Pedagogical institutes

Pedagogical institutes (педагогічні інститути; pedahohichni instytuty). Institutions of higher learning which train teachers for all types of schools and institutions of secondary special education or professional and vocational education. In the first half of the 19th century in Russian-ruled Ukraine, there were pedagogical institutes located at Kharkiv University (founded in 1811) and Kyiv University (founded in 1834). The four-year course of study at these institutes prepared teachers for the gymnasiums and county schools. In 1858 the pedagogical institutes were abolished, and in 1860 pedagogical courses were introduced at universities. These courses were liquidated by the university reform of 1863, the result being a shortage of qualified teachers for secondary schools. The need for pedagogical training in the Russian Empire was fulfilled by two historical-philological institutes, one of them the Nizhyn Lyceum in Ukraine.

After the Revolution of 1917 only a few higher-level schools were designated as pedagogical institutes. It was not until 1933 that pedagogical institutes, formed on the basis of the institutes of social education, became the main type of higher-level pedagogical institution. In 1940 there were 20 such institutes in the Ukrainian SSR, with a total of 15,860 students. The number of institutes in Ukraine increased in the 1950s, when the teachers' institutes were closed, and a number of them were converted into pedagogical institutes. In 1968 there were 32 pedagogical institutes in Ukraine. In 1989 there were 29, including 2 institutes of foreign languages, with a total enrollment of 146,700 and 24,600 students respectively.

Pedagogical institutes are under the jurisdiction of the Ukrainian Ministry of Education. Their program of study lasts 5 years for the training of teachers with 2 or more areas of specialization, and 4 years for students with only 1 area of specialization. Some institutes have graduate research departments for the training of instructors for higher institutions of learning in pedagogical and other specialized disciplines. Institutes prepare textbooks and other educational materials for schools. In Ukraine pedagogical institutes train teachers in 38 specializations. (See also Pedagogical education.)

 Ivan Bakalo, Natalka Freeland

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 3 (1993).]