DIFFERENTIATION IN THE METHODOLOGICAL APPARATUS OF UKRAINIAN SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS IN SOCIAL STUDIES (1991-2010)

Abstract

The article deals with the differentiation in the design of the methodological apparatus of school textbooks on social science subjects of the first decades of independent Ukraine. This process was logical, since it was associated with a change in the educational paradigm, an update of pedagogical theory and practice with the orientation towards the implementation of individualization of education. The shift in the methodological apparatus is highlighted in the light of the fact that in the first years of independence of our state, the priority in the creation of textbooks was the presentation of educational information which disclosed the content of the educational programs. Subsequently, a textbook was increasingly asserted as a means of teaching, through which the organization of the educational process was carried out in accordance with the programmed purpose of the school curriculum. Since at the initial stage of the studied period the task of education was the transfer of the system of ready-made knowledge to students, then the textbook got the appropriate characteristics. At the final stage (in the chronological limits we have defined), besides knowledge, the authors were interested in forming certain skills and abilities of students, therefore these characteristics changed. In addition, with the approval of the new paradigm, the creators of educational books began to focus more on the development of a child's personality, in particular personality-oriented, or personality-centered learning. Therefore, in the methodological apparatus of textbooks, approaches that influenced the emotional sphere of students, their values, thinking were used. Differentiation in the methodological apparatus of school textbooks was carried out taking into account the educational interests and life needs of students. At the same time, both external and internal differentiation developed. The first was reflected in the attempts to develop textbooks for users of specialized educational institutions (lyceums, gymnasiums) and students of general secondary schools with in-depth study of social science subjects. The second was aimed at formation of homogeneous groups within the class. Accordingly, in the methodological apparatus of textbooks, questions and tasks with different levels of complexity were placed, containing additional materials aimed at the individualization of teaching and learning. This approach contributed not only to the qualitative shift in school social science education, but also became a sign of the democratization of Ukrainian society.