The period of the so called ’dual monarchy’ (1867-1918) is a well researched time in the questions of the history of education, because we have plenty of sources to lean on. So by now we have several papers written on several questions which are in connection with our research toppic. We think that among other problems, it is worth dealing with the questions how the profession of nursery teaching - which seemed to be a proper profession for men at that time, - became a women’s profession by the end of the century, and how the same process  - with a bit of delay – took place among the elementary school teachers.

To answer our questions on the one hand we used the relevant acts and bills and the accounts that was written by the Minister of Religion and Education year by year and on the other hand we searched for relevant writings in the Hungarian vocational educational press (National Women Education, Journal of Elementary Teachers, Educating Infants) which was formed in our target period. We were looking for the questions in what context the competences of men and women appeares in the texts, and how the jounalist (who were educators of the time) argue in the discussions.

The souces from the ministry gives us the objective and official points of view while the papers transmits the pieces of the process in a more subjective way and can point at the background considerations. These two types of primary sources can complete the picture that could be formed.

In our presentation we would like to concentrate on the contradictions between the judgement and the real process of how nursery and primary teachers’ profession became the ’women’s profession’ in Hungary.