Education, State, and Society in Portugal, 1926-1981

Educating Democrats or Autocrats? The Regime-Conditional Effect of Education on Support for Democracy

“…Democratic education aims to shape the values of students and encourage engagement with the political system through courses on civics (Galston, 2001; Sunshine Hillygus, 2005) and teaching “grounded in freedom of thought and democracy” (Danish Ministry of Education, 1975, translation by Haas, 2015). On the contrary, authoritarian political systems aim to instill in students an ideology consistent with the founding principles of their rule (Cantoni et al, 2017; Stoer and Dale, 1987; Szczepański, 1962; Szebenyi, 1992). In former Soviet states, this entailed a curriculum that aspired to create “socialist man” (Szebenyi, 1992); in Salazar’s Portugal, the aim was to develop a strong sense of nationalism to preserve colonial power (Stoer and Dale, 1987); and in modern China, the curriculum intends to develop a rejection of the free market economy and Western democracy (Cantoni et al, 2017).…”

“…On the contrary, authoritarian political systems aim to instill in students an ideology consistent with the founding principles of their rule (Cantoni et al, 2017; Stoer and Dale, 1987; Szczepański, 1962; Szebenyi, 1992). In former Soviet states, this entailed a curriculum that aspired to create “socialist man” (Szebenyi, 1992); in Salazar’s Portugal, the aim was to develop a strong sense of nationalism to preserve colonial power (Stoer and Dale, 1987); and in modern China, the curriculum intends to develop a rejection of the free market economy and Western democracy (Cantoni et al, 2017). Given such differences in the curriculum of education systems, if curriculum is instrumental in defining what values students embrace and internalize, the outcome of democratic and authoritarian education should be quite opposite with respect to support for democracy.…”

“…International organizations also encouraged education reform to foster economic growth. In the case of the 1964 reform in Portugal, for example, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was instrumental in promoting reform (Stoer and Dale, 1987). Indeed, in the 1960s, the OECD tended to issue “blanket fashion” prescriptions to member states heavily influenced by the discourse on human capital (Stoer and Dale, 1987: 408).…”

Wallerstein’s world-systems analysis in comparative education: A case study

“…From a different perspective, DiBona (1981) positions neo-Marxist and world-systems approaches as promoting universal conceptions of modern education for economic development, at the expense of diverse indigenous cultures and forms of education, particularly in developing countries. In another example, Stoer and Dale (1987) foreshadow concern for the complex interactions involved in the process of educational transfer. They argue that Wallerstein's world-systems approach…”

Planting Power: The Afforestation of the Commons and State Formation in Portugal. By Roland Brouwer. The Netherlands: Eburon, 1995. vii + 394pp. Figures, tables, notes, bibliography. $39.95

“…Under Salazar's regime the role of schooling went beyond the homogenisation of culture and ideology. The educational programme was strongly geared to the promotion of the regime and to the cultus of Salazar himself (ibid, p.496;Barros and Henriques 1987;Stoer & Araujo 1987;Stoer & Dale 1987).…”