THE COMMISSION FOR NATIONAL EDUCATION OF POLAND AND LITHUANIA (1773-1794): A HISTORICAL STUDY OF SOME ASPECTS OF ITS EDUCATIONAL REFORMS by John A. Rackauskas Thesis presented to the School of Graduate Studies of the University of Ottawa as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy i\>3iet. LIBRARIES * e/,S(ty o< v Chicago, Illinois, 1977 John A. Rackauskas, Ottawa, Canada, 1977 UMI Number: DC53279 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform DC53279 Copyright 2011 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis was begun under the supervision of Professor Antanas Paplauskas-Ramunas, Ph.D., Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Education and Director of the Comparative Education Centre of the University of Ottawa. After his death the thesis was directed and supervised by Professor Mary Mulcahy, Ph.D., Director of Graduate Programmes, Faculty of Education of the University of Ottawa. The writer is indebted to Professor Algirdas Sidlauskas, of the University of Vilnius, for his assistance with primary source documents in the archives of the University of Vilnius; to Professor J. Tornau, Director of Libraries of the University of Vilnius, for permission to use the archival materials pertaining to the Educational Commission in 1972 and 1974. Acknowledgment is also due the following individuals for their assistance during various phases of this research: Mr. Jonas Rackauskas, Miss Alicija Rugyte, Mrs. Ramune Rackauskas, and Mrs. Rita Palulonis. CURRICULUM STUDIORUM John A. Rackauskas was born 20 January 1942, in Sveksna, Lithuania. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Education from De Paul University, Chicago, Illinois in 1964. He received the Master of Arts degree, with distinction, in School Administration and Supervision from De Paul University, Chicago, Illinois, in 1968. The title of his thesis was Historical Analysis of the Development of Lithuanian Education from the Xllth Century to 1940. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter page INTRODUCTION x I.- LITHUANIAN POLITICAL, SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL CONDITIONS FROM THE Xllth THROUGH THE XVIIIth CENTURIES 1 A. Political Developments from the Xllth to the XVIIIth Centuries 1 B. Social and Economic Situation in the Commonwealth 15 1. Peasants 17 2. Burghers 21 3. Gentry 24 C. Lithuanian Cultural Conditions 27 II.- EDUCATION IN LITHUANIA PRIOR TO THE DISSOLUTION OF THE JESUIT ORDER (1773) 34 A. Genesis and Function of the Cathedral Schools in Europe 34 B. Schools in Lithuania During the Pre-Jesuit Era 37 C. Influences of the Protestant Reformation 48 D. Educational Activities of the Jesuit Order (1569-1773) 57 E. Educational Activities of the Piarsit Order 67 III.- THE ESTABLISHMENT AND ORGANIZATION OF THE EDUCATIONAL COMMISSION 80 A. The Dissolution of the Society of Jesus 80 B. The Establishment of the Commission for National Education of Poland and Lithuania 90 C. Initial Organizational Activities of the Commission 98 D. Membership of the Educational Commission 102 E. Financial Operations Under the Distributing Commissions 108 F. Financial Operations Under the Educational Commission 116 G. The Society for Elementary Books 120 H. Summary 125 IV.- PROPOSALS FOR SCHOOL REFORM RECEIVED BY THE EDUCATIONAL COMMISSION 127 A. The Appeal for Reform Proposals by the Commission 127 B. The Letters of Franciszek Bielinski 129 C. The Letters of Adolf Kaminski 133 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter page IV.- PROPOSALS FOR SCHOOL REFORM RECEIVED BY THE EDUCATIONAL COMMISSION (Continued) D. The Proposal of Ignacy Potocki 136 E. The Plan of Adam Czartoryski 139 F. The Plan of Antoni Poplawski 141 G. The Proposal of Pierre Samuel Du Pont 155 H. Summary 160 V.- OVERVIEW OF THE EDUCATIONAL REFORMS 161 A. School Structure and Control 163 1. Legislation Governing the Schools 167 2. School Organization and Administration 181 3. School Supervision, Inspection, and Control 189 B. Elementary and Secondary Education 193 1. Private Schools 193 2. Elementary Schools 196 3. Secondary Schools 197 C. Post Secondary and Professional Education 209 1. Teacher Training Seminaries 209 2. Universities 213 D. Summary 218 VI.- TEACHERS IN THE REFORMED SCHOOLS 222 A. The Ex-Jesuits in the Reformed Schools 222 B. First Efforts at Preparing Lay Teachers for the Elementary Schools 228 C. The Education of Lay Secondary Teachers in Lithuania 233 1. Training at the Chief School in Poland 234 2. Training at the Chief School in Lithuania 236 3. Curriculum and Instruction at the Lithuanian Chief School 242 D. Lay Teachers in the Lithuanian Secondary Schools 246 E. Teachers and the Statutes of the Educational Commission 253 F. Summary 262 VII.