UKRAINIAN FOLK PEDAGOGY ON THE ATTITUDE TOWARD CHILDREN WITH PHYSICAL AND MENTAL DISABILITIES (19TH CENTURY)

The article, based on a historical and pedagogical analysis, explores the folk-pedagogical views of Ukrainians in the 19th century regarding children with physical and mental disabilities. Folk pedagogy is a distinct field of knowledge with clearly defined educational goals and means of achieving them, and at the same time, it is an integral part of human society’s everyday life. Ukrainian folk pedagogy had its own traditions. The most important among them were: traditions of spiritual and moral upbringing; moral behavior of children and youth; the leading role of family relationships; respect for parents and elders in general; parental blessing; knowledge of kin and clan members; respect for ancestral traditions; strictness and high demands in family relations; personal responsibility of each family member for their assigned duties; mutual assistance and support; conscientiousness, kindness, modesty, obedience; and respect for labor. The birth and upbringing of children were regarded by folk pedagogy as the duty of every family. Folk-pedagogical norms defined and regulated the behavior of pregnant women in order to prevent the birth of children with disabilities. The system of rituals was aimed at ensuring the birth of mentally and physically healthy infants. According to Ukrainian folk philosophy, children with physical and mental disabilities were primarily viewed as “sufferers who were paying for the sins committed by their mother or relatives.” In folk beliefs, they were thought to have the ability to foresee the future. The publication emphasizes that Ukrainian folk pedagogy demanded humane treatment of such children, as neglecting this could bring misfortune upon one’s own family or lead to a close relative giving birth to a similar child. Mercy and charity were an important part of Ukrainian life. There were mechanisms to support children with physical and mental disabilities (individual and collective adoption), who, due to various circumstances, could not be equal participants in social life. The authors also consider cases of negative attitudes toward children with physical disabilities – they were mocked and teased. There were instances when children with physical and mental disabilities were abandoned, as they were believed to be changelings of an “unclean” spirit rather than kidnapped human children. The permissive attitude toward infanticide can be seen as a reflection of rather old beliefs that children belong to their parents. However, for the most part, folk pedagogy’s stance on infanticide was strict and it was punished as a grave sin. Such an attitude toward children, which rather “deviated” from the generally humanistic principles of folk philosophy, is explained by the social conditions reflected in the folk pedagogy of the 19th century, particularly in the views of a family member primarily as a socially useful person according to their ability to work.