The dissertation in the historical-pedagogic context, based on archive, little-known and published sources, has provided the complex and systems analysis of the organizational-pedagogic principles of adult education in Podillia region (the second half of the 19th century – 1941).
The following has been described: development of content and search for new forms of organization of the educational process in higher educational institutions and vocational-technical training establishments; financing, material and technical supply of educational institutions; formation of students’ body; implementation of policy of «Ukrainian principles» and «Soviet principles» into the educational institutions; academic disciplines, which were taught in educational institutions of Podillіa region, namely, there were determined 125 academic disciplines, among them such as: Law of God, geography, the Russian language, history and natural science; educational process in higher school and the chain of vocational technical establishments.
Periodization of the education development during the mentioned chronological period has been proposed: the first phase – forming of elements for adult education (second half of the 19th century – 1917); the second phase – establishment of Soviet education for adults on the territory of Podillia region (1920-s – 1941).
The emergence of regulatory and legal acts have been analyzed, which regulated the issues of establishment and functioning of educational institutions, distinguishing the formation process of the elements of adult education of Podillіa region dwellers in the second part of the 19th century, namely: formal – women and men theological colleges, real high schools and professional high schools, real vocational schools; informal – activities of public reading halls, classes for the adults, parish and parochial schools; informal element of adult education: Sunday schools, spreading of agro-technical knowledge.
The results of the accomplished monitoring of the state of adult education in Podillіa region (1900–1917) specified: geographical location (including new established, acting and liquidated) educational institutions; migration of adult Podillіa region dwellers, who received education (entrants, students, graduates), their age, sex, social and religious status; material-technical recourses of educational institutions.
The stages of conducting the Soviet educational reform during 1920-s have been studied, namely: 1) education was brought to the level of elementary professional training directed towards the quantitative indices for the account of training quality; 2) the training at high schools was transferred to 4-year term, the standards towards entrants were raised, the entrance exams were introduced, the higher schools were divided according to the districts; 3) unification of education – establishment of higher educational institutions with their further subordination to the sector of people’s commissariats and other competent departments.
The forms of conducting the educational process at Soviet higher educational institutions and vocational-technical establishments have been scrutinized. The vocational education has been generally obtained in the form of full-time training simultaneously realizing the system of higher education for Podillіa dwellers based on the combination of different forms of obtaining education, on the basis of the same institution of higher education – Kamianets-Podilskyi Institute for People’s Education (full-time instruction); external form of study to obtain education, (tuition by correspondence); Kamianets-Podilskyi Teacher’s Institute (full-time form of study form of study, correspondence form of study, education in the workplace, i.e. in off-work hours). The majority of higher education institutions has been characterized by full-time form of study.
The methods and didactic means of educational institutions both higher and vocational education on the territory of Podillіa region during 1917–1941 were systemized, which revealed the fact that among the higher educational institutions and their application of different training methods, Kamianets-Podilskyi institute for People’s Education was using during 9 years of its activity 14 educational methods. As regards the application of educational methods (there were used seminars and practical trainings) Kamianets-Podilskyi Ukrainian State University was considered as the simplest one. Practical work in the structure of the educational process was a typical feature in Vinnytsia Medical Institute. As concerns the system of vocational-technical establishments it has to be noted that among the vocational schools the same amount (average 5–6) of educational methods was used. Like the higher education institutions in Podillia region, verbal method was the most popular means of education.
