The contribution of Rómulo de Carvalho to Portuguese science education (1934-1974) : a humanistic project?

• Main Author: Abreu, Arthur Galamba Fernandes
• Published: University of Leeds 2013
• Subjects: 507.1
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.634198

This thesis examines the contribution of R6mulo de Carvalho to science education in Portugal during the period he taught in the secondary school 'Liceu' (1934-1974). In his home country, Carvalho is a well-known educator, historian and poet, a voracious writer who left a great number of works in these three areas. The scope of Carvalho' s activities in pedagogy is wide. He contributed to curriculum development, wrote textbooks, books on popularization of science, and trained teachers. The thesis seeks to pull these activities together and provides an account on the characteristics and impact of Carvalho's contribution to science education within a professional and political context. The main argument o"fthe thesis is that Carvalho's work on science education can be described as 'humanistic', since he worked for the change of the nature and quality of science education in Portugal in a distinctively 'humanistic' way. Carvalho contributed to the democratization of scientific knowledge in a fascist regime, and gave particular attention to the adequate content and methods of teaching according to pupils' age, interests, and learning condition. The thesis sets out the political and educational context in which Carvalho' s work took place and examines the rationale and impact of some of his key pedagogical activities. An account on Carvalho's contribution to the 194711948liceal reform is provided. The thesis then examines the characteristic and the professional context in which his textbooks were produced. It moves on to scrutinize Carvalho' s views on the pedagogy of laboratory classes with a particular concern with his preferred teaching method. Afterwards, accounts on Carvalho' s work as a teacher trainer, on his broader support in the practice of teaching, and his own performance in the classroom are provided. In the final part, the thesis examines Carvalho' s work on the popularization of science, providing an account of his aims and writing style as well as the significance of this work within the Salazarist regime.