School chronicles as an Archival Source for the Study of Regional History and the History of Education in Lika and Surroundings

Abstract

Starting from the aspect of the archival profession, this paper defines school chronicles as archival units of pedagogical documentation of lasting value, which is a part of the material Croatian cultural heritage, and has an extremely valuable archival source for studying the history of Lika and its surroundings. In this sense, the paper analyses the school chronicles which are kept in the State Archives in Gospić and in school archives. The legal regulations in the introduction and obligation to keep school chronicles in primary schools are especially emphasized. Chronicles kept in the education funds of the State Archives in Gospić and the archives of the Elementary School Dr. Jure Turić in Gospić are presented and described as a representative example of the preservation of chronicles outside the Archives. The research methodology on a small sample partially reviewed the files of the founders of primary schools of the State Archives in Gospić and conducted a survey in institutions that we assumed were keeping the chronicles that have the status of public archives. Following the above, the paper presents the analysed data on the preservation of school chronicles of Lika and Karlobag area outside the Archives. Additionally, the paper presents the analysed data on fulfilling the legal obligation to manage school chronicles in primary schools and it presents the today’s form of school chronicles, considering that the processes of globalization and the progress of information technology, in addition to analogous guidance in the form of a book, legally open the possibility of managing e-chronicles in digital forms.