“Making teaching cheap”: secondary employment and feminisation in elementary schools in the Uppsala region in central Sweden, 1861–1910

Abstract

ABSTRACT The introduction of elementary schools in Sweden (and elsewhere) in the mid-nineteenth century required the quick hiring of many new teachers, which in turn posed challenges about their financing. This paper analyses school inspectors’ reports and teachers’ journals to illuminate local strategies to provide affordable teaching in the Uppsala region in central Sweden from 1861 to 1910. The feminisation of the teacher’s role and the secondary occupations undertaken by (usually) male teachers during this time have not previously been studied together in this context. The main aim of studying these areas together was to contribute to social and economic research in the history of education. The methods were historical and statistical analyses of source materials, with a particular focus on local and regional school developments. The results show that hiring more women to teach in the lower school forms and providing or encouraging side occupations for male teachers were common strategies to make teaching affordable in Sweden during the period studied. In conclusion, it would have been very difficult to implement the elementary school model in Sweden without these strategies. The study confirms the notion of the local character of school funding and provides new empirical evidence of the limitations of state intervention during this period.