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The Ukrainian History Textbook: Introducing Children to the “Ukrainian Nation”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2018

Nancy Popson
Nancy Popson*
Affiliation:
Kennan Center of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
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Extract

As Ukraine approaches its tenth year of independence, it seems an appropriate moment to ask what type of nation it has become. The process by which Ukrainians determine the boundaries and characteristics of their national identity is dynamic, and has been the source of debate at many levels of Ukrainian society. The education system can illustrate several aspects of this process of identity formation: what the dominant elite choose to teach to the next generation about nation and citizenship, whether that material is accepted or transformed in its presentation to pupils, and to what extent the pupils internalize what they have been taught. This article begins to analyze the historical narrative and underlying values that together help to define a collective understanding of “nation” through a discussion of the education system in Ukraine. In particular, it focuses on the textbook used for the introductory Ukrainian history course as an example of the values and narrative fostered by the Ministry of Education. Although the analysis focuses on a single textbook, the article also attempts to place the arguments in a broader perspective by paying attention to the context within which the textbook curriculum is created and implemented and by discussing several factors that may affect its presentation to and reception by pupils.

Type
Articles
Information
Nationalities Papers , Volume 29 , Issue 2 , June 2001 , pp. 325 - 350
Copyright
Copyright © 2001 Association for the Study of Nationalities 

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References

Notes

1. John Hutchinson, The Dynamics of Cultural Nationalism (London: Allen & Unwin, 1987), p. 22.Google Scholar

2. Hobsbawm calls this creation of national identity the “invention of traditions.” He claims that legitimation, social cohesion, and socialization are the three goals of invented traditions. See Eric Hobsbawm, “Inventing Traditions,” in Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger, eds, The Invention of Tradition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983), pp. 4, 9.Google Scholar

3. Anthony Smith, National Identity (Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1991), pp. 9, 11.Google Scholar

4. Ibid., Chapter 6.Google Scholar

5. Catherine Wanner, Burden of Dreams (University Park: Pennsylvania University Press, 1998), pp. xxiv–xxv.Google Scholar

6. Barbara Fratczak illustrates the socialization process as a chain: sender–stimulus–receiver. The categories of stimuli noted here are further explained in Barbara Fratczak, “School Books as Means of Political Socialization,” International Journal of Political Education, Vol. 4, 1981, pp. 245–261.Google Scholar

7. Michael W. Apple and Linda K. Christian-Smith, “The Politics of the Textbook,” in Michael W. Apple and Linda K. Christian-Smith, eds, The Politics of the Textbook (New York: Routledge, 1991), p. 3.Google Scholar

8. Richard Venezky, “Textbooks in School and Society,” in Philip W. Jackson, ed., Handbook of Research and Curriculum (New York: Macmillan, 1992), p. 438.Google Scholar

9. See, for example, Alain Choppin, “The Emmanuelle Textbook Project,” Journal of Curriculum Studies, Vol. 24, No. 4, 1992, pp. 345–356; Rob Gilbert, “Text Analysis and Ideology Critique of Curricular Content,” in Suzanne de Castell, Alan Luke, and Carmen Luke, eds, Language, Authority, and Criticism: Readings on the School Textbook (London: Falmer Press, 1989), pp. 61–73; Apple and Christian-Smith, “The Politics of the Textbook,” pp. 1–21; Henry A. Giroux and Anthony N. Penna, “Social Education in the Classroom: The Dynamics of the Hidden Curriculum,” Theory and Research in Social Education, Vol. 7, No. 1, 1979, pp. 21–42; Richard Venezky, “Textbooks in School and Society,” pp. 436–461.Google Scholar

10. Programy dlia zahal'noosvitnikh navchal'nykh zakladiv: Istoriia Ukrayiny, Vsesvitnia Istoriia (nova redaktsiia) 5–11 klasy (Kyiv: Ministry of Education of Ukraine, 1998), pp. 3–4.Google Scholar

11. Ibid., p. 5.Google Scholar

12. Giroux and Penna, p. 29.Google Scholar

13. K. Aimermakher, G. Bordiugov, and K. Vashik, eds, “Svoyo” i “Chuzhoe” Proshloe v Postsovetskikh Gosudarstvakh (Moscow: Assosiatsia Issledovatelei Rossiiskogo Obshchestva XX Veka, 1999), p. 44.Google Scholar

14. For an example of the list for Ukrainian-language instruction, see “Prohramy dlia zahal'nosvitnykh navchan'nykh zakladiv,” Informatsiinii Sbirnik Ministerstva Osvity, Nos 17–18, 1998, pp. 17–19; for an example of the list for Russian-language schools, see “Prohramy dlia zahal'nosvitnykh navchan'nykh zakladiv,” Informatsiinii Sbirnik Ministerstva Osvity, No. 16, 1999, p. 9.Google Scholar

