Legal regulation of adult education in Serbia from 1815 to 1941

In the review of the research we will emphasize, in our opinion, the most important results that we have obtained in course of our work, paying a special attention to the forms of legal regulation that contributed to the biggest extent to the development of theory and practice of adult education and system of formal and non formal education of adults. In this context, we have reviewed both highest files in normative legal hierarchy (constitution law), as well as sub legal files (regulations) and individual files (circulars, decisions, decrees, rules). The goal of this research was to investigate the legal regulations of adult education in Serbia from 1815 to 1941 and explain it in light of social, economical and political factors and to examine and analyze forms, contents and forms of financing of adult education that are encompassed with the legal regulation in this period. The analysis was done from two viewpoints: the viewpoint of historical conditions and circumstances (educational situation, cultural currents already mentioned economical, social and political factors) and the viewpoint of contemporary andragogical theory and practice, with discussion of the interconnection of the aforementioned factors and adult education. Adult education for the needs of work was defined very broadly, so that this term included military education, professional education (education for profession), agricultural and health education, education of women different forms of self educational activities, as well as all forms of spiritual and cultural creativity that were in this period inseparable part of cultural educational work. At the same time, it is important to mention that in this period, the concept of adult education was a concept of popular enlightenment, i. e. popular education. For a review, we will use the historical division that we used in the work itself. We think that this will alleviate the presentation of the results, taking into account that the reason for choice of this division were the biggest political and social events that caused the change of power and new changes in socio-political reality, and therefore also the changes in the legal regulation of adult education. The results that we have obtained have shown that the economical and cultural development necessarily caused the development of state apparatus, its institutions and organs, as well as political and social factors. The inevitable consequence of such a development was a state intervention in the field of adult education that manifested among other things in its legal regulation.