Social movement and school in Rio Grande do Sul: a study in the fi eld of the history of educational institutions

Abstract

This article concerns a theme in the fi eld of History of Educational Institutions. The focus is regional. The object of the study is the relationship between an important social movement in the history of Rio Gande do Sul state, the railroad movement, and the educational question, more specifi cally the initiatives of the Department of Education of the Cooperative of Railroad Workers of Rio Grande do Sul, culminating in the revival of one of its experiences represented by the Silva Jardim School of Porto Alegre (RS). Through a new look at th history of this school, we seek to reveal the investigative possibilities of this fi eld that we call the history of school institutions. The empiric data presented allow perceiving the trajectory of an educational institution that was created, like many others, based on the educational convictions and the action of the organized movement of railroad workers. This construction reveals the importance of the Catholic Church, which, in approximation with the Cooperative of Railroad workers, wound up defi ning and implementing the pedagogical concept that was in force for a long time and guided the activities of the schools. The trajectory of the institution studied thus makes clear, by a specifi c route, the relationship between the public and the private, which is so present in the history of Brazilian education.