Ukrainian and Foreign Experience in Applying Biographical Method to Study Prominent Figures in Pedagogy

Abstract The article analyzes the term “biographical method”, which consists in the idea of a biography being one’s life journey. Its essence was disclosed through the views of the leading Ukrainian and foreign scholars. The origins of the biographical method as the main tool for studying prominent figures in pedagogy were specified. The article contains the domain-specific classification of biographical sources including autobiographies, biographies, life stories, personal experience stories, surveys and interviews, public and private archival materials, printed and hand-written heritage of authors, memoirs of their contemporaries, etc. Specific attention is paid to the fact that biographical researches can characterize the course of life of a particular figure in pedagogy, the era in which he/she lived and worked, the process of shaping and developing his/her worldview and pedagogical views. Consequently, one can highlight the main stages in the pedagogue’s life, better understand the essence of his/her cultural, educational activities, grasp his/her unique identity, reveal certain patterns in various facts of his/her biography that have caused the emergence and development of particular educational and pedagogical ideas. Based on theoretical analysis of the works by Ukrainian and foreign scholars, it was concluded that the biographical method could determine the influence of society on the development of the individual, his/her life position, values and ideals, different moments of the society’s life at one time period or another, social contexts, rules and norms. It was found that when studying the biographies of prominent figures in pedagogy one should be able to balance the given material on the pedagogue’s activities, the description of his/her works and theoretical analysis and understanding of the trends in the development of his/her views and a reasonable assessment of his/her contributions.