A Pedagogy of Oppression

A Pedagogy of Oppression: The politics of literacy in Brazil, 1971–1989 A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education at the University of Canterbury by Mônica Maciel Vahl University of Canterbury, New Zealand 2018 Table of Contents Abstract….……………………………..…………………………………………….. i List of Figures……………………………..………………………………………… ii List of Tables……………………………..………………………………………….. iii Acknowledgments……………………………..…………………………………… iv Preface……………………………..…………………………………..…………….. 1 Introduction…………………………..……………………………………………… 4 1 Developing my theoretical framework………………………………………... 11 1.1 Situating the researcher and the research in time and space…………… 11 1.2 Oppression and liberation - still helpful terms?…………………………… 16 1.3 Education and dialogue……………………………………………………… 27 1.4 Hope and utopia in post-truth times…………………….…………………. 35 1.5 Conclusion…..…………………….………………..…………………………. 40 2 Constructing the pathway to the research findings……………..……...…. 41 2.1 Curiosity and knowledge…………….………………………………………. 41 2.2 Literacy as an investigative field……………………………………………. 43 2.3 Working in the archives……………………………………………………… 47 2.4 Official documents as research sources…………………………………… 49 2.5 Newspapers and magazines as research sources………………………. 55 2.6 Conclusion...…………………….……..…………..…………………………. 62 3 The history of Brazil from the First Republic until the Military Dictatorship………………………………………………………………………….. 63 3.1 First Republic………….……………………………………………………… 63 3.2 Vargas Years……………..…………………………..……………………….. 67 3.3 National-Development Years……………..…………………………………. 70 3.4 Military Dictatorship………….……..…………………….………………..… 78 3.5 Conclusion…..…………………….………………..…………………………. 83 4 Education and culture under military control…………………………….…. 85 4.1 The Ministry of Education and Culture………………………………….….. 85 4.2 Vocational training and the reformed elementary education……….…… 93 4.3 The working conditions of teachers…………………………………….….. 102 4.4 Conclusion..…………………….………………..……………………………. 107 5 Literacy in the face of social oppression…………………………………….. 109 5.1 Statistics of literacy and social inequalities…………………………..……. 109 5.2 Children, poverty and the psychological approaches to literacy learning……………………………………………………………………………... 125 5.3 Conclusion..…………………….………………..……………………………. 137 6 The Brazilian Literacy Movement (MOBRAL)………………………………... 139 6.1 MOBRAL and the “pedagogy of the free man”……………………...……. 139 6.2 MOBRAL advertising in contrast to actual classroom conditions…….... 149 6.3 The Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry and the literacy rates controversy………………………………………………………………………… 163 6.4 Conclusion..…………………….…………………..…………………………. 170 7 Literacy in the search for democracy and social justice …………………. 172 7.1 The re-democratization process……………………..……………...……… 172 7.2 The development of prejudice against non-literate people in Brazil….… 179 7.3 The right to vote of non-literates……………………….…………………… 183 7.4 Conclusion…..…………………….………………..…………………………. 192 Final remarks and thoughts for the future……………………………………. 195 References……………………………..…………………………………..………… 200 Abstract This thesis provides a historical and philosophical examination of the politics of literacy in Brazil between the years 1971 and 1989. Drawing on the work of Paulo Freire, I examine prevailing conceptions of literacy and illiteracy at that time and the relationship between those conceptions and the distribution of structural power within society. Data were collected variously from government publications and legislation, the proceedings of the National Congress, the reports of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, and articles from the print press. I argue that the military dictatorship provided conditions for the establishment of an effective pedagogy of oppression. Over the 1970s and 1980s, children, teenagers and adults were systematically targeted by anti-dialogical actions that denied their ontological vocation to become more fully human. Non-literates were seen as people without any meaningful culture or knowledge, and even those learning how to read and write faced oppressive practices of false generosity and cultural invasion. Therefore, not only prejudices against non-literates but also functional literacy learning practices worked as instruments to reinforce social injustices and maintain the unequal balance of structural power in Brazilian society. i List of Figures Figure 1. Gazette of the Senate portal…………………………………………….. 51 Figure 2. Speech given by Senator João Calmon in the ordinary session of 20-05-1971, the transcription of which was reviewed by the speaker prior to publication…………………………………………………………………………….. 52 Figure 3. Collection of the Folha Group…………………………………………… 58 Figure 4. Folha de São Paulo newspaper………………………………………… 59 Figure 5. Collection of the Digital Veja…………………………………………….. 