The National Political and Social Context and School Memory from a Sociodynamic Perspective

Proposal Information
The school is a social microcosm where the political-cultural and economic-social panoramas are reflected. In this context, teachers' memory narratives can be observed in a sociodynamic perspective. The memories that emerge in teachers' narratives reflect their interpretation of past events and biographical experiences in constant dialogue with their present. In this article, we intend to explore the social memory of school in the time of the Estado Novo (1933-1974) in Portugal, focusing on how teachers' testimonies reveal the social and temporal dialogue of school memories.
The “Estado Novo” dictatorship period in Portugal characterized by authoritarianism, strict censorship, corporativism and a lack of political freedoms. During this time, the Portuguese education system was heavily influenced by the ideology of the regime, which emphasized the values of "Deus, Pátria e Família" (God, Homeland, and Family). This ideology was disseminated throughout the education system and had a significant impact on the experiences of students and teachers alike.
This study aims to observe how national political dynamics have affected the memory of the school and how teaching experiences emerge in teachers' narratives and reveal interviewees' perceptions of the national context of education.

Methodology or Methods/ Research Instruments or Sources Used
To understand the social memory of school time during Estado Novo, we employed a qualitative approach to analyze data collected from semi-structured interviews with teachers who taught during this period. The data set consisted of their narratives of 18 interviews conducted between the years of 2017 and 2019. The study explored the theoretical frameworks of social memory and sociodynamics to analyse the data and answer the overarching question: How do memory narratives reveal the social and temporal dialogue of school memories? How do time, space, conditions and their effects emerge in the testimonies and reveal sociodynamic aspects of school memory?

Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings
The results of the study show the interconnections between the past and the present as reflected in the teachers' narratives. The teachers talk about the impact of the regime on the classroom, both physically and psychologically. For instance, they describe how the ideology of "Deus, Pátria e Família" was materialized in objects and the concept of authority in the classroom. They also talk about the economic and social contexts of the time and how they compare with the present.
The narratives of teachers who taught during this period reveal the social and temporal dialogue of the school memories, exposing a sociodynamic matrix of biographical events. This study provides a deeper understanding of the social memory of childhood, family, and school and highlights the importance of considering the cultural enactment of schooling processes and the dynamic nature of the memory of the school.