Travelling Pavlovizm: Ideas on Children’s Development and on Preschool Education in Bulgaria and the GDR in the 1950s: Prof. Eva Schmidt-Kolmer and Prof. Sophia Avramova

Bulgarian Historical Review, 53 (2025), No. 3, pp. 85-112
DOI: https://doi.org/10.71069/BHR3.25.KP04

Kristina Popova

Assoc. Prof. Kristina Miroslavova Popova, Ph.D. - Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia 1000, Moskovska Str. 6, Bulgariaö ORCID ID: 0000-0002-2825-7938, E-mail: chadoblg@yahoo.com

Abstract: From the early 1950s onward, the teachings of Ivan Petrovich Pavlov on Higher Nervous Activity were incorporated into scientific policy across the USSR and other Eastern Bloc countries. After the ‘Pavlovian Session’ in Moscow in 1950 this influence extended to fields such as medicine, psychiatry, pedagogy, and sports science. However, the theoretical and practical reception of Pavlov’s ideas varied significantly between countries. These differences were shaped by the prevailing scientific paradigms, the personal backgrounds of individual scholars, and the degree of political pressure they faced. Pavlovism had a notable impact on early childhood education, particularly because the 1950s marked a period of rapid expansion of the preschool system across socialist countries, driven largely by the increasing participation of women in the workforce. This context sets the stage for a comparison between activities and publications of two leading figures in preschool education: Professor Sofia Avramova (1900– 1978) from Bulgaria and Professor Eva Schmidt-Kolmer (1913–1991) from the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Both women were activists in the Communist movement prior to World War II and later held prominent positions in the field of pedagogy. In the 1950s, they both embraced Pavlov’s concept of Higher Nervous Activity as the scientific foundation for preschool pedagogy. Nonetheless, an analysis of their publications reveals substantial differences in their approaches and interpretations of the Pavlovian theory.

Keywords: Pavlovism, preschool education, attachment theory, travelling libraries

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