Teaching Careers and Mobility in the Province of Sassari at the Turn of the 20th Century: A Statistical Approach

Abstract

This paper analyzes the careers, entry pathways, and mobility of primary school teachers active in the province of Sassari who began their service between the late 19th century and 1914. The study is based on a sample of approximately 150 teachers, identified through summary records preserved in the Provveditorato fund at the State Archives of Sassari. Compiled in the 1920s for pension purposes, these documents – though partial, as they only cover surnames from F to Z – provide valuable data on appointments, locations, salaries, and length of service. The sample allows for an investigation into key questions about the teaching profession in early 20th-century Sardinia: the geographic origins of teachers (urban centers vs. rural areas), age at qualification, time to secure permanent appointments, and common patterns of territorial mobility. The analysis also incorporates a gendered perspective, relevant in light of the increasing feminization of the profession. The research focuses on a crucial phase in the legal definition of elementary teachers’ status, marked by a generational turnover that coincides with the so-called crisi magistrale (teachers’ crisis). The methodology is quantitative, based on the systematic processing of career summary sheets compiled by Provveditorato staff, rather than detailed prosopographical reconstruction. This approach enables meaningful comparisons with other Italian and international contexts, helping to identify how the teaching profession was configured differently across diverse geographic and socio-economic settings, beyond individual biographies.