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Abstract: This study critically examines the formative period of educational excursion practices in Russian schooling, spanning from 1910 to the early 1930s. The author’s central focus lies on the evolving methodological frameworks that underpinned these practices, particularly their integration with subject-specific instruction, with a pronounced emphasis on literary education. The author analyzes the contributions from the Moscow and St. Petersburg / Leningrad pedagogical schools, situating the excursion method within the broader discourse of visual pedagogy which gained traction in methodological research during the 1910s. This approach is posited as integral to fostering the unified cognitive and emotional development of students through direct, immersive experiences. The research employs a robust methodological toolkit, including historical-chronological, historical-genetic, and comparative analyses, complemented by a deep content analysis of underutilized primary sources dating from the 1910s to the early 1930s. Special attention is paid to the works of N. M. Sokolov, M. A. Rybnikova, I. M. Grevs, and N. P. Antsiferov. The author formulates the core methodological principles of excursion-based pedagogy, including “travel / journeying,” “thematic coherence,” “immersion in the place atmosphere, “authenticity,” “collective apprehension,” and “independent / collaborative investigation of objects.” The article elucidates the critical transition from mere descriptive accounts of excursion practices to their sophisticated conceptualization within a methodological paradigm. The article emphasizes the instrumental role of literary excursions in cultivating students’ affective and cognitive domains, fostering visual literacy, and nurturing readers as active “co-creators” of meaning. Furthermore, it scrutinizes the methodological evolution of the excursion approach by the late 1920s and early 1930s, observing its diversion into the nascent field of excursion studies and a concomitant narrowing of focus within visual pedagogy for literature. In conclusion, it is emphasized that the excursion practices developed in the 1910s and 1920s, despite the change in the educational paradigm, retain their educational potential, and their theoretical foundations need to be studied and developed.

About the author(s) :

Elena S. Romanicheva

Moscow City University (Moscow, Russian Federation)

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2649-3715

Publication Timeline:

Date of receipt: 11.05.2026; date of publication: 30.06.2026

References:

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