A sociologia educacional no Brasil (1946-1971): análise sobre uma instituição de ensino católica

Abstract

The history of the teaching of Sociology in Brazil is characterized both by the presence and absence of that discipline as a mandatory course in secondary, higher, and normal school. Although it was part of the curriculum in the three levels of education for a long time, its development in normal school is still little researched. Thus, one of the general goals of this investigation is to contribute to the historical studies on the institutionalization of Sociology in Brazil, more specifically in the scenery of São José’s normal school in Pelotas, between 1946 and 1971, when its teaching was mandatory. It is important to clarify which teachers, programs, contents, tests, examinations, and course books were then used in order to understand the purpose of this course in that Catholic educational institution. The theoretical framework falls within the field of History of School Subjects and aims to engage in Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts. The sources examined consist of a series of documents referring to the school archives and four course books on Sociology written by Fernando de Azevedo and Amaral Fontoura. The research method used was therefore the documentary analysis, along with an extensive literature review. The main findings show that the teaching of Educational Sociology in the normal school analyzed was associated with the theoretical principles of Christian Sociology, whose thoughts relate to the ideals of the Catholic Church in Brazil. Consequently, there was a significant production of Sociology course books inspired by that current of thoughts, largely represented by Alceu Amoroso Lima and later by Amaral Fontoura.