THE PROBLEM OF CULTIVATING DISCIPLINE AMONG STUDENTS OF SECONDARY EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN UKRAINIAN PROVINCES OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE AT THE TURN OF THE 20th CENTURY (on materials of the meeting of the curator’s council of Odesa educational district)

Abstract

The article, based on the analysis of historical and pedagogical sources and archival documents, reveals the position of the curator’s council of Odesa educational district on effective ways to cultivate discipline among secondary school students in the late nineteenth to early twentieth century. It has been found that the secondary schools of Ukrainian provinces of the Russian Empire in the period under study functioned in conditions of significant social, economic and political changes associated, on the one hand, with the development of capitalist relations, on the other hand, with the economic crisis of 1901–1903 and activation of workers and peasants movements and the rise of political activity among liberal and democratic strata of population and the student youth. Against this background, the inconsistency of the existing system of secondary education, which comprised mainly grammar and real schools, with the economic and social needs of the state became more and more noticeable, forcing the Ministry of Public Education to raise the issue of the secondary education reform. It has been found that the Emperor Nicholas II, concerned about the growing political activity of students and pupils, identified the requirement of combining youth education with religion, faith, loyalty to the crown and the fatherland, respect for the family, and learning from early childhood to main-tain order and discipline. In pursuance of this order, the Minister of Public Education H. Zenger sent to the curators of educational districts, including Kyiv, Odesa and Kharkiv, a circular “About Discipline in Secondary Education Institutions” (1903), recognizing the current state of affairs with students’ discipline and control over it by school authorities and pedagogical staff as unacceptable and demanded strict execution of the monarch’s will. The desired educational results were proposed to be achieved by both pedagogical and repressive methods. Effective methods and techniques for prevention of order and discipline violations by the students to be used by pedagogical staff were considered the following: pedagogical tact and friendly attitude to students; the content of studying and its educational nature (especially at the language, lite-rature and history lessons); organization of extracurricular educational activities with the use of teaching, suggestion, persuasion of students; cooperation with parents; moral support for pupils living in student dormitories; appeal to the religious beliefs and feelings of students. It has been found that at the meeting on December 12, 1903, the members of the curator’s council of Odesa educational district, having studied in detail the state of affairs and having considered the circular proposal by the Minister of Public Education and the views of pedagogical councils of secondary education institutions of the district on discipline issue, expressed their opinion. In the decision of the council among the most effective ways to impose the discipline among students were identified as follows: reducing occupancy of classes; in-troduction the institute of educators; organization of student dormitories, boarding schools, home churches; use of educational potential of literature, religious and moral discussions; establishing good relationships with students’ parents. It also highlighted the need to improve the financial and official status of teachers as a guarantee of the quality of the educational process.