Formation of National-Patriotic Competence of Primary School Children (Based on the Artbook “The War That Changed Rondo”)

Background and aim of study:

Modernization of primary education during first decades of the XXI century plays a very important role in the formation of national-patriotic competence of primary schoolchildren. It’s well-known know that the subject “Literary Reading” (component of the educational field “Language and Literature”) is of great importance in the development and education of the primary school child’s personality. The main task of modern literary education is the formation of the attentive reader with developed creative, intellectual, cognitive abilities, who in the process of reading, reaching the author's idea, is ready for a critical, balanced assessment, defending one's own opinion, while balancing in one's mind other points of view on the subject of discussion. As emphasized in the National Doctrine on the Development of Education in Ukraine, the priority in its implementation is the formation of personality, who is aware of her or his belonging to the Ukrainian people, modern European civilization; educating a person with a democratic outlook who respects civil rights and freedoms, traditions of peoples and cultures of the world, national, religious, language choice of each person.

Results:

In order to implement the Decree of the President of Ukraine of May 21, 2019 286/2019 “On the Strategy of National Patriotic Education of Children and Youth for 2016-2020”, primary education specialists use all didactic and methodological tools for the education of a conscious citizen. We consider addressing the topic of Maidan/War to be an innovative approach to conducting reading lessons as Maidan is eloquent testimony of sacrifice for the sake of unconditional respect for human rights and dignity, defending national interests by preferring to achieve a common goal; multilingualism, polyreligiousness. It is important to offer primary school students the books that meet the demands of time. Creative Workshop “Agrafka” is an art association and design studio founded by Lviv artists Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv, created the artbook “War that changed Rondo” (2015). This is not a typical book, rather a collection of images and illustrations, collected as an album under one cover and united by one theme. Analyzing this publication, we conclude that the authors constructed original characters, who embodied basic mental traits of Ukrainians. The protagonists try to save Rondo’s hometown from the terrible War. Fabian – “a descendant of an ancient family”, “the best searcher” is, in our opinion, the embodiment of the national component, rooted in history. Danko is a flashlight robot who embodies such an ethnic trait as a love of melody (songs). Star is the embodiment of the sophistication of the Ukrainian soul. The text contains such national symbols as Maidan, anthem, poppies. Therefore, the artbook is a certain association of authors and readers on the given topic. The authors’ reflections (Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv) are interesting, emphasizing that this publication is not about a specific war, but about how to perceive such events in general as fighting the war, and, in the end, winning it. The illustrations are intended to encourage younger students to reflect on the topic of the present, awareness of proudness, to form respect for the brave soldiers who defend Ukraine at the cost of their lives.

Conclusion:

In the context of personality-oriented learning, it’s worth while using the possibilities of reading lessons. The common task of schools, parents, government, and the public is to prepare the young generation for competent and responsible civic participation. The important component of national-patriotic competence of an individual is the ability not only to draw knowledge from various sources, in particular, artbooks, but also to comprehend what is read, seen, heard, carefully taking into consideration historical/family experience. National education of the younger generation is a purposeful and systematic influence on pupils’ consciousness, feelings and behavior in order to form appropriate qualities. Thus, the formation of civic and educational principles must include methods and forms that lead students to moral, aesthetic, ethical judgments, through which they evaluate their own and other people’s actions.

DOI and UDC:

UDC: 37.035.6:37.046"465*7/11" DOI: 10.26697/ijes.2020.2.20

Information about the authors:

Ushnevych Solomiia Edyardivna – Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Professional Methods and Techniques of Primary Education, Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine. Research interests: methods of literary reading, the formation of literary competence, the study of literature for children and youth; https://orcid.org/0000-0001- 9901-9286.