Spatial conceptions and pedagogical practices: an analysis of referential architectural works in São Paulo's public education

Abstract

In order to evaluate the role of school buildings on the shaping of individuals and citizens, this research aims to make a historiographical study of the relationship between architecture and education, centered in São Paulo's public production since the Convênio Escolar (1949), covering the Instituto de Previdência do Estado de São Paulo (IPESP, 1959-1966), the Fundo Estadual de Construções Escolares (FECE, 1960-1976), the Companhia de Construções Escolares do Estado de São Paulo (CONESP, 1976-1987), and the Fundação para o Desenvolvimento da Educação (FDE, 1987-). By means of methodological procedures aimed primarily to collect, analyze, and synthesize bibliographic and iconographic material, it will be developed successive approximations to the subject, supported by the analysis of the context and public policies related to education. A comparative historical method will be applied to approach the most representative works of each period studied, to establish a critical overview, and to infer considerations about connections between architecture and education. The research aims to assist in understanding the processes associated to the statement of Brazilian architecture, as well as the historical, social, political, economic, and cultural contexts that engendered it. For evaluating implications of spatial conceptions and pedagogical practices in a key period to the establishment of public policies in São Paulo's state, it additionally addresses the development, definition, and consolidation of pedagogical practices adopted contemporaneously in public education.