Hour Zero – Educational Sciences in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe

The book explores the ideologization, political instrumentalization and sovietization of educational sciences in Eastern and Central Europe following World War II, with a particular focus on the 1950s. Amid the revolutionary transformation of communist society and under Moscow's influence, educational sciences were positioned as instruments for shaping the "New Soviet Man". However, this process of subordinating science to political-ideological objectives was not uniform across the Eastern Bloc. The authors examine the tensions between continuity and rupture in the emerging "new order of science," navigating the interplay between national traditions and the Soviet model of "best practices." The book employs a transnational comparative approach, drawing on methodologies for analysing scientific transfer and policy of borrowing-lending. Through discursive and content analysis of primary sources it provides a nuanced understanding of how educational sciences were reshaped under Soviet influence.