Substantiation of a New Type of Family Education in the Works of Representatives of the Russian Enlightenment of the XVIII Century

Abstract

The article analyzes a new type of family education, grounded in the works of representatives of the Russian intellectual elite of the second half of the XVIII century. This type was based on rethinking the process of raising children in the family in the spirit of humanism and enlightenment. Its origins were Western European pedagogical ideas, reinterpreted in the works of representatives of the Russian intellectual elite N. Novikov, A. Prokopovich-Antonsky, E. Dashkova, P. Sokhatsky, A. Bestuzhev and unknown authors published in the magazines “Morning Hours”, etc. The aim of the work was a holistic study of the type of family education proposed in the works of thinkers of the XVIII century, as well as its relevance for the modern development of pedagogical science. In studying the works of scientists, methods were used to assess the pedagogical heritage of the era of the Russian Enlightenment, based on the historical reconstruction of pedagogical phenomena and their consistent understanding. The article analyzes works of the above authors, created in the XVIII century, addressed both to the issues of raising children in the family and to general issues of improving the process of home education. In the works of the authors, educational ideas were expressed that corresponded to the ideas of the need to reorganize family education and the need for moral mentoring in relation to children in the family was justified. In general, the works of representatives of the Russian elite of the XVIII century proclaimed the following basic ideas of family education: they affirmed the need to organize child-parent interaction on the basis of humanism and faith in the success of the educational influence of parents on the child’s personality; they understood education as a sure means not only to create a perfect child’s personality, but also to achieve perfection and happiness on earth on this basis by mankind; they pointed out the need for a harmonious combination of different types of education.