This book examines the education provided in Greece by schools belonging to Catholic monastic teaching orders, focusing on the specific example of the school run by the Order of Saint Joseph of the Apparition in Athens during the second half of the 19th century. The history of this particular school is of special interest, as it was the first Catholic monastic order to secure a license to operate a girls’ school in the Athens area—doing so within a legal framework regarding female education that was still quite ambiguous. The study centers on the educational, political, and cultural issues that arose around the school’s operation during the second half of the 19th century, set against the backdrop of the development and structuring of the newly established Greek state and its educational system.
The concept of “enclosed” education refers both to the inherently insular nature of Catholic schools in general and to the defensive stance the Saint Joseph school was compelled to adopt due to its often difficult coexistence with state institutions.