Education System Actors on the Transformation of the Social Order of Schooling in the Context of Russian Aggression

Abstract

The article emphasises that Russia's aggression against Ukraine has significantly changed the social order of Ukrainian society as a whole, all its substructures, including the education system, in particular the school system. It is noted that, having analysed the definitions of the concept of "social order" presented in the sociological discourse, in particular, the definitions of this concept formulated by such classics of sociology and modern sociologists as M. Weber, R. Park, C. Polanyi, J. Padiolo, Z. Bauman, D. North and others, the authors focused on the axiological approach to the interpretation of social order. The author's definition of the relevant concept is given, namely: social order is an interaction (communication) between the subjects of a certain social system based on internalised norms and values, which ensures its successful functioning. It is emphasised that changes in the external environment of a particular system can lead (and usually do lead) to changes in these systems themselves, in particular, to changes in their functions, which, in turn, actualises changes in the existing social order and the emergence of its new forms. It is argued that under the influence of the changes that have taken place in Ukrainian society since the beginning of the Russian aggression, the functions of such a social system as education and, accordingly, the social order inherent in it have undergone a significant transformation. It is noted that this conclusion is based on the results of the research project "School in Time of War" implemented by the Wergland European Centre (Norway, Oslo) within the framework of the Programme of Support to Educational Reforms in Ukraine (2021-2024) (with the participation of one of the authors of the article). It is emphasised that this study was carried out using qualitative methods such as individual in-depth and focused group interviews (FGI). A total of 30 in-depth and 3 FGIs were conducted with Ukrainian teachers, school principals and high school students representing secondary education institutions located both in regions close to active hostilities (in cities such as Kharkiv, Mariupol, Irpin, Bucha, etc.) and in relatively safer cities (Lviv, Lutsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Odesa). The data obtained in the framework of this study demonstrate changes in the role and functions of the national school education system in the context of war, in particular, the actualisation of its role as a space of security, organisation of volunteer activities and psychological support. It is concluded that the transformation of the content and nature of interaction between the main actors of the education system (school administration, teachers, students and their parents) has led to the emergence of a new social order within this system, transformed the previously existing hierarchical relations between educational actors into horizontal ones, and formed a new model of social order, namely, the school as a "big family".

Keywords: education system, social order, schooling, environment, Russian aggression.