The contribution of Dimitrije Matić to adult education in Serbia in the 19th century

Abstract

The work was written with the goal of determining and describing the contribution of Dimitrije Matić to establishing and developing adult education in Serbia in the 19th century. We employed the historical method and within it an analysis of content, discourse and narrative of primary and secondary sources. The results of the research demonstrate the exceptional contribution of Matić to the development of institutional adult education through the establishment of a network of reading rooms in Serbia, the (re)opening of adult schools, the constitution of school boards, and the renewal of teacher education. We identified contributions in the sphere of instituting adult education legislature and the creation of institutional, staff, program and financial prerequisites for the operation of adult education institutions. We identified the bases for questioning the success of the functioning of certain andragogical institutions established by Matić, which doesn't undermine his importance in the pioneering endeavours of developing adult education.