THE IMPACT OF EDUCATIONAL REFORMS ON SCHOOL LITERARY EDUCATION IN UKRAINE (1991 – 2022)

Abstract

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact of educational reforms on school literary education in Ukraine during the period from 1991 to 2022. Three key stages in the transformation of literary education are examined in the context of changes in the regulatory framework, curriculum content, methodological approaches, and educational policy as a whole.
The first period (1991–2000) is characterized as a stage of de-Sovietization, nationalization, and humanitarian renewal: a conceptual rethinking of the school literature course took place, previously prohibited authors were reintroduced, the literary canon was revised, and new textbooks were developed. During this period, the ideological and methodological foundations for Ukrainian school humanities education were established.
The second period (2000-2013) is marked by increased regulation, the introduction of state standards, the competence-based approach, and the profiling of upper secondary school. Emphasis was placed on the standardization of learning outcomes, curriculum development, and the improvement of teaching methods; however, the persistence of certain traditional instructional practices is also noted.
The third period (2013–2022) encompasses the implementation of the New Ukrainian School reform, large-scale digitalization during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the challenges associated with the full-scale war in 2022. The article demonstrates how, during this period, the understanding of the role of literary education was transformed—from the traditional transmission of the cultural canon to the development of critical thinking, emotional intelligence, humanitarian awareness, and psychological resilience. Particular attention is paid to digital tools, the adaptation of the educational process to distance learning, and emerging content priorities such as patriotism, dignity, identity, and inclusion.
The article analyzes the gradual transformation of school literary education from a discipline with a predominantly reproductive function into an instrument for fostering autonomous reading, as well as moral and critical consciousness. Directions for further research are also identified, including empirical studies of reading competence, analysis of new textbooks, comparative models of literary education, and the role of literature under conditions of social turbulence and war.