Terra sebv s acta mvsei sabesiensi s

The Establishment and Development of Rural Schools in Russia (19

th

-21

st

 Centuries) 

 

39

typical way of life in a traditional society over the centuries, allowing the 

character to be associated with that society. Performing in a play first of all 

requires the actor’s active understanding and reflection upon his own 

disposition, as a reference point for understanding that of his character, in 

order to comprehend this character’s attitude towards society as a whole, 

the beliefs and motivations behind the character’s actions, and the goals and 

activities towards which such actions are oriented. In preparing for a 

performance, students are familiarised with the contribution made to the 

culture in question by folk rituals, games and celebrations. Concepts 

surrounding the role of moral values in human life (e.g. why does this 

person of that particular ethnicity act in just such a way?) are explored, and 

students consider how the ethical codes of people of particular ethnic 

cultures are influenced by their participation in ritual practice, and how 

these codes can be good for humanity as a whole. 

Thus the use of ethnostaging in modern rural schools as a tool to 

encourage assimilation of ethnocultural values is determined by the 

following factors: 

- Ritual folklore forms have distinctive game principles, which 

correspond with the natural essence of childhood, and thus represent an 

effective educational tool for nurturing and developing students; 

- Mythology and rituals provide insight into the mindset of ethnic 

groups and are a source for understanding their worldview and spiritual 

values. 

Ethnocultural education in schools is organised on the foundations of 

ethnotheatrical activities in rural society and should, the author believes, be 

conducted through the interaction of all participants in the educational 

process - students, educators, parents and relatives of students. In addition, 

this process should involve the population of the village population, the 

local museum and library, and information and cultural centre workers. This 

is important because ethnocultural education through ethnotheatrical 

activities is expressed in such forms as: 

- Folklore theatre; 

- Ethnotheatrical workshops, clubs and studios; 

- Staged ethnographic performances in museums; 

- Outdoor displays of traditional rituals on stage; 

- Classes on folk art using theatrical facilities; 

- Ethnotheatrical projects based on authentic ethnographic material 

from the area in which participants live, or on local legends, myths, fairy 

tales, etc. 

Folk theatre in schools cannot exist without the cooperation of 

children and adults: teachers, students and their families (parents, 

grandparents, etc.) who help with costumes and can be consulted on how 

www.cclbsebes.ro/muzeul-municipal-ioan-raica.html   /   www.cimec.ro

---

V. J. Arestova 

 

40

the relevant rituals were treated in the past. Take, for example, the youth 

ritual of larma (literally “gatherings”) in which related maidens from 

neighbouring villages would gather to sew, embroider and sometimes 

change dresses several times throughout the evening, Most commonly it 

was a way for young women to show off their dowry dresses and their 

handiwork skills (the dresses were usually embroidered), since at these 

gatherings they were looked over by potential mother-in-laws or fiancés. 

The beauty of this ritual is reflected the beauty of Chuvash life. The ritual 

incorporates Chuvash concepts of manners and the moral qualities of a 

maiden. Today, the staging of this ritual, in particular the dressmaking 

aspects (during rehearsals girls not only practice the actions they will 

perform stage, but actually embroider or restore dresses of their 

grandmothers themselves), can bring about transformation through acting 

and/or dressing up. This is not only of cultural and educational relevance: it 

can also help to develop systems of beliefs and opinions, because 

transformation through dressing in folk costume is not merely a matter of 

playing the role of a young lady of yesteryear, it provides a situation where 

the student can culturally interact with her ancestors. 

These kinds of activity cannot exist without the interaction and 

cooperation of not only the abovementioned participants, but also local 

government bodies, mass media, social organisations and institutions. It is 

essential for the management of school-based ethnocultural education that 

there should be concurrence between the actions of educational, 

administrative, social and amateur bodies, and that the organisation of 

curricular and extracurricular forms of education should complement each 

other. Rural schools should play the role of centres of coordination for the 

ethnocultural education of students. Coordination is achieved by mutual 

agreement between the school, cultural institutions and social organisations. 

The examples described in this article indicate that the creation and 

development of rural schools and the sociocultural environment were 

always tightly bound to each other, and the specifics of folk culture (ways of 

life, rituals and national traditions) have consistently affected the 

organisation and practices of education in rural areas. 

From a historical perspective, the development of rural education 

went hand in hand with the transmission of ethnocultural traditions; in 

other words, teachers not only taught general academic subjects, but tried to 

pass ethnic experiences (customs, rituals) on to the next generation, often 

using ethnostaging as one of the most effective methods for doing so. 

The above analysis has outlined the development and consolidation 

of ideas about the social and ethnocultural aspects of education throughout 

the history of rural education. These include: 

www.cclbsebes.ro/muzeul-municipal-ioan-raica.html   /   www.cimec.ro

---