Albína Dratvová and the Reform of Philosophical Propedeutics in Interwar Czechoslovakia

Abstract

The aim of the study is to describe the concept of teaching philosophical propaedeutics in secondary schools as outlined in the pedagogical proposals of Albína Dratvová and to analyse her influence on the development of philosophical education. The study focuses on Dratvová’s reform efforts in the field of philosophical propaedeutics, which represented a significant contribution to the modernization of philosophy teaching in interwar Czechoslovakia. Dratvová sought to make philosophical thinking more accessible to students by emphasizing active participation in teaching and interdisciplinarity. She authored propaedeutic textbooks that were used by the majority of students in Czechoslovak secondary schools at the turn of the 1920s and 1930s. The study highlights how Dratvová aimed to balance theoretical and practical aspects of teaching and how her approaches responded to contemporary reform trends. The text analyses her key pedagogical and methodological proposals, situating them within the broader context of interwar reform efforts. It also focuses on the reception of her work at the time, including critical responses that reflect the tension between conservative and progressive approaches to philosophy education.