Objective And Subjective Conditions Affecting Pedagogical Process Of The Ethnic Identity Formation

Abstract

The article presents the results of a scientific study aimed at describing external and internal pedagogical conditions that contribute to the formation of national-ethnic identity of the educational process subjects. The purpose of the article is to analyze the historical-cultural, geopolitical, social, pedagogical conditions of the formation of an ethnocultural personality from among the indigenous minorities of Siberia on the Kemerovo region material. Analysis and synthesis, observation, field and sociological research were used conducted from 2010 to 2018 in remote villages. The authors describe external and internal groups of conditions affecting the formation of national-ethnic identity: history of industrial development of Siberia and the subsequent assimilation of indigenous population, legal and regulatory framework of national education in Kuzbas, socio-cultural background; integration of national education into the general educational environment, etc. The described conditions allow the authors to identify two behavioral lines of modern youth among indigenous residents: ethnic self-sufficiency and unity with the Turkic-speaking community, ethnic groups of the North and two models of national-ethnic education. The current linguistic situation of the indigenous peoples of Siberia is alarming. Ways of this problem solution must be taken in educational practice through the formation of national-ethnic identity, regarding the identified conditions and prerequisites, suggestions and initiatives of public organizations. The concept and pedagogical model of the formation of national-ethnic identity in educational practice, based on the interaction of all society structures, is required.

Keywords: Indigenous peoplesethnocultural identitypedagogical conditions

Introduction

In recent decades, the problem of preserving endangered languages has been associated with the problem of national identity, the inner sense of personality as a carrier of ethnic culture, and the ways of revitalizing the languages of Siberian indigenous minorities are directly attributed not so much to the linguistic plane, but to the political, socio-economic and ideological spheres (Apollonov, 2010; Burykin, 2005; Dontsov, Stefanenko, & Utalieva, 1997). Formed ethnic identity of a personality is a sociocultural and socio-psychological phenomenon that connects cognitive and affective ideas and experiences of an individual about an ethnic group arising in real interaction acts with their own and other ethnic groups (Chaikovskaia, 2013).

Problem Statement

Modern regional programs of nationally oriented education indicate a lack of theoretical knowledge of the phenomenon of ethnic identity, lack of empirical data, and lack of elaboration of approaches, means and methods for its formation; lack of a pedagogical vision of this concept as an object of purposeful formation in the system of general and supplementary education; lack of criteria and indicators for assessing the quality of national education (Arutiunian, 1990). Objective and subjective conditions of this process can be attributed to the number of insufficiently described pedagogical factors, under the influence of which the ethnic personality of the subjects of education is formed from among the indigenous peoples of Siberia – Shors.

Research Questions

What are the objective and subjective, external and internal pedagogical conditions for the formation of national-ethnic identity of the educational process subjects - representatives of indigenous peoples of Siberia?

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study to identify and describe the necessary objective and subjective, external and internal pedagogical conditions affecting the formation of the national-ethnic identity of the educational process subjects among the indigenous peoples of Siberia.

Research Methods

Methods of analysis, direct continuous and indirect observation, and research talk are used.

Findings

The following pedagogical conditions of the formation of national-ethnic identity are identified:

- external (objective conditions), namely: formation of the “Shors” ethnonym, since this process is directly related to the self-identity formation of the ethnic group and the formation of territorial boundaries of the ethnic group, internal attitudes of ethnic group representatives; language policy of the state during the abolition period of the Mountain-Shor district (1939) and its consequences for ethnic identity; normative legal provision of ethnocultural educational process; system of problems coordination of the Shor public, including pedagogical, in Kemerovo region (Bagramov, 2010; Bediurov, 2011);

- internal (subjective conditions), namely: peculiarities of educational institutions where children of Shor nationality study, teaching staff goals, personal significance of the attitude towards maintaining identity among members of the public and the function of the public in regulating pedagogical process aimed at preserving culture and language (Baituganov, 2015; Sitnikova, Pimenova, & Filko, 2018). External and internal conditions of the ethno-identity formation are interdependent.

