| dc.description.abstract | Given the many ways in which adult education, as an important factor of
socio-cultural progress and personal growth, has raised a great deal of interest, many studies
have given rise to various theoretical approaches to adult education and learning, that still
shape research on adult learning at present. Importantly, the social character of literacy is
revealed in a variety of ways, since nowadays literacy, in its multi-manifestations, has become
a vital set of competencies and practices, interwoven in the fabric of present-day societies.
Numerous studies have attempted to explain the prerequisites and preconditions for
the emergence of adult learning and education and trace the path of its establishment and
further development. The present paper sheds new light on the history of the Bukovinian
Ukrainians’ (the Ruthenian population) adult learning and education. There remains a neglected
area in the field of adult learning education of other nationalities of Bukovina, so
there is still a need for its further investigation. It is worth mentioning that experts have always
seen Bukovina as a polyethnic and multiconfessional land, but our focus will revolve
around the Ukrainian-speaking adult population’s education, its establishment and development.
Traditionally, historical research techniques and approaches can improve the selection
of the most appropriate methods to compare data and test theories to forecast the possibilities
of their development. Therefore, the holistic understanding of adult education is pivotal
to achieving our research goals. Given the results, we found out which factors contributed
to the continuation of learning that prevailed in the public education policy and the
public sphere of Bukovina from 1861 to 1940. Consequently, within the above-mentioned
chronological framework, we have classified the process of adult learning and education development
in Bukovina into 5 distinct periods. Such findings pointed to significant gains from
the participation in adult education classes in a set of well-established and widely spread
reading clubs that have become the first adult learning and education centres. Their activities
were aimed at facilitating people’s perception of reality, in order to actively and consciously
evaluate the ongoing processes in the society, varying from civic engagement and
social cohesion to stimulation of their civil stance and the sentiment of national unity. Analyses
of literacy practices and the social contexts in which they were embedded emphasized
the enhanced adult learners’ participation and their final successful outcomes. This paper
stressed the importance of the Folkuniversitet of Chernivtsi, which was widely recognized
beyond the boundaries of both the city and the region. Altogether, the findings of this study
reveal a number of important implications for future research. | uk_UA |
