The National School and the Teaching of the Mother Tongue in Azerbaijan at the Beginning of the Twentieth Century: A Historical and Pedagogical Analysis

This article examines the educational and pedagogical ideas of Mahammad Amin Rasulzade, one of the founders of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, with particular emphasis on his views concerning the national school, mothertongue instruction, teacher training, religious education, and the broader social role of educational institutions at the beginning of the twentieth century.Drawing on Rasulzade's publicistic articles published primarily in Açıq Söz and İ qbal, the study analyzes how he interpreted the relationship between education, national identity, state policy, and cultural development under the conditions of Tsarist imperial rule.The article demonstrates that Rasulzade regarded education as one of the principal foundations of national survival and progress.According to his pedagogical thought, schools for Azerbaijani children and youth should be organized in the national language, shaped by the national spirit, informed by the religious and moral values of the people, and open to the teaching of secular sciences, history, and modern knowledge.He argued that such a system required not only well-designed curricula but also qualified teachers capable of implementing them in a way that combined intellectual progress with cultural continuity.Particular attention is given to Rasulzade's analysis of teacher-training institutions, mosque schools, madrasas, educational societies, and the proposed reform of religious education.The study shows that he considered the imperial educational policy toward Azerbaijani Muslims to be deeply contradictory and unjust, since it restricted mother-tongue education, limited national development, and often subordinated pedagogical considerations to political interests.At the same time, his writings reveal a clear and constructive alternative: the establishment of national schools and seminaries capable of educating a generation that would be knowledgeable, morally grounded, socially conscious, and loyal to its language, culture, and homeland.The article concludes that Rasulzade's educational ideas remain relevant for contemporary debates on language policy, teacher education, national curriculum development, and the role of schooling in preserving cultural identity while participating in modern global progress.