The ethnonym “Shors”, according to historians and ethnographers, was artificially created and replicated mainly by efforts of the media under the influence of state policy in the consciousness of homogeneous, but not formed and uncertain on the basis of ethnicity groups of Kuznetsk Tatars. The division of the borders of Altai peoples in the first third of the 20th century has played a great role. The result of the Mountain-Shor district abolition, the division of the borders of modern Khakassia and Altai has led to the fact that the Shors as an ethnic group now live in the territory of three autonomous districts: Kemerovo region, Khakassia, the Altai Republic, despite the fact that at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th the Shors represented the unity of the Turkic genus named seoks who lived in Mountain Shoria, spoke the same lingo and were the administrative part of Kuznetsk province of Tomsk Governorate (Bediurov, 2011). In the regulatory documents of the government, including educational programs, they were defined by the general term - “aliens” of Siberia.

Until the 20th century the Shors called themselves by the name of the seok (genus) to which they belonged: taiash chony, kobyi chony, chysh kizhi and etc. Living in neighboring territories, ethnic groups close to the Shor ethnic groups called them rough Abians, “aba kizhi”, “shor kizhi”, “tadar kizhi” or Kuznetsk Tatar, “abalar” (after the name of a large city Aba Tur, now Novokuznetsk). In addition, there were also the names “rough aliens”, “taiga aliens”, “mrassian aliens”, “kondomsky aliens” - according to the location on Kemerovo region rivers. In the early 40s of the 20th century, the name of the ethnic group “Shors” fortified its position, and it became almost official in the media after the abolition of the Mountain-Shor district (Borina, 2012).

At the official level, the ethnonym "Shors" is present today in all regulatory documents: in the name of non-commercial organizations, public movements, in the Law on Languages in Kemerovo Region (KemerovoGov, 2015). There is a regional Association of the Shor people, several Shor public organizations, the name of which includes the name of the “Shor” genus, also being an ethnonym, as the general name of the territory: “Taglyg Shor” (Mountain Shoria), “Altyn Shor” (Gold Shoria),”Shoria”. However, along with this self-name there are official websites of public organizations on the Internet where an ethnonym with a historical past can be: the most popular site is “Tadarlar”.

The established self-name has become a pledge of the firmly fixed ethnonym in all spheres of culture and society: Shor language, Shor literature, Shor folklore, Shor cuisine, Shor national games, Shors’ territory of residence, Shor national park, Shor ornament, Shor village, etc. The stability of the “Shors” ethnonym is indicative in terms of language: the emergence of derivational new models from the “shor” root. So, the younger generation introduced the word “Shoriyanka” into use in relation to girls; students enrolled in the “Mother tongue and literature” training direction are called the “Shor department”, etc.

At the same time, the young Shor generation, recognizing themselves as a separate ethnos with their inherent cultural identity, is towards general unification with Turkic-speaking peoples on the basis of linguistic community and all peoples of the North on the basis of problems that unite these peoples.

On the one hand, this is involvement in the “Miss Asia” contests, holding the traditional youth event as “Asia party”, a declaration of belonging to ancient Turks in verse, on the other hand, it is the discussion of common “northern” problems of traditional natural management (hunting territories, logging, creation of tribal communities etc.).

Together, this creates a certain social phenomenon based on the community of the Shors, both with the Turkic-speaking peoples and with the northern peoples. Hence, in the process of educating the younger generation, two behavioral lines are built: one forms self-sufficiency, identity of one’s own ethnic culture, pride, awareness of best qualities of an ethnos; the other is aimed at the unity of the Shors with the entire world community of small indigenous peoples based on general principles of organizing the life of these peoples.

Taking into account the first, sustainable ideas about ethnos are formed by resources of the socio-economic module in the social environment. The forms of this process are: traditional regional mass festivals – “Pairam”, which demonstrate the traditions of ethnic culture (significant rituals, sports competitions, competitions of various orientations between seoks, samples of folk crafts and national cuisine are exhibited); regional contests “Ken kys” (who is the beauty), for participation in which knowledge of the native language, folklore, and traditional elements of folk costume becomes a prerequisite; regional competition of children's creativity “Elim” (poetry reading in native language, choreography and musical performance art).

