At the beginning of the 20th century, a new approach to the study of the history of education began to emerge, still aimed primarily at the training of primary school teachers. Alberto Pimentel Filho prepared Lições de pedagogia geral e de história da educação [ Lessons in General Pedagogy and History of Education, 1900 ] , and Sílvio Pélico Filho published a substantial, segmented compendium, História da instrução popular em Portugal (History of Popular Education in Portugal, 1923), both intended as textbooks for the escolas normais where they taught.

From the same period, three scholarly works on the history of education are noteworthy, serving primarily ideological and pragmatic purposes. These works provided resources for reflecting on the past while simultaneously contributing to decision-making in the present: A. J. Alves dos Santos authored A nossa escola primária: o que tem sido, o que deve ser [Our primary school: what it has been, what it should be ],1905; Alfredo Filipe de Matos published O passado, o presente e o futuro da escola primária portuguesa [The past, present, and future of the portuguese Primary school], 1907; and M. A. Ferreira-Deusdado produced Educadores portugueses: bosquejo histórico de puericultura [Portuguese educators: a historical outline of childcare], 1909.

With the abolition of the Escolas Normais Superiores in 1930 and the establishment of the Course in Pedagogical Sciences at the three Faculties of Arts for secondary school teacher training, a semester-long course titled History of Education, School Organisation, and Administration was introduced. Its syllabus closely mirrored the history of ideas taught to prospective primary school teachers, resulting in very limited scientific output. Despite the reforms to the Faculties of Arts in the late 1950s, no significant changes were made to the teaching of the history of education, which continued to focus on the history of school institutions and pedagogical doctrines. However, some interest in the study of 19th-century educational reforms and related institutions began to emerge within the disciplinary field of Portuguese Cultural History.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | (Pdf)