Zita Rosane Possamai

National pedagogical museums in Brazil and France in the 19^th century

Résumé

Cet article analyse la création et les premières années du Musée Pédagogique de France et du Pedagogium du Brésil. Les deux expériences ont participé au mouvement international de fondation des musées pédagogiques nationaux qui ont été conçus comme un outil pour améliorer les écoles publiques à la fin du XIX^e siècle. Une approche transnationale du projet muséal et des pratiques brésiliennes et françaises a permis d'analyser les similitudes et les différences des deux institutions. L'un de leurs principaux objectifs était de rassembler des documents nationaux et étrangers dans une bibliothèque et dans une exposition permanente afin d’améliorer le travail des enseignants et du personnel gouvernemental.

Abstract

This article analyzes the creation and the first years of the Pedagogical Museum in France and the Pedagogium of Brazil. Both experiences took part in the international foundation movement of national pedagogical museums which were conceived as a tool to improve public schools at the end of the 19^th century. A transnational approach of this museum project and the Brazilian and French practices allowed to analyze similarities and differences of both institutions. One of their main goals was to collect national and foreign materials in a library and in a permanent exhibition to present what was expected to improve teachers’ and the government personnel’s work.

Table des matières

Introduction

1From the second half of the 19^th century, several countries implemented their public education systems, aiming at pedagogical modernization, which included the adoption of new ideas and new teaching methods, as well as the training of teachers for public schools. The agents involved in this process, especially managers of public education bodies and institutions, have implemented a sociability network (Sirinelli 2003), and World Fairs (Barbuy 1996, Pesavento 1997, Kuhlmann Júnior 2001, Dittrich 2013) were events where the international dissemination and exchange of knowledge, practices and materials on education could take place. Within this context, a worldwide movement for the implementation of national pedagogical museums was established these museums being conceived as an instrument to develop education (Berrio 2000), either because they gathered and exhibited collections of books and school materials or because they provided means for the training of teachers needed for primary education.

2Brazil, in conjunction with several other countries, implemented its pedagogical museum in the 19^th century and shared this network of exchanges between agents at the head of public education bodies. For this reason, historiography (Bastos 2013) has raised and discussed the inspirations originating from other national experiences for the establishment of a Brazilian Pedagogium, which include the Pedagogical Museum of France. On one hand, the Brazilian experience was perceived by its contemporaries as an "exotic flower" in lands where it is unable to blossom and thrive. On the other hand, there is an indication of a diffuse influence, related to many countries, originating from the intellectual movement of circulation of civilizing models in force in the 19th century (Kuhlmann Júnior 2001). The transnational approach (Patel 2015, Matasci 2016, Dittrich 2013) of the Brazilian and French practices and museum project (Mairesse 2002) in their early years of implementation allows us to analyze similarities and discrepancies between the two institutions, thus placing them within the context of a broader international movement of reciprocal influences among nations at a time when knowing more, comparing and learning from the practices developed in other areas was part of the agenda.

3Although the preliminary ideas behind the creation of both museums had existed for a long time, the proclamation of the Republic (in Brazil) and the beginning of the Third Republic (in France) were the events that enabled the materialization and implementation of these two projects. In this sense, pedagogical museums were seen as a primary condition for the progress of public education, as well as a symbol of republican pedagogical modernity, especially in the case of Brazil. Therefore, they may be seen as part of a broader movement of imagination of nationality, in which both public education and national museums played a relevant and important role.

4This article1 review the political development and the people that created and made possible the respective museums. It also considers it opportune to cross the experience of the national pedagogical museums of Brazil and France, especially for the French inspirations present in Brazilian education, considered by the historiography (Bastos 2000). In addition, it is fundamental to reflect upon the importance of these practices for the history of museums, for the history of education and for Museum Studies today. For this we have analyzed documents related to the Pedagogical Museum of France found at the French National Archives, as well as the bibliographic references in connection with this institution (Majault 1978, Fontaine & Matasci 2015, Poucet 1995, Guillemoteau 1979, Possamai 2015), For the Brazilian Pedagogium, we used the contents of the Revista Pedagógica2 journal available at the Brazilian National Library's website, as well as bibliographic references in connection with this museum (Bastos 2002).

