Second international conference CALT: "Creative Approaches to Learning and Teaching"

Practical Skills as Part of Early Technical Education in Croatian Schools (1850–1918)

This paper investigates the development and role of practical skills as an integral part of early technical education in Croatian schools between 1850 and 1918. The focus is placed on the analysis of educational literature, pedagogical manuals, and teaching curricula used in Croatia at the time, with particular attention to areas such as handicrafts, technical skills, and the beginnings of systematic technical instruction. The aim of the study is to reconstruct how practical activities—such as woodworking, metalworking, and simple technical crafts—were conceptualized, valued, and incorporated into the formal education system.

Using historical-comparative and analytical methods, the paper explores the influence of European pedagogical ideas (especially the Swedish and Austrian models of manual training) on Croatian educational practices. Textbooks, curricula, inspectors’ reports, and discussions in pedagogical journals from the late 19th and early 20th centuries are examined. Special attention is given to the perception of practical skills as a means of holistic education—learning through work, developing discipline, independence, and national industrial competence.

The findings indicate that awareness of the importance of technical and practical education gradually matured in Croatian schools during this period, despite ideological and organizational obstacles. Practical skills eventually became a permanent component of the school system, largely due to the pedagogical literature that recognized manual work as a fundamental educational value and essential preparation for modern industrial society.

Keywords: early technical education, practical skills, history of education, industrial society and education