THE “BOOKS NOT BOMBS” CAMPAIGN SUPPORTS EFFORTS IN UKRAINE TO STRENGTHEN THE FUTURE-FOCuSED, INQUIRY-BASED HISTORY AND CIVIC LEARNING IN MIDDLE SCHOOLS THAT WAS DISRUPTED BY THE ONSET OF THE WAR
Scroll below to read about the reform and how important it is to prepare the next generation of young people to lead democracy forward.
THE IMPACT OF WAR ON EDUCATION
The war has had a severe impact on education in Ukraine. Thousands of educational institutions are damaged, hundreds are completely destroyed and many students and teachers have fled to other countries.
Those students and teachers who remain in Ukraine have limited access to the internet and many have experienced severe trauma.
“When in the army, I learned that the budget for education was transfered to the army”
NEW UKRAINIAN SCHOOL
Despite the war, there has been a school reform going on in Ukraine which started in 2018. This reform reflects a shift in focus and values toward democratic education, representing a definitive break with the Soviet style of teaching. It has been termed the “New Ukrainian School”.
The first generation of 5-grade students was taught in the “New Ukrainian School” in the summer of 2022, several months after the Russian army had invaded Ukraine.
One of the schoolbooks that was made for this course is “History of Ukraine and the World”. It uses active methods, puts Ukrainian history in its wider context, and promotes civic competences.
A NEW TEXTBOOK
HISTORY OF UKRAINE AND THE WORLD
Because there were no government funds to print the books, Iryna Kostyuk, one of the authors, asked EuroClio - European Association of History Educators for help. This request started the campaign.
So far, we have printed 10.000 copies of the book for grade 5, using money that we collected from private donors that was matched with a personal loan that the publisher took. There are many more schools who would like to have a copy and if the campaign is succesful, we will provide these for free.
“With each distributed textbook we received more applications and requests. Therefore our goal is not only to repay the taken loan, but to scale up this work
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With the support of Area9Lyceum the authors are working on a digital version of the book. This is not just an eBook: it is built on a platform that analyses what you know and where you make mistakes and gives you more tasks to practice where practice is needed.
The online learning platform will make it possible for students who don’t have access to regular education—or who had to flee to other countries—to learn as well. Students can use the platform to learn asynchronously, making it possible for them to learn whenever they have access to the internet.