Taking into account the second, young people are actively involved in the processes of leader formations of national-social movements, undergo training internships in various territories where indigenous minorities live, presenting their culture, participate in congresses of the Association of Indigenous Peoples of the Russian Federation, leave for conferences, forums.

When describing the external conditions for the formation of national-ethnic identity, it is necessary to take into consideration the socio-industrial history of the region and the processes of assimilation of rural Shors with urban population, since the formation process of ethno-identity in urban conditions will significantly differ from the formation process of ethno-identity in the conditions of local people living (Kolesnik, Libakova, Sertakova, & Sergeeva, 2017; Koptseva & Kirko, 2015).

First, the ethnic processes characteristic of modern Shors are due to the industrial history of Siberia. Among the industrial development consequences of the territories of the Shor traditional natural management, we can point out not only the assimilation of cultures and language, but the current marginalization of the people. This was facilitated by economic changes: the deprivation of ownership of fishing grounds and the main means of production; the consolidation of collective farms in the middle of the 20th century, which led to the relocation of residents from small towns to larger ones; Gorshorlag activity until the 50s.

In general, the steady development of indigenous minorities, having their own sources of existence and preservation of culture, were replaced by the priority of economic growth.

With the abolition of the district, the issues of education and language were eliminated for almost fifty years due to the actualization of the construction of the railway, mines, the West-Siberian Metallurgical Combine, etc. Some of the villagers went to construction sites, to cities, some moved to larger settlements, having lost their ancestral hunting territories and traditional handicrafts.

For 50 years, the traditional culture of the Shors has not only assimilated, but also completely moved into the framework of another cultural environment, adapted to the realities of industrial and sociocultural modernity: today there are no traditional buildings of the Shors in remote villages, elements of folk costumes in everyday clothes, the villages themselves are considered to be endangered, young people are focused on employment in large cities, there are no clubs, first-aid posts, shops in the villages.

The loss of folklore samples from the oral tradition, the memory of people is indicated. Only everyday stories of hunters, people of the older generation about spirits of the locality, the master of taiga, water, some superstitions, omens fake place. The main part of this folklore heritage is recorded only in literary texts, scientific and artistic publications based on materials from informants of the 1950s and 1960s.

Second, in the conditions of local residence of the Shors, and these are, as a rule, rural territories, cities with population of no more than 50,000, remote villages of the region, the process of forming an ethno-cultural environment takes shape in the very territorial landscape environment - in the conditions of native nature (cities are located in the picturesque places of Mountain Shoria), in conditions of close location of genuses, families, and, therefore, the domestic ethnic and family ethnic traditions of life become the real living environment for the child.

The model of ethnic culture in these settlements is not created artificially, but is part of a way of life, a permanent component for the formation of moral and ethnic values, the foundations of the traditional ecological worldview, traditional life, etc. In addition, , a full-fledged continuity of generations is ensured in these conditions due to the child’s involvement in everyday cultural life - haymaking, picking pine nuts, beekeeping, horse maintenance, fishing, traditional kitchen culture (Arakchaa & Dadaa, 2005; Konovalova & Chaikovskaia, 2017). In small towns and rural settlements of IM (indigenous minorities) localities, the aesthetic, ethnic space of an urban park, building, monumental culture is organized, which consists of basic symbols and semantic orientations of a specific cultural environment. As a rule, these symbols embody the character, fate and history of the people (more than two hundred objects of sculptures and monumental compositions on an ethnic theme in the south of Kuzbass), which outwardly distinguishes the territory of the local ethnic group living from other settlements in the region. In recent decades, due to the development of ski tourism in the region, these objects have been supplemented with objects of ethnic orientation for guests, but with an advertising context: souvenir shops, compositions with mythological content (images of fire, water, taiga). Children growing up in the environment of such a building-landscape space have the opportunity to constantly come into contact with the historical and cultural facts of the ethnic group.

