Methodological aspects of school education improvement in Ukraine (the second half of the XIX – early XX centuries)

The process of methodological search in the field of school education is continuous and is based on the analysis of historical experience and modern requirements of society to the level of school education. Under such conditions, a retrospective study of methodological aspects of school education in Ukraine becomes especially significant for pedagogical science. The article summarizes the methodological approaches to teaching the humanities and sciences in secondary schools of Ukraine in the second half of the XIX – early XX centuries. The analysis of positive and negative consequences of using different methodological approaches is carried out. The aim of the article is to analyse and systematize the publications of scholars and practicing teachers of the period under study on the methods of teaching school subjects and calls for the use of positive foreign experience of that time. The research methodology involved the use of comparative analysis, systematization and theoretical generalization, bibliographic search. Instructions, manuals for the schedule of educational material, absolute control over each methodological step of the teacher, the number and topic of tasks as well as teaching time to present the material slowed down the progress in teaching methods development for the humanities and sciences in secondary schools throughout Ukraine. At the same time, teachers made attempts to make learning easier and more interesting, tried to introduce a humorous component into the learning process, had the opportunity to share methodological recommendations and learn about foreign methods in the pages of pedagogical journals. In the second half of the XIX – early XX centuries, the following tendencies were observed in the methodology of teaching school subjects in Ukraine: presentation of educational material from simpler to more complex, individual approach to students, use of associations between previously studied material and the new one, the use of visual aids in primary school.