VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN BRAZIL.
Educational activity in Brazil has been most marked in the field of vocational education. A special commission, appointed by the Director General of Public Instruction, consisting of five experienced teachers in subjects of this nature, was instructed to formulate courses for the State schools which were to be established by law in the Federal District. They were to serve as models for subsequent schools of the same character in the several States and Territories. The commission, of which Senhor Coryntho da Fonseca was the spokesman, after several months of conference and personal visits of inspection to the vocational schools already existent in the several centers, especially in Sao Paulo, and after hearing reports from active teachers in the subjects, presented its report in March, 1919. It was approved by the Vice President, serving ad interim for the President, and was recommended by him to be put into actual operation pending its formal enactment into law by the Congress.
The report as finally presented rested upon four main considerations:
1. The State, in the field of instruction, has primarily an educational function and only secondarily a vocational one. Courses in shop training, designed to awake and develop an aptitude in the pupil for a particular industry, must of course enter into any well-rounded scheme of education. This in turn must be designed to promote a general and not a specialized technical education which will introduce both sexes to industrial and commercial life. For practical reasons of expense, if for no other, the State should not be expected to prepare pupils for specialized vocations.
2. The task of the commission being to deal with the branches of vocational training best adapted to give the pupil a broad outlook upon general industrial activities, the commission judged it best to confine its recommendations to manual work of construction in wood, metal, and plastic material. In methods as well as content of instruction it is emphasized that such work must proceed along the lines of teaching by example. In such teaching much that is old and fundamental must be stressed by way of throwing light upon the elements of the training that are common to all branches of manual arts.
3. In its decision to urge a general attitude toward industrial training rather than specialized methods peculiar to one branch, the commission was confirmed by the testimony of all except one of the directors of the vocational institutions in Brazil. Only one advocated specialized instruction. Written representations of the faculties of the vocational schools Alvaro Baptista, and Souza Aguiar, in Rio, further confirmed this view.
4. The results of vocational instruction in Brazil as actually observed within the last few years convinced the commission—
(a) That unspecialized training best provided the foundations for good citizenship as well as industrial training.
(b) That by this training the latent technical aptitudes of the student were more effectively revealed and developed, as shown by steady increase in salaries of the graduates, than was the case with the apprentices who had been trained exclusively in one line.
(c) That the superior adaptation of the graduates of the general vocational school had been shown by tables giving information as to their progress in skill and value to their employers. These tables were naturally incomplete, but their general drift was undeniable.
(d) That the chief cause of the poor attendance upon the vocational instruction for boys is the prevalent idea that the vocational school is an index of lower social standing, enrolling only those boys that can not obtain any other means of education. Thus the vocational school is sharply differentiated socially from other types of schools. It suffers from being regarded as preeminently the school to train workmen. The commission had in mind the purpose of preparing public sentiment for the passing of this traditional prejudice when it attempted to inspire a just estimate of manual work in the public mind and to organize such courses as would adequately carry out this idea.
(e) That the vocational school must be established as a direct continuation of the primary school, ministering to the innate tendency in the child to realize things with his own hands; that thus the traditional and depressing prejudice mentioned would be counteracted, as time would not be given for it to intervene in the child’s mind. The workshop, thus articulated with general training, would come to be the fulfillment of an aspiration, inculcating as well the love of work and respect for it.
(f) That the success of the projected schools depends largely upon the cooperation of the industrial firms of Brazil, which should be appealed to for their sympathy and for the encouragement of their adolescent employees to attend these schools; that the granting of daylight hours to employees to attend such schools, as has been done in England and France, with the consequent improvementin the physical and mental condition of the pupils, is a step to be commended to all employers as patriotic citizens.
