Family and School Cooperation as Exemplified by Schools in Lublin During the Period of the Second Polish Republic Cover Image

Współpraca rodziny i szkoły na przykładzie szkół w Lublinie w okresie II Rzeczypospolitej
Family and School Cooperation as Exemplified by Schools in Lublin During the Period of the Second Polish Republic

Author(s): MARZENA OKRASA
Subject(s): History, Social Sciences, Sociology, Family and social welfare
Published by: Zakład Historii Edukacji w Instytucie Pedagogiki Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego
Keywords: parenting circles; parental organizations; class or school patronages; cooperation of school and family

Summary/Abstract: The changes that schools experienced after regaining independence generated the need to seek new ways of working with parents. It was stressed that the work should be collective, be of social character, and recruit whole groups of people related to the organizational network. Stimulating a stable cooperation of students’ parents with the school gave rise to the creation of permanent parental organizations, such as parents’ circles, class or school patronages, and the groups of parents and parents’ circles.Regulation on parents’ circles was passed in 1920, and the nationwide Parental Associations panel was established in Warsaw on November 27, 1924. The main body of the Association were school circles, bringing together parents of students from one school that formed circles in the area. Parent circles, interchangeably referred to as „Circles of Parents”, also known as School patronage care or parental care circles (PCW) operated in almost all high schools. They focused class patronages representing the basic units of a direct cooperation of schools and the family. They were created by parents of students of one class who collaborated with the teacher and co-teachers. These types of organizations operated at schools in Lublin. One of the circles of parents was founded in 1921 at the Private Female Middle School and High School of Waclawa Arciszowa. Another activity was started by parental care at the Private Men’s Gymnasium of Stefan Batory (School of Lublin), and Gymnasium of Jan Zamoyski , Gymnazium of Staszic, Gymnasium of The Union of Lublin, School of H. Czarnecka. One of the fundamental objectives contained in the statutes was to collect material and financial resources for the organization. Basic income came from membership fees, but it was small relative to the scale of needs and expenses. Therefore, events and unstable income sections, designed to strengthen the funding of circles, operated in some of them. During their operation, circles of parental care carried out many projects. The basic task was to provide food for the young. Others organised summer camps, special events for students, renovating classrooms, purchase of teaching materials, and financial assistance for people living in the dormitory. Working with the school parents could have put pressure on schools to equip children with the necessary knowledge, to take into account the principles of upbringing instilled in the family home, and to as certain that children felt well at school.

  • Issue Year: VII/2013
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 217-234
  • Page Count: 18
  • Language: English, Polish