Professional education of Ukrainian youth in Sofia Rusova’s artistic legacy and practical activity in emigration - Статья

Proskura and others) various vectors of S. Rusovas educational-research legacy and civic and outreach activities have been analyzed. However, S. Rusovas experience as a co-creator and co-organizer of professional education institutions in the context of emigration is so far understudied and of great current concern and, therefore, has been set as an objective of the research. It is a matter of common observation, that on the territory of the Czechoslovak Republic (the CSSR) during the interwar period there were a number of high schools, where nationally-responsible, skilled specialists underwent training for the needs of the future independent Ukrainian state. These high schools represented education of the Ukrainians in the world and were absolutely competitive with other educational institutions, which operated in the CSSR. Among them one can name: Ukrainian Free University (1921-1945), Ukrainian Economic Academy (1922-1932), later transformed into the part-time Technical Economic Institute (1932-1944 р.), M. Drahomanov Ukrainian High Pedagogical Institute (1923-1933, Prague) including its affiliated institution (the basis of pedagogical apprenticeship) - Ukrainian Real Gymnasium, Ukrainian Institute of Social Sciences (1925-1945, since 1929 - Sociologic Institute), whereby Ukrainian Labor University functioned as an autonomous institution (1927-1931) - the first part-time study Ukrainian higher educational establishment, the Ukrainian Studio of Plastic Arts. S. Rusova worked at three of them, and had a direct bearing on others. Thus, her first steps as a teacher in the Czechoslovak Republic S. Rusova made in 1922, becoming a lecturer in the French language at Ukrainian Economic Academy in Podebrady. In 1923 she moved to Prague and actively participated in setting up and functioning of the first higher educational institution among Western countries, aimed at training Ukrainian teaching staff. S. Rusova became a member of the special commission for establishing M. Drahomanov Ukrainian High Pedagogical Institute (UHPI), which dealt with organizational and preparation works for the institute opening: working out and giving in the statute for approval to the Czech Ministry of Education, preparing drafts of academic programs and curriculums, making a list of the applicants for the teaching positions; setting the rates of payment, searching the premises etc. Since the first days of the UHPI Sofia Rusova was a member of the professorial board, lectured in pedagogics, didactics and preschool education, actively cooperated with the publishing house Siiach, created on the basis of the higher institution, and with scientific societies, foremost Ukrainian pedagogic society, established under the auspices of the institute in 1930, with the aim at ... studying issues of pedagogic theory and practice as well as historical and modern conditions of public education in Ukraine. Due to S. Rusovas contribution the Ukrainian gymnasium was opened in the Czechoslovak Republic, which in 1925 was included into the structure of the pedagogical institute as a basis for practical training of future educators [3, 78]. Nevertheless, the biggest part of S. Rusovas life in emigration is connected with the Ukrainian Institute of Social Sciences (UISS), since 1929 - Ukrainian Sociologic Institute (USI), where the scholar was invited by its directorate, in the person of M. Shapoval yet in early 1924. In 1927 Sofia Rusova was an active member of the Sociology, Policy and Ethnography departments of the UISS; in 1928 joined the staff of the Institutes curator office, became a member of its Revision Commission; in 1930 was elected deputy head of the USI curator office; and in October 1934 became its presidium deputy chairman, occupying this position till 1937. In 1927 she became a teacher at Ukrainian Labor University (ULU), which was established on the basis of the USI, and in three years she was introduced to the directorship of the ULU. Moreover, since 1928 S. Rusova was a member of the Scientific Board of Ukrainian national museum-archive under the auspices of the Institute of Social Sciences [2, 69]. S. Rusovas direct organizational activity, aimed at establishing and developing of educational process in most of Ukrainian educational and academic institutions in the Czechoslovak Republic and her teaching activity, was enlarged by her comprehensive scientific work, focused on supplying Ukrainian higher education institutions with necessary scientific literature and developing of conceptual bases of the national system of education, originated in her native land. S. Rusovas artistic legacy over the emigration period comprises fundamental pedagogical works, scientific research, theoretical and methodological articles, educational papers and so on. Problems of establishing own national school education system received their adequate and full coverage in the following works: Theory and Methodology of Pre-School Education, Didactics, New Schoo