“Singing” in a primary school of the interwar period in the context of nationwide educational-ideological conceptions – source analysis

Abstract

One of the first objectives of the Polish state, restored after the period of partitions, was to develop a new, standardized and nationwide system of public education. During the interwar period, school curricula objectives were affected by changing political powers and reflected the government’s pursuits and ideas. In the first years after regaining independence, the focus was placed on the idea of national education and the development of good morals, alumni’s independence, as well as the necessity of learning through hands-on experience. The May Coup changed rules of the political system and, as a result, led to the formulation of an educational ideal emphasizing the concept of a state and the cult of the marshal Piłsudski’s figure. The article analyses assumptions of the “Singing” program so as to find an answer to the question of how the state’s political ideas were implemented on the grounds of general music education. A pedagogical-historical perspective, providing the context for musical issues, was adopted. An in-depth analysis of sources, such as legal acts, school curricula and pedagogical journals from the period of 1918-1939, showed that the leading role in delivering pedagogical-ideological objectives belonged to the teaching of singing as a form of education, and to a school song with patriotic, religious or ludic topics, which formed the rudiments of education and music pedagogy. Research findings indicate a relation between a political idea and content-related, methodological matters regarding education and music pedagogy.