Teachers' remarks about their salaries in 1800 in the Helvetic Republic

Details

Serval ID
serval:BIB_501DBDB2EDC2
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Title
Teachers' remarks about their salaries in 1800 in the Helvetic Republic
Journal
Paedagogica Historica
Author(s)
Brühwiler I.
ISSN
0030-9230
Publication state
Published
Issued date
08/2014
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Pages
1-16
Language
english
Abstract
For centuries, teachers have complained about their salaries. In the Stapfer inquiry of 1799, some teachers made remarks about financial issues, particularly their low incomes. This inquiry is the main source for the arguments presented here regarding teachers' low salary during this period of the Helvetic Republic. The disparity between the lowest and the highest income was huge in 1799. This fact invites investigations about the people who complained. The evidence indicates incoherence between the complaints regarding low salary and the real income that was earned by these teachers. However, in order for this thesis to be wholly understood, the salaries must be explained; at the time of the Stapfer inquiry, salaries were paid in different currencies, as wages in kind and using divergent measurements. The present article aims to determine who these teachers were and why they complained. The arguments presented by the teachers shed light on the topics of political appeals, the social status of teachers in 1800 and the professionalisation of teachers.
Keywords
teachers' incomes, complaints, Switzerland, Stapfer inquiry, eighteenth-nineteenth century
Create date
18/08/2014 10:17
Last modification date
20/08/2019 14:06
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