Bendrinė kalba / Standard Language 2025, Nr. 98, p. 1–20 Turinio nuoroda / Contents link ISSN 2351-7204 (elektroninis / online)

THE IMAGE OF THE SCHOOL IN THE AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVES OF RESIDENTS OF THE ŠALČININKAI DISTRICT

The Image of the School in the Autobiographical Narratives of the Inhabitants of the Šalčininkai District

VIOLETA ŠVAIKOVSKAJA

Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore

Email: [email protected]

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5658-0890

Research interests: ethnolinguistics, phraseology.

https://doi.org/10.35321/bkalba.2025.98.04

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to examine, using the oral history method, the role played by school in the autobiographical narratives of older residents of the Šalčininkai district, the prevailing attitudes towards it, and the cultural and social aspects of the past century reflected in the narratives under study.

The research material consists of autobiographical narratives of older residents recorded during the 2012 and 2016 expeditions to the Šalčininkai and Dieveniškės areas. The analysis highlighted the importance and sensitivity of this topic, the experiences of research participants whose hard work and exposure to the dangers of war kept them away from school, and their desire to share their experiences with others. A change in attitudes towards school was also observed: as living conditions changed, attending school came to be perceived as a natural phenomenon accessible to everyone. Finally, the narratives analysed revealed the participants’ self-esteem: a tendency to belittle and devalue their achievements, abilities and intelligence or, conversely, a desire to emphasise facts that demonstrate their other abilities.

KEYWORDS: school, Šalčininkai district, oral history, ethnolinguistics, learning, autobiographical narrative.

ABSTRACT

The study aims to investigate, using the oral history method, the role of school in the autobiographical narratives of older residents in the Šalčininkai district, the prevailing attitudes towards it, and the cultural and social aspects of the past century reflected in the narratives under study.

The research material consists of autobiographical stories of the older generation recorded during the 2012 and 2016 expeditions to the Šalčininkai and Dieveniškės regions. The analysis highlighted the importance and sensitivity of this topic, the impact of hard labour and the dangers of war that distanced the participants from school, as well as their desire to share their experiences with others. A change in attitudes towards school was also observed: as living conditions changed, attending school came to be seen as a natural and accessible phenomenon for all. Finally, the analysed narratives revealed the self-esteem of the participants: a tendency to underestimate and devalue their own achievements, abilities and intelligence, or, conversely, a tendency to emphasise facts that demonstrate their other abilities.

KEYWORDS: school, Šalčininkai district, oral history, ethnolinguistics, learning, autobiographical narrative.

Copyright © 2025 Violeta Švaikovskaja. Published by the Institute of the Lithuanian Language. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. // Published by the Institute of the Lithuanian Language. This article is open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided that the author and source are credited.

Received: / Received: 2025-02-28. Accepted: / Accepted: 2025-05-28.

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INTRODUCTION

The Dictionary of Standard Lithuanian provides three definitions of the word mokykla: 1. ‘an institution for teaching and education’; 2. ‘teaching, instruction, learning, experience’; 3. ‘a school or movement in art, science, or literature; a method’ (BLKŽ). The definitions illustrate that a school is first and foremost understood as a building or institution where education takes place and knowledge is imparted. This meaning is closely related to the second, more abstract and broader conception: a school is an activity, the process of teaching and learning, through which knowledge about the world is transmitted and acquired. Thus, school is identified more closely with education or even with the experience accumulated over a lifetime. The third definition relates to a line of thought or a set of ideas that a person sharing similar methodological views may adopt and apply in their scholarly, artistic, or literary work. In other words, a school is a building, a learning process, and a movement in science, art, or literature. In this study, school is understood not only as a physical place but also as a process of education, knowledge transmission, and assimilation—that is, in accordance with the second definition in BLKŽ. This choice is based on the fact that, in the autobiographical narratives of the study sample analysed here, attention often focuses not on the school as a location, but on the experience of learning and its significance in respondents’ lives.

Having summarised the Education Law adopted after the restoration of Lithuania’s independence, anthropologist Kristina Šliavaitė observes that a tolerant education policy prevails in Lithuania, guaranteeing ethnic minorities schooling in their native language while also establishing the status of Lithuanian as the state and public language (Šliavaitė 2018: 145–150). Yet a century ago, circumstances in Lithuania—especially in the eastern and southern parts of the country—were quite different. In the 20th century, the Vilnius region experienced a highly unstable political situation. After Lithuania declared independence from tsarist Russia in 1918, the Vilnius region, which belonged to the state, was occupied by Poland in 1920 and remained part of it until 29 October 1939. Just over six months later, on 15 June 1940, this territory was occupied by the Soviet Union, and in 1941 by Nazi Germany. In 1944, the Vilnius region, like all of Lithuania, became part of the USSR and was freed from this oppression only almost five decades later, in 1990. This complex and shifting geopolitical situation affected the everyday lives of the inhabitants of these areas and, consequently, the running of schools, which changed in line with the changes imposed by each new government.

After Poland occupied the Vilnius region in 1920, an intense process of Polonisation took place. It had a profound effect on education policy. Polish became dominant as the state, educational, and home language, while the clergy associated Catholicism with the Polish nation (Vidugiris 1995: 429). However, the establishment of Polish in all spheres did not meet the needs of all inhabitants of the Vilnius region. The Rytas Society sought to preserve the Lithuanian heritage in the Lithuanian-speaking areas around Dieveniškės and ensure that children were educated in their native language, although restrictions on the community’s activities made this goal difficult to achieve. For instance, Lithuanian primary schools could be established only with the consent of the Polish authorities, who also had to approve the teacher (Martinkėnas 1968: 52; Ereminas 2013: 117). This did not deter the society; on the contrary, it encouraged the dissemination of Lithuanian education and patriotic ideas through clandestine schools and libraries.

In an effort to strengthen Polish schools, Lithuanian educational institutions were discontinued. This is also evident in the account of Vincas Martinkėnas, a public figure from the Vilnius region. A Lithuanian primary school established in Didžiuliai in 1923 was closed as early as 1925, but following protests by local residents, it resumed operation at the end of 1926 and remained open until 1933. In 1932, the Lithuanian educational institution in Žižmai was also shut down (Martinkėnas 1968: 52–55). Linguist Zigmas Zinkevičius notes that Lithuanian-language lessons were held, at least temporarily, in Lithuanian-speaking areas. In his words, Lithuanian was taught in 98 schools in 1934, but the teaching was not of high quality because the teachers lacked sufficient proficiency in Lithuanian (Zinkevičius 1992: 225–226). According to historian Stanislovas Buchaveckas, during the Polish occupation many children in the Vilnius region and Šalčininkai district did not attend primary school, even though a law on compulsory education was adopted in Poland in 1927

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pradinio mokymo (Buchaveckas 1992: 120). Kaip pagrindinius nevaiškiojimo į mokslo įstaigą motyvus autorius nurodo neigiamą tėvų požiūrį į ugdymo įstaigą ir švietimą, sudėtingas tuometines ekonomines sąlygas ir lietuvių nenorą šviesti savo vaikus lenkų kalba.

Intolerance was characteristic not only of the Polish authorities. It seems that in the first half of the 20th century, in turbulent times, efforts were not made to seek compromise and harmony; instead, the power of the new authorities was asserted with little regard for the actual needs of the various ethnic groups. Before the Soviet occupation in 1940, Lithuania regained the Vilnius region in 1939. This brief period was favourable to Lithuanian culture, but discriminatory with regard to the rights of others. According to historian Barbara Jundo-Kaliszewska, the period of Lithuanian rule was marked by the elimination of the Polish language from public life, the removal of Polish symbols and street names, the suspension of Polish schools, the dismissal of teachers, and the closure of Stefan Batory University (Jundo-Kaliszewska 2019: 63–64).

