250 Years of Compulsory Schooling on Slovenian Territory

To celebrate the 250th anniversary of Maria Theresa’s General School Ordinance, the Slovenian School Museum, in cooperation with the Slovenska Matica and the Slovenian Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, organised a scientific symposium with the presentation of 10 scientific papers. The speakers reflected on the political, cultural, educational, ethnological, and linguistic context of the time when the Ordinance was promulgated.

The symposium took place on 22 May 2024 in the hall of Slovenska Matica. The speakers presented the political and ideological currents at the time + of the General School Ordinance, the beginnings of primary schooling in Slovenia, and the lasting traces of the Theresian school reform. The programme of the symposium comprised 10 scientific papers.

Janja Zupančič, state secretary at the Ministry of Education, opened the symposium by pointing out that there have been many changes in education over the past 250 years.
“Since the introduction of simultaneous teaching of a large group of children in the same room, the teaching methods and educational approaches have evolved from strictly frontal teaching to more inclusive and interactive methods that encourage and develop critical thinking, creativity, cooperation, and problem solving in pupils. We should draw inspiration from all historical eras in linking past experiences with current practice and future prospects. The current education system is facing new challenges; however, the fundamental principles of inclusiveness, equality, and education for all have not changed.”

The Director of the Slovenian School Museum, Mag Stane Okoliš, the President of Slovenska Matica, Dr Aleš Gabrič, and the President of the Slovenian Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, Prof Dr Marko Kambič also addressed the audience in the introductory part.

The symposium speakers reflected on the political, cultural, educational, ethnological, and linguistic context of the time when the Ordinance was promulgated. Each thematic section was followed by an extensive discussion with the participation of the audience. All the scientific papers will be published in a thematic issue of the School Chronicle on 6 December 2024. Short summaries of presentations were published in a book of abstracts, together with a foreword by Dr Simon Malmenvall, curator at the Slovenian School Museum.

The papers presented:

Thematic section I: Political and ideological currents at the time of the General School Ordinance
(Moderated by: Aleš Gabrič)

• Edvard Protner, The teacher figure during the institutionalisation of teacher education in Slovenia
• Tadej Vidmar, The concept and aims of education in the General School Ordinance
• Simon Malmenvall, The Austrian General School Ordinance and the establishment of primary education systems in Europe from the mid-18th to the mid-19th century

Thematic section II: The beginnings of primary education in Slovenia
(Moderated by: Simon Malmenvall)

• Andreja Legan Ravnikar, Formation of the Slovenian education terminology in the translation of the General School Ordinance by Johann Nepomuk von Edling
• Stane Okoliš, The founding of the Ljubljana Normal and the expansion of the national primary school network in Carniola
• Monika Deželak Trojar, From Jesuit to state monopoly in Slovenian education (with a focus on Ljubljana)

Thematic section III: Lasting traces of the Theresian school reform
(Moderated by: Marko Kambič)

• Matej Hriberšek, The teaching of classical languages at the time of the General School Ordinance
• Luka Vidmar, The founding of the Lyceum Library in Ljubljana: 1774 or 1791?
• Marjetka Balkovec Debevec and Klara Marija Keršič, “When the school began”: A glimpse into children’s lives at the time of the General School Ordinance
• Aleš Gabrič, School reforms and literacy on Slovenian territory since Theresian times