1. A pedagogical museum for France and the the Brazilian Pedagogium

5The preliminary ideas behind the creation of a pedagogical museum for France did not make any mention of the term "museum". Initially, professor Pompée, at the opening of the pedagogical conferences at the International Exposition of 1867, advocated for the establishment of an international and permanent exhibition (Majault 1978). A few years later, in 1871, an act by Jules Simon, French Minister of Public Education, allowed for the creation of a collection of books, paintings and school materials from schools in France and abroad. This collection was available for visitation once a week e was located in the ministry.

6In 1873, Agénor Bardoux, appointed Minister of Public Education, dedicated some of the Ministry’s budget to the creation of an institution that would later become the foundation of the future Pedagogical Museum, implemented thanks to Ferdinand Buisson (1841-1932)3, his ideas and actions, during the Third Republic (1870-1940), when the implementation of free, secular and mandatory education was implemented under the auspices of Jules Ferry (1832-1893) (Ozouf 2014). Buisson, as the person in charge of the Primary Education and Statistics Department of the Ministry of Education, drew up the Implementation Project of a Pedagogical Museum, his main argument being to demonstrate that France was the only country that did not have an institution similar to a Pedagogical Museum and that the main difficulties faced by England, Italy, Canada, Russia, the United States, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Hungary and Germany did not prevent the implementation of successful experiences in these countries (Buisson 1878, Possamai 2019).

7In a context that comparison between the nations was important to create public politicals, the reference to foreign experiences was the strongest argument used by Buisson, especially the ones he saw first-hand in the United States4 and in the England. Although Ferdinand Buisson particularly admired the US experience who knew the occasion of the Universal Exposition of Philadelphia (1876), his project for a museum included aspects that were shared by several institutions and spaces in the countries he mentioned, which corroborates the transnational circulation of ideas and practices on pedagogical museums within the context of this study. Thus, he idealized a single space, comprising a pedagogical museum, school records and a central education information office.

8Jules Ferry's rise to power as the head of the new Ministry of Public Education allowed Buisson's museum project to acquire institutional overtones, as French republicans were already receiving at home the same praise they had acquired abroad, which gave them the opportunity to organize education according to their principles (Dubois 2000). In this new scenario, a report forwarded by Jules Ferry to the President of the Republic, requested the creation of the museum by decree.

9Therefore, the decree date May 13, 1879, signed by Jules Ferry on behalf of President Jules Grévy (1807-1891), created within the Ministry of Public Education a Pedagogical Museum and a central library for primary education, comprising collections of various school materials, historical and statistical documents, and schoolbooks from France and abroad.

10In 1881, the institution’s board of administration passed regulations for the Museum, which provided for the organization and establishment of four sections: school materials, teaching tools, a central library and documents related to the history of education. In 1882, the itinerant library was added to the institution’s main structure, aiming at loaning books to people applying for teaching exams, and the first issue of the Pedagogical Magazine was published. In 1896, a specific service aimed at providing assistance in the use of luminous images and photographic pictures was created. Headquartered at rue Gay-Laussac (Paris), and at 29 rue d’Ulm from 1932, the Pedagogical Museum was created "to serve public education", as engraved on the facade of its second building (Cros 1952). As expected, after its foundation the museum also inspired the creation of several pedagogical museums in other countries, such as the Pedagogium in Brazil, the history of which features many aspects that are similar in both experiences.

11In Brazil, still during the Brazilian Empire (1822-1889), ideas regarding the creation of school and pedagogical museums circulated throughout the country (Vidal 1999), especially after coming into contact with other countries through fairs. Starting with its participation in the International Exposition of 1867, in Paris, the country started to align itself with other nations in the advocating of improvements in education, which was seen as a symbol of modern civilization.