During the Nazi annexation, residents of the Šalčininkai region were affected in different ways. Although Germanisation was under way, Lithuanians managed to maintain education in Lithuanian (Lesys, Niūniavaitė-Lesienė 2012). In Polish-language primary schools, however, the number of lessons in Polish, Lithuanian, and German was equal, encouraging Polish resistance, non-attendance at educational institutions, and the establishment of clandestine Polish schools (Buchaveckas 1992: 144–147).

After the Second World War, the situation in Lithuania deteriorated further. The country had not only to contend with the consequences of war, such as shortages and devastated towns and villages, but also to endure a second Soviet occupation. Conditions were particularly difficult in the Vilnius region, which, by the end of the 1940s, ranked last in the number of children attending primary school (Stravinskienė 2024: 74–75). Slavicist Valerijus Čekmonas discusses the economic and cultural decline of the region as resulting from three causes: government repression and coercion directed against the intelligentsia, repatriation to Poland, and the migration of young people to the city of Vilnius (Čekmonas 2017 [1995]: 97). During the first (1945–1947) and second (1955–1959) repatriations to Poland, about 220,000 Poles left the Vilnius region (Górecki 2005: 71–72). This process also had a profound impact on the Šalčininkai district: only one third of its intelligentsia remained (Čekmonas 2017 [1995]: 97). Teachers, of course, were also looking for better living conditions. As many as 1,300 qualified teachers may have left the Vilnius area in 1945–1946 (Stravinskienė 2011: 17). These figures reveal the region’s precarious and rapidly changing demographic situation and the loss of an educated, economically stable population. Without it, it was difficult for residents affected by wartime losses to recover, particularly those concentrated in depopulating villages.

In the first post-war years, schools were in an extremely difficult condition: poverty was widespread, and there was a shortage of both Lithuanian- and Polish-language teachers, teaching materials, stationery, and even school desks (Stravinskienė 2011: 18; 2024: 66–68). Historian Vitalija Stravinskienė illustrates these wretched educational conditions with the example of the Lithuanian primary school in Dieveniškės, where in 1946 lessons were taught in Russian because the teacher then employed did not know how to speak Lithuanian (Stravinskienė 2011: 19).

The languages of instruction also varied. Those wishing to receive an education in Lithuanian had no adequate opportunities. Geographer Petras Gaučas states that in the 1950s there were only a few Lithuanian-language educational institutions in southeastern Lithuania, and that only after Stalin’s death, in 1957, were parallel Lithuanian classes opened in Polish-language schools. However, under Brezhnev, educational institutions where the language of instruction was not Russian were rapidly phased out (Gaučas 2000: 47).

Education in Polish was also unwelcome (Stravinskienė 2011; Kamilewicz-Rucińska 2017). There were 213 Polish-language educational institutions in 1944, but by 1947 there were only 197, while the number of Lithuanian- and Russian-language schools was growing (Stravinskienė 2011: 20). The authorities’ primary aim was not to preserve linguistic diversity, but to Russify the population of Lithuania and instil communist ideology. These aims were achieved to some extent. Social sciences researcher Danuta Kamilewicz-Rucińska notes that by the early 1960s, Russian-language schools already made up 60% of all educational institutions in Lithuania (Kamilewicz-Rucińska 2017: 126). Taking into account the prestige of Russian and its similarity to Polish, some Poles pragmatically more often chose to send their children to Russian-language educational institutions

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although there were also families who advocated education in the mother tongue (Stravinskienė 2024: 78).

The scholarly works discussed show that political order in the territory of the Šalčininkai district was unstable in the early 20th century, changing every decade. People lived in uncertainty: newly introduced changes were soon replaced by others. As a result, some well-off people left in search of a safer environment, while those who remained tried to adapt to the new system. The youngest pupils in educational institutions also had to adapt to ever-changing languages of instruction or, because of their parents’ distrust or resistance to the policies imposed by the authorities, were not allowed to attend school.

1. TYRIMO OBJEKTAS, TIKSLAI IR UŽDAVINIAI

This study is guided by the theoretical premise advanced by ethnolinguist and dialectologist Halina Pelcowa (2014; 2023), that every dialectal expression is culturally motivated, reflects the realities and traditions of the past and people’s experiences, and connects the experience of previous generations with the present. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to use the oral history method to examine the role played by school in the autobiographical narratives of older residents of the Šalčininkai district, the prevailing attitudes towards it, and the cultural and social aspects of the past century reflected in the narratives under study. To achieve this aim, the following objectives are set: 1) to discuss the common ground between oral history and ethnolinguistics and determine how combining them could prove useful in studying the multilingual and multicultural Šalčininkai district; 2) to establish, on the basis of qualitative data, the role school played in the lives of older-generation respondents; 3) to reveal how the concept and importance of school changed along with the social and historical context.

The article analyses excerpts from the autobiographical narratives of 14 participants (10 women and 4 men). The material presented consists of audio recordings that form part of the results of the 2012 and 2016 expeditions to the Dieveniškės and Šalčininkai areas¹. The 2012 expedition to the town of Dieveniškės and the Dieveniškės and Poškonys elderships was organised by the Lithuanian Language Society and led by Rita Urnėžiūtė and Habil. Dr Bonifacas Stundžia. Its aim was to document the region’s sociocultural, linguistic and ethnological heritage. Sociocultural questionnaires were used as a tool to systematise questions and elicit detailed autobiographical narratives from participants. It should be emphasised that although the questions were structured, interviewees could choose which topics to develop and which to avoid. The 2016 material forms part of Prof. Dr Kristina Rutkovska’s personal archives and consists of autobiographical narratives by elderly informants from the Šalčininkai district. The audio recordings analysed for this study amount to 9 hours.

The data collected in 2012 and 2016 are comparable in that the study sample consisted of an older generation of a similar age—people born between 1924 and 1948—who recounted the past: childhood, family, work, holidays, and so on. This material makes it possible to analyse not only individual life stories but also broader cultural and social processes that shaped people’s attitudes towards school and their relationship with it.

Although many more interviews with informants were collected during the expeditions, this study focuses on a deeper analysis of autobiographical narratives, and therefore only a small portion of the material was selected. As Hungarian-born linguist Zoltán Dörnyei points out, when studying qualitative data, the number of interviews is less relevant, since the aim of such analyses is to understand each narrative—and thus complex phenomena—better (Dörnyei 2007: 39–42); in this case, the concept of school and learning experiences among members of the older generation. One example is the study by Polish ethnolinguist Damian Gocół, which examines five people aged 35–65

¹ The author of this article sincerely thanks the expedition leaders, Prof. Dr Kristina Rutkovska, Rita Urnėžiūtė and Habil. Dr Bonifacas Stundžia, for making the audio recordings available.

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respondentų autobiografiniai pasakojimai (Gocół 2020). Mokslininkui svarbu, kaip skirtingų amžiaus kategorijų atstovai konstruoja naratyvą, kaip asmeninė patirtis susipina su kultūriniais bei socialiniais veiksniais ir kokią įtaką kitų grupių vertybės turi informantų veiksmams.

According to the autobiographical narratives examined in this study, the participants were born and grew up in the Šalčininkai district or moved there in their youth and spent most of their lives there. Their childhoods were marked by political changes, and, as will be discussed, their educational experiences differ greatly from present-day realities. To ensure participants’ comfort and allow for a relaxed and detailed dialogue, the interviews were conducted in the linguistic code with which they felt most at ease. Three female informants spoke a Lithuanian dialect, eight chose Polish or a Polish dialect, and one respondent each spoke Russian and Russian and Belarusian dialects. Some indicated that they used their chosen language or variety every day, while others communicated in everyday interactions po prostu, but did not wish to use it in the interviewer’s presence.

