The present article inscribes itself within the context of a wider research, that examines the issue of the foundations of Brazilian education with the ambition to educate for democracy, which was formulated during the twentieth century, by examining the philosophical basis and the kind of educational praxis suggested to make viable the enunciated pedagogical discourse. This article accomplishes the analysis of the role of Anísio Teixeira to the configuration of the ideal of educating for democracy by the school. Anísio Teixeira is one of the icons of the new school movement in Brazil of the twentieth century, with a serious performance in the Brazilian educational scenario as a scholar and as well as an educational systems' manager, involved in organizing practical ways to make viable his ideas. The study of the bibliographical character has found the influence of American pragmatism and liberalism in the formation of the ideas of Anísio Teixeira, even as it carries the discussion on the pedagogical forms proposed by the author to achieve the ideal of educating for democracy by means of school. It further examines the criticism that the thought of Anísio Teixeira received and considers the chances and the force of his pedagogical thinking in the educational scenario.
Brazilian education; pedagogical discourse; democracy; Anísio Teixeira