Mita Petrović’s chemistry textbook as a framework for learning chemistry in secondary schools in Serbia in the 19th century

Abstract

The first secondary-school chemistry textbooks in Serbia dating from the second half of the 19th century. With aim to gain insight into chemistry knowledge that was presented to secondary school students in Serbia in the second half of the 19th century, and didactic organization of the textbooks from that period, we analysed secondary-school chemistry textbook written by Mita Petrović. The first edition of this textbook was printed in 1883. Mita Petrović (1848–1891) worked at the Serbian Teacher training School in Sombor, where he taught mathematics and natural sciences. His textbook Chemistry for Secondary Schools, based on Prokop Prohaszka and Others, was used more than 20 years and shaped the way of thinking in chemistry among the generations of students. In order to achieve the set goal, we needed to develop a methodology for analysing and evaluating the quality of this textbook within the context of the period when it was created. The contents of Mita Petrović’s textbook are organised into two sections: inorganic chemistry and organic chemistry. The material related to inorganic chemistry is interspersed with segments of material in which general chemical principles and laws are reviewed. The organic compounds are systematised in accordance with homologous series. Numerous structural and organizational components are identified in the textbook. Also, the indicators of didactic organisation of a textbook, such as explanations of scientific terms, a functional use of illustrative means of expression and variety of the examples used are present in the analysed textbook.