In narratives ranging in length from 15 minutes to 2 hours, nearly all interviewees mentioned school, if only in a few words. Some willingly and in detail recounted stories about teachers, incidents in lessons and the number of grades they had attended; others seemed to have little to say because they had either not attended school or had attended for only a short time. Nevertheless, their stories also address education, and their content is so extensive and valuable that their statements make up the greater part of the material cited in this article. Respondents are coded by gender (man or woman), year of birth or age at the time of the interview, and place of residence.

2. THE DEMOGRAPHIC AND LINGUISTIC SITUATION IN THE ŠALČININKAI REGION

To justify the relevance of the method, it is useful to briefly review the linguistic and ethnic situation of the region under study². In terms of its ethnic composition, Šalčininkai district differs from other parts of Lithuania. Lithuanian, Polish, Russian, and Belarusian ethnic groups interact there. Data from the Department of Statistics attest to the region’s cultural diversity. In 2021, nearly 85% of the population of Šalčininkai district belonged to Slavic-speaking cultures (76.3% Polish, 5.0% Russian, 2.9% Belarusian, and 0.6% Ukrainian), while Lithuanians accounted for just 12.6%³. This ethnic composition, dominated by Slavic cultures, also determines the linguistic situation in the area. Linguists Danguolė Mikulėnienė and Kristina Rutkovska distinguish the following linguistic codes in Šalčininkai district: the Lithuanian language, the Lithuanian dialect, the Polish language, the Polish dialect, the Belarusian dialect (often called po prostu by local residents themselves), the Russian language, and the Russian dialect. Among these, the Lithuanian dialect is spoken in the vicinity of Dieveniškės, while Russian and its dialectal variety are, according to the authors, widespread among the Old Believers living in Šalčininkai district (Mikulėnienė, Rutkowska 2013: 464).

Insights into the linguistic situation in the Šalčininkai region are supplemented by dialectologist Violeta Meiliūnaitė’s research. Drawing on data on the linguistic landscape of Šalčininkai district and notices posted on religious buildings, V. Meiliūnaitė (2022: 160–171) documents cases of bilingualism and even trilingualism, but sees the role of Lithuanian only as formal—as the state language, yet one with a weak communicative function. It emerges that public institutions write their notices in Lithuanian and Polish, whereas private businesses and individuals are more inclined to provide information in Lithuanian and Russian; notices in three languages—Lithuanian, Polish, and Russian—also occur occasionally. V. Meiliūnaitė interprets the tendency to publish information in Lithuanian and Russian rather than Polish as a reflection of the actual linguistic environment of the Šalčininkai region. In addition, the researcher mentions the regional newspaper Šalčia, published essentially in Russian, with articles translated only in part into Lithuanian and Polish (Meiliūnaitė 2022: 170). Dialectologist Nijolė Tuomienė adds that Russian is considered more prestigious in the Šalčininkai region and is therefore widely used in public spaces by middle-aged and younger residents; it often eclipses Polish, thereby competing ever more strongly with the younger generation’s

²An in-depth review of the linguistic situation in the Šalčininkai region can be found in dialectologist Nijolė Tuomienė’s study Language and Identity in the Borderlands of Southeastern Lithuania and Belarus (second half of the 20th century – beginning of the 21st century). 1 (Tuomienė 2023: 33–62).

³For further details, see https://osp.stat.gov.lt/lt/statistiniu-rodikliu-analize?hash=58bdd9a5-b274-42c9-98d0-cd83c5724724#/.

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gretose populiarėjančia lietuvių kalba (Tuomienė 2022: 187–189). Šios išvados leidžia kalbėti apie vis dar esamą slavų kalbų, o ypač – nemažėjantį rusų kalbos pranašumą tiriamame regione, nors didėjanti lietuvių kalbos svarba taip pat pastebima.

It should be noted that in a multilingual region, languages do not function separately from one another but interact and are expressed in different ways in communicative acts. Drawing on audio recordings made during expeditions to locations in Southeastern Lithuania in 1964–1990 and 2011–2013, N. Tuomienė examined the characteristic manifestations and functions of code-switching there. She identified five functions: referential, directive, identity-related, metaphorical, and metalinguistic (Tuomienė 2023: 103–117). Age is identified as a factor determining code-switching. The scholar observes that the older generation has a stronger connection with the local dialect po prostu, while communication among the middle-aged and younger generations includes elements of Lithuanian, Polish, and Russian. This study attests to the distinctive linguistic situation in the Šalčininkai region and to the significance of all the languages used there for expressing thoughts and speakers’ identities.

3. THE EMERGENCE OF THE ORAL HISTORY METHOD

According to Lynn Abrams, one of the most authoritative oral history researchers at the University of Glasgow and the author of methodological guidelines, oral history is understood in two ways: as a process—that is, a research method, an interview through which information about the past is collected—and as a result: the collected and recorded material, that is, the respondent’s final account (Abrams 2010: 2). The term oral history is associated with historian and journalist Allan Nevins, who founded Columbia University’s Oral History Research Office in 1948 (Columbia Oral History Research Office) (Ritchie 2003: 22). Oral history has been and continues to be used to reconstruct past events, dates, facts, or places; however, by the end of the 20th century, attention had turned to the fact that, as renowned practitioner of this method Alessandro Portelli argues, an account of the past reflects not so much historical vicissitudes as the narrator—their point of view, assessment of events, attitudes, and relationship between past and present (Portelli 1981: 99–100). In light of this claim, the author of this paper believes that, when recounting stories that happened some time ago (especially many years ago), a person may err, confuse facts, merge several episodes into one, forget certain episodes from the past, or deliberately leave them undescribed—even if these might be essential to a scholar applying the method. Nevertheless, despite possible inaccuracies or distortions of events, one can discern how past occurrences affected the narrator’s identity, how they were perceived at the time, and how they are perceived in the act of recounting them. In other words, an account of those times reveals more about the speaker themselves: their subjective assessments, feelings, and perspective.

3.1. The emergence and application of the oral history method in Lithuania

At the beginning of the 21st century,⁴ Lithuanian scholars also began to apply the oral history method. The method was considered particularly useful for revealing people’s experiences and challenges, which had not been recorded anywhere during the Soviet era because of press censorship and the repressions employed. In their collective monograph Oral History as a Method for Studying the Soviet Era, political scientists Inga Vinogradnaitė, Ainė Ramonaite, Jūratė Kavaliauskaitė, Jogilė Ulinskaitė and Rytė Kukulskytė discuss how best to apply this method to the study of the complicated period of Soviet occupation (Vinogradnaitė et al. 2018). Historian Aurimas Švedas not only applies this method but also discusses its formal aspects, such as the advantages and limitations of the oral history method (Švedas 2010), and writes about its development in Lithuania (Švedas 2018). Drawing on the life stories of ten women

⁴ In Aurimas Švedas’s article Formy dialogu pamięci i historii w humanistyce litewskiej po roku 1990 (wykorzystanie metody oral history), it is noted that as early as the interwar period of the 20th century and during the Soviet era, field studies conducted to gather data on the customs, history and everyday life of ethnic culture relied on ethnographic surveys. According to the researcher, because of their structured questionnaire format, these are not considered a form of oral history and have no features in common with it (Švedas 2018: 272).