12In 1883, Rui Barbosa (1849-1923), based on a report by the president of the Saint Petersburg Museum presented at the International Congress in Brussels (1880), proposed the creation of school collections, school museums and a National Pedagogical Museum (Vidal 1999, Bastos 2002). Unlike France, with regard to its preliminary ideas, the Brazilian project proposed by Rui Barbosa already included the term "museum". In fact, an initial effort resulted in the organization of a collection comprising materials coming from abroad and exhibited at the 1883 Pedagogical Exhibition in Rio de Janeiro, held at the halls of the National Press and visited by over two thousand people. After the end of the exhibition, in July 1883, deputy Franklin Dória submitted to the Chamber of Deputies the bill for the creation of a National School Museum; however, this bill was heavily criticized by other deputies and did not move forward.

13However, with the end of the Pedagogical Exhibition on September 30, 1883, the organizing committee of the event decided to create the Supporting Entity of the National School Museum, the goal of which was to create and maintain a pedagogical museum in Rio de Janeiro. The Imperial Government authorized the museum to be housed at the unoccupied halls of the National Press, also donating the foreign materials displayed at the exhibition (Franco 1885).

14Opened on December 2, 1883, the purposes of this first museum were very similar to the ones of the French museum, with emphasis on the presence of a permanent exhibition of school items and a library. It was supported by members of the royal family, such as Luís Filipe Maria Fernando Gastão de Orléans Gaston (1842-1922), Count of Eu, and even by the Imperial Government in matters related to the donation of materials displayed at the Pedagogical Exhibition and the concession of the space where it was held.

15In the new republican political system established in November 1889, the outlines of an institution created within the governmental sphere and called Pedagogium were more precisely defined. Hence, Public Education Minister Benjamim Constant (1836-1891) and Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca (1827-1892), Head of the Provisional Republican Government, signed Decree No. 667, dated August 16, 1890, which created "a professional education institution called Pedagogium"5 and approved the regulations of this new entity.

16Decree No. 980, dated November 8, 1890, established new regulations for the Pedagogium, which reaffirmed its main purpose and detailed aspects of its organization, staff, collections, its permanent collection and pedagogical museum, its labs and office spaces, its model school and envisaged activities, such as contests for the preparation of teaching materials, annual school exhibitions, manual labor workshops, publications of the Revista Pedagógica magazine, among others6.

17Joaquim José Menezes Vieira7 was chosen by Benjamin Constant to take over as director of the Pedagogium, carrying out actions directed at the "nationalization of works by foreign authors and at the import and adoption of pedagogical and teaching materials of various origins" (Bastos 2013).

18After Benjamin Constant’s death in January 1891 and the extinction of the Ministry of Public Education, Post Office and Telegraphs in 1892, the local administration took over the responsibility for education in the Federal District. That same year, the extinction of the Pedagogium was approved; however, it was only remodelled, and a new regulation was approved, which presented few modifications when compared to the one issued in 1890. In 1894, Menezes Vieira stepped down as director for health-related reasons, being replaced by Felisberto de Carvalho (1850-1898). In 1895, Menezes Vieira resumed his position. In January 1897, despite Menezes Vieira’s opinion that the Pedagogium was a matter of national concern, the institution was placed under the Federal District’s jurisdiction8. After that, he stepped down as head of the Pedagogium, which became extinct in 1898 and then recreated that same year. Finally, in 1919, the Pedagogium was definitely closed.

19The Brazilian Pedagogium was defined by Luís Reis in 1914 as "an exotic flower" (Bastos 2002, p. 273) within the social context in which its implementation was intended. However, some museums were created in Brazil during the 19^th century and in the beginning of the 20th century, several of which, despite facing many difficulties, were able to showcase their importance to scientific and educational developments in the country, like as National Museum, in Rio de Janeiro, and Paraense Museum, in Belém, North of Brazil. This means that museum institutions were not unfamiliar to the Brazilian people, especially people living in cities such as Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Belém, Curitiba or Porto Alegre, even if these institutions were not visited by many people. On the other hand, the Pedagogium was seen as "the symbol of modern education, for the ruling republican group" (Bastos 2002, p. 252), who was concerned with the development of public education, as this was in alignment with a widespread international movement of modernization, according to which pedagogical museums were important instruments in order to achieve progress.

