Absolutism and the Eighteenth-Century Origins of Compulsory Schooling in Prussia and Austria

Focusing on the reigns of Frederick the Great of Prussia (1740-86) and Maria Theresa of Austria (1740-80), James Van Horn Melton examines in this book the origins, aims, and achievements of the compulsory school movements in these states. Melton draws on a broad range of sources to show how school reform was part of a broader effort to transform social, economic, and cultural behavior at the popular level.