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pasakojimus istorikė Dalia Marcinkevičienė (2007) tiria sovietmečiu gyvenusių Lietuvos moterų tapatybių modelius ir siekia nustatyti joms įtakos turėjusios komunistinės ideologijos laipsnį. Sociologė Irena Šutinienė (2020) analizuoja sovietmečiu, t. y. praeito amžiaus 8–ame dešimtmetyje, gimusių ir augusių, tačiau į suaugusiųjų gyvenimą nepriklausomoje Lietuvoje įžengusių asmenų vaikystės prisiminimus, Sovietų Sąjungoje taikytų praktikų vertinimus bei pasakojimus apie tėvų ir senelių patirtis. Apibendrinant aptariamo metodo taikymą Lietuvoje galima sakyti, kad jis dominuoja analizuojant sovietmečio gyvenimo sąlygas ir okupacijos poveikį visuomenės gyvenime, tačiau taip pat pabrėžtina, jog sakytinė istorija mokslininkams padeda sužinoti, kaip patys žmonės supranta ir analizuoja praeities įvykius. Kitaip tariant, krypstama ne tik į istoriją, bet ir į žmonių subjektyvų požiūrį.

Folkloristics is grounded in the conviction that every person’s story is worthy of attention. Its content and form, outspoken remarks and silences, laughter and tears, experiences and hardships, the themes given priority and those one would rather not remember all help us understand the narrator, their relationship with those around them and the world they inhabit. In short, folklorists do not expect to elicit information about the field of study that interests them, since they believe that a story’s value is indicated not by an abundance of facts but by the respondent’s being as reflected in it (Būgienė 2018: 200). The monograph Memory and Identity in Lithuanian Borderland Towns: Valkininkai, Vilkyškiai, Žeimelis by social philosopher Jurga Jonutytė, folklorist Lina Būgienė and literary scholar Aleksandras Krasnovas (Jonutytė et al. 2013) explores human memory, its variability, different accounts of the same events, and the influence of present-day realities on the content and form of narratives about the past. Sociologist Sigita Kraniauskienė (2005) has studied and compared gender practices reflected in men’s and women’s autobiographical narratives. The author’s conclusions were confirmed and supplemented by L. Būgienė’s (2012) study of the identity of both genders as reflected in autobiographical narratives, the events that shape it, linguistic expression and relationship with folklore. As has been observed, Lithuanian scholarly literature features both fact-oriented and individual-oriented approaches to oral history, and sometimes, for example in D. Marcinkevičienė’s (2007: 8) work, combines the two.

It should be emphasized that, because the method was initially applied to reconstruct historical facts rather than to understand individuals or study their memory, oral history⁵ is not particularly popular among folklorists, who prefer the terms narrative or autobiographical narrative. Given the methodological development of oral history and the growing attention to the subject, there is reason to use these terms synonymously. Although oral history need not be autobiographical, many oral history accounts contain autobiographical elements, subjective assessments of past events and a revelation of the narrator’s perspective (Abrams 2010: 26). This statement emphasizes the common ground between oral history and autobiographical narrative (especially its oral form).

3.2. The application of oral history in ethnolinguistics

The oral history method has attracted considerable interest among individual-oriented ethnolinguists. It allows researchers to see how past phenomena are perceived by someone who has lived through them. This is precisely the approach that interests ethnolinguists who use oral history (Pelcowa 2014; 2023; Rutkovska 2018; 2019; 2020; Goćół 2020; 2023), for whom the concern is not a single objective truth, but rather each person’s subjective interpretation of reality, conveyed in their own words.

Ethnolinguist Kristina Rutkovska proposes an innovative application of the oral history method, which is only now gaining popularity in Lithuania. Drawing on the statements of Polish dialectologist Halina Pelcowa that a dialect text is a source of history, culture and traditions which the narrator willingly passes on to later generations, and that the narrative of a person living in the countryside is imbued with subjectivity and assessments grounded in personal experiences and values (Pelcowa 2023: 133), K. Rutkovska further points out that such a text is a suitable tool for studying the memory and identity of the “ordinary person” (Rutkovska 2018; 2019; 2020). A subjective point of view

⁵ Joanna Bornat (2004) has discussed the existing diversity of terminology in the scholarly literature.

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This is considered private, because analysis of similar material makes it possible to learn about the worldview, identity and axiological system of the community under study. Using this method, K. Rutkovska examines the oral histories of the older generation of informants from Polish-speaking towns near Kaunas (Rutkovska 2020) and from the northeastern borderland of Lithuania—the areas around Meikštai and Smalvos (Rutkovska 2018)—as well as the image of the manor preserved in their memories and conveyed through language. In this way, the scholar preserves the imagined aspects of the manor held by ordinary rural residents, such as its appearance, the buildings nearby, relations between peasants and lords, the latter’s activities in general, the views formed about them, and so forth. The Šalčininkai district, a multilingual and multicultural corner of Lithuania, provides an especially favourable setting for oral history research that reveals the structure of local residents’ memory and identity.

For ethnolinguistics scholars, one of the most important advantages of the oral history method is that, in conversations about the past, informants can freely shape the content of their narratives and emphasise the things they wish to. More precise and detailed expression of content is ensured by giving narrators the opportunity to use a linguistic code with which they feel more familiar—standard language, dialect, or elements of several linguistic codes. This is particularly important in view of the ethnic and linguistic diversity of the region discussed in this article. The form of the narrative is no less significant. Linguistic and non-linguistic means—emotional charge, pronouns, modifiers or omissions—help us understand not only what is being narrated, but also how the informant evaluates events and what their relationship to the past is.

To summarise the research methodology, it can be said that a narrative recorded using the oral history method reflects the way of life in the past and its evaluation, as well as cultural heritage and its significance in the present.

4. THE IMAGE OF THE SCHOOL IN THE AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVES OF RESIDENTS OF THE ŠALČININKAI AND DIEVENIŠKĖS REGIONS

This section will examine the theme of school as developed in the respondents’ oral histories. As already mentioned, the informants say little about its appearance or their experiences there. Rather, their narratives reveal the circumstances surrounding school attendance, their attitude towards it, and respondents’ self-esteem in relation to (not) attending an educational institution.

4.1. Circumstances that made attending school more difficult

Nowadays, school is understood as a part of our lives—of both children and adults. However, as discussed in the introduction to this study, the political and social environment was quite different in the first half and middle of the last century, as the informants’ own narratives also reflect. Asked how many grades they completed, most informants acknowledge that they had no opportunity to pursue a school education, or could do so for only a few years. If such a question were asked in a questionnaire, the informant would have the opportunity either to enter the number of grades completed or to choose one of the suggested response options indicating a range. But in conversation, when recounting the realities of the past, people have the opportunity to comment on their answer and explain why things turned out that way. This means that material obtained using the oral history method gives the informant a leading role and makes it possible to evaluate and recount past experiences in greater detail.

In the respondents’ accounts, the most common reasons for not attending school were war, work and distance. War disrupted everyone’s daily lives, including children’s (1), (4); during the war, educational institutions were burned down (2), (3) or occupied by the armies that had seized the village (3). S. Buchaveckas documents a similar case in his account of the Eišiškės secondary school. According to him, in 1943, during the Nazi occupation, it was taken over by the German occupiers (Buchaveckas 1992: 145). V. Stravinskienė also records a shortage of physical buildings in the Vilnius region where lessons could have been held. The scholar notes that in 1948 an attempt was made to address this problem, albeit unsuccessfully, through a law assigning an educational purpose to neglected and abandoned properties (Stravinskienė 2024: 67).

