Session Information
Session 7, Historical Perspectives on Educational Provision (Part 1)
Papers
Time:
2005-09-09
09:00-10:30
Room:
ENG
Chair:
Ulrike Mietzner
Contribution
We intend to analyze in this paper the processes of implementation and modernization of the didactical apparatus in a moment of great expansion of the elementary school in Brazil, mainly the decades of 1950 and 1960. The core theme here is the progressive "civilization" of students through the use of the school uniform, that happened at the same time of teachers' "civilization" through the modern materials for the use in classroom. This spreading of modern school apparatus didn't happen only by the imposition of the State on the public school system - teachers as a professional category engaged in this project and collaborated to it. The largest teachers' association in S. Paulo (Teachers' Center of S. Paulo - CPP) printed in its journal campaigns to convince teachers of the advantages of a modern school and its visible marks - an example of this was the "Conga" sneakers campaign in 1958, that was originally a commercial alliance between the CPP and the Alpargatas Industry but was presented with an educational and social interest, aiming the popularization of the use of shoes among the inhabitants of the rural zones and suburbs. These sneakers were, at that moment, something new: fabric shoes which were much more affordable than the traditional leather ones. These sneakers were presented as a significant contribution to improve the people's health and quality of life, being also a solution to the problem of the children that couldn't go to school because of the lack of shoes. It is important to note that de decade of 1950 was a period of great international influence in Brazil, through the actions of the American States Organization and UNESCO against illiteracy and, as a part of it, to a better preparation of public teachers. The general idea at that time was to build a new mentality towards education and the "modern and efficient" school. These politics had several interpretations, according to the particular interests and logic of the different social fields - the complex combination of these significations contributed to build practices of schooling. Bourdieu's field theory structures this analysis, because it allows us to work with the dimensions of the teachers' habitus (as it can be seen in the characteristic "lack" of economical interest of the "Conga" campaign). We can also see how market interests are translated to the educational field as technical reasons and the multiplicity of factors that influenced the rising of a certain school culture in that period. It is particularly interesting to visualize an intermediate level of the processes that constituted the mass school - neither the public administration nor the classroom, but the professional associations that are building an school image linked to a representation of the profession. To understand the specific characteristics of the educational press we use the elaborations of Roger Chartier about the culture appropriation practices and the concept of representation. This research intends to present information to compose a cultural map of school, researching objects and school practices, using as main sources journals in education, pictures and the legislative framework of the period.
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