Розкрито основні аспекти просвітницької діяльності та педагогічні погляди Іллі Шрага, українського громадсько-політичного й культурного діяча кінця ХІХ - початку ХХ ст. На основі архівних матеріалів проаналізовано доповідь І. Шрага, з якою він виступив на засіданні комісії Чернігівських губернських земських зборів 24 лютого 1884 р. У доповіді просвітник обстоював думку про потребу викладання в українській школі рідною мовою, про видання українських підручників і книг для читання та забезпечення фондів шкільних бібліотек україномовними книгами.
Based on archival materials and an analysis of pedagogical literature, the author studied the main life milestones and analyzed the leading activities of Ilya Shrag, a Ukrainian public, the political and cultural figure of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The article reveals the peculiarities of Illya Shrag"s educational activities and pedagogical views regarding the development of Ukrainian education in the conditions of the Russian Empire at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, in particular, his conviction about the necessity and possibility of the functioning of a native-language Ukrainian school. The report he gave at the meeting of the commission of the Chernihiv provinci&al zemstvo assembly on February 24, 1884, was analyzed. The procedure for conducting the meeting of the commission of the Chernihiv provincial zemstvo assembly, the reaction of the members of the assembly to the report heard, and the peculiarities of& decision-making were studied. I. Shrag drew the attention of those present to the activities of the provincial zemstvo in measures to improve the organization of primary public education, namely: activation of special supervision of schools by the z&emstvo; conducting repetitive classes to promote the strength of knowledge acquired by students, creating school libraries; promoting the development of pedagogical knowledge and experience of national teachers on short-term pedagogical courses. In t&he report, the educator defended the opinion about the need to teach in the Ukrainian school in the native language, the publication of Ukrainian textbooks and books for reading, and the provision of school library funds with Ukrainian-language liter&ature. He argued his position by referring to the pedagogical views of M. Wessel, A. Disterweg, and K. Ushinsky.
Further study and promotion of Illya Shrag"s pedagogical ideas regarding increasing the accessibility and democratization of education, &the introduction of general primary education, as well as regarding the widespread Ukrainization of the educational process is needed.
