| Abstrakt: | The topic of this work is "Primary Education in Katowice School District in the years 1945-1973". Its chronological scope includes events since the end of the II World War and the establishment of Silesian Voivodship, to the change of the organization of the Polish education resulting from the Polish parliament resolution in 1973.
The work is based on archival materials located in The Archive of New Documents in Warsaw, The State Archives in Katowice, The National Archives in Cracow, The Archives of the Institute of National Remembrance in Katowice, The Archives of the Polish Teachers’ Union in Warsaw and the schools' archives. Some published documents and literature have also been used and among them are in printed official periodicals, the protocols of pedagogical staff meetings and the school chronicles. The literature on educational policy and its development, the press and regional newspapers, statistical materials (including those in Statistical Yearbooks), scientific books and articles, plans and curricula.
The topic has not been yet properly researched, even though some of its aspects have been discussed in various doctoral dissertations and other academic papers.
The study concerns the condition of the Silesian Voivodeship primary schools, the pupils' learning achievements, teachers' work and specifics of the educational system in the region, the organization and functioning of educational authorities in Katowice School District and the professional promotion (often based on the "appropriate" political attitude rather than qualifications and experience), conflicts of Upper Silesian population with newcomers to its culture, the specific problem of "The Deutsche Volksliste" (German People's List) in Upper Silesia and the attitude towards the German population.
This thesis portrays the destruction of primary education after II World War and construction of the so-called "tysiąclatek" and their relation to the state policy (including the anti-church politics), the implementation of compulsory education (including the problem of autochthones, promotions and how the effects of education compare against the background of national data, pupils, students (fulfilment of school duties, promotion, evaluation, progress in science, their achievements), teachers (their number, professional qualifications, social conditions, escape from the profession - especially men to industry, conflicts between the teachers arriving from other parts of the country and the Upper Silesian population), teaching and education processes (depending on ideology and political prosperity).
The purpose of this work is to show the region specific elements in teaching, the analysis of the programmes of individual subjects, the differences between schools in Upper Silesia » Voivodeship and the Zagłębie (e.g. in school customs and ceremonies, school ceremonial) and the struggle of the authorities against customs, patterns and traditions.
The work consists of 7 chapters containing footnotes, extensive bibliography, tables, photographs, graphs and annexes. |