Pedagogical activity of Kazan noblewomen in the late 19th – early 20th centuries

Abstract

The aim of the article is to reconstruct the pedagogical work of noblewomen in the Kazan Governorate at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that, for the first time, based on sources of personal origin, the participation of representatives of the Kazan nobility in the sphere of education and enlightenment has been reconstructed. The article conducts a comparative analysis of two models of pedagogical activity – the founder of a rural school and the head of a capital city educational institution. The tasks set by women upon embarking on a professional path and the difficulties encountered in the process of work are demonstrated. In addition, relationships with colleagues and students are examined. The methods relied upon by noblewomen in educational and upbringing work are investigated. As a result, it was established that, despite the modernization of the socio-economic life of society in the Russian Empire, in the late 19th – early 20th centuries, noblewomen continued to live within traditional notions regarding the role of women. Activity in the field of education and upbringing was characteristic of women whose main calling came down to marriage and motherhood. However, during the period under consideration, engaging in pedagogy became a source of income and an opportunity for self-realization in a new capacity for women, and noblewomen in particular.