THE CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES OF THE PUBLIC ORGANIZATIONS OF HALYCHYNA (GALICIA) AS THE PREMISE OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE UKRAINIAN PRESCHOOL

Abstract

In the article the role of the charitable organizations of Galicia in the establishment and development of the Ukrainian preschools is defined. The author emphasizes that “Tovarystvo Ruskyh Zhinok” (“The Society of Russian Women”), which was created at the end of the nineteenth century and was later renamed as the “Sojuz Ukrainok” (“Union of Ukrainian Women”) contributed in every way to the organization of the national system of the preschool education. Natalia Kobrynska was the supporter of the women’s movement and the initiator of the Union of Ukrainian Women. According to the conviction of the leader of the women’s movement, public women’s associations could be created by the organizers and the owners of the preschool educational institutions in the conditions of the stateless existence of the nation. Being free from the direct influence of the official Polish school authorities, they had to secure the national directives of the guardianship and educational process in the institutions they had maintained. The initiatives of the progressive Ukrainian women contributed to the establishment of the preschool societies as organizations of different types of institutions for the smallest citizens. However, this was preceded by the growing interest in the problems of children and childhood on the territory of Europe in the 18th – at the beginning of the 19th centuries, which was caused by the socio-economic and cultural-educational changes. The first general meetings of the society “Ruska okhoronka” (“Russian Guard”) which was convened on the first of February, 1901 in Lviv, was an important starting point in the history of the Ukrainian preschools. For the achievement of the main goal of the society (the establishment of the Ukrainian preschool institutions) many things were involved: the deposits of its members, voluntary donations of the organizations and citizens; the profits from the mass events, such as lectures, amateur performances, etc., which were planned to be held by “Ruska Okhoronka”. In the 1920s and 1930s the society was turned from the charitable institution into the respectful educational factor of the national cultural and educational life of the region. The article highlights the charitable activities which were directed into the development of the Ukrainian preschool institutions of the “Prosvita” (“Enlightenment”) and “Ridna Shkola” (“Native School”) societies. Being well aware of the need in training the qualified pedagogical staff, the members of the societies directed their effords into the preparation and publication of the textbooks, instructional letters, study guides and children’s periodicals.