ABSTRACT
In the transition periods after both world wars, education was recognized as one of the most important areas of activity of the new state authorities in the north-eastern Adriatic areas, in what are now north-eastern Italy, Slovenia, south-eastern Austria, and Croatia. The postwar school authorities pursued a common national socialization project directed at the youngest members of the population. This project, in addition to establishing national primacy within the framework of state nation-building, also involved ideological adaptation. Educating the young was one of the most important objectives of the transition policies after both the First and Second World Wars. The arrival and placement of new teaching staff was usually accompanied by the dismissal, blackmail, and/ or persecution of those who were teaching before the war and also by their voluntary departure, triggered by the war and the postwar realities. A comparison of the actions of school authorities in the transition periods shows that nationality or political orientation played a greater role than gender in discriminatory and repressive practices. The article shows that in the context of school transition policies, younger women teachers played a special role, especially in the newly conquered areas, as they were able to devote themselves to a greater extent to teaching and also to extra-curricular work. They were identified as best suited to implement the new postwar school policy and to change the previous frameworks, both mentally and linguistically.
