Baťovy školy práce – Culík Končitíková Gabriela (2025)

This Czech-language book brings together the now unobtainable volumes Baťovský Zlín – mladé ženy and Baťovský Zlín – mladí muži. It describes the establishment and operation of the Baťa Schools of Work, whose distinctive approach to educating young people combined formal education with compulsory factory work and life in a boarding house. Their primary aim was not simply to prepare future specialists, but to support the development of students’ personalities and character. Alongside vocational subjects, students explored self-worth and the meaning of life and work, the importance of relationships, the fundamentals of life balance, communication, psychology, management principles and financial literacy. Every student was expected to become financially independent of their family and build a regular financial reserve. The book describes students’ lives in the boarding house, factory and school, and includes excerpts from several rare interviews with graduates as well as dozens of period photographs of specific alumni. These materials offer a unique insight into their everyday student lives. The book also provides inspiration for transforming the education of young people so that they grow into healthy, self-confident and socially responsible individuals.