Escola complementar de Caxias : histórias da primeira instituição pública para formação de professores na cidade de Caxias do Sul (1930-1961)

Abstract

The present work aims at researching and analyzing the organization and installation of the first public official institution devoted to primary teachers´ formation in 1930 in Caxias do Sul, by that time named Escola Complementar de Caxias, and later renamed Escola Normal Duque de Caxias. The study relied on the possibility of having a look at the institution, through the inventory of the practices from both teachers and students who have experienced the school and have cooperated to the construction of the school culture. The individuals involved in the whole process are historically considered, since they are constituted by practices and discourses. The theoretical support is based on the postulates of the Cultural History and on the conceptual triad proposed by Roger Chartier: appropriation, representation and practice. The documental analysis has been done through the interpretation of the documents produced by the institution, the reports from the stewardship and also the files from Arquivo Histórico Municipal João Spadari Adami. The text is organized into three chapters: it starts with some points on the city of Caxias do Sul, taking historical aspects into consideration, since the arrival of the first immigrants until the creation and installation of the school in 1930 and contemplating the history of education in the city. After that, I examine the people involved in the schooling process, giving emphasis to the role of principals, teachers and students. Finally, it has been focused on the elements of school culture, mainly the practices related to knowledge and discourses implied in the schooling process. Initially, the school practices have demonstrated traits of the new school and medical discourses, and then, from 1939 on, they have indicated the strong influence of the nationalist discourse. The expansion and affirmation of the public school in the region has happened vigorously due to the empowerment and qualification on the teacher´s formation and, above all, the installation of Escola Complementar de Caxias as a turning point to teacher´s professionalization both in the city and the region, showing, this way, the feminization of the teaching