Abstract:
This paper aims at understanding the role of primary school in the intellectual formation program of the Brazilian Young Men’s Christian Associations (YMCA) from 1893 to 1929. Founded in 1844 in England, the YMCA came to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1893, through the influence of the North American Missionary Myron A. Clark. The sources of this research were: journals, pamphlets, booklets, statutes, and records. YMCA offered primary education (reading, writing, and counting) as one of the intellectual formative actions; however, it was not the main focus of the institution. Primary education was merely a starting point for the recruiting of new members in the formative program of the institution, as the now-literate could learn directly from the biblical text that guided moral and religious education, core tenets of the association.
Keywords:
history of education; primary education; Young Men Christian Association