In 1774, state authorities in Austria and its crownland Galicia introduced compulsory elementary education for children. The aim of the article is to show the conditions and the degree of fulfillment of educational obligations by the plebeians living in Galicia. For this purpose, the situation in the Latin Diocese of Przemysl was analysed. The compulsory school system was intended for children from peasant and bourgeois families. In order to implement it, state institutions issued several legal acts. Nevertheless, attendance in almost all compulsory schools was low throughout the analyzed period. The problem was particularly striking in rural schools. Peasants did not want to send their children to school. They did not see the benefits of education. They preferred to employ children on their farms or send them to other people for gainful employment. Children often went to school only at certain times of the year or regularly left school during the school year. In towns, too, the degree of fulfillment of school duties was quite unsatisfactory. In general, boys had a better attendance record than girls. In spite of the compulsory character of schools, state authorities often did not enforce educational obligations.
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