Vospitanie and regime change: Teacher-education textbooks in Soviet and post-Soviet Ukraine

This article examines the pedagogical dimension of vospitanie,or character formation,in communist and post-communist education. it explores how vospitanie is conceptualized in two teacher-education textbooks—one from each period—in ukraine,a post-soviet country. comparative analysis shows how conceptualizations of vospitanie have evolved over time and across political regimes. instruction on vospitanie for future teachers has a comprehensive structure based on the two “pillars” of labour and the collective,with an increasing focus on democracy and humanism in the post-communist era. even though regime change and ideological shifts led to some modifications in the conceptualization of vospitanie,this article recommends a more decentralized approach and practical instructions for teachers to ensure the concept’s relevance in post-soviet society. it also suggests that educators today could explore—and implement—some of the ideas developed in the soviet period to improve character education within ukraine and in other national contexts. © 2015,unesco ibe.