Peculiarities of Social Protection of Childhood in Ukraine (the twenties of the XX century)

Abstract

The article reveals the peculiarities of social protection of children in Ukraine in the twenties of the XX century. It has been shown that amidst acute crisis caused by wars, revolutions, devastation and famine, the system of social welfare of population started to be developed in the country, which included provision of social assistance to children. The most important features of this system have been singled out in the article, which are the follows: state nature and exclusion of private and public initiative from the model of social assistance; class approach to the provision of social services; participation of a significant number of state units and institutions in the activities of social protection of children and distribution of functions among them. It has been proved that the provision of social assistance to children has become a priority not only of social, but also for educational policy of the state. The adoption of «Declaration on the Social Education of Children» (1920) and other normative documents contributed to the establishing of protection of children as the main task of domestic social education. Such protection was distributed onto both – orphans and children deprived of parental care, and children from families deprived of proper conditions for education and upbringing. The interrelated institutions and measures aimed at protecting children have been normatively defined. It has been emphasized that during the investigated period, the domestic offshoot of social education was under the noticeable influence of reflexology as the most widespread field of pedagogy in Ukraine.