Participation Type
Panel
Session Title
Session 3.12 Culture, Folklore and Folkways
Presentation #1 Title
Mountain Schools in the Ukrainian Carpathians: Educational Challenges and Pedagogical Trends
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
This session will feature three presentations about rural schools and pedagogy in the Carpathian Mountains of western Ukraine. The first will focus on the legislative history of the mountain school systems, as they are recognized by federal law as having special status. The governmental designation increases funding not only for mountain schools, but also for the teachers and staff who work in the rural school districts. Despite such legal provisions, mountain schools still lag behind other Ukrainian school systems on a number of fronts and must daily confront problems associated with lack of attendance, poor student performance, high dropout rates, and the need for adequate instructional materials. The second presentation will discuss the increased use of folklore and folklore studies in the mountain schools of the Carpathians. In recent years, there has been an increased use of folk customs and local cultural traditions as pedagogical tools in the mountain classroom. What these trends might mean for the development of education in the mountains, as well as their potential impact on sustainable community development, will also be discussed by the two presenters. A third presentation will address the role that the natural environment plays in the identity and character development of highland students. School children in the Carpathians are not only taught craft traditions that reinforce their connection to the mountain landscape, they are also made aware, for example, of the medicinal and health properties of native plants and herbs. While such knowledge may or may not be taught in mountain homes, the school system sees this instruction as essential to preserving highlander cultural identity. For centuries Carpathian residents have lived in close proximity to the mountain landscape and mountain educators continue to celebrate this fact in the community classroom.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Tetyana Blyznyuk is Assistant Professor in the Department of English Philology and Primary Education at the Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine. She has published more than 40 articles in her professional discipline and is an active participant in both Ukrainian and International conferences. Her expertise includes the social and cultural development of mountain students as well as the preservation of folk customs, traditions, and crafts in the Ukrainian Carpathians.
Presentation #2 Title
Mountain Schools in the Ukrainian Carpathians: Legislative History and Current Status
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #2
Vasyl Karabinovych is a student obtaining a Master’s degree in the Department of Law at the Precarpathian National University in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine. He has published several articles on legal and legislative themes, including a publication entitled “Green Mail: Legal Issues for the Sustainable Development of the Carpathian Region.” He has been an active member of student government at the university and was a former member the Ivano-Frankivsk League of Legislators.
Presentation #3 Title
The Contemporary Folklore Revival in the Mountain Schools of the Ukrainian Carpathians: Experience and Assessment
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #3
Olena Budnyk is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theory and Methods of Primary Education at the Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine. She has authored more than 100 articles, including five international publications. Her work is focused on using ethnicity in the classroom (ethno-pedagogy), including the use of folk customs and traditions in primary schools. She has also worked with teachers and students on a major land-use study in the Ukrainian Carpathians.
Presentation #4 Title
The Influence of the Mountain Environment on the Character and Identity of Young Ukrainian Highlanders
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #4
Inna Chervinska is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theory and Methods of Primary Education at the Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine. She has authored more than 90 works in her professional specialty, which includes the specific training of teachers in mountain schools. She is also interested in the preservation of folk customs and traditions in the Ukrainian Carpathians, especially those associated with the Christmas and Easter holidays.
Mountain Schools in the Ukrainian Carpathians: Educational Challenges and Pedagogical Trends
Harris Hall 137
This session will feature three presentations about rural schools and pedagogy in the Carpathian Mountains of western Ukraine. The first will focus on the legislative history of the mountain school systems, as they are recognized by federal law as having special status. The governmental designation increases funding not only for mountain schools, but also for the teachers and staff who work in the rural school districts. Despite such legal provisions, mountain schools still lag behind other Ukrainian school systems on a number of fronts and must daily confront problems associated with lack of attendance, poor student performance, high dropout rates, and the need for adequate instructional materials. The second presentation will discuss the increased use of folklore and folklore studies in the mountain schools of the Carpathians. In recent years, there has been an increased use of folk customs and local cultural traditions as pedagogical tools in the mountain classroom. What these trends might mean for the development of education in the mountains, as well as their potential impact on sustainable community development, will also be discussed by the two presenters. A third presentation will address the role that the natural environment plays in the identity and character development of highland students. School children in the Carpathians are not only taught craft traditions that reinforce their connection to the mountain landscape, they are also made aware, for example, of the medicinal and health properties of native plants and herbs. While such knowledge may or may not be taught in mountain homes, the school system sees this instruction as essential to preserving highlander cultural identity. For centuries Carpathian residents have lived in close proximity to the mountain landscape and mountain educators continue to celebrate this fact in the community classroom.
