On the role of national education in formation of identity

Abstract

The object of this research is national education, viewed on the example of educational system of white émigré during the 1920s – 1940s. The article is dedicated to topical questions of national education related to ideological orientation of pedagogy, role of philosophy and religious education, concept and content of Russian Orthodox pedagogy, relevance of the spiritual heritage of the Slavophiles, etc. The author draws parallels between the post-revolutionary and post-Soviet emigration, determines the origins, objectives and mechanisms that existed within the system of education of Russian refugees during the 1920s – 1940s. The author reveals the fundamental religious and philosophical ideas that underlied the emigrant education. The succession between the philosophical and pedagogical ideas of Slavophiles and Russian thinkers who left Russia after the revolution is demonstrated. The conclusion is made that the educational system of white émigré in the West and the East in the 1920s – 1940s leant on the national traditions and history; it was oriented towards preservation of national identity and historical memory, and associated with the question of survival; it was based on the ideas of Russian religious philosophy, which comprised the ideological framework and included political component. It had impact upon the culture of other nations, and resulted in the fact that many immigrants actively fought against fascists during the Great Patriotic War.