Keskkooliõpetajate koolitamine sõjajärgses Tartu Riiklikus Ülikoolis

Abstract

Training high school teachers in post-war Tartu State University After World War II the heavy sovietisation of Estonian education began. The key persons of this process were undoubtedly teachers, preferably those who had arrived from the Soviet Union (especially Estonians from Russia) or young people taught in Estonia in the spirit of new educational ideas. A great shift took place in the Estonian teacher community at that time. Altogether 4,176 teachers are known to have been fired, dismissed at their own request or transferred to another position during the period of 1946–1950. The only counterbalance was preparing new teachers locally. In the post-war years, high school teachers were trained only at Tartu State University, which was exceptional in the Soviet Union because elsewhere it was mainly done in pedagogical institutes. The article studies the substantial and formal changes in the sovietisation of teacher training that were realised through complying with union-wide regulations and pedagogical trends. Similarities and differences are also outlined. Secondly, the process of making teacher training obligatory at Tartu State University and its importance in providing Estonian schools with local staff is explored. Thirdly, the article attempts to disclose the role and activity of various people related to pedagogy at the time in this process. The study is mainly based on new and practically unused archive sources related to the history of the University of Tartu. During the era of Stalinism, teacher training became obligatory for everyone in the University of Tartu faculties that taught subjects also covered by general education schools. In the 1940s there were few university graduates, incl. teachers, but since the spring of 1950 the number of people who were appointed as teachers from Tartu State University increased significantly. The establishment of the Tallinn Pedagogical Institute in 1952 added a second educational institution in Estonia that trained high school teachers and helped provide the schools with local staff. It was mainly the service of the chairs of pedagogy that teacher training persisted at the University of Tartu. However, it was the service of the specialisation chairs that teachers received an education, which was, to a great extent, in the spirit of the traditions of the independence era. Therefore, the compulsory teacher training of the university contributed much to educating university graduate, Estonian-minded, Estonian and Russian speaking teachers for Estonian schools to counter the Russian-minded and Russian speaking teachers who were appointed to Estonia from elsewhere.