Podręczniki szkolne w latach międzywojennych j ako narzędzie kształtowania postaw młodego pokolenia Polaków

Abstract

The bill "O obowiązku szkolnym" concerning compulsory education which was passed in 1919 was the first step in the way of fighting illiteracy. It also gave hope that all the children in Poland would be included within institutionalized education and upbringing. In such a situation a school textbook became a powerful tool in the hands of the ministry of religion and education. The tool was supposed to be used to spread the ideologicał model of education consistent with the policy of the government. Not only was it a didactic educational tool or a source of knowledge for students but most of all it was supposed to create and support required values in the students' minds. Therefore, the choice of contents had to be chosen carefully and purposefully, it had to be based on the current government policy on the matter. In between the two World Wars a certain kind of balance was being kept between national, state-oriented and religious education, so that none of them dominated the others. This way a quite coherent educational system was set. Even when some slight changes were made while the current government's policy concerning the issue was changing, they did not interfere with the generał, and everlasting values which were rooted in the tradition and the bistory of the nation. The mentioned values were best described by the ideas of "God, honor and the homeland''.