Colégio Santa Clara e as práticas para a educação feminina na primeira instituição para mulheres no município de Santarém-PA (1950 – 1997)

Abstract

This study examines the memory, history, and educational practices of Colégio Santa Clara, formerly the female Orphanage of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God, located in the municipality of Santarém-PA. To better contextualize the research subject, the study considers the circumstances of its conception and construction, its importance in the historical context of the time, and the discernible contributions to the life stories of the women who were part of this institution's journey in the early 20th century. The primary objective of this work was to analyze the educational formation within this Catholic confessional school institution, focusing on the educational trajectories of former female students who attended Colégio Santa Clara between 1950 and 1997. To achieve this, it was essential to record memories and verify how this education contributed to the overall education in the municipality of Santarém-PA. This is a qualitative research study, supported by documentary research, imagery, and oral sources. It involved collecting interviews about the lives and education of former students of the institution, as these interviews provided insight into the disseminated practices and the process of female schooling that took place at the educational establishment. The study considers historical-dialectical materialism as an indispensable method for analyzing and understanding history and its contradictions. The investigation primarily drew upon the studies and reflections of Alberti (2005), Algranti (1999), Almeida (2010), Bosi (1994), Saviani (2008), Fialho (2018), among others. For a better understanding of the specifics of local history, the research was supported by Colares M. (2005, 2011), Colares A. (2006), Bahlmann (1995), Barros (2010), Canto and Moura (2022), Couto (2019), and Flood (2013). As results, this thesis makes some revelations: 1) the strong presence of the Catholic Church's missionary work, specifically by German or North American Franciscan friars in the Lower Amazon region, influenced the organization of educational practices for the formation and education of women. 2) Colégio Santa Clara was the first institution established to train the pioneering female teachers of the region. 3)the formative experiences at Colégio Santa Clara inspired other educational practices in the organization of new institutions created in the municipality of Santarém and the surrounding region. 4) the aforementioned normal school, and subsequently the teacher training course, were organized following a national standard, both in their pedagogical and institutional frameworks. This highlights the social importance of this initiative, which contributed, to some extent, to the reduction of social inequalities, especially concerning generating educational opportunities for women and training teachers, thereby increasing educational offerings in the region. 5) the pioneering role of being the first institution dedicated to serving women during a time of significant obstacles, particularly financial and social resources, left a profound memory in the experiences recorded by former students, as well as in the formative experience received at the college. 6) between the years 1935 and 1997, the college trained 1,275 female teachers who went on to work in the city and rural areas of the municipality, as well as in neighboring municipalities. It is concluded, therefore, that female education is a striking factor in contemporary society and that the rise of women through teaching represented a significant achievement in the fight for gender equality, the opportunity to enter the job market and, with the expansion of intellectual training, the economic development of the municipality of Santarém was notable, which became a pioneer in the training of female professionals and social transformation.