15. See “Polozhennia pro poriadok pidhotovky, ekspertyzy, aprobatsiyi pidruchnykiv, navchal'nykh ta navchal'no-metodychnykh posybnikiv,” Informatsiinii Sbirnik Ministerstva Osvity, No. 2, 1998, pp. 19–23; and “Pro vnesennia zmin i dopovnen' do Polozhennia pro poriadok pidhotovky, ekspertyzy, aprobatsiyi pidruchnykiv, navchal'nykh ta navchal'no-metodychnykh posybnikiv, zatverdzehnoho nakazom Minosvity Ukrayiny vid 02.06.97 r. No. 170,” Informatsiinii Sbirnik Ministerstva Osvity, No. 2, 1998, pp. 24–25.Google Scholar

16. Beginning in 1998, a second fifth-grade text was introduced (at first on a probationary basis) as an alternative to Mysan—Vstup do istori Ukrayiny by V. S. Vlasov and O. M. Danilevs'ka. Both the Mysan (1997 edition) and Vlasov/Danilevs'ka (1999 edition) textbooks are on the recommended textbook list for 2000–2001. “Perelik prohram, pidruchnykiv ta navchal'nykh posibnykiv, rekomendovanykh dlya vykorystannia u zagal'noosvitnikh navchal'nykh zakladakh z ukrayins'koiu navchannia u 2000/2001 navchal'nomu rotsi,” Informatsiinii Sbirnik Ministerstva Osvity, No. 12, 2000. Since the costs of purchasing new editions of textbooks remains high in Ukraine, it is likely that the majority of teachers have continued to use the Mysan textbook.Google Scholar

17. There is some debate over whether the authority vested in the textbook derives from the textbook itself (being the written word), its presentation as truth by the teacher, or the educational environment in which it is revered and rarely questioned. In any case, in younger classes in particular the text has an authority as “truth,” which wears thin in more advanced grades. See Allen Luke and Carmen Luke, “Beyond Criticism: The Authority of the School Textbook,” and David R. Olson, “On the Language and Authority of Textbooks,” in de Castell et al., Language, Authority, and Criticism, pp. 245–60 and 233–244.Google Scholar

18. See, for example, Jan Germen Janmaat, Nation-Building in Post-Soviet Ukraine: Educational Policy and the Response of the Russian-Speaking Population (Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam, 2000), pp. 85–100; and contributions to Magdalena Telus and Yuri Shapoval, eds, Urayins'ka Istorychna Dydaktyka (Kyiv: Heneza, 2000), which include comparisons of contemporary and Soviet textbooks for particular time periods (Wilfred Jilge on Kyivan Rus', Oleksii Dubas on the period 1917–1921, Yuri Shapoval on totalitarianism, and Serhii Lytvyn on Petlura).Google Scholar

19. Up until the collapse of the Soviet Union, children in the fifth grade were taught the history of the USSR. The history of Ukraine as a subject did not exist except for those small sections that were included within the curriculum for the history of the USSR.Google Scholar

20. Apple and Christian-Smith, “The Politics of the Textbook,” p. 11.Google Scholar

21. Personal interview with Oksana Zadorozhna, history teacher, Kyiv, 25 January 2000.Google Scholar

22. Hutchinson, The Dynamics of Cultural Nationalism, p. 14.Google Scholar

23. Viktor Mysan, Opovidannia z Istoriyi Ukrayiny (Kyiv: Geneza, 1997), p. 48. From this point forward, citations from the Mysan text will be noted in parentheses in the text of the article.Google Scholar

24. Wanner, Burden of Dreams.Google Scholar

25. Mysan, “Istoriya XX stolittia v elementarnomu kursi istoriyi Ukrayiny seredn'oyi zahal'noosvitn'oyi shkoly,” in Telus and Shapoval, Urayins'ka Istorychna Dydaktyka, pp. 260–263.Google Scholar

26. Although this term has implications of an ethnic focus, it is defined in the glossary as “the accurately planned destruction of a population, the most serious crime against humanity” (179). The word used for “population” here is naselennia, not narod or natsional‘nist’.Google Scholar

27. Shapoval, “Komunistychnyi totalitaryzm ta ioho obraz u suchasnykh pidruchnykakh v Ukrayini,” in Telus and Shapoval, Urayins'ka Istorychna Dydaktyka, pp. 29–44.Google Scholar

28. The nationalist women's movement in contemporary Ukraine has used this matriarchal myth as one of its pillars, and also as a way to differentiate early Ukrainian society from that of Muscovy or Russia. See, for example, Marian Rubchak, “Christian Virgin or Pagan Goddess: Feminism vs. the Eternally Feminine in Ukraine,” in Rosalind Marsh, ed., Women in Russia and Ukraine (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), pp. 315–330; and Tatiana Zhurzhenko, “Nation-Building, Citizenship, and Women's Political Identities in Post-socialist Ukraine,” paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Association for the Study of Nationalities, 15–17 April 1999.Google Scholar

29. It is interesting to note that the other thing Mysan warns students not to forget about is their land, discussing its riches and how important it is to protect them (200–201).Google Scholar

30. For example, the language law of 1989 notes that “The Ukrainian language is one of the deciding characteristics of national uniqueness of the Ukrainian people [ukrayins'koho narodu].” However, the preamble of the 1996 constitution of Ukraine equates ukrayins'kyi narod with citizens of all nationalities of Ukraine: “in the name of the Ukrainian people—citizens of Ukraine of all nationalities.”Google Scholar