The salient provisions of the report of the commission are as follows:
Article 1.The technical and vocational instruction maintained by the prefecture of the Federal District has for its aim to complete the primary elementary instruction by means of a general technical education leading the youth of both sexes preferably to industrial and commercial activities.Art.2.Technical and vocational instruction shall be given in the following types of schools:(a) Primary vocational schools.(b) Secondary vocational institutes.(c) Secondary agricultural schools.(d) Vocational finishing courses.(e) Normal school of arts and crafts.Types (a), (d), and (e) shall be day schools exclusively; types (b) and (c) shall offer boarding accommodations for pupils from distance.Art.3.In schools of types (a) and (d) instruction shall be imparted predominantly in the recitation rooms.Art.4.The courses of the primary vocational school for boys shall include the following subjects:(a) The usual subjects of the complementary course of the primary schools, with fuller development of the studies of physics, chemistry, natural history, hygiene, and mathematics.(b) Modeling and free-hand and mechanical drawing.Art.5.The courses of the primary vocational school for girls shall include:(a) The usual subjects of the complementary course of the primary schools, with fuller development of the studies of hygiene and domestic economy.(b) Modeling and free-hand drawing.Art.6.The subjects of the vocational finishing courses shall include:(a) In the commercial course, Portuguese and civic instruction, commercial geography, French and one other modern language, English or German, to be chosen by the pupil, commercial correspondence and accounting, typewriting, stenography, and arithmetic.(b) In the industrial course, Portuguese and civic instruction, arithmetic, and geography, elements of applied physics, chemistry, and natural history, accounting as related to the particular vocation selected by the pupil, free-hand and mechanical drawing.Art.7.The vocational finishing courses are designed primarily for young men already employed in industry and commerce, who seek to improve their vocational knowledge.Art.8.The two types of vocational finishing schools may be taught conjointly in the same building.Art.9.Teachers and assistants imparting instruction shall be appointed as follows:(a) There shall be a teacher and so many assistants for each branch as shall be made necessary by the attendance.(b) For the instruction in technical accounting related to each vocation there shall be employed special teachers only where 15 or more students are enrolled for each course, and they shall receive salaries only when actually teaching. The same teachers shall be in charge of the various related branches of technical instruction in the shops.Art.10.The courses in the secondary vocational institutes for boys shall include—(a) The elementary and middle instruction for pupils who have not had them.(b) Physical exercises and military drill.(c) Vocal and instrumental music.Art.11.The courses in the vocational institutes for girls shall include—(a) Primary instruction for such pupils as have not had it.(b) Vocational drawing and modeling.In the vocational institutes the elementary primary instruction shall be followed by an intensive course in manual arts, such as sloyd, wood carving, and weaving in straw, vine, and bamboo.Art.12.The primary vocational schools shall also offer a commercial course consisting of the following subjects:(a) Commercial correspondence and accounting.(b) Typewriting and stenography.(c) French and one other modern language, English or German.Art.13.Instruction in the workshops of vocational schools for boys shall be given first in a general compulsory course of three years, during which the pupil shall in turn be trained in the workshops in cold and molten metals, including foundry work and wrought-iron work. The pupil shall then be allowed to specialize in any workshop or section at his choice. The pupils of the vocational institutes for boys shall likewise take a compulsory course in horticulture and kindred subjects.Art.14.The agricultural schools and the vocational institutes shall require attendance on the courses of civil training and agronomy, with optional specialization in any line selected when the general course is completed.Art.15.In the vocational schools and institutes for girls there shall be a compulsory general course upon the following practical subjects: Cooking, laundering, ironing and starching, housekeeping, sewing and dressmaking. Along with this general course the pupils shall attend certain vocational courses chosen by themselves from sewing, lace making, and embroidery, artificial-flower work, etc.Art.16.For admission to the schools of vocational instruction the following shall be the legal requirements as to age:(a) For vocational and agricultural schools, minimum age 13, maximum 21.(b) For the vocational institutes for boys, minimum age 10, maximum 13.(c) For the vocational institutes for girls, minimum age 7, maximum 13.(d) For the normal school of arts and trades, minimum age 14, maximum 25.