Romanian Interwar Education. Vol. I-III

"The author of this work, expected to appear in three volumes (Primary and secondary education in Neamț County; Teaching communities and public authorities in Neamț County; Establishment of school institutions), presents and analyzes a series of topics that have not been treated in the specialized literature to date: the status of the teaching staff, programs, textbooks, professional communities of teachers, the construction of school buildings in Neamț County, the relations of subordination and superordination between schools, the ministry, the revision office and local authorities, the effective impact of school legislation on the education system. We note that all these issues are mainly subsumed into the interwar period.
The scientific approach of Professor Elena Preda is part of a constant desire of researchers of the history of Romanian education: objective historical reconstruction and its integration into Europeanness, along with the detection of the vein of tradition and continuity, found after the hiatus imposed by the communist period in history of Romania. There is also an acute need to prepare solid special studies, geographically regionalized, regarding the history of Romanian education, on the basis of which a synthesis can be prepared based on a pertinent research paradigm, capable of integrating the history of education in this area within the history of European education.”

Prof. univ. dr. Florin Pintescu
“Ștefan cel Mare” University of Suceava

"Disturbing (and true) is the author's conclusion regarding a situation, all too often encountered – unfortunately – even today: "the apostolate of teachers seemed to be the state's most accessible solution for resolving the situations that arose. This desideratum of the apostolate of the teaching staff practically "took" the burden of total responsibility off the shoulders of the state and even diminished it, finding culprits for possible shortcomings. From a sociological perspective, the apostolate certainly had its merits, but it also represented a form of manipulation on the part of the authorities. If I had to choose a single word to characterize the professional life of the teaching staff in pre-university education, for the period 1918-1948, I would certainly opt for the word "apostolate"".

Prof. univ. dr. Florin Pintescu
"Stefan cel Mare" University of Suceava

"The first school in Humulești was founded in 1847, at the initiative of priest Ioan Humulescu, in the cell next to the old "Saint Nicholas" Church. We have information about the first teacher of the school from the book "Childhood Memories" by Ion Creangă, presented by the author with the nickname "badita Vasile", under his real name Vasile Ailioaei, the one who in 1848 had been taken to the army, and when the school reopened in 1849, he was replaced by the teacher Iordache, until 1852, when all the students were transferred to the Royal School in Târgu-Neamț. The State Primary School in Humulești was officially founded on November 20, 1883 and the first teacher was Vrânceanu Constantin."

Elena Constantin - Preda, Establishment of school institutions in Neamț County