60 Figure 6. Veja magazine…………………………………………………………….. 61 Figure 7. Percentage of expenditure in the Ministry of Education in relation to the total revenues of the federal government in the years 1960 to 1979……… 92 Figure 8. MOBRAL’s organisational chart………………………………………… 141 Figure 9. MOBRAL’s methodology - generative word tijolo (brick)……………. 146 Figure 10. MOBRAL’s COMMUNITY……………………………………………… 151 Figure 11. Let’s profit with literacy………………………………………………… 152 Figure 12. MOBRAL: the first two million…………………………………………. 153 Figure 13. As soon as [he] learned to read and write, Mr. Albino left MOBRAL, went into advertising and made this announcement………………... 154 Figure 14. Mobral in Alto Paraíso, GO: the teacher and the three most assiduous students…………………………………………………………………... 162 ii List of Tables Table 1. Consulted Brazilian federal legislation and governmental documents (1971-1989)……..…………………………………………………………………….. 54 Table 2. School dropout rates from any cohort of 1,000 students (1961-1972) 94 Table 3. Educational structure before and after the Law 5.692/1971…………. 98 Table 4.Comparison of the population between 5 and 19 years old with the levels of enrolment in elementary and secondary education in 1970 and 1980 100 Table 5. Literacy levels among the population over 15 years old in Brazil (1920 - 1970)………………………………………………………………………….. 111 Table 6. Percentage of the population over 5 years old declaring reading and writing abilities, categorised by sex, region and zone (Census of 1970)………. 112 Table 7. Percentage of the population over 10 years old, categorised by skin colour and sex from 1940 to 1970, who declared themselves able to read and write………………………………………………………………………………. 117 Table 8. Percentage of the population over 5 years old declaring reading and writing abilities categorised by sex and age group (Census of 1970)………….. 121 iii Acknowledgments Since it is always a process, knowing presumes a dialectical situation: not strictly an “I think,” but a “we think.” It is not the “I think” that constitutes the “we think,” but rather the “we think” that makes it possible for me to think. Paulo Freire A thesis is never written in complete isolation but in dialogue. Happily, this is the case here. Many collaborated in the making of this study. I would like to acknowledge the participation of: Peter Roberts, for agreeing to supervise my work when I was still a stranger across the ocean. Also, I would like to thank him for his generosity and caring style of supervision. He wisely recognised the moments when to push me further and when to accept my limitations. Trish McMenamin, for warmly welcoming the task of joining my supervision team when this research had already been underway for over a year. I have appreciated her detailed eye and endless disposition to help. No doubt this study is a better study because of her. Gregory Lee, the historian in the supervision team, for his thoughtful advice and kind words of encouragement during my examination colloquium and first months of doctoral research. iv The University of Canterbury, for granting me a UC Doctoral Scholarship and providing the financial resources necessary to complete this research. Jennifer Clayton-Smith, for guiding me through the organisation and proceedings of the College of Education, Health & Human Development. Judith Coullie, from the Academic Skills Centre, for both the productive seminars and meaningful one-to-one consultations. Her support has always been a comfort, but it was absolutely essential early on when I was still trying to overcome the anxiety of being an international student. Carol Mutch and Peter Mayo, my examiners, for kindly accepting the task of contributing to my work despite all their commitments in the frenetic academic world of today. Erick Akeley, for sharing his passion for the written language and enthusiasm for crafting the perfect sentence. I have developed a stronger and more powerful academic voice in English because of his infinite patience and dedication. Bernadette Farrell and María Carolina Nieto Ángel for the serious times we have spent thinking and studying together over the past years, and also for the friendship, laughs and tears we have shared in moments of joy and need. All my friends in the College of Education, Health & Human Development, especially Celine McHugh, Liana Aisyah, Marshal Masilamani, Osmith Contreras, Shil Bae and Wiliam Vidal, for making New Zealand a little more like home for me. All my friends back in Brazil from the Faculdade de Educação and Instituto de Ciências Humanas at the Universidade Federal de Pelotas, for giving me not only intellectual but also emotional support to complete this journey. v Cheli Meira, my Caçapavana lifelong

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