Arithmetic in the Schools of Artisan Apprentices: distances and approximations between Amazonas and Santa Catarina

Abstract

This article is part of the research into the socio-historical studies of the Artisan Apprentices Schools (AASs) of Amazonas and Santa Catarina; institutions that were part of the professional education system created in 1909, with the aim of producing an historical narrative of the teaching of mathematics in
these institutions, in order to answer the following question: what are the main similarities and differences related to the history of the teaching of arithmetic knowledge in these schools? Based on Chartier’s concepts of representation and appropriation the sources used were decrees and reports issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce (MAIC), the agency to which the schools were subordinate between 1909 and 1930. Convergences and dissonances were identified between the schools with regard to the application of the established prescriptions, as well as the organization and purpose of arithmetic teaching,
contributing to an understanding of how arithmetic was taught in the vocational training offered by these
institutions at the time. Different purposes were observed for this teaching, one geared more towards vocational practice, so that it is characterized as rudimentary knowledge, and the other for the continuity of the student’s school education, in which it takes on the perspective of elementary knowledge. In this way, the results of this study assist in the development of historical knowledge aimed at understanding the structuring and evolution of Brazilian professional education.