20The difficulties to implement the Brazilian Pedagogium were similar to those faced by museums in other countries, as seen in the case of the Pedagogical Museum in Paris in its early years. However, unlike the French museum, whose lifespan exceeds 140 years, the Brazilian institution, even after its inauguration and operation, was under threat of extinction until it was definitely shut down.

2. Two related experiences

21The transnational circulation and exchange of information involving several countries in connection with the creation of national pedagogical museums led to the appearance of similar characteristics among these institutions in terms of their organization, collections and activities. According to this perspective, two aspects are emphasized: the collections displayed at permanent exhibitions and the pedagogical libraries of the museums under study.

22As seen previously, the first ideas in France for the creation of a pedagogical museum included the establishment of a permanent exhibition featuring items available to agents responsible for teaching - that is, teachers - followed by the establishment of a collection of books, paintings and school materials from schools in France and abroad. According to his museum project, Ferdinand Buisson intended to take advantage of the donation, made by several countries, of the materials displayed at the International Exposition, having authorized to keep them until the museum was officially founded in 1879. The creation decree mentions "several collections of school materials, historical and statistical documents, school books from France and from abroad".9 As soon as it was set in Palais Bourbon, the museum’s first collections, which included the objects obtained from the 1878 International Exposition, were classified and divided into three sections. The First Section comprised the library, books and methods; the Second Section included tools and collections. This second section was further divided into two sub-sections: 1^st sub-section: tools and devices used to teach sciences; 2^nd sub-section: natural history collections. The Third Section included school furniture and teaching materials, having also been further divided into three sub-sections: 1^st sub-section: school buildings; 2^nd sub-section: classroom furniture; 3^rd sub-section: teaching materials and office furniture.10 The regulations, passed in 1881, provided for the organization of the museum in four segments: school materials, which included blueprints of school buildings and furniture used in classrooms; teaching tools, which included boards, models and geographic, scientific and technology collections; a central library with books for teachers and students, popular libraries and school libraries; and documents related to the history of education.

23For 1884, the document11 provides that the limited space of the provisional building where it is housed does not allow for the proper display of the collected items in a comfortable way for visitors, also stating that expansions by way of acquisitions or exchanges were not possible. The museum did not have large halls or conference rooms. The building had three halls on the ground floor, five on the first floor and three on the second floor.

24Even without conditions deemed appropriate, with poorly-ventilated and poorly -lit areas, the exhibitions displayed at the museum attracted approximately 40 to 50 visitors per year when it was housed at the old Rollin school building, located at 42, Llomond Street, Paris. Most visitors were from Paris, but there were also visitors from other French regions. In addition to school personnel, visitors included mayors and councilmen and architects, as well as school material and furniture suppliers. Many foreigners visited the museum, such as visitors from England, the United States, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Brazil and other countries. The museum was also visited by official French committees, such as the school furniture and pedagogical libraries committees; also, the museum was the home of the committees in charge of preparing professional exams for primary education teachers12.

25We can observe the use of the museum not only by school teachers and students, but also by people responsible for public education management, both in France and in other countries. Thus, the museum’s collections could be analysed based on three distinct typologies and purposes, all of which were associated with education. First of all, there were the pedagogical materials directly used by teachers in the classroom, which mainly included school items and printed materials for teaching sciences according to an intuitive perspective. A second ensemble included the library, studies of French and foreign legislation, to be used in the development of teaching professionals or candidates applying to teaching positions, in addition to being used by executive education agencies. Lastly, there was the ensemble that included everything associated to physical school spaces, from school buildings to classroom furniture, which drew the attention of architects, mayors and government agents.

