Pashkova Tatiana

Secondary school textbooks in Russian history in catalogues of Ministry of Public Education (1860–1916)

Abstract

The article studies the textbooks in Russian history for secondary schools, recommended for use by the Ministry of Public Education during the 19th — early 20th centuries. The purpose of the article is to characterise the overall content of these textbooks, analyse the structure and dynamics of their composition, the status and period of being included in catalogues of the ministry. The article concludes that the situation with textbooks in Russian history underwent a signifi cant evolution during the studied period. In the fi rst half of the 19th century, there was a lack of educational literature for secondary school; the ministry offi cially approved only two books by prominent historians, i.e. by I. K. Kaydanov and N. G. Ustryalov. Since the beginning of the 1880s, the number of authors who published textbooks in Russian history and the number of books that had parallel circulation, started to increase. The Ministry approved the use of textbooks written by not only professional scholars, but also by ordinary teachers of gymnasiums and schools (both in the capitals and in provinces). Thus, secondary schools were theoretically provided with a wide selection of textbooks. The study revealed the circle of the most successful authors whose textbooks were kept in the catalogues of the ministry for decades. On the other hand, some books entered the registries for a very short time, sometimes once. But regardless of the length of time, the authors were supported by the Ministry, the majority repeatedly reprinted their texts, which may indirectly point to the relevance of the latter in school teaching. The study of the catalogues of textbooks allows us to identify certain priorities of the department as to the content and method of presentation of materials on Russian history; it also allows one to study the requirements for the technical side of textbooks.

Keywords

Ministry of Public Education, Scientifi c Committee, textbooks catalogues, schoolbooks in Russian history, educational policy, secondary school

References

1. Fuks A. (2017) Shkol’nye uchebniki po otechestvennoi istorii kak istoriografi cheskii fenomen (konets XVII v. — vtoraia polovina 1930-kh gg.) [School textbooks in Russian history as a historiographic phenomenon (late 17th century — the second half of the 1930s)]. Moscow (in Russian).
2. Pashkova T., Kameneva E., Karasev E., Kutsevalov N., Russkova D. (2019) “Katalogi uchebnykh knig dlia srednikh uchebnykh zavedenii vedomstva Ministerstva narodnogo prosveshcheniya: k istorii vosniknoveniia (1830-e — 1860-е gg.)” [The catalogues of textbooks for secondary schools of the Ministry of Public Education: The study of their emergence (1830s — 1860s)]. Voprosy obrazovaniia, 3, p. 257–275 (in Russian).
3. Pashkova T., Kameneva E., Karasev E., Kutsevalov N., Russkova D. (2019) “Katalogi uchebnykh knig dlia srednikh uchebnykh zavedenii vedomstva Ministerstva narodnogo prosveshcheniia: printsipy sostavleniia, struktura, evolutsiia (vtoraia polovina XIX — nachalo XX v.)” [The catalogues of textbooks for secondary schools of the Ministry of Public Education: Principles of compilation, structure, evolution (second half of the 19th — beginning of the 20th centuries). Voprosy obrazovaniia, 4, p. 276–293 (in Russian).
4. Studenikin M. (2016) Metodika prepodavaniia istorii v russkoi shkole XIX — nachala XX v. [Methods of teaching history in the Russian school of the 19th — early 20th centuries]. Мoscow (in Russian).

Information about the author

Pashkova Tatiana

Academic Degree: Candidate of Sciences* in History;
Academic Rank: Associate Professor;
Place of work: Herzen State Pedagogical University; 48 Naberezhnaya reki Moiki, St. Petersburg 191186, Russian Federation;
Post: Associate Professor, Department of Russian History;
ORCID: 0000-0001-7504-6298;
Email: tatianapashkova22@gmail.com.

*According to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011, the degree of Candidate of Sciences (Cand.Sc.) belongs to ISCED level 8 — "doctoral or equivalent", together with PhD, DPhil, D.Lit, D.Sc, LL.D, Doctorate or similar.

Acknowledgments

The research was supported by Russian Foundatiaon for Basic Research, project № 19-013-00260А "The historical policy of the Ministry of Public Education in the mirror of secondary schools’ textbooks on Russian history (XIX - early XX centuries).