The System of Public Education in Astrakhan Governorate in the Second Half of the 19^th and Early 20^th Centuries. Part 2

This set of articles relies on reference and memorandum books from the period 1873-1917 to explore the development of the system of public education in Astrakhan Governorate. This is the second piece in the set. The 20-year timeframe it covers (1874-1894) incorporates the post-reform and counter-reform periods. The principal source used in this work is the Memorandum Books for Astrakhan Governorate. Methodologically, use was made of sets of historical (historical-systematic, historical-comparative, historical-typological, historical-genetic, and historical-statistical) and general (synthetic analysis, content analysis, and systems analysis) research methods. Between 1874 and 1894, the number of public educational institutions in Astrakhan Governorate increased 8 times, which may be regarded as significant progress in the development of the system of education in the region. The number of students rose 6 times, which is a remarkable achievement too. The 20-year period witnessed brisk progress in the development of female education in the region, with the number of female students increasing 5.7 times. This must have been facilitated by the region’s distinctive economic characteristics - it had well-developed fishing and livestock farming industries, with many women engaged in processing work. Socially, the region’s secondary education sector was dominated by children of nobles and functionaries, which must have been associated with an added focus on the prestige of education and on building a successful career. In terms of religious composition, the bulk of the region’s student body was made up of Orthodox Christians. This group outnumbered the rest of the religious groups more than 30 times.