31. For the school year 2000–2001 two texts were approved for grade 5, four for grade 7, and two each for grades 8–11. The textbooks analyzed here include: Istoriya Ukrayiny by Valery Smoliy and Valery Stepankov (Kyiv: Osvita, 2000) for grade 7, covering ancient times to the Middle Ages (the Ministry list notes the 1999 edition, while the 2000 edition was being tested in 2000–2001); Istoriya Ukrayiny XVI–XVIII Stolittya by Hanna Shvid'ko (Kyiv: Geneza, 1997) for grade 8; Istorya Ukrayiny XIX–XX Stolittya by Vitaly Sarbei (Kyiv: Geneza, 1996) for grade 9; and Novitna Istoriya Ukrayiny (1917–1945) by Fedir Turchenko (Kyiv: Geneza 1998) for grade 10.Google Scholar

32. Janmaat came to similar conclusions regarding earlier versions (1994 and 1995, respectively) of the grade 9 and 10 textbooks when he compared them with their Soviet counterparts. See Janmaat, Nation-Building in Post-Soviet Ukraine. For further analysis of more advanced textbooks and their comparison with Soviet texts, see Telus and Shapoval, Urayins'ka Istorychna Dydaktyka.Google Scholar

33. By way of comparison, an analysis of corresponding Russian textbooks revealed an emphasis not on multiculturalism or on the Russian ethnic nation, but on the development of the central state and of state policy. These textbooks also, not surprisingly, contained a narrative that agreed in the details but not in the interpretation of certain events that are contested between the two countries, such as the legacy and heirs to Rus' and the Treaty of Pereyaslav. It should be noted, however, that in the Russian case the textbooks approved by the Ministry of Education for each grade are greater in number and represent more varied views.Google Scholar

34. Venezky calls this the “delivered curriculum” (what is taught) and “received curriculum” (what is learned), which are the last two links in the chain of curricular design spanning from the needed curriculum to the received curriculum. Venezky, “Textbooks in School and Society,” p. 439.Google Scholar

35. Kostyantin Bakhanov, “Innovatsiini Tendentsiyi v Suchasnomu Navchanni istoriyi v shkoli,” in Telus and Shapoval, Urayins'ka Istorychna Dydaktyka, p. 239.Google Scholar

36. The difficulty in retraining teachers was noted in a personal interview with Oleg Skuratovych, former official at the Ministry of Education, Kyiv, 14 September, 2000.Google Scholar

37. The survey was reported in Irina Mishyna, “Deyaki pidkhody do vysvitlennia poniat' ‘natsiya’ ta ‘natsional'na derzhava’ u pidruchnykakh z novoyi istoriyi,” in Telus and Shapoval, 2000, pp. 253–259; the Dnipropetrovsk teacher was reported in Ihor Naumenko, “Chy Isnuie Terytorial'na Natsiia?” Osvita, 26 February to 5 March 1997.Google Scholar

38. Personal interview with Vadym Oganechov, history teacher at School #92, Kyiv, 19 June 2000.Google Scholar

39. In talking with teachers of history in Kyiv schools, it became apparent that they use supplementary material to a significant extent in order to fill in gaps or deficiencies they see in the available textbooks. Personal interviews with Oksana Zadorozhna, history teacher, Kyiv, 25 January 2000; Vadym Oganechov, history teacher at School #92, Kyiv, 19 June 2000; and Tamara Grygorivna, history teacher at School #178, Kyiv, 13 September 2000.Google Scholar

40. Personal interviews in four schools in the outskirts of Kyiv which have above-average minority attendance: Galina Maslova, Director of School #192, 19 June 2000; Vasyl Zakrevskoho, Director of School #247, 20 June 2000; Lidia Hara, Director of School #247, 12 September 2000; and Tatiana Matykhina, Deputy Director of School #224, 13 September 2000.Google Scholar

41. In interviews with Zadorozhna and Oganechov, both talked about how students bring the ideas of their parents or grandparents into class, causing debates (which the teachers viewed as a healthy part of the learning process). However, both Grygorivna and Alexander Beznesov (a teacher in Russian schools who covers similar periods of history) discussed this issue as irrelevant given the lack of a “living history.” Personal interviews with Oksana Zadorozhna, history teacher, Kyiv, 25 January 2000; Vadym Oganechov, history teacher at School #92, Kyiv, 19 June 2000; Tamara Grygorivna, history teacher at School #178, Kyiv, 13 September 2000; and Alexander Beznesov, history teacher at Pirogovsky School, Moscow, 20 September, 2000.Google Scholar

42. This trend is noted in Bakhanov, “Innovatsiini Tendentsiyi v Suchasnomu Navchanni istoriyi v shkoli,” p. 233, and was echoed in interviews with Vadym Oganechov and Tamara Grygorivna, history teachers at Kyiv Schools #92 and #178. Personal interviews, Kyiv, 19 June 2000 and 13 September 2000, respectively.Google Scholar