Educational Development in Volyn at the End of the 19th – Beginning of the 20 th Century

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to study the role of imperial authorities and local self-government bodies in the development of primary and secondary education in the Volyn province in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The authors analyse archival documents and scientific works which highlight the specifics and peculiarities of the development of primary, vocational and secondary education in Volyn during the period under study. The role of local governments in the development of education in the region is highlighted. The methodology of the study is based on the use of special historical (comparative historical and chronological) and general scientific research methods (analysis, synthesis and generalisation), which, in combination with the principles of multifactoriality, objectivism and historicism, created the necessary conditions for an impartial coverage of the tasks. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that the authors, on the basis of archival documents and periodicals, have clarified the role of imperial authorities and local self-government in the development of primary, vocational and secondary education in Volyn in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Conclusions. On the basis of an impartial analysis of archival documents and periodicals, the role of local governments in the development of education in Volyn in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries is determined. It is noted that thanks to the efforts of local governments, a number of men's and women's gymnasiums were opened in the region, and some pro-gymnasiums were reorganised into full-fledged gymnasiums, which greatly influenced the development of education in the region. Particular attention is paid to the role of zemstvo self-government bodies in the development of a network of primary schools in all counties of the province. The Volyn Zemstvo, after the beginning of its full-fledged activity in 1911, paid important attention to the development of vocational education, as did the municipal authorities. In order to achieve this goal, they not only subsidised the opening of new educational institutions, but also financed the existing ones, and provided scholarships for students of pedagogical educational institutions on the condition that they would work in zemstvo schools after graduation. Considerable attention was also paid to the employment of graduates of the medical and midwifery school.