
Konstantin Dmitrievich Ushinsky () ( – ) was a Russian teacher and writer, credited as the founder of scientific
pedagogy
Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...
in the Russian Empire.
[L.G. Guseva]
"Konstantin Dmitrievich Ushinsky: The Founder of Scientific Pedagogy in the 19th Century Russia"
History of Education & Children’s Literature, XIII, 1 (2018), pp. 479-491 (in English)[''Ushinsky'' article]
in Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary
The ''Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopaedic Dictionary'' (35 volumes, small; 86 volumes, large) is a comprehensive multi-volume encyclopaedia in Russian. It contains 121,240 articles, 7,800 images, and 235 maps.
It was published in the Russian Em ...
[''Ushinsky'' article]
by Eduard Dneprov in ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia
The ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'' (GSE; , ''BSE'') is one of the largest Russian-language encyclopedias, published in the Soviet Union from 1926 to 1990. After 2002, the encyclopedia's data was partially included into the later ''Great Russian Enc ...
''
Biography
Konstantin Ushinsky was born in
Tula to the family of a retired officer.
[Konstantin Ushinsky]
. Soon the family moved to Novgorod-Severskiy (present-day
Novhorod-Siverskyi
Novhorod-Siverskyi (, , , ''Novgorod-Severskiy''), historically known as Novhorod-Siversk () or Novgorod-Seversk (), is a historic city in Chernihiv Oblast, northern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Novhorod-Siverskyi Raion, alth ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
) where Konstantin's father was appointed an
uezd
An uezd (also spelled uyezd or uiezd; rus, уе́зд ( pre-1918: уѣздъ), p=ʊˈjest), or povit in a Ukrainian context () was a type of administrative subdivision of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, the ...
judge.
[''The teacher of Russian teachers'']
official site of Moscow University of Industry and Finance. In 1844 Ushinsky graduated from the Department of Law of
Moscow University
Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...
.
[ From 1846 to 1849 he was a professor at the Demidov Lyceum in ]Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl (; , ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl rivers. ...
but was forced to leave the position because of his liberal views.[
The unemployed Ushinsky earned money by literary work for the magazines '']Sovremennik
''Sovremennik'' ( rus, «Современник», p=səvrʲɪˈmʲenʲːɪk, a=Ru-современник.ogg, "The Contemporary") was a Russian literary, social and political magazine, published in Saint Petersburg in 1836–1866. It came out f ...
'' and ''Biblioteka dlya Chteniya
''Biblioteka Dlya Chteniya'' (, ) was a Russian monthly magazine founded in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire, in 1834 by Alexander Smirdin.
History
The magazine "of literature, sciences, arts, industry, current news and fashion" was launched in ...
''. After a year and a half he managed to get a position as a minor bureaucrat in the Department for Foreign Religions. Ushinsky referred to his job at the time as "the most boring position possible."[
In 1854 Ushinsky became a teacher of Russian Literature and Law at the ]Gatchina
Gatchina (, ) is a town and the administrative center of Gatchinsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies south-south-west of St. Petersburg, along the E95 highway which links Saint Petersburg and Pskov. Population: It was pr ...
Orphanage (Gatchinsky Sirotsky Institut). In 1855-1859 he became the Inspector at the same institution.[ There was a lucky incident during his inspectorship: he discovered two sealed-off bookcases untouched for more than twenty years, which held the library of Pestalozzi's pupil Hugel. This discovery strongly influenced Ushinsky's interest in theoretical pedagogy.][
In 1859-1862 Ushinsky was the Inspector of the Smolny Institute of Noble Maidens in Saint-Petersburg, In 1860-1862 he also worked as the Chief Editor of the ''Journal of the Department of Education'' (''Zhurnal Ministerstva Narodnago Obrazovaniya'').][ Following a conflict with the ]Department of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
, Ushinsky was forced to go abroad to study school organizations in Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
, Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
and Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
(1862-1867). The position was perceived by many as an honorary exile.[
At the end of his life Ushinsky mostly acted as a writer and publicist. Together with ]Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov
Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov (Russian: Николай Иванович Пирогов; – ) was a Russian scientist, medical doctor, pedagogue, public figure, and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1847), one of the most ...
he may be considered as an author of the liberal reforms of the 1860s. Emancipated peasants needed schools, the schools needed teachers and textbooks. He demanded compulsory universal education
Universal access to education is the ability of all people to have equal opportunity in education, regardless of their social class, race, gender, sexuality, ethnic background or physical and mental disabilities. The term is used both in colle ...
for both boys and girls. Ushinsky was also an ardent promoter of national traditions in schools.
Ushinsky spent a lot of time and effort in debates over the most convenient ways to organize teachers' seminaries. He also wrote textbooks focused on teaching children how to read: ''Detski mir'' (Children's world), "the Russian equivalent of America's '' McGuffy Reader'',"[Jeffrey Brooks, ''When Russia Learned to Read: Literacy and Popular Literature, 1861-1917'' (Northwestern University Press, 2003: ), p. 51.] and the primer ''Rodnoe slovo'' ( urnative language, 1864).[''Konstantin Ushinsky''](_blank)
on peoples.ru encyclopedia More than 10 million of Ushinsky's books, including 187 editions of ''Rodnoe slovo'', were printed before the October Revolution
The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...
.
Ushinsky died in Odesa
Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...
in 1870 and was buried in Kiev
Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
.[
]
Works
Ushinsky's magnum opus was his theoretical work ''The Human As a Subject of Education: Pedagogical Anthropology'' in three volumes, started in 1867.[ In it he argued that the subject of education is a person, so it is impossible to achieve results in education without using the results of the "anthropological sciences": philosophy, political economy, history, literature, psychology, anatomy, physiology.][ According to Ushinsky, "Pedagogical experience without science is equivalent to witchcraft in medicine."][ Among his innovations was the new "Analytic-Synthetic Phonetic Method" for learning reading and writing, which is still the main method used in Russian schools.][
]
Memorials
Educational institutions named after Konstantin Ushinsky:
* South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University in Odesa
Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...
, Ukraine
* Yaroslavl State Pedagogical University in Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl (; , ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl rivers. ...
, Russia
* 1st Simferopol Gymnasium in Simferopol
Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...
, Crimea
Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
, Ukraine
* Novgorod-Siversky gymnasium in Novgorod-Siversky, Chernigiv, Ukraine
References
External links
Children Tales by Konstantin Ushiksny
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ushinsky, Konstantin
Educational theorists from the Russian Empire
1823 births
1871 deaths
Journal of the Ministry of Education editors