courses for adults, professional courses, the establishing
of Kamianets-Podilskyi State Ukrainian University.
Keywords: society «Prosvita», Podillia region, the system of education,
Ukrainization, public figures.
