Nossa Senhora de Lourdes School: history of individuals and practices (Farroupilha/RS, 1922-1954)

Abstract

This article analyzes the historical process of a confessional institution, Nossa Senhora de Lourdes School, from a school culture approach, especially through its subcategories: individuals and practices in primary school. This institution, located in Farroupilha, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, was founded in 1917. The analysis time frame ranges from 1922 – the year in which the institution first moved to a new address – to 1954, when the female high school course was authorized to operate. The fundamentals of this study rest on the theoretical-methodological assumptions of Cultural History and History of Education and mobilizes the concepts of subjects, practices and representation. Methodologically supported by historical documentary analysis and Oral History. The main documents examined throughout the investigation were: (a) written documents: the Heritage Record Book of the Sagrado Coração de Jesus Parish, the institutional record of minutes, final exams of the school and records of the apostolic life of five nuns who were teachers there; (b) photographs and (c) oral history by seven individuals linked to the school (five former students and two former teachers who were nuns). The narration produced made it possible to understand the emergence of the educational institution in that local context and, concerning school individuals – students, teachers, and directors – it was possible to note that students bring with them ethnical and cultural marks which are specific of this location. School practices, analyzed from evidence and representations, allowed us to notice: (a) the classroom as a privileged space for education practices; (b) reading and writing practices as a guiding thread for knowledge; (c) school routines pervaded by discipline, order, and religiosity, and (d) the ways used to assess learning.