Parish care as a strategy of pedagogical support for children

The relevance of the study lies in identifying the specifics of parish care, social and pedagogical activity in an Orthodox parish, as an area of pedagogical support; the concept of pedagogical support in the context of the issue under consideration is clarified. The novelty lies in the description of the pedagogical tactics of care as a variant of pedagogical support that arises in the circumstances of interaction between children and parish teachers. The center of communication development within the parish is the meeting of two actors: a person and another person (social aspect), a person and his “secret” “I” (psychological aspect), a person and God (theological aspect). Care as a tactic of pedagogical support is based on practice, the central category and the basis of parish interaction between children and a teacher. The category of practice in care manifests itself when the teacher strives to live and experience together with the child events that are equally significant for them. The tactics of care as the most natural cultural practice for the Orthodox tradition can underlie the developed strategy of parish care of children, which, in turn, is characterized by typical features identified in the study. Depending on the trends in the functioning of parish care of children, teachers can choose other pedagogical tactics that differ from the tactics of pedagogical support for children. In addition, the article identifies problems that hinder the dissemination and application of tactics of pedagogical support in Orthodox parishes.

parish care, pedagogical support, tactics of care, religious education, religious socialization, Orthodox parish