Keyword: «tibet»

The relevance of the study is determined by the growing interest in issues of preserving the ethnocultural identity of small peoples in the conditions of their living in countries with a multinational structure. Approaches to using the pedagogical potential of textbooks for teaching reading in primary school as a factor promoting ethnic consolidation are considered in the article using the example of Tibet, which is a territory that recently (since 1959) has become a part of China. It was included in the state initiative “One Belt – One Road”. The purpose of the article is to define the qualitative originality of illustrations selection that characterize the ethnocultural orientation of the textbooks content for teaching reading in the Tibetan language to primary school students living in the Tibet Autonomous Region, as well as in the Tibetan Autonomous Areas and Districts of China. The object of the study is a set of textbooks for primary schools (grades 1–4), intended for literacy training. Based on a content analytical study of images of representatives of various typological groups of the population and objects of material culture, as well as the subsequent interpretation of its results, the research hypothesis was tested. It lies in the fact that ethnocultural markers are used as main factors of formative influence, guiding primary school students to master the patterns of traditional Tibetan culture without going beyond its boundaries. It was found out that the focus remains on familiarizing primary school students with traditional Tibetan types of labor activity, endemic animals, cultural practices, and objects of national material culture. The life of a primary school student is depicted as a sequence of events occurring in a slow rhythm, not overshadowed by the desire of teachers and parents to achieve a learning effect by stimulating his/her cognitive activity. Images of play activities predominate, which are organically combined with elements of traditional labor practices, which include family members. No visual materials were found that indicate the desire of compilers and illustrators to form the foundations of civic identity or reflect the social consequences of scientific and technological progress.