İSTİKLAL VE MAARİF: AZERBAYCAN HALK CUMHURİYETİ’NDE AZERBAYCAN TÜRK MUALLİMLER KURULTAYI (1919)
INDEPENDENCE AND EDUCATION: CONGRESS OF AZERBAIJANI TURKISH TEACHERS IN THE AZERBAIJAN PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC (1919)

Summary/Abstract: The Azerbaijani Turks, one of the oldest nations of the Caucasus, lived under the rule of Tsarist Russia for many years, during which they were subjected to Russian influence in political, administrative, social, economic, and cultural spheres. This adverse influence was also evident in the field of education. From the beginning of the 19th century, as a result of the hegemony of Tsarist Russia, Azerbaijan witnessed the Russification of its educational institutions, the imposition of Russian as the language of instruction, and the implementation of measures aimed at the dissolution of the national identity of the Azerbaijani Turks. The declaration of independence by the Azerbaijani Turks in 1918 signalled a significant move towards nationalisation, with the country adopting a policy of state control over key economic sectors. This nationalisation movement also manifested itself in the field of education, with the newly established Azerbaijan People's Republic prioritising educational issues and organising congresses to find solutions to the problems. A number of eminent intellectuals of the Azerbaijani Turks addressed a number of issues of importance at the congresses, including the state of educational institutions, the new curriculum system, the textbooks to be used, the rights of educators, and the means by which these rights might be improved. The present study examines the educational problems in the Azerbaijan People's Republic and the proposed solutions to these problems based on primary and secondary sources of the period.

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