- SCHOOL VISITATIONS AND INSPECTIONS 265 A. School Visitations Conducted by the Commission 265 B. School Inspections in the Statutes of the Educational Commission (1783) 287 C. General Inspectors from the Chief School in Lithuania (1784-1798) 304 D. Summary 317 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter page VIII.- ELEMENTARY EDUCATION UNDER THE EDUCATIONAL COMMISSION: THE PARISH SCHOOLS 319 A. Status and Motivating Forces in the Establishment of Parish Schools 319 B. The Parish School Regulation of 1774 324 C. Elementary Education in the Statutes of the Educational Commission of 1783 350 D. The Decline of the Parish School Movement 362 E. Summary 367 IX.- IMPLICATIONS AND INFLUENCES OF THE REFORMS 370 A. The Gentry and Educational Reform 371 B. The Educational Commission and Lithuanian Nationalism 381 C. Folk-Culture Pedagogy vs. School-Centered Pedagogy 392 D. Influences of the Reforms on the Educational Systems of Other Countries 395 1. Implications for Chilian Education 396 2. Implications for Education in the United States 397 3. Implications for Russian Education 400 4. Implications for Prussian Education 402 E. Summary 404 SUMMARY 408 CONCLUSIONS 418 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 423 Appendix 1. ABSTRACT OF The Commission for National Education of Poland and Lithuania (1773-1794): A Historical Study of Some Aspects of Its Educational Reforms 457 LIST OF TABLES Table page I.- Members of the Educational Commission 103 II.- Income and Expenses of the Educational Commission for 1776-1792 117 III.- Members of the Society for Elementary Books (1775-1792) of the Educational Commission of Poland and Lithuania. 122 IV.- Poplawski's Program of Studies and Schedule of Classes in the Parish Schools 144 V.- P.oplawski's Program of Studies and Schedule of Classes for the Public Schools 148 VI.- Program of Studies for District Schools Outlined in 1774 202 VII.- Program of Studies for the Chief District School as Outlined in Chapter XV of the Statutes of 1783 204 VIII.- The District Schools in the Educational Districts of Lithuania in 1783 206 IX.- Enrollments of Selected District Schools in the Ethnographic Lithuanian Educational Districts: 1782-1791 208 X.- Visits Made by Members of the Educational Commission or Their Delegates During the Time Period 1774-1781 274 XI.- Proposed List of District Schools in Lithuania to be Visited by Piramowicz and Holowczyc During 1781 300 XII.- Inspections and Ratings of the District Schools of Lithuania 1782-1791 307 XIII.- Enrollments by Social Class in Parish Schools of Educational Districts in Lithuania for 1777 344 LIST OF FIGURES Figure page 1.- The Commission for National Education of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania 1773-1794 182 2.- Reporting, Inspection, and Communication Procedures 187 LIST OF MAPS Map page 1.- Poland, Lithuania, and Russia in the XVth Centuries 6 2.- The Partitions of Poland and Lithuania in 1772, 1773, and 1795 9 3.- The Spread of Jesuit Schools in the Northern Territory by 1725 66 4.- Schools Under the Commisson for National Education of Poland and Lithuania in the Last Quarter of the XVIIIth Century 190 INTRODUCTION The Commission for National Education of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was established in 1773. By purpose and design the Educational Commission combined the educational systems of both Lithuania and Poland under one national controlling body, thus duA2.c£ty taking over the responsibility for education and thus becoming the first "Ministry of Education" in Europe. The organization and work of the Educational Commission predates the establishment of national systems of education in other European countries by twenty to thirty years. For example, in France national education was planned by such great educational reform leaders as La Chalotais, Rolland, and later by Mirabeau, Talleyrand and Condorcet, but not realized until the mandate received in the French Constitution of 1791 and finally the passing of the Law of October 25, 1795. Likewise, in Switzerland a national system of education emerged under the leadership of Swiss Minister of Arts and Sciences,Albrecht Stapher only in 1798. In Prussia, Frederick the Great laid the groundwork for a national system of education by the Codes of 1763 and 1765. These were followed by the establishment of the Superior School Board in 1787. With the codification of Prussian civil law in 1794, the principle of state supremacy in education was recognized; but it was only after the Treaty of Tilsit in 1807, that the Prussian Bureau of Education was established and national education in INTRODUCTION xi Prussia began. Before then the idea of national education remained largely in the statute books. Polish historians, all of whom are cited in this study, have shown great interest in the educational reforms of the XVIIIth century.