Mishak V. Religious Education of Students in Institutions of Generals secondary Education of Austria.

The object of there search is religious education in comprehensive secondary schools of Austria; the subject of the research is the contents, forms, methods, stages and basic tendencies of formation and development of religious education in comprehensive secondary schools of Austria; a research purpose is to discover the contents, forms, methods, stages and basic tendencies of formation and development of religious education in comprehensive secondary schools of Austria; to apply the corresponding positive Austrian experience in nativeschooling; research methods: General scientific: analysis, synthesis, comparison and generalization, - to the study the works ofnative and foreign researchers, also documents and regulations on the theme of scientific research; the method of comparative historic analysis, which enabled to compare socio pedagogic facts, phenomena and results of religious education on different stages of its formation and development in comprehensive secondary schools of Austria; structural analysis of the development of structural components of religious education on each of the stages of Austriansecondary school; interpretation analytical method, that enabled the conceptual analysis of documentary and literary native and foreign sources; searching method used for an exposure of rational and practically valued experience of religious education in scientific works of foreign and native authors and drawing the generalized conclusions; empirical methods: observation of the educational and up-bringing process in Austrian schools by the author of the thesis while being in Austria; mailing, interviewing and discussing the current research problems with Austrian colleagues at the scientific seminars and conferences; studying the educational regulations at Austrian schools; investigating the learning and teaching experience of religious education at Austrian schools; statistic methods: used to estimate the state and dynamics of pupils' participation in religious lessons; also used to summarize the official statistic data as well as author's observation results; the scientific novelty of the researchis that: for the first time in native pedagogy science the contents, forms, methods, means of religious education in comprehensive secondary schools of Austria are discovered; the influence of socio-economic, political, religious and sociocultural factors on the formation and development of religious education in comprehensive secondary schools of Austria is analysed; the historic pedagogic analysis of implementingthe evangelic and catholic lessons of religion in comprehensive secondary schools of Austriais carried out; the basic stages of development of religious education in the Austrian school system in a stated period (the 1ststage of post-war restoration of the educational system - 1945 - late 60s XX century; the 2ndstage of liberalization and secularizing of public consciousness - late 60s XX century- 1998; the 3rdstage of religious ecumenism and integration of cultures - 1998 - 2010)are grounded; the concepts "religion", "confessionalism", "secularity", "religious education" in the Austrian and German theory of religious education of pupils are specified; public and pedagogic purpose of religious education of pupils of Austriansecondary schoolsis identified.