Introduction to the Content and Context of the Ratio Studiorum: Notes, Quotes and Commentaries on the Jesuit Educational Ideal

Explanatory Notes: The topic I chose for my project was Jesuit Education in Colonial Brazil as outlined in the Ratio Studiorum of 1599. The Ratio atque Institutio Studiorum Societatis lesu {Method and System of the Studies of the Society of Jesus) defined the organization, operation and teaching methodology of Jesuit secondary and higher education institutions during the greater part of the colonial period, which extended from April 1500 when the first Portuguese explorers set foot on the Brazilian shore to July 1822 when Brazil declared its independence from Portugal. The Jesuitic Period encompassed the years between 1549 when the Brazilian Province of the Society of Jesus was established to 1757 when the Order was expelled from Brazil and its colleges closed by edict of the Portuguese Crown. During this period, the Society\u27s colleges dominated the educational landscape. The Ratio Studiorum was a document of broad intent and universal application. Its rules applied to all Jesuit institutions in European countries and their colonies. The expectation of the Society was that its teaching members would faithfully follow the rules prescribed by the document and carry on instruction by its established methods. Farrell (1970) notes that the Ratio was in good part a manual for teachers, who were expected to follow carefully the rules of their respective classes (p. 132). The expectation of fidelity to the Ratio also applied to Brazilian Jesuits. This obligation suggests that its pedagogical guidelines were implemented in Brazil. The goal of the project was to organize and present information about the content and context of the Ratio Studiorum. The content consists of the origin, policies and procedures of the curricula and pedagogy of the tiered Jesuit educational system as expounded in the Ratio. The context refers to authors, publications and intellectual traditions that directly or indirectly influenced the Jesuit Ideal of Education. Given the vast amount of information and diversity of opinions about the history of the Society of Jesus and its educational activities, this compendium is offered as a modest introduction to the Ratio Studiorum. A relatively small number of items of information (i.e. entries) are presented in this work. While more material could have been included, I selected information that was useful in pursuing my research interests and in satisfying my curiosity

Introduction to Jesuit Pedagogy in Colonial Brazil. Humanist Education and the Ratio Studiorum

In 1599 the Society of Jesus approved the Ratio atque Institutio Studiorum Societatis lesu (Method and System of the Studies of the Society of Jesus). The document outlined policies and procedures on the administration, curriculum and teaching practices in its educational institutions in Europe and abroad. Part of the Ratio detailed a secondary program of studies in classical languages and literature. The subject of this study is the program of humane letters and the focus of the analysis is the professional behavior of the Jesuit teacher responsible for its implementation. This paper identifies the actions that a Brazilian Jesuit would have taken when teaching the humanities in a Brazilian college in the 17* and 18* centuries. His pedagogical actions and activities are inferred from the “Common Rules for the Teachers of the Lower Classes” of the Ratio Studiorum

Rui Barbosa and the Argument for Teaching the Natural Sciences in the Brazilian Primary School of the XIX Century

The paper discusses the ideas of Rui Barbosa on the importance of teaching science in the primary schools of nineteenth-century Brazil. Barbosa was one of the great parliamentarians of his time and one of Brazil’s most vocal advocates of educational reform in the nineteenth century. In 1882, Barbosa was directed to provide a written assessment of the1878 educational reform of Minister Leonçio de Carvalho. In the document that resulted, Barbosa states his rationale for why and how the natural sciences should be taught in the primary school. This paper relates Barbosa’s ideas on science teaching and argues that he was influenced by the methodology proposed in Norman Calkin\u27s book, Primary Object Lessons

Second Childhood in Brazil

Karl Lorenz describes his experiences speaking Portuguese as a Visiting Professor of Education in Brazil

Karl Lorenz, Professor Education: First SelectedWorks Site at SHU

Karl M. Lorenz, Professor of Education, describes his experience as the first creator of a SelectedWorks site at SHU at the time that this important service was initiated. He is pleased that all of his scholarly work is now available online and accessible to others. The Readership Reports and maps and the information contained on the Author Dashboard confirm that articles and papers I authored are being regularly accessed not only in Portuguese and Spanish-speaking countries, but also in the U.S. and in many countries the world over. The online dissemination of my work has also resulted in email inquiries, invitations to speak at educational conferences and to participate on editorial boards of several journals

Historical Trends and Emerging Issues in Teacher Education Programs in the United States

US national and state educational polices are advocating for more teacher accountability with respect to student performance, and accrediting agencies are requiring more evidence of teachers’ mastery of subject area knowledge and professional skills. This paper examines some of the significant educational and social issues currently facing basic education and teacher preparation programs in the United States. It addresses numerous topics and focuses on five general issues that confront K-12 education and either directly or indirectly Teacher Preparation Programs. Las políticas educativas nacionales y estatales de Estados Unidos están abogando por una mayor responsabilidad de los maestros con respecto al desempeño de los estudiantes, y las agencias de acreditación están requiriendo más evidencia del maestría de los maestros en el conocimiento del área temática y habilidades profesionales. Este artículo examina algunos de los problemas educativos y sociales importantes que actualmente enfrentan los programas de educación básica y preparación para maestros en los Estados Unidos. Aborda numerosos temas y se centra en cinco cuestiones generales que se enfrentan a la educación K-12 y directa o indirectamente los programas de preparación de maestros

Indirect Power and the Unification of Secondary Education in the Empire of Brazil: 1837-1889

The paper discusses the efforts of the Ministry of the Empire of Brazil to influence programs of studies in secondary schools that were subject to the exclusive authority of the provincial governments. The Court’s inability to directly affect education in the provinces during the Empire (1822-1889) can be attributed to the Additional Act, which amended the Brazilian constitution in 1834. From the founding of the College Pedro II, a model secondary institution in the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro, in 1837, to the founding of the Republic in 1889, the Imperial Court proposed a series of successful and unsuccessful measures to induce change in public and private provincial schools and thereby, indirectly, standardize secondary education throughout the country. Included within this narrative is the PowerPoint presentation given at ISCHE

First Experiences with Object Lessons in Nineteenth-Century Brazil: Origins of a Progressive Pedagogy for the Brazilian Primary School

This paper describes the methodology of Object Teaching and relates how its appearance in Brazil was a transnational phenomenon that achieved its maximum articulation in 1886 with Rui Barbosa’s translation of Norman Calkins’ Primary Object Lessons. It begins with an overview of primary school teaching in Brazil in the second half of the 19th century, followed by discussion of Barbosa’s ideas on promoting change in the schools. Central to the exposition are the ideas contained in a report that Barbosa submitted to the National Assembly in 1882, in which he proposed a new organization of primary school education, suggestions for making the primary school curriculum more comprehensive, and a child-centered methodology that advocated Object Lessons as an alternative to the rigid and verbally-oriented instruction offered in the schools of the period