Secondary Education, in a comparative perspective, in São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, and the Distrito Federal: statistics, legislation, and historiography (1942-1961)

Abstract

This is a presentation of results of comparative investigation on secondary education in SP, MG, RJ, and the DF from 1942 to 1961. The sources used, in dialogue with the reference bibliography, were yearly statistics of the IBGE, web portals of theses and dissertations, scientific periodicals, and public collections. The existence of demographic, economic, and social pressures on secondary education were perceived throughout Brazil, most notably in SP, MG, RJ, and in the DF, in which the expansion was carried out under the predominance of private initiative through state support. In SP, there was a balance between private institutions linked to civil society and to the Catholic Church. In MG, RJ, and the DF, Catholic initiative predominated. State legislation related to secondary education was significant, with some autonomy in relation to Brazilian legislation, at least up to 1930, at which time centrality was imposed by the New State (Estado Novo). There are a large number of studies available in historiography on Secondary Education, especially regarding MG and SP, above all, theses and dissertations, with a concentration on the topic of History of School Institutions.