The Peasantry's Stance on Education in the Russian-Polish Kingdom during the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries

Acquiring elementary education by peasants in the Kingdom of Poland in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries was determined by many factors. The most important of these was the policy of the Russian state towards education which treated the school as a tool for inculcating loyalty to the state. On the other hand, the school was not always perceived by the peasants themselves as a necessary institution. This was caused, among other things, by a lack of understanding for educational needs, poverty, or the Russification character of the education system. Representatives of the rural population acquired reading and writing skills not only in schools, but very often through extracurricular education, including secret teaching activities. Gradually, among the rural population, the awareness of the benefits of education began to grow. This was influenced by the conduct of secret schooling, as well as the activities of Polish organizations and social activists who set themselves the goal of raising the level of education in the countryside.