Albania

Abstract

The beginnings of an Albanian school system in the sense of a system that employs the Albanian language can be traced back to national movement aimed at the awakening of a cultural identity (National Revival–Rilindja Kombëtare). In 1887, the first Albanian schools were opened, which, except for the school in Korça, only lasted for a short period of time; 4 years later, a school for girls was opened. It was not until 1908, however, that a conference in Monastir agreed on the use of a modified Roman alphabet. An Albanian nation state was established in 1912; however, it was too unstable and weak to contribute to the establishment of an education system on the basis of the Ottoman school system. In particular, the low degree of urbanization rendered compulsory education for 6–11-year-old boys and girls, introduced in the 1920s, obsolete; this phenomenon was – and is again at present – particularly marked in the mountainous northern areas.

I am grateful to Prof. Dr. Emil Lafe, Academy of Sciences, Tirana, and Jochen Blanken, Coordinator of Adult Education, Tirana, for valuable material, without which I would not have been able to write this chapter.