Didactics and its manuals in a transnational perspective

disciplinary boundaries and circulation spaces (Brazil-Portugal-Spain, 1930 to 1970)

Abstract

This article focuses on the transnational history of Didactics, addressing the ways in which it was created and disseminated as a discipline, sometimes in connection with others, sometimes with greater autonomy and specificity in the curriculum of Normal Schools. Such knowledge is at the core of a tradition of ways of understanding and experiencing teaching throughout the 20th century. The centrality of Didactics is attested to by the growing production and circulation of specific manuals, taken here as core sources, written to meet the demands of the educational field and the processes of democratization and expansion of the number of schools. These books are often written and read by people who travel abroad to disseminate knowledge and learn about other experiences; they are cited in titles published in other countries, especially those considered “more advanced.” Contributing to research already developed on Didactics manuals, this work recognizes similarities between titles published in Brazil, Portugal and Spain and gives a transnational perspective to the analysis by organizing a corpus bringing together 32 Didactics manuals (13 Brazilian, 09 Portuguese and 10 Spanish), published between 1930 and 1970, when the discipline was consolidating in these countries, teaching knowledge that is still recognized today, marked sometimes by a set of knowledge on how to teach, sometimes by the ever-present desire to renew this craft.