Decolonization of school education content in Ukraine: sociolinguistic aspect

Oksana Danylevska, Oksana Danylevska, Doctor of Sciences in Philology, Senior Researcher in the Department of Stylistics, Language Culture and Sociolinguistics
Institute of the Ukrainian Language of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine
4 Mykhailо Hrushevskуі St., Kyiv 01001, Ukraine

E-mail: od3556261@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7847-8499

Heading: Articles
Language: Ukrainian

Abstract: The article outlines trends in the development of the linguistic situation within the sphere of school education against the backdrop of dynamic processes in the functioning of the Ukrainian and Russian languages under the conditions of Russia’s full-scale military aggression against Ukraine. Based on the results of large-scale sociological surveys conducted between 2022 and 2025, the extent of changes in the language consciousness and language behavior of Ukrainian citizens has been identified. As a result, perceptions of the prestige of Ukrainian and Russian languages have acquired new qualities.

In the context of war, on one hand, there is a noticeable decline in the status of the Russian language as a subject of study, a language of instruction, and a means of informal communication within educational institutions: 52 % of Ukrainians now believe that Russian should not be taught in schools at all, whereas in 2017, 56 % supported making its study mandatory. On the other hand, the position of the Ukrainian state language has significantly strengthened, leading to a shift in the parameters of language interaction in Ukraine – for the first time since independence, the balance has clearly tilted in favor of Ukrainian across all social spheres.

The sharp radicalization of public sentiment regarding the role of the Russian language and, more broadly, Russian culture in the Ukrainian public space has led to a revision of school course content, resulting in the removal of Russian-related content from the educational fields of “Languages and Literatures”, “Social Studies”, and “Arts”.

It is substantiated that the changes in school curricula should be considered within the broader context of the decolonization of public consciousness, whose legal boundaries are defined by the law “On the Condemnation and Prohibition of Propaganda of Russian Imperial Policy in Ukraine and the Decolonization of Toponymy” (2023). The decolonization of school education particularly involves shifting interpretative emphases when explaining cultural phenomena, historical memory, and the history of the Ukrainian language, as well as significantly strengthening the Ukrainian studies component within school courses.

The article concludes that, from the perspective of sociolinguistic forecasts regarding the development of the linguistic situation in Ukraine, these changes should be assessed positively, as they create preconditions for the informal communicative strengthening of the state language in school education. This is achieved through the introduction of language planning tools such as a Ukrainian-centered and Ukrainian-speaking educational environment, as well as the language consciousness and language behavior of participants in the educational process.

Keywords: sociolinguistics, decolonization of public consciousness, language consciousness, language behavior, linguistic situation in school education, language policy.

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