Value orientations of Buryat folk traditions in the formation of ecological moral consciousness of primary schoolchildren

Abstract

In the context of the growing environmental crisis and children’s alienation from the natural environment, the study reveals the profound educational potential of Buryat folk culture, which was formed in the steppe, forest-steppe, and mountain-taiga landscapes of the Baikal and Transbaikal regions. In these landscapes nature was perceived not as a resource subject to utilitarian exploitation but as a spiritualized integrity that regulated economic activity, migration routes, and intergenerational knowledge transmission through a system of ethical and ecological norms, taboos, and prescriptions embodied in shamanistic beliefs, Buddhist philosophy, mythological texts, uligers, folktales, proverbs, benedictions, and ritual practices. A central place in this system belongs to interrelated value orientations that include veneration of the earth as a nurturing mother (gazar delkhei), the spiritualization of water sources, respect for the forest as a living being, awareness of the inseparable unity between humans and the animal world, and responsibility to future generations for the preservation of the natural environment. These orientations find concrete expression in taboos against polluting water, senselessly wounding the earth, excessive killing of animals, and other actions that appeal to feelings of empathy, kinship, and moral responsibility rather than to abstract rules. Analysis of pedagogical reality in regions of compact Buryat settlement reveals a contradiction between the declared importance of the ethnocultural component and its predominantly formal and episodic use in primary education. Standard programs focus on natural-science knowledge while leaving aside the value-moral sphere, which is especially significant during the sensitive period of seven to ten years of age characterized by emotional receptivity, figurative thinking, and readiness to internalize norms through vivid examples and direct participation. Comprehensive diagnostics of the cognitive, emotional-value, and behavioral components of ecological moral consciousness conducted among primary schoolchildren in rural and urban schools of the Republic of Buryatia recorded the predominance of low and medium levels at the initial stage, particularly in the behavioral sphere. This indicates the existence of a «moral gap» between emotional responsiveness to environmental situations and actual behavior. Implementation of a program structured around thematic blocks and combining systematic integration of folklore texts, practical activities involving elements of traditional nature use, reflection on prohibition norms through problem situations, ritual actions, and meetings with tradition bearers (totaling 69 hours of curricular and extracurricular work) produced significant positive dynamics in the experimental group: the share of pupils with a high level of the cognitive component increased by 19.6 percentage points, the emotional-value component by 24.1, and the behavioral component by 20.6, while changes in the control group were minimal. These results confirm the effectiveness of the ethnopedagogical approach in overcoming the inertia of the behavioral component through the concreteness of cultural prescriptions that resonate with the psychological characteristics of this age. The findings emphasize that integration of Buryat traditions contributes not only to raising ecological moral consciousness but also to holistic moral development, strengthening ethnocultural identity, fostering a sense of connection to the people’s history, respect for elders, and collective responsibility. At the same time, the identified gap in teachers’ professional readiness – possession of traditional knowledge accompanied by a lack of methodological tools – points to the necessity of systematic staff training and the development of adapted teaching packages. Thus, appeal to the multilevel system of value orientations in Buryat folk culture opens prospects for forming sustainable ecologically responsible behavior as an organic part of cultural identity. It offers a pedagogical model based on emotional intensity, practical engagement, and continuity that possesses high relevance for contemporary educational systems, especially in multiethnic regions, and makes it possible to overcome the limitations of the informational-enlightenment approach through profound moral experience of the unity between human beings and the world.