The History of Education in Brazilian Constitutionalism: From Colonail Brazil to 1964 Brazilian Military Coup

This research aims to describe the Right to Education on legal and political history, from the Colonial Period until the end of the Brazilian 1964 Military Dictatorship.  The central issue is to demonstrate that the history of education in Brazil is marked by periods of great achievements and advancements in the sense of citizenship, full development and professionalism of the person, but also for periods of social setbacks with loss of collateral and weakening of educational institutions.  To be achieved this result, we intend to identify the meaning of the Right to Education in politicians speeches, from the Colonial Period, describe the transformations that have occurred in the Republic, the progresses and setbacks of the Era Vargas, the Estado Novo and finally the setback of education in Military Period.  These observations will be conducted through an analytical methodology, using as a guiding principle in the history of the relationship between the political-educational speeches embodied in the laws on education and the social context of each historical period.  As a result, the research highlights the need to be careful with legal institutions on the ever presence of social setbacks threat, especially in political cultures of modernity, as is the case of Brazil.  The legal history of education in Brazil demonstrates that prediction of rights alone is no guarantee of citizenship, full development and professionalisation of the person .  The social setbacks can happen for various reasons, justifying themselves by Exception States that, as before, and even today in economic crises always new reasons not to implement the policies defined by the law.