The genesis of paraguay education: the Jesuit contribution

Abstract

Paraguay has borders with Brazil, but many Brazilians are unaware of the culture and history of the neighboring country. The general objective of this article is to reconstitute the genesis of education in Paraguay and to reveal the contribution of the Society of Jesus in that process. The article aims to insert education within the context of social-historical development of that region, considering that the territory where the State of Mato Grosso do Sul is located, within the delimited period, belonged to the Province of Paraguay, under the control of the Spanish crown. The theoretical-methodological option aimed to confer historicity to the analysis, seeking to flee from the dominant approaches. The research was based on the collection of data in documentary and bibliographic sources. We conclude that the pedagogical and educational processes developed in Colonial Paraguay were much broader than just literacy and teaching Spanish. It was actually the institution of cultural, aesthetic and religious patterns of the Europeans to the original peoples.