The article investigates the issues that were central to the debate about Brazilian education in intellectual circles in the 1920s-1930s and 1950s-1960s. It analyzes the project for Universidade do Distrito Federal, highlighting what set it apart from other higher education models, and the articulation between education and social science that oriented the work of Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Educacionais, founded and run by Anísio Teixeira. The positions of Darcy Ribeiro and Anísio Teixeira concerning the plans for Universidade de Brasília are set forth. The changes in Brazil's intellectual field in the midst of competing university projects and the prospect of developing social science research and applying it to education policymaking are analyzed.
Anísio Teixeira (1900-1971); university; education; social sciences; Brazil