Mental test implementation in the National Technical School in the period between 1942 and 1959: An analysis from the questioning of the notions of center and periphery

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze, under the reference of critical studies on transfer of knowledge between center and periphery, how the mental test was implemented in Brazil and came to be used in the students selection process of the Escola Técnica Nacional between 1942 and 1959. The methodology used set up an exploratory-descriptive study in the form of document analysis and has revealed that more than a strictly scientific procedure, the test served to give an appearance of scientific and modernity to the government projects.