Teaching Ukrainian as a Non-Native Language to National Minorities in Ukraine - Challenges for Evidence-Based Educational Policies

Oct 15, 2026

Underachievement among national minority students in Ukraine’s compact-residence areas increases vulnerability to educational failure, especially where Ukrainian is not the home language. The study focuses on multilingual settings in Chernivtsi Region, examining policy and curriculum needs for teaching Ukrainian as a non-native language. Guided by evidence-based education policy aims, the authors conduct a public perception survey with students, parents, teachers, and policy-makers, then provide recommendations for staged language introduction and bilingual education strategies.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Background: language policy criticism and underachievement

Local context: compact residence and assessment outcomes

Research question and evidence-based policy need

Related approaches: monolingual vs bilingual education

Framing: curriculum and syllabus design

DOI: 10.20535/2410-8286 .164167 TEACHING UKRAINIAN AS A NON-NATIVE LANGUAGE TO NATIONAL MINORITIES IN UKRAINE: CHALLENGES FOR EVIDENCE-BASED EDUCATIONAL POLICIES Oksana Zabolotna1 (Corresponding author: [oxana.zabolotna@gmail.com](oxana.zabolotna@gmail.com)) Svitlana Shchudlo2, Tetiana Medina3, Ielyzaveta Panchenko4, Dmytro Kozlov5 1,4Pavlo Tychyna Uman State Pedagogical University, Uman, Ukraine 2Drohobych Ivan Franko State Pedagogical University, Drohobych, Ukraine 3 Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University, Chernivtsi, Ukraine 5A.S. Makarenko Sumy State Pedagogical University, Sumy, Ukraine Underachievement among national minority group students in places of their compact residence in Ukraine makes them vulnerable to educational failure. This problem is noticeable in Chernivtsi Region of Ukraine where the multicultural character causes peculiar behaviour in politics, migration, economic and cultural activities as well as in educational strategies. Owing to the fact that in some districts (Hertsa and Novoselica) the Ukrainian Language is not the mother tongue for most residents who are ethnical Romaniansand Moldavians, about 60 % students fail in Independent External Testing after secondary school. This issue was taken into account in Article 7 of Ukrainian Law on Education (2017) which presupposed gradual significant growth in school subjects with Ukrainian as the language of instruction. The issue raised the research question: What approaches can be applied to teaching Ukrainian as anon-native language to national minorities in sites of their compact residence (where more than 80 % of the population speak Romanian in their everyday life)? This actualised the need for formulating evidence-based language policies in Ukraine. With the purpose of answering the need, Ukrainian Educational Research Association designed and carried out a public perception survey using in-depth interviews with high-school students and their parents, school teachers, local and regional policy-makers in education, local authorities, and national cultural societies. Based on the research, the authors give recommendations on approaches which should be used in design of curriculum and syllabus of Ukrainian as a non-native language. The authors emphasise the importance of the gradual introduction of the Ukrainian language starting from learning it as a foreign language at initial stages, with further switching to second language teaching strategies, and leading to bilingual education. Keywords: national minority students; evidence-based language policies; Ukrainian as a non-native language. Introduction In recent years, language policies in Ukraine as a democratic country have been actively criticised as not satisfying national minorities’ needs. The issue was even more urgently addressed after the analysis of External Independent Testing results demonstrating national minority group students’ considerable underachievement which was especially noticeable in places of their compact residence in Ukraine. This situation makes them vulnerable to educational failure. This problem is noticeable in Chernivtsi Region of Ukraine where multiculturalism is the point of departure as students who speak Ukrainian and those who speak Romanian share the same school class with the percentage of Romanian speaking students varying substantively depending on whether it is an urban or a rural area. There is a particular density of Romanian and Moldavian population in Hertsa, Novoselica, Chernivtsi as sites of national minorities’ compact residence, which should be taken into account in defining educational strategies. Owing to the fact that in some districts (Hertsa and Novoselica) the Ukrainian Language is not the mother tongue for most residents who are ethnical Romanians and Moldavians, about 60 % students fail in Independent External Testing after secondary school. This issue was taken into account in Article 7 of Ukrainian Law on Education

FAQs

What problem does the document address regarding national minority students?

It describes underachievement among students in Ukraine’s national minority areas, making them vulnerable to educational failure and lower performance on independent external testing.

Why is Chernivtsi Region highlighted in the study?

Chernivtsi Region has a high density of Romanian and Moldavian communities, and in some districts Ukrainian is not the mother tongue for most residents, creating multilingual classroom conditions.

What teaching-policy approach does the document recommend for Ukrainian as a non-native language?

It emphasizes gradual introduction of Ukrainian, starting as a foreign language at initial stages, then moving to second-language teaching strategies and leading toward bilingual education.

Oct 15, 2026

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