THE POSITION OF THE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS NETWORK
IN THE SMOLENSK REGION ON THE EVE OF THE REFORM
IMPLEMENTATION IN THE EDUCATION FIELD BY ALEXANDER II
The article examines the position of educational institutions of the Smolensk region in the period preceding the educational reform of Alexander II. On the basis of archival sources of the State Archive of the Smolensk region (GASO), statistical data and materials from publications of «Smolensk Province Records», the author considers the situation in Smolensk gymnasium, eight districts, as well as parish, rural, private, including women’s, educational institutions located in the province. The article analyzes the most significant materials of reports, statements and finance records compiled by Smolensk school directorate, administrations of gymnasiums, parish and district schools, as well as full-time school superintendents who were accountable to different departments. The data obtained as a result of the study suggests that the number of existing schools on the eve and at the very beginning of the Great Reforms tended to be seriously reduced. This decrease particularly affected primary schools owned by the landowners or the schools for which peasant societies were responsible. The research materials provide data on the quantity and class of students in Smolensk gymnasium, district, parish and rural schools, as well as the quantity of teachers conducting classes in the above educational institutions. In the article statistics are presented for the period before and after the start of the reform of the educational institutions network. Ultimately, the author of the article concludes that the education reform observed a rather painful process of a significant (almost two-fold) reduction in the number of primary schools and the quantity of students. This situation was clearly not in line with the aspirations of the provincial government and the pedagogical community, they were aimed at further developing and improving the work of the educational institutions network in the Smolensk region