Gabor B. Albert: History Textbook Selection in Calvinistic Secondary Schools For Boys From 1926 to the Middle of the 1930s

The subject-methodological professional publications on Hungarian history of textbooks analysed textbooks first of all through the authors’ textbook-interpretational modes (Unger, 1976; Bartos, 2002; Albert, 2006; Katona, 2010), specifying the quality of books, also capturing the atmosphere of the given historical era. The further thinking of the history of textbook’s analysis may imply research on complex textbooks’- and school history confirmed by archival research aimed at the real textbook-usage in schools. This paper is based on data aggregation of contemporary school bulletins and directorial reports, and focuses on history textbook selection in Calvinistic secondary schools for boys in Klebelsberg era. To reconstruct the complete history of decision making in textbook selection, it was necessary to overview the minutes of the Universal Convent of the Hungarian Calvinist Church, influencing decision-making textbook criticism and professional rapporteurs’ reports held in the Synod Archives of the Hungarian Calvinist Church. The latest data exploration on biographies of textbook authors is based on bibliographical research. During the overview of the history of textbook selection and decision-making we also look for the answer to the following question: What was the attitude of the Calvinist Church having strong democratic traditions to the history textbooks authorized by the Ministry of Culture, in particular, to the issue by the University Press promoted by the Ministry of Religion and Public Education? Besides overviewing the evaluation reports, the comparative text analysis of parallel textbooks of Franklin- and University Presses also helps to answer this question.

MAGYAR PEDAGÓGIA 113. Number 2. 119-129. (2013)

Levelezési cím / Address for correspondence: Albert Gábor, Kaposvári Egyetem, H–7400 Kaposvár, Guba S. u. 40.

 
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