Thirdly, the organization of ethnocultural education in such settlements differs from the urban, assimilative environment. In the places of local residence of an ethnic group, the number of students-representatives of the Shor ethnic group is higher in percentage than other ethnic groups, hence the introduction of the subjects “native tongue”, “native literature” into the curricula, ethno-oriented extracurricular activities do not cause doubts among parents, pupils and teachers (representatives of the ethnic group). In these settlements, public associations are being formed more actively and are directly involved in the problems of national education, along with education authorities. Often they initiate activities of ethnic orientation: work in cultural centers, clubs, celebrations, meetings with elders, eco-trails, local city and rural competitions, linguistic camps, priorities in publishing children's literature, etc. Programs and journalistic projects in the native language or dedicated to the lives and problems of the Shors are implemented in local places of residence.

Another feature of the educational system in these settlements is the system of education in boarding schools and schools in remote villages, the population of which is not more than 600 people.

The system of education in the conditions of boarding school has developed since the mid-20th century in the region, when the abolition of small villages began, the industrial development of Kuzbas led to an outflow of the population to larger villages and cities. The number of children and, accordingly, schools in such villages significantly decreased, and at the beginning of the 21st century, the education of children from the villages, more than 30 km away from the city centers, fully took shape in boarding schools. Curricula of these educational institutions are focused on the system of ethno-oriented supplementary education: music studios for teaching the playing national instruments, national choreography, active participation in national competitions and festivals, learning native language and literature from the 1st to 9th grade, interaction with representatives of public organizations and general supervision of life support issues not only by educational authorities, but also representatives of the territorial administration responsible for national issues.

A different educational paradigm is taking shape in the schools of industrial cities of Kuzbas, where Russian and ethnic populations assimilated, and the school curricula are aimed not at introducing to the culture of the peoples of Siberia, but to studying it. In this regard, it can be stated that at least two models have emerged in the region: a model for studying culture and a model of introducing to culture.

By 2108, the region had had a system of two contradictory conditions: on the one hand, the demands of the intelligentsia, authorities declaring the value of the native language and culture, and on the other, the reluctance of the ethnic group to learn the language, the priority of Russian as the language of everyday communication in the same public environment and intellectuals. Thus, the problem of preserving the identity of an ethnos has been reduced to cultural and educational activities, the system of supplementary education. Educational institutions in the region are organized in several categories where children of Shor nationality are educated and ethno-regional training and education are implemented:

- institutions of the accumulating type (these are boarding schools in which the amount of Shor children numbers from 76 to 93% of the number of students — Orton village, Tashtagol);

- schools in places of local residence of Shors with an assimilated composition of students;

- institutions of supplementary education for children and youth, in which there are national art studios and unions;

- specialized children ethnocultural centers.

Conclusion

The pedagogical process as part of the culture of a society, nation, ethnic group cannot remain isolated from the environment, history and culture of the ethnic group itself, it inevitably sensitively reacts to all geopolitical changes, economic processes, problematic tendencies within the ethnic group and, ultimately, is formed as a consequence of these conditions. Along with the organizational and pedagogical conditions, objective and subjective conditions constitute a single complex of conditions, understanding of which determines the pedagogical process design of the formation of national-ethnic identity.

Acknowledgments

The study was carried out with financial support of the Department of Culture and National Policy of Kemerovo region, with administrative support of the local educational authorities in the places of local residence of Shors and Teleuts.

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28 December 2019

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Cite this article as:

Chaikovskaia*, E., Elkina, O., & Konovalova, N. (2019). Objective And Subjective Conditions Affecting Pedagogical Process Of The Ethnic Identity Formation. In D. Karim-Sultanovich Bataev, S. Aidievich Gapurov, A. Dogievich Osmaev, V. Khumaidovich Akaev, L. Musaevna Idigova, M. Rukmanovich Ovhadov, A. Ruslanovich Salgiriev, & M. Muslamovna Betilmerzaeva (Eds.), Social and Cultural Transformations in the Context of Modern Globalism, vol 76. European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences (pp. 3102-3109). Future Academy. https://doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2019.12.04.418