Mercadores, caixeiros e contadores: a formação de profissionais do comércio e o processo de consolidação do ensino técnico comercial no Brasil (1931-1971)

Abstract

The thesis presented has as its theme the Brazilian Commercial Education. The general objective of the investigation was to analyze the institutionalization processes and the consolidation of this teaching modality at a technical level in Brazil, based on the Commercial Education Reforms and the power relations involved in this process. For this purpose, the study circumscribes elements of Italian and Portuguese commercial education, in order to make visible the constituent elements of these two countries that influenced Brazilian commercial education. The study is inserted in the field of History of Education, based on Cultural History. The tool concepts used in the research were those of Historical Narrative, School Culture, Power Relations and the Action, applied to Educational Reforms. The sources used in the research are related to the different areas of Educational Memory: Political Culture (legislation, official state documents, etc.), Academic / Scientific Culture (scientific articles, dissertations, theses, etc.) and Empirical Culture (documents produced / located by / in school institutions). Among the analyzed legislations, Francisco Campos (1931) and Gustavo Capanema (1943) reforms of Commercial Education stood out. In relation to Empirical Culture, documents from three institutions were analyzed: Fundação Escola de Comércio Álvares Penteado (Fecap) of São Paulo, Escola de Comércio de Porto Alegre and Academia de Comércio de Santa Catarina. The methodology used was the historical-document analysis, with specific procedures for each of the typologies of the sources. The results allowed to identify that the Brazilian Commercial Education has influences of the Portuguese and Italian model. Regarding the emergence of the teaching modality, it was possible to verify that the Brazilian trade classes were officially created from the arrival of the royal family to the Portuguese colony, in 1808. The importance of commerce and the need for professionals for the colonial administration, led to the creation of schools of this type of teaching in the main commercial plazas. The professionalization of commercial practices and the creation of educational institutions are linked to the interests of the State in training, the private sectors, professionals of commerce and, of the institutions themselves created. It was possible to identify that Commercial Education in Brazil was consolidated between 1931 and 1971. The conclusions allow to affirm that commercial education is configured as an educational modality distinct from the other technical modalities, whose consolidation process occurred between the Era Vargas (1930- 1945) and the Teaching Reform of 1971. This specificity can be verified from the power and interest relationships between public, private and institutional sectors, identified in the process of educational reforms.