In the dissertation, the cultural-educational and scientific-pedagogical activity of the Greek Catholic Church in Transcarpathia has been comprehensively and holistically analyzed. Its role in children and youth national identity formation of the researched period has been determined. Main stages of Transcarpathians national consciousness formation in the Greek Catholic Church activities during the period of the Transcarpathian accession to various states have been outlined. The sociopolitical and socio-cultural background that influenced into the cultural-educational and enlightenment activities of the Greek Catholic Church region has been revealed. The contribution of Transcarpathia Greek Catholic Church to the protection of Ukrainian culture and mother tongue achievements, the preservation of the national school from foreign governments assimilation policy have been studied. The educational-cultural experience of school, church and public cooperation of children and youth national and moral upbringing has been analyzed.
The methodological principles of studying the theory and practice of children and youth national consciousness formation in the cultural and enlightenment, educational and organizational, missionary activity of the Greek Catholic Church in Transcarpathia have been outlined. The interpretation of the content of the main concepts of the research has been done. The usage mechanisms of pedagogical, enlightenment and educational experience in the activities of the Greek Catholic Church in Transcarpathia in modern conditions have been determined.
In the process of study, the concept content of «national education» and «national self-consciousness» has been extensed and supplemented. In our interpretation, national education is the process of transferring national cultural values, traditions, attitudes and norms of behavior in educational, cultural-enlightenment, public activities of state, religious, social institutions, which set itself the task of forming self-consciousness of the individual, respect and love for their homeland and their people. National self-consciousness is a system of socio-psychological conceptions, ideas, body of knowledge and views of the individual about the national-spiritual values, culture, history, traditions of people; his self-reflection, that is, the process of knowing himself as the bearer of these ethno-national values, their actualization in society and, at the same time, the formation of images and representations of other ethnos based on their own knowledge about historical development of their ethnic group.
Practical significance of obtained results can be used in: practical development of principles of education and upbringing in school national content; in the educational process of secondary schools and higher education institutions, mainly while teaching courses in the history of pedagogy, general pedagogy, history of Ukraine, special courses in Ukrainian studies and country studies; while writing students’ course papers and graduation works, formation of books, methodical recommendations, textbooks on the history of pedagogy, the theory of education, etc.
