Szkolnictwo elementarne dekanatu olkuskiego w świetle Rapportów z popisów przeprowadzonych w latach 1821-1824

According to the provisions of the Government Commission of Religious Denominations and Public Enlightenment of 1817, local authorities in the Kingdom of Poland (both clergy and laity) were obliged to organise, twice a year, exams in their elementary schools. Extant reports from these exams are an important source of information - especially in relations to specific villages and schools - on the functioning of these schools and the changes observed in elementary education in the Kingdom of Poland. This article is an analysis of the contents of the reports from exams that took place in ten elementary schools operating in the parishes of the Olkusz deanery in the years 1821-1824. The reports are kept in the archives of the Metropolitan Curia in Krakow. The information contained in the exam reports allows us to conclude that education in the Olkusz deanery struggled with many difficulties such as lack of school premises, and the reluctant attitude of the local community who opposed the idea of schools as such and was unwilling to finance them or send their children there. There is an interesting issue of assessing the work of teachers and the benefits of learning for the students in those schools. The exams show that even the good work of teachers did not guarantee the progress in students’ skills and abilities, and lack thereof was probably a result of their irregular attendance at school.