26A permanent exhibition at Rio de Janeiro was also included in the first regulations13 (1890) of the Brazilian Pedagogium. Chapter 2 of these regulations provided that such exhibition would comprise a library; national and foreign administrative, legislative and statistical documents on primary and secondary education, works written by teachers and students; drawing, geographic, physical science and natural history materials; technology collections, school museums, models, building projects and blueprints, furniture items, utensils, instruments and school devices. These materials are not very dissimilar to the materials found in the French Pedagogical Museum, since these are, in both cases, directly associated with administrative activities or teaching practices.

27When taking up office, on August 23, 1890, Pedagogium director Menezes Vieira carried out the inventory of the collections received from the Supporting Entity. He accounted for 4.147 works, most of which was not recommended to education, because they were non-didactic materials and outdated according to concrete teaching, then in vogue. The furniture items were limited to two bookshelves, eight showcase cabinets, a table and shelves. Once the inventory was finished, the materials were organized and displayed in four halls.

28The conditions of that building were deemed unsuitable by the director, who requested that the museum should be moved to a new building. According to the director, "each one of the displayed objects attests and explains the progress we very much admire seen in the United States, in the Argentine Confederation, in France, in Belgium, in Germany and in Italy"14 The Pedagogium had 938 visitors between August and December 1891.15 There were 2.000 visitors between August 1890 and February 1892, and 5.185 visitors between 1890 and 1894.16 These numbers demonstrate that the institution was fully operational and open to visitors during its first five years. Finally, in 1895, the Pedagogium was moved to 66 Rua do Passeio, where the museum was able to put together drawing rooms and manual labor workshops, the temporary exhibition of national and foreign materials, the Physics and Chemistry labs, and the permanent exhibition of furniture, maps, paintings, devices, school building blueprints, among other spaces.

29In the Revista Pedagógica magazine, there were reports on the acquisition of pedagogical materials and books, such as the "the collection of books, writing materials, drawing models, geographic globes and maps, as well as physics and chemistry instruments provided by Mr. Charles Vautelet, representative of the French teaching material and furniture union."17 The Chemistry lab was also put together based on the plan devised by professor Boudreaux similar to that of the Normal School in Fontenay-aux-Roses, Paris. Stuffed animals and aspects of the human body had been provided by the French naturalist Emile Deyrolle (1838-1917). Devices and instruments used to teach mechanics had been manufactured by Ch. Noé and A. Picart, suppliers of French high schools and normal schools. School museums by Saffray, Dorangeon, Deyrolle and Paravia were among the museum’s collections.

30A collection of books organized as a library is found in both cases under study. In the French museum, a central primary school library associated with the pedagogical museum is found in the Decree that made official the creation of the institution.18 The relevance of this library is corroborated, in 1880, by the first investment made to the Pedagogical Museum for the acquisition of a collection owned by J. Rapet, inspector-general of primary education, made up by works on education from several countries. The museum’s Regulations, passed in 188119, mentioned the library as one of the four sections of the museum, and included books for teachers and for students; a school library as well as a popular library. On the days it was open, from Thursday to Sunday, the library received a great number of visitors, who shared two large tables reserved for reading at the museum’s main building on rue Lhomond. On the other days, only people with a work card issued by the Ministry of Public Education could access the library.

31Access in order to consult and check out the library's books has been on the agenda since the first collection project for the French institution. At that time, it was defined that books could be consulted by teachers. With the museum in operation and with the concern to train teachers required for the implementation of the new education legislation of the Third Republic, the Ministry of Public Education announced in February 1882 the creation, within the structure of the Pedagogical Museum, of an itinerant library in order to assist candidates for teaching in normal schools and nursery schools, and for teaching inspection. A catalog20 attached to the public announcement informed that the library comprised 230 works, divided into three sections: Language and Literature section, Science section and Pedagogy section. Most certainly, these were the subjects addressed in the exams that teacher candidates would have to take, and it was essential to allow interested parties to check out books from the library. Furthermore, the Pedagogical Museum would send these library catalogs to people requesting them by a letter issued by the director of the institution. For candidates residing outside Paris, the museum still provided a service to send people books on demand (Possamai 2019). From March 1880 to 1884, 2,000 books were checked out of the library.

