The Initial Training of Lyceum Teachers in Portugal (1930-1969)

The Case of the Lisbon Normal Lyceum (Pedro Nunes)

Abstract

The study focuses on the initial training of secondary school teachers, from the growing assertion of the Estado Novo’s legitimacy in education ” marked by the closure of the higher normal schools attached to the universities (1930) and the creation of the pedagogical sciences sections within the faculties of arts ” to their reorganization (1969), driven by the increasing social demand for secondary education.

The study addresses the teacher training model based on the integration of three components: scientific training in the subject area to be taught, scientific preparation in the psychopedagogical field, and teaching practice. It considers the admission requirements and the internship model as a central dimension of professional training. The analysis focuses on the pedagogical conferences conducted by the trainee teachers.

The study draws on legal regulations and other available archival documentation, along with a set of texts of various kinds consulted in different education and teaching periodicals, which were subjected to documentary and content analysis.

Two series of conferences were established ” 1930-1940 and 1957-1969 ” which made it possible to identify themes and issues regarded as central to initial teacher training, particularly through the activities of the internship centers within schools, outlining certain lines of thematic continuity as well as points of development.

Keywords: Estado Novo; teacher training; pedagogical practice; secondary education.