Forming Students' Perceptions of Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi in Ukrainian History Lessons: Traditions and Innovations

Abstract

The role and place of historical figures in the historical process remain key issues in the methodology of historical science. Therefore, analyzing the life and activities of historical personalities and providing an objective assessment of their roles are essential components of teaching history in modern secondary education institutions in Ukraine. Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi is one of the prominent figures in Ukrainian history, around whom debates, myth-making, and legends persist. Hence, forming scientifically grounded perceptions of this historical figure among students at the lyceum level is a relevant and necessary task for contemporary history education, particularly in the context of implementing the New Ukrainian School (NUS) concept.

The purpose of this article is to explore traditional and innovative techniques for shaping students' understanding of historical personalities, using Pavlo Skoropadskyi, the last Ukrainian Hetman, as a case study. Additionally, the study aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of these techniques in history instruction within general secondary education institutions in Ukraine.

The research methods employed include analyzing scholarly publications and literary works related to Pavlo Skoropadskyi’s life, comparative analysis of traditional and innovative approaches to forming students' perceptions of this historical figure, as well as synthesis and systematization methods to identify key trends in modern teaching practices for building historical knowledge. These methodological techniques help evaluate the efficiency of diverse teaching strategies in Ukrainian history classes.

The study’s findings reveal that employing innovative teaching techniques—such as interactive technologies, multimedia tools, quick access to information via short video clips, textual highlights, internet headlines, and psychological profiling of historical figures—significantly enhances the learning process. Such methods increase students' interest in historical content and improve their engagement with the subject. Teachers who effectively combine traditional methods with modern innovations inspire students to delve deeper into the biographies of significant historical figures.

Conclusions. The authors conclude that organizing educational activities for forming students' perceptions of historical figures, specifically Pavlo Skoropadskyi, in 10th-grade Ukrainian history lessons through both traditional and innovative teaching techniques diversifies instructional approaches. This, in turn, stimulates students' interest in topics related to the Ukrainian Revolution and the complex figure of the last Ukrainian Hetman.