The Activity of a Teacher and a Member of the Constituent Parliament Salomėja Stakauskaitė in the Context of the Development of the Lithuanian Education System During the First Half of the 20th Century

Abstract

Salomėja Stakauskaitė started her career during the interwar period, when the Lithuanian education system was being created. During the creation of the Lithuanian education system and the implementation of the idea of the national school, two ideological directions – confessional and secular-collided. S. Stakauskaitė was an active Lithuanian public figure, a teacher, and a member of the Constituent Parliament, who represented the confessional trend in education.

The case study of S. Stakauskaitė’s life shows that her biography is closely related to the context of Lithuanian public life during the interwar period. Salomėja’s Catholic family environment pushed her towards Catholic education. A special role was played by her brothers’ priests – all of them contributed to the creation of Catholic schools in Lithuania. Her habitus reflects the values of the educated Lithuanian Catholics of the time – the aspirations of patriotism, education, religiosity, and the desire to influence interwar society.

S. Stakauskaitė’s activity covered a broad political, social, and educational field – supported by her brothers, she created Catholic schools in Panevėžys, Jurbarkas, which were the first Lithuanian gymnasiums. In addition, she took part in the activities of various Catholic societies (St. Vincent de Paul Society, St. Zita Catholic Community), and belonged to the Christian Democratic Party, which she represented in the Constituent Parliament of Lithuania.