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Narratives (1) and (2) have similarities—in both cases, the expression i wsio, i wszystko “and that was it” is used. In the first case, by using it, the respondent draws a line between life as it was before and after the outbreak of the brutal Second World War. The narrator thus makes it clear that everything that had happened before the bloody armed conflict was abruptly cut short. In the second example, the interviewee uses it to indicate the number of grades completed, but, after a pause, explains that this situation also came about because war broke out.

Narrative (4) comments somewhat more extensively on changes in the political system, the sequence of events, and the new educational order. We learn from the interviewee that in 1939 it was still possible to study in Polish; during the Soviet occupation, in Belarusian; and during the period of Nazi Germany, in both languages. This narrative depicts a determination to acquire knowledge despite the authorities changing from time to time. The respondent emphasizes her desire to study in several ways. First, by repeating the pronoun ją “I” and the verb chodzĭłam “I went,” she gives the narrative greater emotional force and portrays herself as an active participant in the story. Second, the woman contrasts this verb with the first-person plural verb przyszli “they came,” thereby highlighting not only the change in power but also its impact on education, which is likewise conveyed by the verb uczyli “they taught”:

1.

I: And I can’t write [laughs – V. Š.]. I only know how to sign my name. And reading, well, I read a little because I’m not... I only finished the first grade at school. The war started and that was it (M1931, Rudninkai). I: Oh, I can’t write [laughs – V. Š.]. I only know how to sign my name. And reading, well, I read a little, because I’m not... I only finished the first grade at school. The war started, and that was it.

2.

I: Did you finish as many as seven grades? I: No. Two. Two in Polish, two in Russian. And four. And that was it... Later there was no school there. It burned down during the war, and things stayed that way (V1933, Šalčininkėliai). And you finished as many as seven grades? I: No. Two. Two in Polish, two in Russian. And four. And that was it... Later there was no school there. It burned down during the war, and things stayed that way.

3.

I: Four; there were no more grades where we lived. Only four. <...> The school, it was a large four-grade school. And then... when the war came, the Germans settled in here, in this school. When the Germans withdrew, they burned down the school (M1924, Rudninkai). I: Four; there were no more grades where we lived. Only four. <...> The school, it was a large four-grade school. And then... when the war came, the Germans were stationed here [they occupied the school – V. Š.] in this school. When the Germans withdrew, they burned down that school.

4.

Was there perhaps a school there? Could one go to school near those Grawżyszki? I: I went. Madam, there was still a Polish school in our village of Borcie. <...> The school was there. But it’s gone now. It was demolished. So I went there. What kind of school was it? Three grades. I went up to the third grade. I went when the Germans were there, I went when... the Soviets came. But THEY taught me, when I was still a little girl at home; there was a disabled old man there. And he taught me to read, so I was already reading in Polish at home. So I went to school for just a week, and the war started. The war started in 1939. The Soviets had already come by then, in 1940. They taught in Belarusian. Well. So I... but it was easy for me, because I knew the letters, I knew how to read in Polish. So for me it was... I quickly... but then there was nowhere to go... how... we later moved to a colony. Two kilometers away from that school. Then the Germans came. Under the Germans they taught in Polish and Belarusian. Under the Germans. And then I stopped going... (M1931, Šalčininkėliai).

Was there perhaps some school there? Was it possible to go to school near those Grauž iškės? I: I went. What kind of school was there? We still had a Polish school in our village, in Barčiai. <...> The school was there. But it’s gone now. It was demolished. So I went there. What kind of school was it? Three grades. I went up to the third grade. I went when the Germans were there, I went when... the Soviets came. But THEY taught me [to read – V. Š.], when I was still a little girl at home; there was a disabled man there. And he taught me to read. So I was already reading in Polish at home. So I went to that school, and after a week the war started. The war started in ’39. The Soviets had already come then, in ’40. They taught in Belarusian. Well. So I... but it was easy for me, because I knew the letters, I knew how to read in Polish. So for me, I quickly... but then there was nowhere to go... how... we later moved to an isolated farmstead. Two kilometers—it was a long way to that school.

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Later the Germans came. During the German occupation, we studied in Polish and Belarusian. During the German occupation, And later I no longer went...

One factor that made attending school difficult was the great distance (4), (5). In example (4), the long distance is presented as one of the reasons that gradually led to the decision not to attend an educational institution.

This fact is presented differently in account (5), in which, as often happens in narratives about the past, the present and those days are compared. In the narrative of an informant born after the Second World War, the realities of the previous century are portrayed as more difficult: the distance to the educational institution and adverse weather conditions, such as heavy snowfall, illustrated with a gesture of the hand, are emphasised. The informant contrasts this situation with the present, which he regards as easier, since the difficulties that once existed have, in his view, lost their relevance—children are driven to school by bus:

5. Was there no longer one in Kurmielany?

I: There was one in Kurmielany... there was one in Nigibany.

In Nigibany, aha.

I: Nigibany is another village there. It was a kindergarten, sort of. Three grades there. That's where they went. But in Kamionka there was... eighth grade. Up to eighth grade. In winter, Well, now the neighbour's school bus comes, it comes right into the yard. And I had five kilometres straight to Kamionka. There was this much snow [shows with hand – V. Š.] (V1948, Kurmelionys).

So there wasn't a school in Kurmelionys [school – V. Š.]?

I: There was one in Kurmelionys... there was one in Nigibėnai.

In Nigibėnai, aha.

I: Nigibėnai is another village there. It was a kindergarten, sort of. There were three grades there. That's where they went. But in Akmenynė there was... eighth grade. I went up to eighth grade. In winter. Well, now the school bus comes to the neighbour's, it comes into the yard. And I had five kilometres straight to Akmenynė. There was this much snow [shows with hand – V. Š.].

Work and household duties also deprived children of their childhood and distanced them from school. As mentioned in the article’s introduction, during the Polish occupation, too, educational institutions were viewed unfavourably, economic conditions were poor, and parents did not want to send their children to non-Lithuanian schools (Buchaveckas 1992: 120). Some informants add to this observation.

According to the informants, everyday life in those days consisted of work, household chores, or herding livestock. From an early age, the oldest children (7), especially girls (6), (7), although boys also had this fate (8), were usually required to help their parents work the land (8) or do other tasks, such as spinning or weaving (6)–(7). The respondents state that they had to work (7), and that there was no time left for them to attend school (8).

Example (6), in which childhood is recounted from the perspective of the present, deserves closer attention. The elderly woman declares that she still remembers her school days—she uses the word menu ‘I remember’. She speaks cheerfully about activities at the educational institution, and linguistic changes are also familiar to her: she mentions studying in Polish and Belarusian and alludes to the poor-quality or short-lived teaching in Lithuanian. The mood of the account changes when she speaks of her mother’s decision not to let her go to school. The mother’s position is conveyed through direct speech, with the voice raised, as the respondent’s mother presumably might have done. This scene is presented in the present tense, giving it a vivid, authentic quality and bringing closer an incident that took place many years ago. Today, the woman recalls with a smile her mother’s tear-inducing command to sit down and spin instead of going to school, quoting it as a comic event. This way of structuring the account may testify to a multifaceted rethinking of past events, an understanding of the needs of those days, and a justification of the mother’s actions.

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6. And where did you yourself go to school?

I: I never [not at all – V. Š.] went to school. It was... it was like that... a situation [a matter – V. Š.]. Poland was there too, and they built that school. Well, there was an opening ceremony. So I was in first grade. I remember [I recall – V. Š.] how [that – V. Š.] we were Krakowiaks. We say: “Krakowiakiem z Krakowa cała Polska badźże zdrowa” [with a Kraków-style step from Kraków—may all Poland be well – V. Š.]. And so [thus – V. Š.] they made us all these aprons [aprons – V. Š.] and and [laughs – V. Š.]. I remember [I recall – V. Š.] how [when – V. Š.] we went out from...

