Em nome da ordem e do progresso: a formação profissional no percurso da Escola de Aprendizes Artífices à Escola Técnica Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (1909-1971)

Abstract

This dissertation proposes to investigate the vocational training of young adults for the world of work carried out in the Institution whose names in the delimited temporal cut-off (1909- 1971) were: Escola de Aprendizes Artífices, Liceu Industrial, Escola Industrial, Escola Industrial Federal e Escola Técnica Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (School of Artificer Apprentices, Industrial Lyceum, Industrial School, Federal Industrial School, and Federal Technical School of Rio Grande do Norte). The documental corpus of investigation includes legislation, student enrollment registrations, minutes of meetings, reports, employees’ files, correspondence, and printed matter. In the methodological procedures, it was used documental, bibliographic, and iconographic investigation, questionnaire administration as well as interviews. The theoretical-methodological orientation for the source analysis is specially based in Justino Magalhães’s, Paolo Nosella’s and Ester Buffa’s (2009) reflections. Relating the history of an educational institution means to understand and clarify the processes and social commitments as an instituting condition of regulation and normative maintenance, taking into account the behaviors, representations, and projects of subjects in relation to material and sociocultural reality of context. The Decree No. 7.566 of July, 23, 1909, created the investigated educational institution whose goal was to train workers and foremen for local/state industry. Considering this purpose, the investigation made evident three stages in the institutional historical trajectory: the first phase (1909-1942) encompasses the creation of the School of Artificer Apprentices and the Industrial Lyceum, a period for the development of social nature education along with craftworks elementary instruction, and training for the sustainment of order; the second one (1942-1963) is referred to as a transitional phase; it essentially includes the period of the Industrial School of Natal, when basic courses of the industrial senior high school are offered and there is a combination of training for the social protection with changes towards the official purpose of the Institution; the third one (1963-1971) comprises the final phase of the Industrial School of Natal, the time period of the Federal Industrial School, and the initial phase of the Federal Technical School of Rio Grande do Norte when, under the national-developmentalism context, technical courses were established, modifications in teaching staff and student body were introduced as well as in the physical institutional structure. With the verified changes, the study concludes that contradiction between training given in the School and the needs of labor market were gradually eliminated, and possibilities of professional insertion for alumni were expanded.