Educational Potential of Ukrainian Children’s Literature of Canada

Abstract

The lack of a comprehensive research of the educational potential of art works of the Ukrainian-Canadian children’s writers preconditioned the topicality of the research. The purpose of the study is, basing on a holistic analysis of the development of the Ukrainian-Canadian educational thought in the second half of the twentieth century, to clarify its role in shaping the educational potential of the Ukrainian children’s literature in Canada. Methods of the investigation include: analysis of the domestic and foreign scientific and fiction literature on the studied problem; classification and generalization of archival sources; comparison and historical-genetic analysis of the preconditions of the origin and development of the Ukrainian educational thought and children’s literature in Canada; personalistic and biographical, thematic-ideological and socio-pedagogical analysis of literary works of the Ukrainian writers of Canada; theoretical generalization of the research results and drawing conclusions. The article deals with the activity of ULWCY (Ukrainian Literature Workers for Children and Youth). It reflects literary work of the Ukrainian-Canadian writers, in a civilized manner-elucidative activity and education of rising generations of Canadian Ukrainians. Scientific novelty of the results lies in the fact that little-known works of Ukrainian teachers and literature scholars of Canada in the second half of the twentieth century were introduced into the scientific use for the first time. The practical complement to the theoretical study was a published textbook “Pearls of creativity: Ukrainian children literature of the Ukrainians from abroad”, which contains biographies and works of the Ukrainian diaspora writers.