Teacher Education for Special Education - Proposals by Helena Antipoff and her Collaborators in Fazenda do Rosário in the 1960’S²

ABSTRACT:

Based on documents from the Helena Antipoff Documentation and Research Center, a case study is presented of the “2nd Emendative Teaching Summer Course for teachers of special classes and establishments of exceptional children” held in 1962 at the Instituto Superior de Educação Rural (ISER) at Fazenda do Rosário, Ibirité, Minas Gerais, Brazil, an initiative of the Pestalozzi Society of Minas Gerais, coordinated by the educator Helena Antipoff (1892-1974), with the participation of her local collaborators and invited teachers from São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The descriptive historical methodology was used to analyze the sources, focusing on the objectives of the Course, its organization and theoretical and technical perspectives, within the context of the history of Special Education. Results show that the Course, with a duration of one month (26 subjects and 215 class hours), was attended by 76 teachers, from nine Brazilian states. Helena Antipoff and her associates, drawing on principles of the Genevan Active School, emphasized that student’s knowledge and understanding by teachers were prerequisites for the success of education. Systematic observation was the sure way to know the needs and interests of the learner and to construct appropriate pedagogical tools for each one. The relationship between theory and practice was prioritized, the students/teachers had the opportunity to learn by experiencing techniques they would use with their future students. Combining observation and the know-how acquired in practice fostered the possibility for educators to construct strategies and alternative ways of solving student’s learning problems.

KEYWORDS:
Special Education; Teacher education; Helena Antipoff; Genevan Active School