The Role of Social Microenvironment in Spiritual and Moral Upbringing of Young People as a Subject of Reflection in Pedagogy of Russian Émigrés in the 1920s–1930s

Abstract

Introduction. The article is concerned with the impact of social microenvironment on the spiritual and moral upbringing of young people and its reflection in philosophical and pedagogical legacy of Russian émigrés in 1920s-1930s. The relevance of the problem is given by the fact that spiritual upbringing nowadays becomes one of the leading directions in the educational policy of the state. The study of positive historical and pedagogical experience in upbringing the young generation can greatly assist in the implementation of the policy of spiritual and moral education of children and young people. The purpose of this article is to analyze the spiritual and moral upbringing and its emotional and value aspects, as well as the influence of the social microenvironment (church, school, family, children’s and youth organizations) on the process of spiritual and moral upbringing of children in the works of philosophers and educators of Russian émigrés in 1920s-1930s. Materials and Methods. The methodological basis of the research was a systematic approach to understand the holistic pedagogical process and the scientific research devoted to the study of the philosophical and pedagogical heritage of Russian émigrés in 1920s-1930s. The main research method is the theoretical analysis of documentary and archival sources; pedagogical, psychological philosophical and historical literature on an investigated problem; the retrospective method, the method of interpretation (explanation, comparison, analogy), methods of synthesis and generalization, questionnaire. Results. The review of theoretical works and practical experience of philosophers and teachers of Russian émigrés convinces us that while working in the 1920s-1930s, they anticipated some areas of contemporary humanistic pedagogy with its focus on education based on universal moral values, humanization of education, and the focus on the emotional sphere of children in the education process. The leading methodological approach to spiritual and moral education, as it reflected in many philosophical and pedagogical works of Russian émigrés in the 1920s-1930s, is the stimulation of the moral feelings of the child, the actualization of his emotional sphere in the process of upbringing. This occurs in the process of organizing emotional and moral educational milieu which is conducive to the development of moral feelings. Discussion and Conclusions. The creation of the emotional and evaluative milieu was conceived in pedagogy of Russian emigration as an organization of pedagogically targeted influence of church, school and family on the development of the moral feelings, and as the organization of the life and work of children’s and youth organizations with the same objectives. The study of education and development of pedagogical theory and practice of the Russian émigrés will add to the historical context of culture and pedagogy of Russia unjustly forgotten ways of solving problems spiritual and moral education and patriotic upbringing of youth. It will make available to pedagogy ideas and concepts, reflecting universal and spiritual and national values.