(e) For the vocational finishing courses, minimum age 13.Art.17.For matriculation in the vocational and agricultural schools and the finishing courses the candidates shall submit to an examination upon the subjects taught in the middle course of the primary school. In the commercial courses of the finishing schools, in the girls’ schools, and in the normal school of arts and trades, the entrance examination shall be upon the subjects of the final examination of the primary schools.Art.18.The school year in the entire system of vocational instruction, with the exception of agricultural schools, shall begin March 1 and close November 30. The period from December 1 to December 24 shall be devoted to examinations and to school exhibitions. In the agricultural schools, because of their nature, the pupils shall have 60 days of annual vacation granted to them in groups by the director in accordance with the demands of the agricultural seasons and labors.Art.19.The courses of the primary vocational schools, of the institutes, and of the finishing courses shall be divided into periods of 4 to 5 years; the finishingcourses into periods of three years; and the commercial course of the schools for girls into a period of two years.Art.24.The officials of inspection of technical and vocational instruction shall draw up annual statistics of attendance and of the results of the vocational instruction upon the bases of data furnished by the directors of the several schools and, so far as possible, by employers and by the former pupils who have themselves left the schools. These statistics shall relate to the following topics:(a) Number of pupils placed, with indication of the establishments where they are employed.(b) Initial salary obtained by them as related to the period of schooling.(c) Technical aptitude revealed by former pupils and their capacity of adaptation to the various industrial works.(d) Progress of increase in salary of former pupils.(e) All available information as to individual former pupils with regard to the advantages or disadvantages of their schooling in the decision of economic life, and their success in it.Art.25.All posts of assistants and substitutes in the vocational system shall be filled by competitive examinations.(a) For the assistant in drawing in the vocational schools in institutes for boys, the examination shall be tests in drawing, in artistic training, and in pedagogical fitness.(b) For the filling of the same post in the vocational schools and institutes for girls the examination shall be tests in writing at dictation, in decorative composition, in embroidery and lacework, and in pedagogical fitness.(c) The competitive test for filling the post of substitutes in shopwork shall be upon vocational design of an assigned theme for shopwork and the execution of the same.Art.26.The teachers in vocational instruction shall be named by means of promotion of the assistants and substitutes.Art.27.There shall be a substitute for every group of 20 pupils in shopwork, and an assistant for every class of 30 pupils.Art.28.When any primary school is transformed into a vocational school there shall be annexed the elementary primary course in which shall be taught intensively the manual arts prescribed for the elementary instruction of the institutes, but the pupils shall attend the shopwork of the vocational courses only when they have completed the work of the middle course and attained the age of 13 years.
Article 1.The technical and vocational instruction maintained by the prefecture of the Federal District has for its aim to complete the primary elementary instruction by means of a general technical education leading the youth of both sexes preferably to industrial and commercial activities.
Art.2.Technical and vocational instruction shall be given in the following types of schools:
(a) Primary vocational schools.
(b) Secondary vocational institutes.
(c) Secondary agricultural schools.
(d) Vocational finishing courses.
(e) Normal school of arts and crafts.
Types (a), (d), and (e) shall be day schools exclusively; types (b) and (c) shall offer boarding accommodations for pupils from distance.
Art.3.In schools of types (a) and (d) instruction shall be imparted predominantly in the recitation rooms.
Art.4.The courses of the primary vocational school for boys shall include the following subjects:
(a) The usual subjects of the complementary course of the primary schools, with fuller development of the studies of physics, chemistry, natural history, hygiene, and mathematics.
(b) Modeling and free-hand and mechanical drawing.
Art.5.The courses of the primary vocational school for girls shall include:
(a) The usual subjects of the complementary course of the primary schools, with fuller development of the studies of hygiene and domestic economy.
(b) Modeling and free-hand drawing.
Art.6.The subjects of the vocational finishing courses shall include:
(a) In the commercial course, Portuguese and civic instruction, commercial geography, French and one other modern language, English or German, to be chosen by the pupil, commercial correspondence and accounting, typewriting, stenography, and arithmetic.
(b) In the industrial course, Portuguese and civic instruction, arithmetic, and geography, elements of applied physics, chemistry, and natural history, accounting as related to the particular vocation selected by the pupil, free-hand and mechanical drawing.
Art.7.The vocational finishing courses are designed primarily for young men already employed in industry and commerce, who seek to improve their vocational knowledge.
Art.8.The two types of vocational finishing schools may be taught conjointly in the same building.
Art.9.Teachers and assistants imparting instruction shall be appointed as follows:
(a) There shall be a teacher and so many assistants for each branch as shall be made necessary by the attendance.
(b) For the instruction in technical accounting related to each vocation there shall be employed special teachers only where 15 or more students are enrolled for each course, and they shall receive salaries only when actually teaching. The same teachers shall be in charge of the various related branches of technical instruction in the shops.
Art.10.The courses in the secondary vocational institutes for boys shall include—
(a) The elementary and middle instruction for pupils who have not had them.
(b) Physical exercises and military drill.
(c) Vocal and instrumental music.
Art.11.The courses in the vocational institutes for girls shall include—
(a) Primary instruction for such pupils as have not had it.
