EDUCATION AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR PRESERVING THE NATIONAL IDENTITY OF ETHNIC COMMUNITIES IN SOUTHERN UKRAINE (19th – EARLY 20th CENTURY): CHARITABLE PRACTICES AND EVERYDAY LIFE

Abstract

The article analyzes the role of private initiative and charity in the formation of the national education system of ethnic communities in Southern Ukraine (19th – early 20th century). It is established that under the conditions of the imperial policy of unification and the lack of state funding for national schools, charitable societies of national communities became the only legally organized form for preserving ethnic identity. The authors prove that private initiative acted as a compensatory mechanism that allowed filling educational niches that remained outside the focus of state institutions.
Based on the analysis of archival sources and statistical data, three models of financing national schools are identified: the «endowment capital» model (German and Greek communities), the internal corporate taxation model (Jewish community), and the public donation model (Polish and Ukrainian communities). Special attention is paid to the German educational model, based on the phenomenon of «compulsory schooling» (Schulzwang) and the strategic training of its own teaching staff in «central schools» (Zentralschulen).
It is substantiated that for national minorities, the school transformed from a purely educational institution into an institutional center of self-preservation, serving as a barrier against assimilation and Russification. It is determined that financial autonomy and a democratic management structure allowed national schools to function effectively and modernize even under administrative pressure.