Centralne Zrzeszenie Nauczycieli Czeskich na Śląsku [Ústřední spolek českých učitelů ve Slezsku] w latach 1894–1918

Over the course of the 1800s, schools played a vital role in the process of shaping modern associations. They prepared the upcoming generations for life in a world that changed more and more rapidly, and was an important means for passing down ways and patterns of behaviour, which were required by political and societal elites. The way in which this information was related to students – in other words, the attitude of the teachers – was also significant. Teachers in the Austrian Empire (and after 1867, in Austria-Hungary) started to organise themselves in the latter half of the 19th century, and in Austrian Silesia, a similar process started in 1868. The first local and unambiguously Czech teachers’ association was founded in 1882, followed by several others. Their representative body, the Central Association of Czech Teachers, was established in 1894.