New school laws at the state level enabled the reform of the existing educational system, and the provincial versions of the primary school laws after 1870 heralded a new period in the development and modernisation of primary education in Istria. The adoption of the state school laws in 1868 and 1869 established the basic principles for the role of education in society and laid the foundation for the later development of the state education system. The school laws systematically organised and regulated socialisation, educational processes, and the learning processes of the next generation. The Istrian peasant, presented with a fait accompli, was obliged to send his offspring to school. The consequence of these systematic legislative acts was the gradual modernisation of society and the laying of the foundations for the systematic improvement of primary education in Istria. The aim of this thesis is to examine, analyse and determine the role of state legislation in the creation of modern Croatian education in Istria from the enactment of the "basic" school laws until the beginning of the First World War. The work will attempt to answer the question of the extent to which the legal regulations were implemented and how they were realised in Istrian schools. It is assumed that the legal regulations gradually penetrated the Istrian school system after the enactment of the state laws and that even after the enactment of the state laws there were obstacles that prevented their full implementation. The problems faced by Istrian education included the shift of financial management to the municipalities, the lack of trained staff and the challenge of introducing the Croatian language. All this happened at a time when there were conflicts of interest between the Croatian and Slovenian national revival movements and Italian irredentism. The issue of the language of instruction was crucial in a multilingual and multiethnic region like Istria not only for the realisation of the irredentist goals of the Italians, but also for the development of the educational system for all communities entitled to compulsory education. The mother tongue became an indicator of the number of Croatian people, but also of the powerlessness of the population of the time in the face of the smaller but economically stronger and more stable ruling Italian group. The struggle for the Croatian language in public administration and in schools took the form of socialisation processes for the Croatian majority population in Istria, which had a national focus within the framework of the enacted state laws. In a way, this directly contributed to the creation of Croatian primary schools. The results of the Croatian national integration process reached the Croatian population through political, social and cultural activities. Despite its slow pace, it led to changes in the existing conditions and gave rise to a Croatian civic intelligentsia that addressed the existing problems. Schools played a key role in the linguistic, cultural and ideological education of young people and became a decisive factor in the struggle for equality. In the creation of the Croatian educational system in Istria, the School Society of the Society of Saints Cyril and Methodius for Istria played a decisive role. The Society emerged as one of the leading proponents of the national integration and modernisation movement, resisting increasing pressure from the Italians and their Lega Nazionale. It built a network of Croatian primary schools where they were most needed. From 1893 to 1918, the Society opened a total of 54 private primary schools and 10 kindergartens. Teachers' associations were also founded around its journals. Their aim was to strengthen and professionally train Croatian teachers. The contribution of "Naša sloga", the first Croatian newspaper in Istria and the Kvarner Islands, was also indispensable. It played a key role during the process of revival and national integration in affirming and developing Croatian society in Istria, which resisted Italianisation. The result of the fundamental school laws was the introduction of compulsory education for all students between the ages of 6 and 12. A Croatian primary school system was created in Istria, which increased the number of Croatian primary schools and thus the number of trained teachers. Furthermore, the implementation of these school laws established the basic principles for the role of education in society and thus laid the foundation for the later development of the state education system.