Internalization of European Values Through Learning History and Culture of Europe in Times of War

Implementation of European Values through education is increasingly debated by policy makers and experts in the field. In Ukraine the correlation between national and European identity has been significantly challenged by the war and migration. In this context it is crucial to assess both the achievements and weaknesses in values formation and to focus on reinforcing those which need further support. This article explores effectiveness of teaching European history and culture in fostering democratic values and European identity particularly under wartime conditions, using the National University “Chernihiv Colehium” as a case study. The empirical bases incudes surveys conducted between May 2023 and October 2024 in Chernihiv region of Ukraine, covering 1,200 respondents, followed by a comparative analysis based on nationwide surveys on values and identity. The findings confirm that students, engages in courses oriented in European culture and history demonstrate a significantly higher level of internalization of European values, especially equality, freedom, justice and human dignity, compared to the general population. However, the article argues the necessity for greater institutional support: development of national regulations for teaching European history and culture, adoption of sectoral standard for training history teachers, modernization of educational programs and creation of new methodological resources that ensure the preservation of European dimension in historical education. While emphasizing fundamental European values, particular attention should also be paid to promoting gender equality, cultural and linguistic diversity and pluralism.