SCHULE ALS ZEITUNGSTHEMA IM 19. JAHRHUNDERT IN KROATIEN: AM BEISPIEL DES LEHRERS MIJAT STOJANOVIĆ (1818-1881)
SCHOOL AS A JOURNALISM TOPIC IN 19TH CENTURY CROATIA: EXAMPLE OF TEACHER MIJAT STOJANOVIĆ (1818-1881)

Summary/Abstract: Mijat Stojanović was one of the most prominent teachers and educators in 19th century Croatia and a prolific author. He wrote many popular books on different topics for the general public, several textbooks and a very large number of newspaper articles. He was one of the initiators of professional organisations of Croatian teachers and one of the founding fathers of the first Croatian education society. The first part of the paper outlines the development of the press in mid19th century Croatia and describes the role of newspapers as a public medium and their impact on public opinion. This is followed by a summary view of Mijat Stojanović’s very interesting professional career. The third part analyses Stojanović’s numerous articles published in Croatian political newspapers in the mid-19th century. During the 1840s when Croatian newspapers were completely politically colourless due to censorship, Stojanović was the first author to write about the school system in the newspapers, first and foremost the primary school system. In his articles, he criticised the deplorable state of Croatian schools that was characterised by: a lack of appropriate school buildings, textbooks and teaching material, poorly educated and paid teachers, irregular school attendance of children, etc. To improve the condition of Croatian schools, he proposed quality education and continuous professional development of teachers, improvement of teachers’ social and material status, good cooperation between teachers and parents, better quality textbooks, greater engagement of the state and local communities in meeting the material needs of schools, curriculum expansion, etc. He wrote about the important role of primary schools in the upbringing of children. He was aware that newspapers were the most important medium for shaping Croatia’s public opinion in the 19th century and used them as a tool to raise awareness of the political public and the ruling elite about the social role of schools and their issues.

• Details
• Contents