Gymnasium Education According to the Autobiographies of Jewish Girls in Ukraine in the late 19th and early 20th centuries: Motivation, Accessibility, Significance
Abstract
The purpose of the research to find out the importance of gymnasium education as a component of the training of Jewish girls in the late 19th and early 20th century in Ukraine according to their autobiographies. In particular, to identify the factors and circumstances that made it (not)possible to obtain a complete secondary education, to reconstruct the attitude of parents to the thorough education of their daughters, to find out the importance of studying in a gymnasium for the self-identification of Jewish girls.
The scientific novelty of the research results is to clarify the role of gymnasium education as a component of the training of Jewish daughters through the deconstruction of their autobiographical consciousness, which deepens the socio-cultural characteristics of the female personality of the modern era.
Conclusions. It has been proven that in Jewish families, new views regarding the socialization of daughters were spreading, whose professional training was supposed to be the result of their education and the basis of independent earnings.
The general strategy of acculturation is implemented by a part of Jewish families through the education of their daughters in the nearest primary education institutions - public schools. The results of the initial education of Jewish schoolgirls were the deepening of internal potential, the formation of discipline, and the skills of social interaction with Others.
The majority of Jewish girls (61.1%) did not attend elementary school. The parents aimed for their daughters to enter a secondary education institution - a female gymnasium, which was preceded by thorough preparation for the entrance exam. However, only a little more than 1/3 of Jewish daughters were able to benefit from a full gymnasium education (grades I-VII). The factors that reduced the stay of Jewish girls in gymnasium have been discovered, in particular, the daughter’s gymnasium education, which was not planned by the parents; living in a remote town; difficulties with admission to the local gymnasium; failure in the entrance exam to the institution. The autobiographical consciousness of Jewish girls confirms their awareness of the dominant cultural patterns of the era regarding the need to study, and purposeful actions to obtain a high school diploma through self-education testify to its high social motivation and cultural significance. The dream certificate of the women’s gymnasium became a ticket to another, better world, and symbolized a real spiritual breakthrough for its owners not only beyond the pale of permanent Jewish settlement, but also beyond the traditional world, limited for a woman only to the home and children.
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