So you danced there? Sang?

I: We danced, we danced. We danced and sang. So, only one [one – V. Š.] grade. Then [then – V. Š.] in Belarusian [in Belarusian – V. Š.] only, like [how – V. Š.] they taught, and in Lithuanian... but poorly [weakly – V. Š.]. Mother wouldn’t let me [didn’t allow – V. Š.] . She says: “No. Spin! You need to spin [to spin – V. Š.] and weave” [to weave – V. Š.].” She seats me [sits me down – V. Š.] at the distaff [spindle – V. Š.] and I spin.

Did you want to study?

I: I did. Quietly, asI was crying, she says: “Go, even if you don't come back!” [laughs – V. Š.]. So, so I got dressed and went. Well, there was... nothing to wear... I don't know. I had to spin [spin – V. Š.] . And we spun and wove.

And what about your other brothers and sisters? Did any of them go to school?

I: My sisters, no. One of them... well, none of us really went to school. We went very little. Well, and the brothers. Józef, he went there more often. Boys have more time, after all (M1930, Jurgelionys).

7. And how many languages do you speak yourself?

I: Whatdo we speak? I didn't go to school. You know, living on the land. I had to... I was from [from – V. Š.] herding cows at six years old. There [yes – V. Š.]. From the age of six. Then I sat [in school] for a little while. My aunt died. My brother died. I took up a scythe, there. <...> Then I had my own plough. I went ploughing [to plough – V. Š.]. When we ploughed the land with ploughs. Nowadays, tractors plough, but back then we ploughed with these ploughs, with horses. There. And now, with this charity, whatever you need, you can buy it. And when we had to spin, weave [had to spin and weave – V. Š.], and when Mother was weaving, we'd say: “Mama, if only you'd sew me a little dress out of this.” That's how it was. I grew up with a lot of hardship. A lot of hardship. <...> It all fell to me. So I didn't go to school or anything. Thank God, I understood money and everything else. There are people who don't know money. Whether it's 10 or 20, or something else. And there are such people. Women.There. Well, but<...>Well. I had to work. I had to work (M1936, Valatkiškės).

8. How long did you go there [laughs – V. Š.]. I finished four grades. We didn't have time. The farm was large; Father's land was 20 hectares. There was no one to work. Everyone... everyone worked. Four grades was quite an achievement then! A couple of horses and off we went [laughs – V. Š.]. <...> And that's it: “Come on, come on, sonny.” And I was a brave fellow – “All right, let's go” (V1929, Gojus)⁶.

I: How long did I go [laughs – V. Š.]. I finished four grades. We didn't have time. The farm was large; there were 20 hectares of my father's land. There was no one to work. Everyone... everyone worked. Four grades was quite an achievement then! A couple of horses and off we went [laughs – V. Š.]. <...> And all the time: “Come on, come on, sonny.” And I was so brave – “All right, let's go.”

In the narrative of the storyteller born in 1929 (8), not attending an educational institution is portrayed as a natural social reality of the 1930s. His linguistic expression bears witness to this. The respondent clearly understands that togda “then,” in his childhood, completing four grades was regarded very positively – pochet “an honour.” As narratives (1), (4), (6) and (9) show, most children at the time had even less schooling. The commentary in (8) also presents a perception of those days from the present-day perspective: the narrator does not consider his own achievements praiseworthy at all: skolko tam hodil “how long I went there.”

Moreover, the first-person plural verb forms used in the expressions ni mieli kali “we didn't have time” and vse rabotali “everyone worked” also indicate that such living conditions were familiar to many residents of the study area. In this autobiographical narrative, unlike (6), the man does not elaborate on his feelings, but his attitude towards work is reflected in it, especially in the dialogue with his father. The conversation between father and son is portrayed not

⁶The informant speaks Russian and po prostu.

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not as a prohibition on studying, but as encouragement to toil and work. Thus, it seems that work was understood as a value that outweighed the role of an educational institution.

4.2. Changing attitudes towards school

As discussed in the introduction, school attendance was discouraged by the constantly changing political circumstances, military operations and, as the informants themselves recount, the need to work from an early age. After the Second World War, considerable changes took place in the Šalčininkai region: most of the more prosperous residents left for Poland, and the villages were rapidly depopulated. Moreover, according to V. Stravinskienė, because children from families speaking different languages studied in the same classes at Šalčininkai educational institutions at that time, hardly any teachers were willing to work under such difficult conditions (Stravinskienė 2011: 17). These circumstances further confirm that less than a century ago access to education was extremely limited in many localities. Perhaps this is why the skills people prioritized were learning to sign (1), (12) and count money (7), (12). The following discussion considers examples (9)–(11), which reveal how the importance and understanding of school changed over the years.

Example (9) adds somewhat to the discussion of (8) above. Speaking about school, the interviewee, born in 1933, describes a teacher’s behaviour that frightened her and prompted her to stop attending the educational institution. Since the actions of the person who worked at the educational institution are not described in detail, it would be difficult to discuss the pedagogical training of the time and the treatment of young children. However, what also stands out in this situation is that, having only just begun school, the girl independently decided to give it up and firmly held her position despite her mother’s urging to continue her studies. This situation also shows that school had still not become an established part of everyday life for the residents of the Šalčininkai region, and that the benefits of education were neither understood nor favourably regarded:

9. And did you go to school, ma’am?

I: Well, I went, there was a building like that. The school was far away. I didn’t go to school. I had to go... I had to work. Mother went to the school and sent me there; there was a school in Zawiszańce. I went to school. But then, as for me... it wasn’t good. The teacher frightened me, and I didn’t go back to school. I didn’t even finish a grade. I was stupid. Mother would urge me: “Go, child, you have to.” I wouldn’t go; I’d rather work. I was little then, I went... there was land. So I went and harvested. I was little and did all the work at home. I didn’t go to school. Well, I was stupid; I should have finished at least a little. My brother and sister finished five grades, at least, but I... not even one [laughs – V. Š.] Well, there you are. That’s how I ended up an illiterate person. In the old days. Although there are many older people who are illiterate, nowadays people do get educated (M1933, Gojus)⁷.

And where did you go to school?

I: Well, I went, there was a building like that. The school was far away. I went to school. I went, I must have... I had to work. Mother went to the school and sent me [there – V. Š.]; there was a school in Zavišonys. I went to school. But then, as for me... it wasn’t good. The teacher frightened me there, so I didn’t go back to school. I didn’t even finish a grade. I was stupid. Mother would urge me: “Go, child, you have to.” I won’t go; I’d rather work. I was little then, I went... there was land. So I went and harvested. I was little and did all the work at home. I didn’t go to school. Well, I was stupid; I should have finished at least a little. My brother and sister finished five grades, at least, but I... not even one [laughs – V. Š.]. Well, there you are. That’s how I ended up an illiterate person. In the old days, although there are many older people who are illiterate, nowadays people do get educated.

Next, we see how the interviewee views her actions now, that is, at the time of the narration. She regrets them, calls herself self-critically stupid and illiterate, compares herself with her brother’s and sister’s greater achievements, and places herself among what she considers to be the sizeable group of illiterate people of the 1940s and 1950s. Finally, the situation then is compared with the present, and it is noted that education is more significant nowadays.

⁷The informant speaks Polish and po prostu.