32In the Brazilian case, a pedagogical library, with an itinerant section and a school library, was mentioned as an important part of the pedagogical museum’s permanent exhibition.21 The library included purchased or donated books from Brazilian and foreign authors, the subjects of which were associated with education and teaching. Among foreign books, we can highlight works from countries such as France, Italy and the United States. The itinerant library would have a special catalog, which was to be sent to all public school teachers in the Capital, with the purpose of facilitating the temporary and free check-out process.

33The similarity between both museums in this regard are unmistakable since both institutions sought to maintain a library with updated pedagogical works. Given the proportions, the library of the French museum and that of the Brazilian Pedagogium have been boosted by resources for the acquisition of important collections, works and materials at that time.

34From the initial project of the Pedagogical Museum of France, new services and new functions were gradually added, such as an information and study office; a viewing service, a film library, a photo library and audiovisual services, as well as editing/publishing services and a teaching material purchase and distribution center (Cros 1952). During its existence, the Brazilian Pedagogium, on the other hand, struggled with institutional instability and setbacks, leading to its disarticulation. Its reference pedagogical library was shut down, losing its role as a driving force for reforms and as a training institution for primary education teachers. Without the teachers who gave it reason to exist, it subsisted as a museum in the strict sense of a place to where collections are kept.

Final Considerations

35With a long history, the Pedagogical Museum of France faced several reconfigurations throughout its existence. Finally, in 1980, the museum underwent its most major restructuring. Thus, the National Museum of Education was established with the transfer of documents of a museum nature, such as notebooks, iconography and artifacts, to Rouen. The documents relating to the historical collection were kept in Paris, in the National Archives, while the documents of the National Center for Pedagogical Documentation (CNDP) were transferred to Lyon.

36The Brazilian Pedagogium, on the other hand, only existed for a short period of time and, during its existence, it struggled with institutional instability issued, which resulted in its definitive extinction. However, despite lasting only for a few years, its museum project was in alignment with the projects for pedagogical museums in many other countries, several of which were also extinct. Nevertheless, the indications taken from its short existence allowed us to identify ideas and practices for the development of education at the end of the 19^th century and in the beginning of the 20^th century.

37Both museums were conceived as institutions capable of contributing to the establishment of a positive science of education by gathering in a single place a museum and a library, as well as a study and dissemination center. They were conceived and designed especially in order to assist in the training and qualification of teachers, either by assisting them in their classroom activities by offering courses and organizing conferences, or by lending books and pedagogical materials.

38Thus, the Pedagogium was not an "exotic flower" in its time, but was in alignment with the educational ideals of many countries and many Brazilians. The Pedagogium project was very ambitious, in a context where many goals had to be achieved in the field of public education. In the case of the French museum, the dismemberment of the Pedagogical Museum’s collections resulted in the new National Museum of Education, which was, this time, performing broad contemporary museum roles and focusing on aspects of the memory of education, this being an institution that remains an international reference in terms of History of Education. In Brazil, there is still no national museum of this kind and size, and material traces of this educational heritage are found in the collections kept by national, regional or local museums.

39Finally, we deem necessary to reflect upon the importance of these practices for the history of museums, for the history of education and for Museum Studies today. In the 21^st century, pedagogical museums have a dual role. Regarding History, they represent the heritage and memory of education, preserving objects, various writings and images, as well as precious documents for future studies. And regarding Museum Studies, their importance is reflected in the need to know more about alien objects, the appropriation of museum representations and practices in the service of education; as an active museum, they seek not only to keep, preserve and display collections, but to place themselves at the service of the public and educational development, an aspect held in high regard by today’s museums and museum studies.

Acknowledgements

40This study was financially supported by the National Board for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPQ), Brazil; the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) - Finance Code 001, Brazil.

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