(b) Vocational drawing and modeling.
In the vocational institutes the elementary primary instruction shall be followed by an intensive course in manual arts, such as sloyd, wood carving, and weaving in straw, vine, and bamboo.
Art.12.The primary vocational schools shall also offer a commercial course consisting of the following subjects:
(a) Commercial correspondence and accounting.
(b) Typewriting and stenography.
(c) French and one other modern language, English or German.
Art.13.Instruction in the workshops of vocational schools for boys shall be given first in a general compulsory course of three years, during which the pupil shall in turn be trained in the workshops in cold and molten metals, including foundry work and wrought-iron work. The pupil shall then be allowed to specialize in any workshop or section at his choice. The pupils of the vocational institutes for boys shall likewise take a compulsory course in horticulture and kindred subjects.
Art.14.The agricultural schools and the vocational institutes shall require attendance on the courses of civil training and agronomy, with optional specialization in any line selected when the general course is completed.
Art.15.In the vocational schools and institutes for girls there shall be a compulsory general course upon the following practical subjects: Cooking, laundering, ironing and starching, housekeeping, sewing and dressmaking. Along with this general course the pupils shall attend certain vocational courses chosen by themselves from sewing, lace making, and embroidery, artificial-flower work, etc.
Art.16.For admission to the schools of vocational instruction the following shall be the legal requirements as to age:
(a) For vocational and agricultural schools, minimum age 13, maximum 21.
(b) For the vocational institutes for boys, minimum age 10, maximum 13.
(c) For the vocational institutes for girls, minimum age 7, maximum 13.
(d) For the normal school of arts and trades, minimum age 14, maximum 25.
(e) For the vocational finishing courses, minimum age 13.
Art.17.For matriculation in the vocational and agricultural schools and the finishing courses the candidates shall submit to an examination upon the subjects taught in the middle course of the primary school. In the commercial courses of the finishing schools, in the girls’ schools, and in the normal school of arts and trades, the entrance examination shall be upon the subjects of the final examination of the primary schools.
Art.18.The school year in the entire system of vocational instruction, with the exception of agricultural schools, shall begin March 1 and close November 30. The period from December 1 to December 24 shall be devoted to examinations and to school exhibitions. In the agricultural schools, because of their nature, the pupils shall have 60 days of annual vacation granted to them in groups by the director in accordance with the demands of the agricultural seasons and labors.
Art.19.The courses of the primary vocational schools, of the institutes, and of the finishing courses shall be divided into periods of 4 to 5 years; the finishingcourses into periods of three years; and the commercial course of the schools for girls into a period of two years.
Art.24.The officials of inspection of technical and vocational instruction shall draw up annual statistics of attendance and of the results of the vocational instruction upon the bases of data furnished by the directors of the several schools and, so far as possible, by employers and by the former pupils who have themselves left the schools. These statistics shall relate to the following topics:
(a) Number of pupils placed, with indication of the establishments where they are employed.
(b) Initial salary obtained by them as related to the period of schooling.
(c) Technical aptitude revealed by former pupils and their capacity of adaptation to the various industrial works.
(d) Progress of increase in salary of former pupils.
(e) All available information as to individual former pupils with regard to the advantages or disadvantages of their schooling in the decision of economic life, and their success in it.
Art.25.All posts of assistants and substitutes in the vocational system shall be filled by competitive examinations.
(a) For the assistant in drawing in the vocational schools in institutes for boys, the examination shall be tests in drawing, in artistic training, and in pedagogical fitness.
(b) For the filling of the same post in the vocational schools and institutes for girls the examination shall be tests in writing at dictation, in decorative composition, in embroidery and lacework, and in pedagogical fitness.
(c) The competitive test for filling the post of substitutes in shopwork shall be upon vocational design of an assigned theme for shopwork and the execution of the same.
Art.26.The teachers in vocational instruction shall be named by means of promotion of the assistants and substitutes.
Art.27.There shall be a substitute for every group of 20 pupils in shopwork, and an assistant for every class of 30 pupils.
Art.28.When any primary school is transformed into a vocational school there shall be annexed the elementary primary course in which shall be taught intensively the manual arts prescribed for the elementary instruction of the institutes, but the pupils shall attend the shopwork of the vocational courses only when they have completed the work of the middle course and attained the age of 13 years.