THE BORDERLANDS OF UKRAINE AS AN EDUCATIONAL SPACE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.28925/2412-0774.2026.2.1Keywords:
borderlands, education, educational infrastructure, educational potential, general secondary education institutions, identity, territorial communities, security risks, socialization, upbringing.Abstract
The article highlights the issue of educating children and youth in the borderlands of Ukraine as a specific socio-cultural space shaped by intercultural interaction, cross-border contacts, and contemporary security challenges. Approaches to understanding the phenomenon of borderlands in both domestic and international scholarly discourse are analyzed. A systematic geospatial and statistical analysis of the educational profiles of territorial communities located in Ukraine’s borderlands and sharing state borders with other countries is conducted, based on generalized data on the network of general secondary education institutions, student population, and demographic characteristics. The quantitative and qualitative parameters of the functioning of the educational network of general secondary education institutions in the borderlands of Ukraine are identified, including regional differentiation of educational infrastructure and its dependence on spatial, demographic, and socio-economic factors. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of security risk levels in the education system of borderland territorial communities. A significant variability in the conditions of functioning of educational institutions (from relatively safe to critical and insurmountable) is revealed, which necessitates the adaptation of the educational process, the development of protective infrastructure, and the implementation of flexible learning formats. The educational potential of Ukraine’s borderlands is defined as a set of human, institutional, and territorial resources of strategic importance for ensuring the country’s resilience, recovery, and development. It is substantiated that education in borderland conditions requires consideration of geospatial specificity, the security context, and the characteristics of educational infrastructure as key factors in shaping civic identity and the social resilience of the younger generation.
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