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According to Vincas Martinkėnas, after the First World War parents actively took care of their children’s education. They would open schools, look for someone who could educate the children, and independently provide for that person’s remuneration and meals (Martinkėnas 1968: 52). Similar actions can be found in the narratives presented below, including after the Second World War. In the village, children were taught by a volunteer, whose work the parents themselves paid for with food and other necessities (10). The fact that, despite the unenviable living conditions, when the region passed from one occupation to another and the shortage of schools and teachers was keenly felt, people strove to give children the opportunity to acquire knowledge, suggests that education had come to be regarded as an important and desirable, albeit difficult-to-attain, virtue:

10. I: Well, yes. I used to go to school, I went to a Polish school. <...> After the war there was no school. So, before... when the war started, what kind of school was there? I couldn’t go, I was still little. Before the war. And when the war came, there was no school. When the war was already over, 40... in 40, if I’m not mistaken, it was only in ’44 that I went to first grade. The teacher was this man, Walecki. He was a non-state teacher. He was... a volunteer, as they say. He volunteered himself and... and didn’t receive any help from the state. But the parents of the children who went to school would give him butter, some eggs, whatever... and he lived on that. And there were first and third grades... from first to fourth. There. But maybe he didn’t teach there any longer. That was 40... ’44, ’45, ’46 (V1936, Šalčininkai). I: Well, yes, I used to go to school, to a Polish school. <...> After the war there was no school. So, before... when the war started, what kind of school was there? I couldn’t go, I was still little. Before the war. And when the war came, there was no school. When the war was over, in 40... in ’40, if I’m not mistaken, I only went to first grade in ’44. The teacher was this man, Walecki. He was a non-state teacher. He was a volunteer, as they say. He volunteered himself and... and received no help from the state. But the parents of the children who went to school would give him butter, some eggs, whatever... and he lived on that. And there were first and third grades... from first to fourth. There. But perhaps he didn’t teach there any longer. That was ’44, ’45, ’46 [years – V. Š.].

The theme of post-war education is developed in another narrative (11), whose author was born during the Soviet period; her account reveals that, once the war ended, there were somewhat more opportunities to study. The respondent not only completed school but also had the opportunity to pursue higher education. Perhaps for this reason, the topic arises spontaneously in the narrator’s autobiography more than once:

11. I: Well, this is already the new generation, and the others... you understand, we’ve all moved away. Our village is like that... there’s nothing left here... no collective farms. My dad really wanted me to get an education. He pushed me out, well... <...> I: When, well, when I finished eight grades, my dad really wanted me to get into somewhere. He went... he really wanted me to work. You know, as a station attendant. You stand there with a red cap and that little flag. He was one too. He finished parish school, four grades. But he still... in sixth grade he explained algebra to me, yes, in his own way, of course. Then all those problems, I just... couldn’t understand at all how the water flows in and out, he explained all of it to me, and he had only four years of education. That’s how things were here. But then, well... he went... luckily for me, they didn’t accept girls at the railway school. That’s why... everyone left; there was no work here, and those collective farms eventually fell apart (M1948, Gojus). I: But this is already the new generation, and the others... you understand, we’ve all moved away. Our village is like that... there’s nothing left here... no collective farms. My dad really wanted me to get an education. He pushed me out, well... <...> I: When, well, when I finished eight grades, my dad really wanted me to get into somewhere. He went... he really wanted me to work. You know, as a station attendant. You stand there with a red cap and that little flag. He finished parish school, four grades. But he still... in sixth grade he explained algebra to me, yes, in his own way, of course. Then all those problems, I just... couldn’t understand at all how the water flows in and out, he explained all of it to me, and he had only four years of education. That’s how things were here. But then... he went... luckily for me, they didn’t accept girls at the railway school. That’s why... everyone left; there was no work here, and those collective farms eventually fell apart.

This account brings to light a completely different attitude on the part of the informant’s father toward school attendance. Speaking about her future at the time, the respondent consciously mentions her father’s role

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in her education; this is also emphasised by her linguistic behaviour—the verb to want is repeated often, and is particularly intensified by the modifier very. The father’s desire is described as an active act, since it was he who sought an educational institution for his daughter and encouraged her to study, urged her, pushed her to attend school. The respondent’s account reveals that her father helped her with her studies in sixth grade, although he himself had completed only four grades, and he explained things in his own way, differently from how the information was presented at school.

Attention should be paid to the course of the interview and the manner of narration, which are linked to the importance of extralinguistic factors in autobiographical narrative. When speaking about school, higher education institutions, her own education, that of her parents, children and those around her, the narrator speaks almost without pause; as soon as the conversation turns to another topic, she unconsciously returns to this one. It is assumed that the topic of education must have been a constant focus in the respondent’s environment, and this could not but affect her personality and views. From an early age, school and learning were associated for her with a value to be cherished.

4.3. Autobiographical narrative as a reflection of the subject’s self-esteem

Some of the examples cited make it possible not only to identify the events that determined the number of grades attended, but also to show the effects that limited school attendance may have had on respondents. On the one hand, interviewees’ comments often reflect negative self-assessment and the downplaying of their own abilities. In example (7), when asked about her language skills, a woman says: “What do we know? I didn’t go to school, after all. <...> There are people who don’t recognize money. Whether it’s 10 or 20, or other amounts. There are women like that, too.” Thus, she does not even answer the researcher’s question, instead emphasizing her own and others’ lack of abilities and education. Her narrative seems to show that completing only a few grades directly affected the narrator’s subsequent life and knowledge. In addition, narratives (7) and (9) mention that there are other rural women who found themselves in similar circumstances. Only the narrator of (7) portrays her situation somewhat more positively: “Thank God, at least I understood money and everything else. <...> Well, at least no one will fool me about that.”

The respondent quoted in example (8) also spoke about the number of grades completed and assessed the realities of the time quite objectively: “How far did I go [laughs – V. Š.]? I finished four grades.” The informant in example (4), “What kind of school did I have? Three grades. I went up to the third,” adds the following comment:

12. So how many grades did you finish, ma’am? Three grades? I1: Well, three. What can you say... as they say [laughs – V. Š.]. But can you write in both Polish and Belarusian? I2: The main thing is to recognize rubles and write your surname. And that’s enough. I1: Yes, yes. In Polish and Belarusian. I write letters to Poland now. In Poland, I correspond with my cousin. <...> I still correspond with my sisters even now. At Christmas, or at Easter, she comes to me and I go to her (I1 – M1931, Šalčininkėliai; I2 – M86, Šalčininkėliai). So how many grades did you finish? Three grades? I: Well, three. What can I say... as I say [laughs – V. Š.]. But can you write in both Polish and Belarusian? I2: The main thing is to [meaning money – V. Š.] recognize rubles and write your surname. And that’s enough. I1: Yes, yes. In Polish and Belarusian. I write letters to Poland now. In Poland, I correspond with my cousin. <...> I still correspond with my sisters even now. At Christmas or Easter, she sends something to me, and I send something to her.

Many more similar quotations could be provided. It is evident that the research participants are harsh in their assessments of themselves, conceal themselves, and devalue the achievements they attained in such a difficult period. Example (12) aptly illustrates this: the narrator, who finished three grades, learned to read before the school year began, writes in two languages, and regularly sends correspondence to Poland,

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focuses on the significance of this small number rather than on her abilities.

