Czterdziestopięciolecie działalności dydaktycznej i naukowej Profesora Rodiona Mochnackiego

Abstract

September 1970 will mark forty-fivе years of the educational work of Rodion Mochnacki, Extra-Ordinary Professor at the Teachers Training College in Cracow, who for many years has held the post of Head at the Department of Regional Geography and at the Institute of Geography-Teaching Methodology, in 1952-1959 the post of Dean at the Faculty of Geography and Biology, and in 1959-1968 that of Pro-Rector of that College. Rodion Mochnacki studied geography and history at the Jagiellonian Univeraity in Cracow, where in 1924 he took his Ph. D. degree; directly afterwards, he began teaching at secondary schools. Ha was a highly active and creative teacher: he published a number of works pertaining to geography-teaching in schools, took part in reforming the curriculum of this discipline, edited text-hooks and atlases. In the years of Nazi occupation ho took an active part in the conspirational teaching system in Cracow. After the war, he resumed his didactic activities, lecturing in Craoow’s Universsity and Colleges (College of Social Sciences, Jagiellonian University, and since 1948 the Teachers’ Training College). For many years this distinguished educationalist was the Head of the centre for geography-teaching methodology at the Board of the Cracow School District, and his activities in schools of higher education were centred round prohlems of methodology above all. Apart tram this, he lectured in world regional geography. He worked on various theoretical problems in the field of geography-teaching methodology, showing how important it is to extend the research on this subject. With a group of his former students he carried out investigations on geography teaching in schools of different type, founded on an experiment in paadagogics. He devoted muoh of his attention and a number of publications to the methodology and organisation of teacher-training in extra-mural tuition. He participated also in preparing the programmes for geography-teaching, publishing several textbooks for geography students. Simultaneously he has been active in the organizational field, especially in the academic teachers’ schooling. Among his other activities, he was in charge, in his capacity of Pro-Rector of the Teachers’ Training College, of the reorganization of extra-mural tuition at the College; he took part in a great many scientific committees and programme-organizing teams concerned with educational practice; for many years now he has been in charge of the nation-wide Centre of Methodology for extra-mural adult students. The outstanding feature of Prof. R. Mochnacki's educational and organizational activities, supported with his research work in geography-teaching methodology, is the great care he takes of the proper training of teachers.