Session Information
17 SES 08, Pre-School and Elementary Education in Europe
Paper Session
Contribution
According to Green (1990) the formation of national education systems in early nineteenth-century marks the beginning of modern schooling in Western Europe. During the last 200 years the school as an institution established oneself as a public institution for mass learning (Herrlitz et al. 1984). During the institutionalization mass schooling became a fundamental feature of the state and replaced the churches from their “historical responsibility” (Mann & Schinkele 2005) eventually. Hence Schmale (2003) argues for a European process, in which mass schooling appeared. In spite of this European uniformity, there are fundamental differences between the European countries in their institutional shape and their development. Therefore the main interest of this paper will lie in the differences of the institutionalization of mass education systems in Western Europe.
However the beginning of the mass schooling during the nineteenth century was characterised by a dualism between higher and lower education, which ended not until the twentieth century (Herrlitz et al. 1984). An analysis about the development of the European school system needs to deal separately with both forms. Thus this paper will only deal which the elementary school system as a first stepping stone for further research.
The first elementary school were founded by the churches. As a minor product to religious education those schools impart literacy to their pupils (Flora 1973). According to Müller et al. (1997) occurred the overcoming of illiteracy in Europe in the late nineteenth century as part of the first stage of the educational expansion which is also characterised by the displacement of religious authorities by the state inside the educational system. Furthermore the educational expansion is part of a wider concept: the modernization. In short the concept of modernization deals which varied processes of social change (Zapf 1994). This includes state and nation building as well as secularization among others. These processes constitute the main influences of the institutionalization of elementary school system.
The state provides the fundamentals of elementary school system, whereas public mass schooling appears as part of a standardised national policy (Rokkan 2000). Because of a religious division in Europe the regional church pattern as part of a broader concept of secularization (Martin 1978) also influences the educational development. It is assumed that the institutionalization equates to the national church pattern. Therefore as main actors (“Wirkkräfte” [Schmale 2003]) operate the state and the churches. It is also assumed that within the stress ratio between state and church the modern school systems constitute themselves. Mass schooling appears as an outcome of the religious, economic, and political processes as much as social power relations (Müller et al. 1997; Boli, Ramirez & Meyer 1985).
Accordingly the central questions will be to what extent have the state and the church affect the institutionalization of elementary school in Western Europe. Based on the assumptions that primarily the state and the church are responsible for the different institutional outcome. The time frame of this enquiry will be primarily the nineteenth century.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Boli, J., Ramirez, F.O. & Meyer, J.W. (1985): Explaining the Origins and Expansion of Mass Education. In: Comparative Education Review 29, 2: 145-170. Flora, P. (1973): Die Bildungsentwicklung im Prozess der Staaten- und Nationenbildung. In: Kölnerzeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, Sonderheft 16. Green, A. (1990): Education an State Formation. The Rise of Education Systems in England, France, and the USA. Macmillan: London. Herrlitz, H.G., Hopf, W. & Titze, H (1984): Institutionalisierung des öffentlichen Schulsystems. In: Baethge, M. & Nevermann, K (Hrsg.): Organisation, Recht und Ökonomie des Bildungswesens, Band 5: Enzyklopädie Erziehungswissenschaft. Klett-Cotta: Stuttgart Mann, C. & Schinkele, B. (2005): Österreich. In: Ballestrem, K, Belardinelli, S. & Cornides, T. (Hrsg.): Kirche und Erziehung in Europa. Vs Verlag: Wiesbaden. Martin, D. (1978): A General Theory of Secularization. Explorations in interpretative sociology. Blackwell: Oxford. Müller, W., Steinmann, S. & Schneider, R. (1997): Bildung in Europa. In: Hradil, S. & Immerfall, S. (Hrsg.): Die westeuropäischen Gesellschaften im Vergleich. Leske + Budrich: Opladen. Rokkan, S. (2000): Staat, Nation und Demokratie in Europa. Suhrkamp: Frankfurt am Main. Schmale, W. (2003): Die europäische Entwicklung des Schul- und Bildungswesens im Verhältnis zu Kirche und Staat im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert. In: Schilling, H. (Hrsg.): Im Spannungsfeld von Staat und Kirche. Duncker Humboldt: Berlin. Zapf, W. (1994): Modernisierung, Wohlfahrtsentwicklung und Transformation. Soziologische Aufsätze 1987 bis 1994. Edition sigma: Berlin.
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