National-patriotic education of high school students in Ukraine during the years of the Russo-Ukrainian war (2014–2024): the problem of implementing the competence approach

Abstract

The article presents the results of a study of the conceptual foundations of national-patriotic education of high school students in the conditions of the implementation of the competence approach in view of the challenges of the modern Russian-Ukrainian war. The analysis of the legal framework proved that the Laws of Ukraine «On Education» and «On Comprehensive General Secondary Education» do not emphasize national-patriotic education. In the Concepts of National-Patriotic Education 2015 and 2022, the concept of «national-patriotic education» is interpreted too broadly, including such areas as spiritual-moral, civic (civil) and ecological education. The content of national-patriotic education is mostly defined by a group of civic-democratic values. The tasks of national-patriotic education of high school students are insufficiently represented in the State Standard of Basic and Comprehensive General Secondary Education, which does not mention the concept of «patriotism», «national values», and hardly mentions the formation of «national consciousness». The «civic competence» presented in the State Standard is oriented towards the affirmation of democratic values, but does not say anything about a person's attitude towards the Ukrainian nation and statehood. This shortcoming is somewhat remedied by the curricula for a number of school subjects for grades 10-11 developed during the Russo-Ukrainian war. In particular, the «History of Ukraine» and «Defense of Ukraine» programs are aimed at establishing national values among high school students. We believe that changes should be made to the State Standard of basic and comprehensive general secondary education, which would clearly emphasize the tasks of national-patriotic education of high school students and the formation of relevant competencies.