The pedagogical press and historiographical action: the case of the Revista do Ensino (1929-1930)

Abstract

Current paper focuses on the idea that problematization should be the focal point of all historiographical activities, or rather, the writing of History, particularly the History of Education. The paper contributes towards the already existing production within the field of the History of Education that employs pedagogical printed texts as privileged sources which answer the following questions: What, in historiographical terms, may be done with a source? How is a source selected? Which possibilities may it reveal when it penetrates the meanderings that involve the tension produced within the educational field? Why should one describe a source? What is the relevance that such a procedure provides for historiographical activity, especially in activities with the specialized press focused on education and teaching? Responses give rise to discussion on the methodology of historiographical activities on Education. Their dissemination is sharing results, originating from the challenge in accepting the evidence, through one´s production, results from the historiographical activity conducted on the Revista do Ensino, published in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. This is especially true for the section ‘Our tests’, or rather, the presupposition that the sources do not speak for themselves and there is no a priori selection by the researcher.