Organization of Primary Schools in the Tarnów Administrative Unit in the Years 1918-1939

Abstract

In the first years of the Polish State primary education in the Tarnów administrative unit in its principles showed no essential with regard to its organization, legal structure, and curriculum in relation to this type of education in the period of the Austrian partition. The number of schools oscillated from 87 in the school year of 1920-1921 to 99 in 1938-1939. Despite a number of difficulties, particularly of financial and material nature, that touched primary education in the unit, we can notice a slow improvement in the organization of schools.

Although the number of schools of the first degree decreased, there was a small increase in the level of organization of schools in villages. Despite some improvement in the rural territories of the unit, the schools of the first and second degree would still prevail. This kind of organization in schools resulted from the inadequate amount of financial resources, formal and legal regulations at that time, the structure of population in the rural areas, the level of economic development (the domination of agriculture) and poor urbanization. In principle the seven-form schools were only in towns, and sporadically in villages.