Finally, a communicative strategy of avoiding a direct answer can be discerned. When asked how many grades she completed, the respondent interviewed in Rimašiai chooses to state the number of grades she did not complete, apparently wishing not to disclose this information. It therefore remains unknown whether she attended two, four, or perhaps six grades:

13. So how many grades did you finish? I: I didn’t finish seven! I see. I: Yes, I didn’t finish seven (M1943, Rimašiai).

On the other hand, education is measured not only by the number of grades completed, but also by skills acquired at school, independently, or in other ways. For example, an elderly woman living in Šalčininkėliai found it quite difficult to recall certain past events. She did not remember dates or the religious rites practiced during her childhood and youth, and was also not entirely sure how many grades she had completed. One might get the impression that the woman simply no longer retains information in her memory that is no longer relevant to her. However, the informant’s answer suggests that what matters most to her is not the education she acquired, but other achievements:

14. Was there a school somewhere? <...> I1: I also went to school in Okolica. <...> I1: It was... up to eight grades... I2: How many did you finish, Mum? Not many grades? I1: I probably did four, but I always got fives (I1 – M92, Šalčininkėliai; I2 – respondent’s daughter). Was there a school somewhere? <...> I1: I also went to school in Sangėliškės. <...> I1: So... the school went up to eight grades. I2: How many did you finish, Mum? Not many grades? I1: I probably did four, but I always passed with top marks.

The narrator’s answer is brief and spoken fairly quickly, such that, when transcribing her words, one is not inclined to insert a comma before the adversative conjunction but. In this way, she seems to downplay the number of grades completed and highlight other things, such as her own merits and ability to learn. This way of constructing the narrative suggests that the woman seeks to present the addressee with as positive a self-assessment as possible, or at least to avoid being diminished in their eyes. It is noteworthy that although the research participant remembers few past events, she does recall receiving the highest grades under the grading system of the time, while the fact of how many grades she completed has not remained in her memory. This only demonstrates that memory is selective and preserves only information that is important to a person for particular reasons. In this case, it is the grades earned, rather than the years spent at school.

The narratives discussed show that informants remember the school as a large building, usually located far away (5), with four grades (3), which no longer exists today (4) and was missed during the Second World War (1)–(4), (10). In the interwar period, children had the opportunity to attend only four grades (3), and their participation in education was limited because they needed to do household chores (8). Leaving an educational institution unfinished or having limited involvement in schooling gives rise to different feelings among respondents: negative self-assessment (6)–(7), (12), avoidance of the topic of education (13), or a shift to another topic (14). Nevertheless, greater efforts were made to obtain an education in the 1940s (5), (11). The following school activities are also identified as

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singing and dancing (6); teachers are remembered: some are depicted as strict (9), while others are described as having contributed, for little pay, to the education of residents in the smallest localities of the Šalčininkai district (10).

CONCLUSIONS

This article sought to investigate how the role and status of the school in the first half of the 20th century are reflected in the autobiographical narratives of older residents from some localities in the Šalčininkai region. The content of the narratives analysed revealed that many informants who grew up in the 1930s–1950s attended only a few grades, while some had no such experience at all. Narrators identify military conflicts and the need to help their parents with household work as the most common factors limiting education. According to them, during the Second World War, educational institutions were seized or burned, and the language of instruction also changed frequently. The narrators also recall that after the war, during the Soviet occupation, educational conditions were difficult because of the district’s declining economic situation and the migration of residents—especially the more affluent: there was a shortage of both schools and teachers. For these reasons, volunteers made up for the lack of teachers, while the parents of pupils took care of their compensation.

It is evident that school gradually became part of the everyday lives of many residents of this region. Earlier, in the 1920s and 1930s, not attending school seemed quite normal and commonplace to them, while completing four grades was a significant event. After the Second World War, respondents’ accounts reveal that educational institutions were accorded greater importance and that efforts were made to participate in the educational process. Today, judging by the narrators’ assessments and interpretations of the past, school is highly important and is one of the values shared by both younger residents and those who, in comparing the present with the past, remember a different image of school from their childhood.

When considering the narrators’ self-perception through the narratives they construct, a rather complex picture emerges. Some respondents tend to undervalue their abilities and achievements, call themselves illiterate, or conceal the number of grades they attended, while others do their utmost to point out other skills they possess, thus seeming to assert their worth despite their limited education.

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VIOLETA ŠVAIKOVSKAJA

THE IMAGE OF THE SCHOOL IN THE AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVES OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE ŠALČININKAI DISTRICT

Summary

The methodological approach to oral history has evolved from a tool for reconstructing historical events into a method that enables an in-depth understanding of the memories, identity, self-perception, and relationship with both the past and present of individuals who have experienced those events. This focus on the individual is closely linked with the theoretical foundations of the Lublin School of Ethnolinguistics. Based on the research

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conducted by Halina Pelcowa and Krystyna Rutkowska, this article highlights the value of oral history in reconstructing the linguistic worldview. Such an approach is especially valuable for studying the Šalčininkai region, which unites Lithuanian and Slavic languages and cultures. The study aims to investigate, using the oral history method, the role of school in the autobiographical narratives of older residents in the Šalčininkai district, the prevailing attitudes towards it, and the cultural and social aspects of the past century reflected in the narratives under study.

An analysis of the narratives of fourteen respondents reveals accounts of school non-attendance and the factors that contributed to this phenomenon. The most commonly cited reasons among respondents who completed only a few grades include the impact of the Second World War and the necessity of working in the household. The obligation to assist parents with home duties affected a significant proportion of informants, particularly the eldest children in their families. Girls were typically responsible for household chores such as spinning or weaving, while boys tended to the household maintenance.

During the interwar period, four-year primary schools were commonly operational, yet the number of respondents who completed these schools was limited. During the Second World War, many schools were either seized or destroyed by fire, resulting in the absence of facilities for formal education. Additionally, there was a shortage of qualified personnel capable of instructing multilingual children, and the language of instruction frequently changed with each new governing authority.

In the first half of the twentieth century, schooling was not widely regarded as a social value, and non-attendance was a relatively common occurrence. However, the informants’ narratives reveal a gradual shift in attitudes and practices regarding education. This transformation is particularly apparent when comparing the scarcity of educational opportunities in the past with the more accessible possibilities available today. Narratives from those who did not attend school often contain elements of self-criticism, reflecting low self-esteem and negative self-assessments regarding their abilities. Nevertheless, some accounts seek to mitigate the limited formal education by emphasising the achievements and merits attained during their time at school.

APPENDIX: INFORMANTS’ CRYPTONYMS

[M1924, Rūdninkai] – woman, born in 1924, Rūdninkai, Šalčininkai district.

[M1930, Jurgelionys] – woman, born in 1930, Jurgelionys, Šalčininkai district.

[M1931, Rūdninkai] – woman, born in 1931, Rūdninkai, Šalčininkai district.

[M1931, Šalčininkėliai] – woman, born in 1931 in Barčiai (Belarus), moved to the village of Šalčininkėliai in 1959, Šalčininkėliai, Šalčininkai district.

[M1933, Gojus] – woman, born in 1933, Gojus, Šalčininkai district.

[M1936, Valatkiškės] – woman, born in 1936, Valatkiškės, Šalčininkai district.

[M1943, Rimašiai] – woman, born in 1943, Rimašiai, Šalčininkai district.

[M1948, Gojus] – woman, born in 1948, Gojus, Šalčininkai district.

[M86, Šalčininkėliai] – woman, 86 years old, Šalčininkėliai, Šalčininkai district.

[M92, Šalčininkėliai] – woman, 92 years old, Šalčininkėliai, Šalčininkai district.

[V1929, Gojus] – man, born in 1929, Gojus, Šalčininkai district.

[V1933, Šalčininkėliai] – man, born in 1933, Šalčininkėliai, Šalčininkai district.

[V1936, Šalčininkai] – man, born in 1936, Šalčininkai, Šalčininkai District.

[V1948, Kurmelionys] – man, born in 1936, Kurmelionys, Šalčininkai District.

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