Educational entrepreneurs and the politics of schooling in nineteenth-century Habsburg society

Abstract

In the Habsburg Empire the implementation of compulsory education in 1774 marked a new era. The development and monitoring of educational measures in the following decades was in the past frequently described as a linear narrative of progress until the present day. However, it was not the desire for educational advancement but social anxieties and economic considerations which were usually the driving force for educational policies as numerous examples in this thesis document. The instilment of morality was seen as an important purpose of education. This focus on morality and a general climate of fear during the period of the Napoleonic Wars provided the basis for educational structures that were effective until the Primary School Law of 1869 and beyond. Policies enacted during this time forced for example factory owners to concern themselves with the education of their child labourers and at the same time opened spaces for men and particularly women to engage in the business of private schooling. Through the critical investigation of a broad variety of sources this thesis shows how different school types developed, from factory schools to finishing schools, and how men and women claimed spaces as experts, from moralizing pamphleteers to women educational activists. By investigating the role of educational entrepreneurs, and tracing the possibilities, limitations and practical consequences of the politics of schooling this thesis provides new insights and adds complexity to our understanding of nineteenth century Habsburg society.